Our safari/dinner was with Orient Tours and we can only say : "WOW!!!". The trip to the Bedouin camp for dinner was absolutely exhilerating and we must give our highest compliments to the drivers of the five vehicles on our tour. The bbq dinner was excellent, with plenty of food and salads, and the 'bar' was well stocked - we actually had a bottle of Jacobs Creek white wine so it felt like home!! During the tour, two members of the tour staff took photos and video and, when we arrived at the Bedouin camp, they had televisions set up so that we could view them. They were very good and, as much as you take your own photos, etc, they captured everyone on the tour and you had no idea it was done. We bought a DVD set of the photos and video for 90 dhs (appprox AUD$30). There were other activities at the camp while the bbq was cooked and, after dinner, the belly dancer was great, taking some of the 'guests' up to show their style, so to speak. We were picked up at our hotel in Deira at 3 30 pm and returned at 9 30 pm, so it was a packed six hours, but extremely enjoyable. Definately one of the 'must do' tours in Dubai.

I went on the Desert safari about 1 year ago. My father booked it for me and my mother, so didn't really know what was expecting me. I was looking forward to seeing some nice views and maybe a camel. It turned out to be a rather wild rolercoaster-like ride over the dunes. The first half of the ride i was imply scared as hell. I was only waiting for car to fall down a dune and turn over. (Of course that didn't happen. Some cars got stuck, but allways only for a short time) Then i finally felt save, because i thought to my self: "If nothing happened so far, probably it's not as dangerous as it seems to be."
So I relaxed a little and realised the beautiful desert scenery. However as my body wasn't concentrated on beeing scared anymore, I started feeling sick. I felt worse and worse with every dune. And just as we arrived the dinner location, i had to throw up. Sitting and watching the bellydancers kind of calmed me down, so tried some of the arabian food. It was really good.
The ride back to the hotel was not at all bad, because you go straight back to the road after eating (no more desert rides).

I have to mention the sunset stop, which was breathtaking. The cars stop near a high dune, where you can walk up and watch the sun hiding slowly behind the beautifull emptiness of the desert. It's a great experience.

I would really think about wether you like that sort of ride. If you don't like roller coasters or you tend to get travel-sick, this is nothing you should try. Everyone else should not pass the wonderful views and the feeling of sitting in the desernight.

I was pretty excited for this given the great reviews, but was left feeling only luke-warm about it. I should say upfront that we booked through our hotel, and didn't ask many questions about the service, which may have been the first mistake - but since it was in a price range (~$65) similar to the plethora of tours I'd seen advertised under a variety of companies, I assumed they were pretty much all the same. For the record, we went with Unique Tours.

But to start with the positives:
-Vehicles (ours and the 10 or so others from Unique that we traveled with) were fairly new Toyota Land Cruisers and felt perfectly safe.
-The driver seemed experienced and while the dune driving was thrilling it was never terrifying
-We were picked up relatively on time and returned on time as well
-The dune driving was indeed fun, reminiscent of the kind of off-roading that your parents didn't want you to do as a teenager...it would make anyone feel like a bit of a giggly little kid
-It was nice to get out of the city, and makes for a very easy, all-inclusive evening - would be a great thing to do with kids!

Some negatives:
-Our driver seemed to be a nice enough guy, but very quiet and there was not an ounce of a tour guide in him - unlike some of the other reviews that raved about the hospitality and knowledge provided by the drivers.
-We did stop for taking photos after a bit of dune driving, but unfortunately it was about 20 minutes too early to catch the sunset; the sun was still too high to even cast a romantic glow on things
-No camel farm on our trip - I would have enjoyed that, but then again we probably should have asked ahead of time...
-There was a camel ride opportunity once we reached the camp, but it was kind of like a typically sad pony ride that you get at a low quality county fair - the poor camel walked in a circle of about 20 steps before he had to lay down again to switch riders...it was free, but I would rather have paid $10 and been brought on a 5 minute (instead of 45 second ride)
-The "traditional Bedouin camp" was a bit of a laugh - which I would have expected to some degree, but really...some effort could have been made to make it even remotely educational or cultural (save for the fenced-in camp atmosphere, which gave it a vaguely, vaguely traditional feel). Instead there was a souvenir stall, a snack bar (Pringles, popcorn and Heineken), a henna station and a shisha/hooka bar...again, kind of had the feeling of a county fair modern UAE-style. No MC to guide you through the evening or explain to you where you were, what was going on, etc. Belly-dancing was a single dancer who I thought was mediocre, and the majority of the 1.5/2hrs spent there were occupied by watching the very large group of young Indian tourists dancing on the belly-dancer stage (often to Punjab music - ahem, not particularly Bedouin) under disco lights. Don't get me wrong, I love Indians and I love India, but when I'm at a "traditional Bedouin camp" in the Dubai dessert, I don't necessarily want to feel like I'm in a Bollywood film.
-Food was OK, though not outstanding, and again it would have been nice to hear from SOMEONE who was even remotely close to being an authority on Bedouin culture to explain why what we were eating was traditional (I suspect it wasn't).

In summary, it was an OK evening away from the city, and the dune driving was fun. Because I was in good company with my partner, it probably would have taken a lot to ruin our evening, and we simply enjoyed talking through the more ridiculous parts of the evening. If I had the chance to do it again, I'd search around and make sure I was with a more attentive tour company. Ours was NOT even remotely a cultural experience. I know it's difficult to get 'authentic' culture on a package mini-tour like this, but some effort could have been made - if you're going to call it a traditional Bedouin camp, at least pretend to the live up to the name; otherwise, just advertise that tourists will be brought to a camp in the middle of the desert where they can dance under disco lights and eat Pringles.

**Disclaimer: Both my partner and I are well-traveled, have lived abroad in developing countries, and have often traveled on a shoe-string, staying in local places with local people. This should be taken into account when you read my judgments about the lack of any cultural experience. If it's your first time away from the US/UK/etc, and/or you're going to Dubai because you think it's a mystical developing country in the Middle East (instead of escaping to it as a bastion of civilization from the developing country you currently work in, like us) then your opinions on what is an authentic cultural experience may vary greatly from mine.

MY friends had a v serious accident on the way b ack from desert safari .Its because they deflate the tyres when they go to desert and then inflate it on the way back .this caused the tyre to burst somehow .You should have a v low speed on the way back .check your tyres for any wear and tear .Never forget to wear the seat belts :) Good luck