Dubai

Small-Group Tour: Falcon 2—Dubai Falconry Safari

Badge of ExcellenceDubai, United Arab Emirates

Small Group Falcon 2 Dubai Falconry Safari

Likely to Sell Out

From $199.46

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

5 hours
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Fly a falcon and enjoy a desert wildlife drive on this 5-hour experience from Dubai. Board a 4x4 and roam the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve to watch for animals such as the rare Arabian oryx, hares and more. Then, enjoy a thrilling, interactive group falconry experience. Learn to fly a falcon from your glove, and see some prized birds and training techniques in action. Upgrade to include breakfast at the stylish Al Maha Desert Resort to make the morning extra special. Numbers are limited to 12 for a personalized atmosphere.

Half-day small-group falconry experience from Dubai
Watch falconry displays, and see traditional and modern training in action
Upgrade to enjoy breakfast at the luxury Al Maha Desert Resort
Small-group tour limited to 12 for a personalized experience

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

Rather than watch a falcon show, this lets you train and fly the birds yourself, and in a group of 12 or less.

What's Included

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Professional driver-guide
Round-trip transport by air-conditioned 4x4
1.5- to 2-hour interactive falconry session
Use of falconry glove and other equipment
Breakfast at Al Maha Desert Resort (if option selected)
Value Added Tax of 5% is already included on the prices

Food and drinks (unless specified)
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

05:00 AM

Pickup details

Pickup and dropped off is provided anywhere in Dubai Area only.

What To Expect

After pickup from your Dubai hotel, travel by air-conditioned 4x4 into the desert to start your half-day small-group experience.

Along the way, learn about the importance of falconry in Emirati heritage. Hear how Bedouin peoples first used the birds to hunt for desert prey to add meat to their diet.

After around 40 minutes, arrive at the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, an area of protected desert founded to help preserve the region’s ecosystem. Then, enjoy a wildlife-watching drive around the dunes. Watch for rare Arabian oryx, as well as species such as hares, and hear about the work being done to conserve this natural wilderness.

Afterward, enjoy an interactive, group falconry experience. Get up-close to several birds, such as falcons or kestrels, from a prized family collection; and join in a falconry training session. Don a falconry glove and fly a bird from your hand to collect a lure and then return.

See different training techniques in action, watch the birds soar and swoop for bait, and learn about their hunting instincts. Following your 1.5- to 2-hour session, return to Dubai where your experience finishes with a hotel drop-off.

Falconry Experience with Breakfast:Upgrade to include breakfast before your return to Dubai. With the falconry over, drive to the ultra-stylish Al Maha Desert Resort nestled in the sands. Choose to sit inside or outdoors at the elegant Al Diwaan restaurant overlooking the dunes and plains, and savor a sumptuous international buffet of dishes such as omelets, mezze, pancakes and more, with included tea, coffee and fresh juice. Cocktails and additional drinks are at your own expense. See the Itinerary for a sample menu.

Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
Not wheelchair accessible
Pickup and drop-off time will vary throughout the year depending on weather conditions

Infant seats available
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 4 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Marion_T

Fantastic experience. Khan was our falconer & guide. His expertise & knowledge was excellent. He was assisted with the birds by Mohamed who was also good. Khan made the experience a pleasure and highlight of our trip. He also was a great photographer! Highly recommend. A++++

Reviews

5.0

67 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 67 reviews

Best way to see the desert in Dubai

Soham_B, Mar 2024

Khan and Muhammad were awesome guides. From pickup point to breakfast and drop off, they not only taught us about the falcons but about Dubai in general. Interacting with the birds was awesome and they do a great job of capturing the experience. Highly recommend this unique opportunity?

Highlight of our trip!

Marion_T, Sep 2023

What an INCREDIBLE experience!

Steven_R, Apr 2023

This private tour was among the top 10 experiences of my entire life. Mohammed and his team were absolutely amazing professionals. Communication was outstanding. Hotel pickup was right on time. They had coffee and dates set out on a beautiful carpet in the desert reserve when I arrived. They explained everything about the 5 different birds of prey to me. I had the opportunity to fly, feed, pet and pose with each of the 5 birds all while they took professional quality photos and videos for me with my phone. This was simply the BEST. Thank you so much. I would do this tour again in a MINUTE!

Royal Shaheen Falcon Tour

Rick_B, Jan 2019

The Royal Shaheen Falconry Team was wonderful! We interacted with 5 different birds and learned alot about how the birds are trained. The whole environment of the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, a Beautiful Sunrise, and the Breakfast at the Al Maha Resort Hotel was top notch! The additional stop at the Falcon Museum was very educational as well. This is a "must do" if you visit Dubai!!

