{"id":1029,"date":"2017-06-03T07:08:55","date_gmt":"2017-06-03T07:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/adrenaline-in-the-desert\/"},"modified":"2022-08-08T23:24:20","modified_gmt":"2022-08-08T23:24:20","slug":"adrenaline-in-the-desert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/adrenaline-in-the-desert\/","title":{"rendered":"Adrenaline in the Desert"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you have a need for speed? If you like the feel of your foot to the floor and the wind in your hair, Abu Dhabi and Dubai should be at the top of your bucket list.<\/p>\n

Cities in the United Arab Emirates are usually synonymous with more sedate luxury experiences \u2013\u00a0super sized shopping centres, opulent hotels, sprawling day spas \u2013\u00a0but there\u2019s a new wave of adventure activities that will have you on the edge of your seat. Here\u2019s our favourite adrenaline-inducing activities:<\/p>\n

Clock up some speed at the Circuit<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re a Formula One fan, this is the one thing that should be on your bucket list. Once a year the Yas Marina Circuit<\/a> hosts the real deal, with the Formula One race bringing in thousands of visitors to watch the cars race around the track, but the rest of the year, you can have your own F1 experience. This is one of the only places in the world where you can take a Formula One car out on a Formula One track. Formula Yas 3000 race cars have a 3000cc V6 engine, and you\u2019ll clock up some serious speed in them. Drivers are kitted out\u00a0in racing gear, taken through safety and technical briefings and led out on the track with a professional driver in a lead car. You\u2019ll be feeling those G Forces around the track\u2019s famous corners, and go under the Viceroy hotel straddling the track, for around 20 minutes of pure adrenaline. Learning how to handle the car is part of the fun, as is watching the professional driver in front of you take the turns with incredible skill. If\u00a0the F1 is not your style, the Circuit also has track days with Aston Martins, Jaguars, Ferraris and Supersport SSTs.<\/p>\n

The world\u2019s best theme park<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re after a more controlled thrill, but are still a car fanatic, just down the road from the Yas Marina Circuit is Ferrari World<\/a>. That\u2019s right, a theme park dedicated to Italy\u2019s fast and furious sports car. The indoor theme park is open year round, and is located inside the biggest space frame structure in the world. It\u2019s huge \u2013 there are roller coasters, driving simulators, go cart tracks, museums, stores, restaurants, kids areas, and plenty of Ferraris inside. Make a beeline for the Formula Rossa roller coaster, which hurtles you around at 240km\/hr and lets you experience the same G force as an F1 car, before testing out your skills on a driving simulator.<\/p>\n

Ride the sand dunes<\/h2>\n

A safari is perhaps the wrong way to describe the experience of slipping and sliding down the face of a steep Arabian sand dune. You\u2019ll skirt along the edge, slide down the sides and rev up to the top of the spectacular sand dunes in a four wheel drive \u2013 it\u2019s not for those with a weak stomach, but it\u2019s certainly a lot of fun. There are plenty of sand dune safari tours<\/a> that depart from Dubai, most taking place in the late afternoon, ending at a traditional Bedouin camp for an Arabian meal. If you\u2019re thinking of booking into a few different experiences, it\u2019s worth investing in the iVenture Card<\/a>. Pre-loaded with tickets for a host of different attractions, the cards often let you skip the queue, have special discounts and mean you don\u2019t need to deal with the hassle paying with cash or card. There are premium experiences that cost extra, like helicopter rides and limo transfers, but there\u2019s plenty of included activities to keep you busy.<\/p>\n

Take The Leap of Faith<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s not surprising in a city that likes to make a splash that there\u2019s a theme park with a water slide passing through a shark tank. Aquaventure at Atlantis The Palm hotel\u2019s famous ride is called The Leap of Faith for a reason. An almost vertical drop down nine metres, shooting through a clear acrylic tube, passing right through a shark tank, is not for the faint-hearted. Sitting at the top of the Tower of Poseidon, the ride is the crowning glory of the park, you\u2019ll occasionally hear the shrieks of its passengers on their way down. Don\u2019t worry, it\u2019s quick and pain free, so try to keep your eyes open for the shark spotting if you give it a go. Admission to Aquaventure is also included in the iVenture Card.<\/p>\n

\"Aquaventure<\/p>\n

Sky diving, sort of.<\/h2>\n

If you want to ease your way into jumping out of a plane, the iVenture Card includes access to iFly, an indoor sky diving experience that will see you floating, rather than falling, through the air. A massive vertical wind tunnel will become your playground \u2013 pros can flip, twirl and plunge through the air, but most first timers get a taste of moving up and down more than three metres through the air.<\/p>\n

