It’s been years, and Dubai is still the holiday hotspot in the UAE. While this emirate knows no bounds in tourism, its neighbouring regions are also growing strong – and a weekend getaway from Dubai is a highlight now. The roads in every direction are smooth and clean, with different views unfolding every few kilometers. A smooth highway from Dubai and a tank full sound like a plan. But wondering which scenic drive in Dubai? We have got you some options!
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Jebel Jais – The One Where You Actually Feel the Altitude Change
Look, most people don’t realize how crazy the Jebel Jais 2-hour scenic drive is until they’re halfway up. You leave Dubai in whatever weather, and two hours later, you’re wrapping a sweater around yourself. The road climbs through Ras Al Khaimah, and honestly, the winding parts are actually fun to drive. By the time you hit the top of the UAE’s highest peak, you’ve got views that make your phone camera give up. Go at sunrise if you can handle the early start.
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Liwa – If You Want to Forget You’re Still in the Emirates
Drive three hours south, and you’re basically in another country. The Liwa desert road trip is the kind of drive where your brain keeps waiting for something to happen, a town, a building, anything, but it just keeps being endless golden dunes. The highway’s actually really well-maintained, with nothing around, so bring water. The best time to reach here is right before sunset, that’s when the desert does its thing. The colors shift, the light gets weird, and you’ll get why people write poems about this place.
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Khasab – The Road Trip That Doesn’t Feel Like the UAE
You’re driving along, crossing into Oman, and suddenly the landscape just changes. The Khasab Musandam drive from Dubai isn’t just pretty, it’s almost aggressively scenic. Fjord-like cliffs straight out of Scandinavia, turquoise water you didn’t think existed in the Arabian Gulf, coastal roads carved into mountains, there’s everything. Every few minutes, there’s another turn and another view that makes you want to stop.
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Al Quaa – Come Here For Stargazing
Al Quaa stargazing isn’t marketed like the other spots; you drive south for three hours into quiet, and then you look up. The best stargazing spot in the UAE, and it is actually the darkest place opening up above you. No city glow, no light pollution, just properly packed stars. The kind where the Milky Way doesn’t look like a photo but is too real to believe in Dubai. Bring a telescope if you’re into that, or just lie there.
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Muscat – The Long Drive That’s Actually Worth the Time
Five hours is a commitment, but the Muscat drive from Dubai doesn’t waste your time. You drive through proper mountain roads, stretches where the sea just shows up on your left, and a city that moves completely differently from what you’re used to. You can stop for proper seafood or walk around a souk. The drive itself is the point of watching the landscape shift from desert to mountains to coast.
So, skip the flights and try these five Dubai Road trips – proof that everything you want to see is basically already around you.