The most enchanting deserts across Africa, Europe and the Middle East

With wind-sculpted waves of sand and endless high dunes stretching to the horizon, the timeless deserts of the Middle East, Africa and – yes – even Europe have beckoned to hardy adventurers for millennia – and still do. The vastness of the desert puts the world in perspective, and travellers seek them out for quiet contemplation and otherworldly scenery. A desert is simply any landscape that receives less than 25cm of rainfall a year and the diversity among them is astonishing: some reach skyward with tall peaks of sand, some shape-shift right under your feet, and some are home to endangered flora and fauna found nowhere else. If you're not content to sit and stare, you can experience these natural marvels by way of activities that range from family-friendly to fuelled by adrenalin. Here are the most beautiful deserts to explore across the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

Join a camel caravan in Africa's iconic Sahara Desert

Arguably the world's most famous desert, the Sahara partially covers 10 countries and spans the entire width of the African continent. One of the best places to experience this epic sandscape is in Morocco, where you can venture forth from the palatial comforts of the Rabat Marriott Hotel, join a camel caravan and saunter past towering wind-blown dunes called ergs. Ambling at the slow pace of the camel's gait transports you back to the time of travelling merchants on ancient routes, but if you're keen to move faster, you can ride down the dunes on a sandboard or in a 4x4 vehicle.

The Saharan sands in southern Tunisia appeared so extraterrestrial to George Lucas that he set the original Star Wars here, even adapting the name of the Tunisian city of Tataouine for a planet. You can still visit the abandoned film set and the round-roofed ksour (fortified granaries), before making for the capital to enjoy more out-of-this-world pleasures at the Tunis Marriott Hotel.

Join a camel caravan and experience the vastness of the Sahara Desert the traditional way (Photo: Getty Images)

Hear the dunes sing for you in Qatar

Doha has desert scenery right on its doorstep – yet once you set foot in the country’s sea of pale-rust dunes, the capital’s urban buzz becomes a distant memory. That said, adrenaline is there if you want it in Qatar’s deserts, and travellers of the dune-bashing and quad-biking persuasion might want to sample the daredevil dunes near Mesaieed, some 40 kilometres south of the capital. For a gentler desert experience, attend a natural recital at Qatar’s Singing Dunes, where the sands' ceaseless hum enchants the ears as much as the landscape delights the eyes. If you like your explorations to have an interesting end point, then take a meandering desert pathway to the celebrated Inland Sea, a UNESCO nature reserve home to flamingos, oryx and camels; or even to the barely visited petroglyphs of Al Jassasiya. These 900 or so rock carvings in the far north of the country give an evocative glimpse of what was important to Qataris some millennia ago, from scorpions to fish and ostriches. At The St. Regis Doha, they know what’s important to travellers in the 21st century – after contemplating the ancient rock art, fall into the hotel’s luxurious embrace and contemplate its comforts and culinary delights.

Go truffle hunting in Africa's Kalahari Desert

Not technically a desert but a semi-dry savanna covering parts of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, the expansive Kalahari has more flora and fauna than you might expect from its biome label – in fact, people forage in cracks in the sand for the beloved Kalahari truffle, a prized delicacy. The Kalahari contains several protected areas, including Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve, which covers nearly 10% of the country. You can head on a wildlife safari to see cheetahs, leopards, black-maned lions, wildebeest, kudu and much more. See a very different side to Botswana with a few days in the pleasingly low-rise and laid-back capital Gaborone, where the Protea Hotel Gaborone Masa Square has everything a weary desert wanderer needs to recharge before the next adventure.

Visitors to the Kalahari Desert are often surprised to encounter its rich variety of flora and fauna – take a wildlife safari for a chance to see cheetahs (Photo: Getty Images)

Encounter curious creatures in Egypt's otherworldly White Desert

With its snow-coloured rock formations rising from the desert floor like sprouting mushrooms, Egypt's White Desert looks like no other on Earth. The bizarre shapes are sculpted by fierce wind-blown sand and, in places, the white chalky dust coats the orange dunes like whipped icing on a desert cake. Creatures that call this protected area home include gazelles, jackals and the (absolutely adorable) fennec fox. Afterwards head for Egypt's capital Cairo and the fit-for-a-pharaoh Marriott Mena House, Cairo, which lies within easy reach of Egypt's rather more famous 'rock formations': the magnificent Great Pyramids of Giza.

Sample Bedouin culture in Wahiba Sands, Oman

At first glance, the desert might seem still, but winds constantly shift the sand, reconstructing this landscape every day and erasing evidence of previous visitors. The name of this desert district in Oman comes from a Bedouin tribe, and a highlight of a visit is experiencing their hospitality, savouring slow-cooked meats and endless cups of firewood-smoked mint tea, and watching the sun change the dunes into liquid gold as it sets. Permanent roads aren't viable here, so hold on tight as you zip across the sands for a thrilling 4x4 ride, before setting course for Muscat and the stunning Al Bustan Palace, A Ritz-Carlton Hotel. With its versant oasis setting, the property offers the most luxurious imaginable interpretation of that Bedouin hospitality.