This was the most amazing...

tweily22, Aug 2017

This was the most amazing experience. When they say small-group it was just our group of four which made it a very special experience. Our falconer, Werner, was extermely informative. He picked us by from our accommodation and provided us with information about Dubai and the falcons all the way out to the Conservation Reserve. We had a brief stop before continuing to where falcons, barn owl and hawk were. It was a very pleasant expereince to be able to drink coffee and eat dates in such a wonderful environment. We learnt so much about the various birds and it was a real priviledge to be able to actually experience these birds up close. Having them land on the glove was unbelievable. It was really nice to see that the falconers and handlers are so passionate about these birds, they ensure the birds are enjoying what they are doing and that they are not being exploited or exposed. After we finished the falconry experience, Werner drove us around the reserve and pointed out the various animals and provided us with information about each of the various species. After another short stop we made our may back to our hotel. Once again Werner provided wonderful commentary and whilst it was a very early start it was well worth the lack of sleep. The time went so quickly but it was much an unbelievable experience. If you have the opportunity to this experience do it! Royal Shaheen are to be commended for this experience, it was so very well organised and it was a pleasure to meet Werner and to gain an understanding of the work he is doing in Dubai. We would recommend this tour to everyone, and if we get the opportunity to go back to Dubai we would do this tour again. Thanks Royal Shaheen and Werner for making this such a wonderful experience for our group. Special thanks to Dory, Tesla, Seeker, Sally and Dave - keep flying, you have all made a lasting impression and given us an acceptional experience which will stay with us for life. You deserve 10 stars!

This is a FANTASTIC experience that...

shazzy, Jul 2017

This is a FANTASTIC experience that MUST NOT be missed and is highly recommended. Werner and Rahim are experts in falconry who willingly shared their wisdom and enhanced our experience of flying 5 species of birds of pray. This was followed by a delicious breakfast in a luxury resort and a game drive through the desert. Thanks for a wonderful experience.

We were picked up on time from the...

WRashed, Jun 2017

We were picked up on time from the hotel. Our tour driver and guide and his assistant were both great. We had fun flying falcons, eagle and a large owl. The guide was very informative, helpful and funny. This tour was the highlight of our Dubai trip. Highly recommended.

Absolutely amazing!!! Seeing all the...

Sabrina W, Jun 2017

Absolutely amazing!!! Seeing all the different birds and learning the history and background of the birds was so neat. It started with an early pick-up at the hotel, because the heat can be too much for the birds. We went out to the sanctuary and on the way were able to see the hot air balloons going up. When we made it to the sanctuary, we were able to watch the sun fully rise over the dunes. So pretty!! After that, we went to the small camp and enjoyed dates and coffee while everything was set up. Then we got to meet each of the birds and see them fly and have them take food from us. My favourite was the owl but they were all gorgeous. After a nice length of time with the birds, we then went to a souk that specializes in everything falconry, including birds. That was so neat to see. Then it was back to the hotel. Overall an amazing experience!!!

My sister and I were the only tour...

Loretta S, Jul 2016

My sister and I were the only tour guests! We enjoyed handling the birds and it was very educational! Our guide from South Africa was very knowledgeable and patient! We also had breakfast at the resort! Stunning views and a great morning!

This experience was truly a...

J_Wack, Jan 2016

This experience was truly a privilege. Hendry, our guide was polite, accommodating, extremely knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor. I am not a bird person but after this experience I was in awe of these Birds of prey. Breakfast is sensational and an option that must be added. From start to finish this experience is first class. There has been a lot of effort and time put into making this day enjoyable and informative. I am not going into detail about the day because I think people need to experience this for themselves. On Behalf of myself and my wife we would love to thank Royal Shaheen for making our Dubai trip an enjoyable and a huge success. This is a must do!!

A Perfect day out in Dubai. Great...

mech_integration, Dec 2015

A Perfect day out in Dubai. Great service from Henry and a fabulous and memorable day with the amazing birds! The knowledge and expertise from the Royal Shaheen team was terrific. Absolutely a 'must do' while visiting Dubai!

There should be a sixth star for...

twcurtis, Oct 2015

There should be a sixth star for this experience! From the moment we were picked up at our hotel at 5am in a 4x4 with an eagle in the back, to the moment we were returned, we were treated to the most informative, enjoyable, and inspirational experience. This wasn't just a birds of prey experience, our guide was charming, informative, patient with our questions, took the time to ensure we saw the desert and surroundings through his eyes. Once we got to the 'event site' we were greeted by more birds of prey and the traditional half-filled cup of qahweh with sweet dates and then followed a most excellent bird of prey experience. We were privilidged to be able to have two owls fly between us and land on our gloved arms, demonstrations of traditional and modern training methods of falcons and ending up with being allowed to have an eagle - the chap that had travelled with us in the car - fly from a perch to our arms - awesome. Breakfast at Al Maha Desert Resort was very welcome, beautifully presented and served overlooking the desert and then all too soon we were courteously driven back to our hotel. This company specialise in small groups so that all are able to participate fully. Absolutely the best.

l' esperienza che un " cittadino " deve fare per arricchire il suo " essere " .

filippo_s, Jan 2022

il rapporto con il deserto , i suoi colori , i suoi rumori ; l'interazione con i rapaci ed il senso di " antico " e " tradizione " che ti trasmettono ; la colazione sulla terrazza del lodge , circondati da uccelli , antilopi e persi nell' infinito dell' orizzonte .