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I can’t say much about the surroundings of Shuweihat, since we went straight to the point to spent one night camping on the island. Well, to be frank, it was a terrible idea to do it during the last National Day week-end ! The place was crowded, maybe 400-500 cars on the island, most of them tourists and residents in UAE, and of course (of course ?!!) covered with garbages. We thought about heading out to find a quiet, clean and isolated place, but unfortunately we had to spend the night there because our friends were joining us in the next morning, and we wanted to keep for them the small spot we found on the sea. If you’re going on a Friday or Saturday, I think it’s wiser to follow Jeh’s recommandations : visit the Island, enjoy the beautiful creeks and the scenic views... and leave the place at the end of the day to camp anywhere else… However, if you have the possibility to go there during the week, it may be an excellent idea to settle on the island for a night or two. I will share here the nice area we found on the West side of the Island (my guess is that it can really be like heaven if you go outside the rush times). You can reach it with a simple SUV if you drive carefully, but definitely not with a sedan. Even if you are driving a 4x4, be careful once you reach the sea because the rock can be sharp. By the way, if you want to swim, don’t forget to take strong plastic sandals. Once you get on the Island, go straight on the track until you get close to the GSM antenna (yes, you have some network there), go left towards the hill and cross the fence (there a small gate in it), then follow the fence on your left hand and a few meters before the beach, turn right and find your way to your spot. Left a good news for the end : the speed limit Jeh was talking about has changed. Now, it’s 160 km/h after Abu Dhabi, which means that you can reach the Island in slightly more than 3 hours when you come from Dubai !

Hey guys, it was a pleasure meeting all of you! I had a lot of fun and learned something new, which was nice. I hope I can join soon for the next newbie drive!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can't thank you all enough. Firstly for deciding to join the early morning trip, for which everybody had to wake up early morning on a weekend. All made it to meeting point on time and departure was as scheduled. We drive at ease to the deflation point at which we had our Absolute Newbie lecture. We quickly deflated, set the radio frequencies for the new radios in the family, and fixed our flags. @Gaurav bhai was quick to assign convoy numbers and we were on our way. As usual we started with some easy dunes and slowly worked our way through some medium dune crossing. I was more than surprised to notice that everyone managed very well with hardly any refusals or stucks. We took a couple of breaks to introduce the newbies to some side sloping. These sessions were enjoyed by all. Our next stage took us to our shaded place to rest, share a whole lot of breakfast and drinks and share a few thoughts. Our last stage saw us climb the Fossil Rocks to the same disappointment of not being able to descend from it. Once again we went around the Fossil Rocks and headed out where the newbies were bid farewell and the more experienced team continued to have a quick paced drive for 30 minutes and depart just in time to catch Friday prayers, inflate and head back home. I would like to thank @Atif bhai for doing a brilliant job at being second lead. @Asif Hussain bhai and @skumar83 bhai for brilliant duties to keep the convoy moving. Special thanks to @Gaurav bhai for keeping an eagle eye on the complete convoy and time and again offering his expert advise, help and assistance to keep the convoy intact. I would also like to appreciate the very positive and enthusiastic approach from @Frederic Nuyttens, @jibransayed, @BIG T, @Rana, @Javier M, @ace1988, @Mujtaba and @Julien V Thanks for sharing your pics on the Gallery @Frederic Nuyttens, I have also shared my pics. Waiting for all to share their pics also. https://carnity.com/gallery/category/100-newbie-drive-kalbamaliha-7-dec-2018# All absolute newbie please share you thoughts here.

Al Ruwais is a town located some 240 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi city in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi Emirate. And almost 350kms from Dubai. Its a very long drive to Ruwais. After a few 100 km's from auh the roads narrow down to 2 lane and the road speed reduces to 80km/h. There are lots of radars on the way and all of them are working so be careful with your speed limits.The best way to spot the radars is to look out for large solar panels on the road as all the Radars are solar powered, almost all. The drive itself isn't scenic in spite of being a coastal road. But once you reach your destination itll be worth it. This off-road trip is meant only for people who like to run away from city and like to camp in the middle of nowhere. All the mentioned camping spots are completely isolated with no human contact for miles. The beaches are beautiful ,but don't have any waves maybe i was there during the wrong season. The temp was low at the beach where we camped in Sila. So if planning for a winter drive make sure to carry warm clothes. Shuwayhat Island is a scenic place for photography. Camping is not recommended on this island as it is visited by loc als and they usually don't welcome outsiders. Plus there's a military base nearby hence camping is really not advisable. Also people wanting to do night photography will have too much light pollution in this area. Its a good drive to go and explore the island and take some pics. Sila beach is long stretch of coastal road where you can camp anywhere and everywhere. The shore is quite far during low tide almost a kilometer away from the road. Onc can walk inside all the way if they want. People interested in bird photography will find lots of bird species in these mangroves. There's also a spot where you can spot 100's of flamingos. It was long and stressful drive if you don't have cruise control,but overall it was fun to get away from the city and sleep beneath the stars. Hope you guys enjoy it. Shuweihat Island, Location, Waypoints, Photos, Videos, Reviews and Feedback from the travellers who visited before.

Hello Handle'souter and inner and headlight it's better to get aftermarket as used one won't last (clear vision) And check for display you might get better then oem at the radio guys The steering wheel and a/c vents you can get used at sajja and or industrial area 6 just cross your fingers for how long they last

@Rahimdad hey bro i just got the email that you guys replied a while ago! If i knew I would have gladly joined. Next time for sure. Ill keep a look out on your next trip. See you guys soon

Yes it’s possible to sleep inside. And also you can very easily take the back seats offand use them outside the car. It’s a powerful and very reliable car, very capable off-roader, but not the most comfortable. You can have a look at this previous discussion on Carnity : https://carnity.com/topic/13309-any-tips-on-buying-a-used-xterra?tab=comments#comment-46886

I would go with Nissan Xterra with that budget. For sleeping inside i think @EmVarlet can answer if it is possible. It is powerful, easy to maintain and as i see from Emmanuel it is extreme reliable. Land Cruiser very good option but finding clean one is hard.

Forget about the last question. I've just looked it up and the price is way too high...

Bumping this old topic for knowing the possibility of "camping on shuweihat island" A lot of my friends and family have been asking about this, seems like a new great destination in UAE. @EmVarlet as you have been lately to the shuweihat island, can you please explain everything in full detail like the route, accessibility for car / 4x4, a possibility of doing camping on shuweihat island, how busy or empty it is during holiday season, nearby attractions or places to visit while going to shuweihat island etc.

Pajero. Drives well both on and off road. Even if you never go to the desert, it’s perfectly fine to drive on the road every day. If you do decide to hit the sand, it’s more than capable but the departure angle on the newer models can cause problems. Cheap too. You can pick up something decent for under 20k. The LC100 is nice but it’s a bit of a beast. It will cost more to run and it’s heavier than the pajero so it’s more of a challenge to learn to drive off-road in.