Al Gharbia A-Go-Go.

October 5, 2010 7:32 PM

Help me find a driver for the Al Gharbia region of the UAE and not get fleeced.

I've just arrived in Abu Dhabi and need to arrange for ongoing transportation into the Rub Al Khali desert, mostly near Liwa but also to even more remote areas. The tourist organizations all want upwards of $500/day for a driver to take me into the desert. Is this reasonable? Local agencies won't rent cars to self-drive into the desert for (what seem to be entirely justified) safety reasons. Any thoughts or recommendations? I mostly need someone long enough to tour around various accommodations and areas of Al Gharbia to stay in over the next ten days. (Also: Typing and responding from my phone, FYI.)

posted by mykescipark to Travel & Transportation (13 answers total)

Consider who you'd trust instead of how much you'd pay. The little I've been driven around there scares me enough, and that wasn't even summer. You're really going off into nowhere with someone you don't know behind the wheel, so you'd better find someone YOU know that knows someone trustworthy.
posted by dixon1e at 8:23 PM on October 5, 2010

Response by poster: Dixon: Very fine advice indeed. As of today, I know no one here. I am accepting recommendations from those who do, though :-)
posted by mykescipark at 8:29 PM on October 5, 2010

Eeek!!! Wellll... the company I was working with was European and they had the obligatory "fixer" on board who could do anything local. I even gave the dude my passport numerous times to "get things done" because even getting a SIM card requires your passport in teh UAE. I'll shoot an email out to Europe and see what I get back.
posted by dixon1e at 8:33 PM on October 5, 2010

Uh, one dumb question. You are male, aren't you? Otherwise I am not sending you to anyone out there ;)
posted by dixon1e at 8:35 PM on October 5, 2010

Response by poster: Heh. Yes, I am.
posted by mykescipark at 8:40 PM on October 5, 2010

Coo. My friend lived there for some time, will post his thoughts, though hopefully others can steer you faster.
posted by dixon1e at 8:46 PM on October 5, 2010

Hm. I'm in AbuDhabi. How soon do you need this? Let me ask people who are trustworthy. feel free to memail.
posted by bardophile at 2:28 AM on October 6, 2010

I've had a word with a friend of mine, he says he might know a few guys. Will you be based in Al Gharbia the whole time or driving out from the city every day? How off-road do you need to go? If it's just tracks and things like that then it'll be cheaper than real off-road driving where a 4x4 is needed.
posted by atrazine at 4:00 AM on October 6, 2010

Response by poster: No off-roading needed; we're going for an art project. The three of us will be staying out there (in Liwa and possibly another small town on the Oman border).
posted by mykescipark at 7:51 AM on October 6, 2010

mykescipark,

I know a guy who might be interested who knows the area, speaks Arabic, etc. I'll me-mail you his contact details later tonight and you guys can discuss your exact requirements.
posted by atrazine at 8:20 AM on October 6, 2010

So my colleague's experience was to go to the hotel in Liwa (there are only two, I didn't ask which one) and get them to arrange a driver for the desert work. This worked out very well and cost 500 Dhs for the day, so roughly 1/3 of that USD. Obviously you could negotiate for a multi-day thing. I am guessing that Liwa is the jumping off point for anyone doing desert work out there (we were doing utility stuff). Best of luck in your journey and maybe blog the art project, would be cool to see what you are doing.
posted by dixon1e at 10:51 AM on October 6, 2010

Sorry, I had an unexpected business trip and forgot all about this. Anyway the guy I was thinking of isn't available. Hope you have better luck finding someone!
posted by atrazine at 3:38 AM on October 12, 2010

Response by poster: No luck, but thank you all :-) We rented a 4x4 and did it ourselves!
posted by mykescipark at 1:26 PM on October 15, 2010 [1 favorite]