All the way At the Top<\/h2>\n

Want to be on top of the world? Burj Khalifa is the tallest tower in the world, and has the ultimate birds eye view of the city. Cars will look like tiny ants when you look down on the streets from At the Top, the observation deck on the 124th<\/sup> floor. This might not sound scary, but the open air terrace\u2019s glass walls don\u2019t seem that thick when you\u2019re peering down below. Hold onto your camera if you\u2019re brave enough to push it through the eye-level gaps that look out to open air. Remember to pre-book your tickets online, as the timed entrance sessions sell out.<\/p>\n

Not enough? There\u2019s also parasailing, skiing and even shark diving to keep you occupied!<\/p>\n

Try Dinner in the Sky<\/h2>\n

Feel like tackling your fear of heights while enjoying a three course meal? Dinner in the Sky UAE<\/a> suspends 22 diners 55 metres above the ground from the Dubai International Marine Club. Strapped in and suspended above ground, with your feet floating, you\u2019ll get to enjoy the view on your 360 degree swivel chair, if you dare, if not, make the most of your meal and try not to look down!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you have a need for speed? If you like the feel of your foot to the floor and the wind in your hair, Abu Dhabi and Dubai should be at the top of your bucket list. Cities in the United Arab Emirates are usually synonymous with more sedate luxury experiences \u2013\u00a0super sized shopping centres,… Continue reading Adrenaline in the Desert<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,14],"tags":[212,210],"authors":[],"class_list":["post-1029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventure","category-interests","tag-abu-dhabi","tag-dubai","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAdrenaline in the Desert - Expedia AU Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/adrenaline-in-the-desert\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Adrenaline in the Desert - Expedia AU Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Do you have a need for speed? If you like the feel of your foot to the floor and the wind in your hair, Abu Dhabi and Dubai should be at the top of your bucket list. Cities in the United Arab Emirates are usually synonymous with more sedate luxury experiences \u2013\u00a0super sized shopping centres,… Continue reading Adrenaline in the Desert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/adrenaline-in-the-desert\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Expedia AU Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-06-03T07:08:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-08T23:24:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/14745_19_HT_1280x960.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jamie McNeely\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jamie McNeely\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/adrenaline-in-the-desert\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/adrenaline-in-the-desert\/\",\"name\":\"Adrenaline in the Desert - Expedia AU Stories\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-03T07:08:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-08T23:24:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/7c3ff1d241163ecf78de48671f1787ce\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/adrenaline-in-the-desert\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/adrenaline-in-the-desert\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/adrenaline-in-the-desert\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Explore\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Interests\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/interests\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Adventure\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/interests\/adventure\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Adrenaline in the Desert\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/\",\"name\":\"Expedia AU Stories\",\"description\":\"Just another WordPress site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/7c3ff1d241163ecf78de48671f1787ce\",\"name\":\"Jamie McNeely\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c6c5fcb9612549bc286e9121c24dc652?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c6c5fcb9612549bc286e9121c24dc652?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jamie McNeely\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.waveinteractive.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/author\/jamie-mcneely\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Adrenaline in the Desert - Expedia AU Stories","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/adrenaline-in-the-desert\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Adrenaline in the Desert - Expedia AU Stories","og_description":"Do you have a need for speed? If you like the feel of your foot to the floor and the wind in your hair, Abu Dhabi and Dubai should be at the top of your bucket list. Cities in the United Arab Emirates are usually synonymous with more sedate luxury experiences \u2013\u00a0super sized shopping centres,… Continue reading Adrenaline in the Desert","og_url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/adrenaline-in-the-desert\/","og_site_name":"Expedia AU Stories","article_published_time":"2017-06-03T07:08:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-08-08T23:24:20+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":960,"url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/14745_19_HT_1280x960.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jamie McNeely","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jamie McNeely","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/adrenaline-in-the-desert\/","url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/adrenaline-in-the-desert\/","name":"Adrenaline in the Desert - Expedia AU Stories","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-06-03T07:08:55+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-08T23:24:20+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/7c3ff1d241163ecf78de48671f1787ce"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/adrenaline-in-the-desert\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/adrenaline-in-the-desert\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/adrenaline-in-the-desert\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Explore","item":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Interests","item":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/interests\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Adventure","item":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/interests\/adventure\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Adrenaline in the Desert"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/","name":"Expedia AU Stories","description":"Just another WordPress site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/7c3ff1d241163ecf78de48671f1787ce","name":"Jamie McNeely","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c6c5fcb9612549bc286e9121c24dc652?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c6c5fcb9612549bc286e9121c24dc652?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jamie McNeely"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.waveinteractive.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/author\/jamie-mcneely\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1029"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1029"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3201,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1029\/revisions\/3201"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1029"},{"taxonomy":"authors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/authors?post=1029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}