45 of 57 places fit
One of the oldest and largest forts in the country, dating to the 16th century, on a rocky hill against the mountains.
Where the Sharjah-Kalba road meets the sea you get the Al Qurm mangroves, with Arabian collared kingfishers and turtles, and a quiet corniche, about an hour from Sharjah.
Dunes give way to craggy mountains, a long tunnel and a steep drop to the sea at Kalba, about 90 minutes from Dubai.
An 18th-century fort guarding Wadi Ham, once the main route from the coast to the interior, restored between 2008 and 2012.
A short paved detour off the main road into a rocky Hajar valley with a dam, barbecue spots and lay-bys looking along the ridge lines.
A mountain heritage village with a fort ruin about three centuries old and rock carvings of horses and camels, minutes from Al Rafisah Dam.
Sharjah's old east coast stronghold, restored in 2019 as a museum on Khor Fakkan's history, a short walk from the bay.
A rock islet ringed by coral just off Al Aqah beach, close enough that confident swimmers snorkel out from the sand.
A straightforward run on the E611 and E84 through dunes and mountains to a long seafront with fish lunches and an easy beach walk.
A paved road through the Hajar between Masafi and Dibba with wide mountain views and almost no traffic.
An 89 km road through five tunnels cuts the trip to the east coast to about 45 minutes from Sharjah, with purpose-built rest stops in the mountains.
Mountain tunnels one way and the coast road home, with a bay-side coffee in Khor Fakkan in between, all in a day.
Thirty rebuilt mud, stone and barasti buildings, watchtowers from the 1880s and a falaj-fed palm farm, free to wander in the Hajar.
The UAE's highest hilltop fort, rebuilt after 1819, looks over palm groves and the sea from the top of a steep stair.
Built in 1768 as the seat of government, it now holds finds from the Ed-Dur archaeological site.
The road squeezes between the Hajar and the Gulf of Oman, passing the small four-domed Al Bidya Mosque and the Al Aqah beaches on the way to Dibba.
A late 18th-century fort that served as the ruler's palace and later a police station, with its wind towers and watchtowers kept.
Two rows of 1970s houses and a mosque half swallowed by red sand, free to walk through, about an hour from Dubai.
A public garden built around the Hili Grand Tomb, a 4,000-year-old ring of carved stone 12 metres across.
Quieter than the big oasis, with a 1930s souq, a mud-brick tower turned arts centre and a 4,000-year-old tomb on its edge.
The square fort where Sheikh Khalifa was born, with a glass exhibition hall inside the courtyard and a 21,000-palm oasis behind it.
Four reclaimed islands on a causeway with a 2 km waterfront promenade on Breeze Island and long beaches lined with resorts.
Lawns and warm spring water at the bottom of the Jebel Hafeet road, a natural place to end the drive.
A small garden island in Khalid Lagoon with a climate-controlled Butterfly House and outdoor art pieces like OVO and Torus.
The ruling family's old fort stands in the middle of the restored Heart of Sharjah, with a weapons gallery and displays on the town's history.
Man-made lakes in the dunes 40 minutes from the city, with flamingos and swans, reached on tarmac in any car.
Dubai's own mountain enclave about 90 minutes away, with a turquoise dam you can kayak and a hilltop sign walk, all on good tarmac.
A nine-kilometre strip along the mountain's foot with over 500 Bronze Age beehive tombs and gravel tracks between them.
The country's oldest museum reopened in October 2025 around the 1910 Sultan Fort, with Bronze Age gold from the Qattara tomb inside.
Shaded lanes run through 1,200 hectares of date palms watered by falaj channels that still work after 3,000 years.
An 1890s mud-brick fort with a room of Wilfred Thesiger's Empty Quarter photographs, set in a park you can picnic in.
After the Oman border north of Ras Al Khaimah the road runs about 40 km along cliffs dropping straight into the sea, to the dhow harbour at Khasab.
A 2 km boardwalk floats just over the mangroves, where herons and turtles show up at high tide.
A mangrove island with traditional Emirati buildings that hosts light-art shows like Manar Abu Dhabi in winter.
A 2017 fort built in the old style next to the historic Hosn Al Sirra, with an exhibition on Al Dhafra's customs and history.
The watchtower inside goes back to the late 18th century, making it the oldest stone building in the city.
Eight kilometres of palm-lined road between the sea and the towers, from Mina Zayed past Etihad Towers to Emirates Palace.
Fifteen minutes from downtown, with cycling and running tracks, a surf pool and the food-stall waterfront at Marsana.
A straight run west on the E11 ends at Mirfa Beach, the region's only developed public beach and rarely busy.
The paved spur from Hameem winds between tall red dunes to a fort-style resort, so you get the deep-desert scenery without leaving tarmac.
A lit dual carriageway strings together about 100 km of date-farm villages with dunes rising straight off the hard shoulder.
A rocky headland past Ruwais where the beach faces Sir Bani Yas, and the jetty for the island boats is right there.
A pearling island inhabited for 7,000 years, with a museum in a pearl merchant's house and three old mosques.
Half the island is a wildlife park where oryx, gazelle and cheetah roam, and the ruins of a 7th-century monastery sit in the scrub.
The last town before the Saudi border, with an empty beach and locals fishing off the shore.