Small-Group Tour: Falcon 2—Dubai Falconry Safari

Begin your small-group experience with a morning pickup from your Dubai hotel. Hop inside a luxury 4x4, air-conditioned vehicle, and enjoy the views as you leave the skyscrapers behind for the surrounding desert.

As you travel, listen as your driver-guide talks about the country’s love of falconry. Hear how the activity derived from a form of Bedouin hunting, when tribes would capture prey to supplement their diet with meat.

After roughly 40 minutes, arrive at Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, the national park where your small-group falconry experience takes place. First, take a wildlife-spotting drive through the reserve as you hear about the animals and plants that thrive here. Twist around the dunes and watch for local creatures such as Arabian oryx, antelope, hares and lizards.

Then, meet one of the reserve’s qualified falconers and start your interactive experience with a number of falcons, kestrels and other birds of prey, all from an exclusive family collection. With practical tips from your trainer, take an active part in the birds’ daily training session. Wear a falconry glove and fly the birds from your fist to collect food and return to your hand.

During your 1.5- to 2-hour session, see demonstrations of ancient and modern training techniques, and watch the birds as they soar through the sky and dive for their bait. Marvel at their speed and listen as the falconer describes their innate hunting instincts. When your session finishes, travel back to your hotel where your tour ends.

Tour with Breakfast:Make your morning even more of an occasion and upgrade to include a breakfast that's fit for an Arabian king. Before your Dubai hotel drop-off, travel to the luxurious Al Maha Desert Resort for breakfast in the hotel’s stylish Al Diwaan restaurant. Choose to sit inside or outside, and enjoy an international buffet that features classic western treats such as eggs Benedict alongside spiced scrambled eggs and even fillet steak. Fruit juice, coffee and tea are included. Morning cocktails of mimosas and bloody marys are available at your own expense. See a sample menu in the Itinerary.