Depart your Dubai hotel by 9am in an air-conditioned vehicle, and follow the UAE’s desert highways south to the capital, Abu Dhabi. As you travel, listen as your guide tells tales about your destination , including how it stands on an island and grew rapidly after the discovery of oil in the 1950s. Visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, one of the world’s largest mosques, and capable of holding 40,000 worshippers. Admire the lavish prayer hall and exquisite white marble courtyards, dotted with reflective pools.

Continue into the center to the Heritage Village, home to a replica oasis village, souk, and Bedouin tents. Explore this outdoor museum independently, seeing its craft demonstrations and other displays that illustrate life here before the oil boom. Stop for a tasty lunch during your tour

Drive along the Corniche waterfront to take in stellar panoramas of the city skyline. Pause for photos outside the Emirates Palace, one of the world’s most luxurious hotels

In last visit Yas Island, Abu Dhabi’s entertainment hub. A stop for at Yas Mall and the iconic Ferrari World, the planet’s biggest indoor theme park, before your tour concludes with a Dubai hotel drop-off.