Badawï Trail to the Last Oasis 2026

Scrutineering and Documentation sessions will take place during Friday afternoon before crews join together to look forward to an unforgettable trip of some 8000kms of driving of Badawï motoring during the Welcome Dinner.

We exit the city and then a 55km run down the beach/ shore of the Red Sea, before connecting over a sand section of 5 kms to the main highway south. It runs down the quiet highway for 120kms before turning inland and encounters increasingly interesting roads as it climbs for 100 kms toward a climb to the top of the rift valley; and we continue our way to the overnight halt in Abha which is at over 2,250m above sea level and known to the Saudis as The Bride of the Mountain with its number of Hilltop fortresses.

Today’s route will see us mainly traversing the Sarawat and Hijaz mountains with some awesome driving roads as we head north towards Taif along the edge of the escarpment for 100 km through pretty villages and scenery on an undulating twisty road, we bypass the city of Taif itself to reach the hotel on the Riyadh side of town

The same theme continues with our next days route staying at altitude as we continue to head north to the cradle of Islamic Culture being one of the oldest and most important places in Islamic history. Madinah - the resting place of the prophet (PBUH) which, bar the central Haram area, has only recently opened to infidels!

A shorter day sees us leave Madinah and head west over the mountains before descending to the coastal city of Yanbu formally the staging post for the spice and incense trade but now is an important shipping terminal for the countries oil production. However, the natural harbour is protected and offers untouched coral reefs which are excellent for diving.

Yanbu being the second largest city on the Red Sea after Jeddah it will see crews be able to enjoy the luxury of a coastline hotel

The route sees us heads inland leaving the city but then climbs and sweeps through rolling hills until we eventually approach Al Ula from the south and we see some awesome sights of earlier civilisations combined with modern changes and improvements to what is one of the highlights of the trip and with the next day being the first non-driving day crews will be able to enjoy all Al Ula has to offer

History, Geography, Petrography, Archaeology, Culture, Tranquillity - check your levels, tyre pressures, torques and get out to enjoy a spectacular and varied day ticking the various features off your bucket list. Elephant Rock, the Rainbow Rock (Arch), the Nabatean tombs (like Petra), Hijaz Railway Museum, Petroglyphs plus many more. There are balloon trips, flights, cycling routes and conducted tours for the more adventurous.

We leave Al Ula and continue our route north we hope to enable a photo opportunity at the Mushroom Rock as we did in 2023. Our route will then take us into some serious scenery into a valley of Mesas and “Cathedral-like” massifs, Monument Valley of the Middle East. Turning north, there is a short but extreme ascent to regain the heights.

The road then turns onto a plateau resembling driving on Mars. Very remote, undulating and twisting through fields of black volcanic rock before we finally drop to the cost of the Red Sea once again to arrive at Duba, described by the residents as the Pearl of the Red Sea.

Today sees us move inland from the Red Sea coastline and heads across the hills and deserts with some great driving roads and then on to Tabuk, effectively, the gateway to the Arabian Peninsula. Tabuk has strong associations with the Hijaz railway built by the Turks to ferry pilgrims to Mecca, but largely destroyed during the Arab revolt and never resurrected.

The route today is a long day which will help in the distances of the following two days as we head to Riyadh and then onto UAE , Ha’il was one of the main routes of the Hijaz railway and its over looked by the As-Samara mountain  This is where Hatim al-Tai in the 6^th century lit a fire on the summit to welcome guests. Today an asphalt road leads to the summit where a natural gas-powered fire is lit at night

This is inevitably another relatively long day as we head to the capital of Saudi Arabia we pass through Buraidah.

It is known for its dates festival which is the biggest in the world with extensive variety of dates. It has been called the city of dates. We will continue traversing the main highway and as soon as you know it you are in Riyadh!

A “transit” day takes the route to the UAE border and a shortish drive after the border to the hotel on the shores of the Gulf. Where we arrive at the town of Al Dhannah built to accommodate the staff and infrastructure for ADNOC.

Once a small fishing headland from which a handful of people scratched a seasonal living, Al Dhannah today is one of the most modern industrial complexes in the Middle east as in 2023 and the chance to enjoy a cold beer!

The route heads inland and into classic sand desert. The golden dunes gradually increase in size as the Liwa Oasis draws closer. The verdant green oasis, a 100km crescent in the dunes contrasts markedly with the barren, yet beautiful landscape that is the gateway to the Rhub Al Khali (Empty Quarter) a virtually unbroken expanse of sand desert that stretches across the peninsula to the Yemeni border.

A short diversion to Tal Morib (The Hill of Terror) takes in a wonderful drive through seriously big dunes, often favoured by Clarkson and Co to blow the cobwebs out of a variety of exotic machinery. With luck, some local sand driving heroes may be encountered and some entertainment in the sand, before heading to the hotel for sundowners.

The route makes for the UAE/Saudi/Omani border and then heads north to the oasis, garden city of Al Ain, the second city of Abu Dhabi to which the locals migrated every summer to live on dates and escape the heat and humidity of their coastal fishing and pearling haunts. The day ends with a blast up Jebel Hafeet, at 1500m, an impressive contrast to the largely flat surrounding terrain.

The route crosses into the Sultanate of Oman as it leaves Al Ain and weaves its way through and along the Hajjar mountains that run from the Straits of Hormuz and shadow the shores of the Arabian Sea to Muscat, and beyond with some excellent driving roads and sections before our arrival in Muscat.

The Sultanate of Oman has a rich history, with strong Portuguese influences having, pre-Suez Canal, been a strategic location on the trade routes with the Far East. It has very close connections to Zanzibar and the culture of the Omanis differs distinctly to that of the Arabs of the Gulf States, dress, language and culture.

The route today sees a circular route heading down to the southern city of Sur on the coast and then heads into the mountains with some testing competition using the area crews enjoyed in 2023, we then arrive back in Muscat for an evening of entertainment with our friends of the Oman Automobile Association.

Our wonderful beach side hotel will allow crews to enjoy a restful day in the capital city of Oman or enjoy a day sightseeing the cities rich history from the previous centuries with Portuguese and numerous other influences.

The next two days route see us head off into new territory for the Badawi event we head into the Jebel Akdhar mountain range with scenery that will never cease to amaze before we arrive at  the overnight  halt is in the balmy cool heights of the mountain retreat of Jebel Akhdar which stands at 3,000m.

Jebel Akhdar Mountains is famous for its labyrinth of wadis and terraced orchards, where pomegranates, apricots, and roses grow in abundance due to its mild Mediterranean climate.

Leaving Muscat, we head north taking in some of the driving roads popular with crews in 2023 with the end of day border crossing back into UAE to allow us more time on the last two days to enjoy the routes in UAE which our route planner John Spiller has been designing for the 30 plus years

Our decision to transit into UAE for the start of the penultimate day give us extra time in the region to sample routes used on the Mille Miglia as well as routes and sections from the numerous events held both on road and off road in this area before we arrive at our beach front hotel for the last night of this great Trans-Arabian adventure.

Some more mountain driving in the Northern Emirates of Fujeirah, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah culminating with another impressive climb to 2,000 m up Jebel Jais where the bold, leaving their respective team mate to descend the mountain alone, can take the world’s longest zip line to the be reunited with their partner at a somewhat lower altitude.

Finally, the run down the coast to Dubai and a well-deserved finale dinner and Maasalama to all.