Long weekend road trips that make the most of cooler UAE weather
Five scenic drives, the best bits en route, and where to park up for a view this Eid Al Etihad long weekend
The best kind of National Day weekend is the one that takes you outside. With temperatures finally playing nice, this is your cue to swap mall miles for real miles and plan a mini adventure. Consider sunrise trails, coastal drives, picnic stops with a view, and the sort of easy day trips that feel like a holiday without the airport.
Dubai to Jebel Jais (Ras Al Khaimah)
Sunset at Jabal Jais mountain in the United Arab Emirates
Point the car north and let the city fall away. Once you hit RAK, the road begins to ribbon into the mountains, and the temperature drops a few precious degrees. The Jebel Jais mountain road is the star: smooth switchbacks, dramatic vistas, and photo stops that make you feel a world away from emails. Aim for golden hour at the viewing deck, warm layers in the boot, and a slow roll back down with the windows cracked to let in that crisp air.
Sharjah to Khorfakkan via the mountain tunnel
Khorfakkan
This is a drive built for a good time. Leave the suburbs, cut through the mountains on the Sharjah–Khorfakkan Road, and pop out to emerald water and terraced rock. Pull over at Al Rafisah Dam for a stroll along the promenade, then drift into Khorfakkan for a bay-side coffee and a wander near the amphitheatre. If the sea is behaving, carry on to Snoopy Island for a barefoot pause before looping home along the coast.
Dubai to Hatta (Hajar foothills)
The E44 is your friend here with its long, open stretches, rugged views, and that moment the mountains arrive all at once. Hatta is a perfect park-and-exhale stop, sit by the Hatta Dam, paddle if you fancy, or just watch the water change colour as clouds move. Grab a bite at a local café and take the quieter back roads out for a different angle on the return. It is the kind of trip that resets your shoulders without trying too hard.
Abu Dhabi to Al Ain and up Jebel Hafeet
Cruise the E22 towards the Garden City, and you will see the sand soften into green. Roll slowly through the Al Ain Oasis precinct, then point the bonnet up Jebel Hafeet for one of the region’s classic hill drives. It is sweepers, sky, and that end-of-day glow across wide horizons. Drop back to Green Mubazzarah for a lawn sit-down and a hot drink before the easy glide home.
Dubai to Fujairah corniche (east coast arc)
Head east on the E611 to E84 and watch the landscape trade beige for blue. The payoff is a long coastal pull with the Hajar mountains on one side and the Gulf of Oman on the other. Park along the Fujairah corniche for a simple fish lunch, take a beach walk, and drive the waterfront with the windows down. On the way back, duck inland for a quick mountain detour if traffic is kind.
How to make it feel like a “proper” road trip
Leave early, pack light, and give yourself a generous buffer at each stop so you are never racing the clock. The cooler weather is the invitation: drive with the AC off for a stretch, cue a playlist, and let conversations go long between landmarks. Keep a light layer handy for mountain stops, a thermos for viewpoint coffees, and a spare battery pack for phones that will be working overtime on photos. Fuel up before you hit the rural stretches and check marine and mountain advisories if you are planning a seaside pause or a high-altitude sunset.
Where to pull over, just because
Love Lake and Al Qudra for an easy, near-city leg-stretch on the way to anywhere west.
Wadi Shawka lay-bys for quick ridge-line views between RAK and the interior.
Kalba mangroves for a calm boardwalk wander on the Sharjah–east coast run.
The point this weekend is not to tick boxes. It is to enjoy the open road while the weather is on your side, to collect a few unscripted stops, and to come home with a car that smells faintly of mountain air and a camera roll full of horizons. Pick your direction, throw the sunnies on the dash, and go.
