Quad bike across the Red Sands

Rev your engine hard as you climb up, down and around large dunes of brick-red sand just southwest of the capital, near the settlement of Al Awsat. The Tuwaiq Mountains provide an atmospheric backdrop to the place known simply as the Red Sands, where you’ll be joined by hundreds of Riyadhians looking for a weekend desert escape. Most will scale the tall red dunes in their 4x4s or race each other on rented quad bikes. Others will arrive towards the latter part of the evening, when the light has faded and the heat of the day is no more. We suggest brewing a pot of kawa (local coffee) on the embers of a barbecue, before reclining beneath the stars. The Red Sands are 40 minutes from the city centre by car.