Set foot on Mars in Jordan's Wadi Rum

The magical Mars-like landscape of Jordan's Wadi Rum is a movie star, featuring in both Dune and The Martian. You might not have a spaceship to hand, but you can certainly explore its ochre-coloured sands by camel, 4x4 or on foot. Huge sandstone stacks loom above the valleys, which hide prehistoric petroglyphs and inscriptions that show just how long travellers have been fascinated by this place. With the help of a Bedouin guide, you can climb Jabal Umm ad Dami, Jordan's highest peak at 1,854 metres. Majestic as those stacks are, they're no match for the towering W Amman, which stands tall and proud in the heart of the capital's modern Al-Abdali district.

Jordan's Wadi Rum features huge sandstone stacks looming majestically above valleys (Photo: Getty Images)

Discover the wonders of Africa's Namib Desert

The iconic rusty red dunes of Namibia's stunning Namib Desert stand in stark contrast to the blue Atlantic Ocean lapping at the desert's western edge. The Namib is thought to be one of the oldest deserts in the world, and its most arid regions see only 2mm of rain per year. For a surreal photo, head to Dead Vlei. This spot used to be flooded by a river but was cut off by sand dunes, denying the area its water supply – but because of the hot, dry climate, the trees didn't decompose, leaving behind randomly placed skeletal trunks that look like vertical stands of driftwood.

Go adventuring in the Middle East's legendary Empty Quarter

The largest continuous sand desert on the planet, the Empty Quarter includes parts of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen. Crossing this forbidding sand sea has been an appealing challenge for many foreign thrill-seekers, beginning with British traveller Wilfred Thesiger who wrote the book Arabian Sands about his journey. Before you're tempted to sign up for an epic multi-day expedition, you can survey the scene of endless desert sliced by snaking dried rivers from a 300-metre-high rock escarpment called Edge of the World, easily reachable from Riyadh. Running the Empty Quarter close in the spaciousness stakes is Four Points by Sheraton Makkah Al Naseem in Makkah (Mecca), a handsome, Ottoman-style property with service to match.

As the largest continuous sand desert on Earth, the Empty Quarter has timeless appeal for travellers (Photo: Getty Images)

Experience a one-of-a-kind desert in Iceland

Picture a desert traveller. Do you see a parched figure hallucinating a hazy oasis as the sun beats down? A nomad covered head to toe against the heat? A camel caravan? Probably something along those lines – but not all deserts are hot, with Iceland’s Highlands startling evidence of this fact. These 40,000 square kilometres at the heart of the country are known as a ‘volcanic desert’ because, while rain does fall, it is ushered so quickly underground by the porous volcanic rock that the surface remains parched. Only the hardiest flora and fauna make Iceland’s highlands their home and the region’s oases – this is a desert, after all – are palm tree-free zones: expect glistening green mosses and ferns at these river-fed wonders. Reindeer are likely to be your only company in these parts so, wanderlust sated, head back to Reykjavík and the convivial atmosphere of The Reykjavík EDITION, with its 5-star style and service a worthy continuation of your day’s experiences.

Track soaring eagles in Spain's Tabernas Desert

Europe's wetter climate doesn't lend itself to 'real' deserts, but the continent does have one semi-arid area that gets pretty close – the badlands of southeastern Andalusia, Spain. Scrub bushes dot the taupe hills, and you might spot red-tailed lizards in the dry riverbeds and eagles soaring overhead if you take a hike through this protected area. Tabernas is nicknamed Spain's 'Wild West', and it has provided the backdrop for many films, including dozens of spaghetti westerns, plus Indiana Jones and Lawrence of Arabia. It takes a lot to get wet up in the parched badlands but you'll have a whole Mediterranean to yourself once you've checked in at The Westin La Quinta Golf Resort & Spa, Benahavis, Marbella, a handsome haven that takes the Sierra Blanca mountains as its backdrop.

The badlands of southeastern Andalusia are about as close as Europe gets to desert terrain (Photo: Getty Images)

Escape the city in Abu Dhabi

Whether you're visiting for sea, shopping, winter sun or even just a stopover, the UAE is a great choice pretty much year round – but you can't say you've really visited until you've been to the desert. Outside the city but still within the Abu Dhabi emirate, rolling dunes pepper the landscape as far as the eye can see. When you've finished with the capital's huge theme parks, you can take a wild ride on a natural 'rollercoaster' in the passenger seat of a Land Rover as an experienced driver expertly skirts you through the sands. Extend your time in the desert with a stay at the exquisite Al Wathba, a Luxury Collection Desert Resort & Spa, Abu Dhabi, which graces the sands outside Abu Dhabi city with its stunning interpretation of traditional architecture.

Published: September 08, 2022

Last Updated: June 19, 2023

Article Tags:  Morocco , Doha , Kalahari , Cairo , Oman , Wadi Rum , Iceland , Andalusia , Abu Dhabi