4 of 12 places fit
Man-made lakes in the dunes 40 minutes from the city, with flamingos and swans, reached on tarmac in any car.
Two rows of 1970s houses and a mosque half swallowed by red sand, free to walk through, about an hour from Dubai.
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.