2026: Recognition at the Highest Level
No.1 in Middle East with Dubai To Abu Dhabi: Grand Mosque, Royal Palace & Etihad Tower secures Tripadvisor's 2026 Travelers' Choice Best of the Best listing.
Tripadvisor — Best of the Best Top Experiences, Middle East
The tour is a full-day experience showcasing some of the UAE capital’s most impressive landmarks, such as the magnificent Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the presidential palace Qasr Al Watan, and the iconic Etihad Towers, giving travellers a well-rounded introduction to Abu Dhabi’s architecture, culture, and modern cityscape.
Designed as an easy day trip from Dubai, the tour takes care of the logistics and allows visitors to experience Abu Dhabi without having to plan transport or organise each stop separately. It is a convenient option for first-time visitors who want to make the most of a limited stay in the UAE while seeing another side of the country beyond Dubai.
No. 2 in Middle East with Dubai: Old Town, Souks, Street Food, Guided Tour & Abra Ride
Tripadvisor — Best of the Best Top Experiences, United Arab Emirates
Old Dubai offers a glimpse into the city’s roots, long before its transformation into a global metropolis. The historic districts around Dubai Creek were once at the heart of trade, pearl diving, and everyday community life, and many of those influences can still be seen in the traditional architecture, bustling souks, and the continued use of abras to cross the water. Exploring this part of the city gives visitors valuable cultural context and a better understanding of how Dubai’s past has shaped the city it is today.
The two experiences reveal the breadth of OceanAir's current portfolio. The Abu Dhabi journey connects guests with the capital's major cultural and architectural landmarks, while the Old Dubai experience moves through Al Fahidi, traditional souks, local food and Dubai Creek.
The 2026 results place OceanAir's recognition across desert, city and inter-emirate experiences, a wider expression of UAE travel than the desert safaris that first brought the brand global attention.
THE WIDER AL SALAH HOLDING PORTFOLIO
Across the wider Al Salah Holding portfolio, 2026 recognition extends into desert heritage and Emirati hospitality.
Dubai Evening Heritage Safari by Vintage G Class Al Marmoom Oasis carries Travelers' Choice Best of the Best 2026 recognition and is ranked No. 6 among Top Experiences in the United Arab Emirates.
Tripadvisor — Dubai Evening Heritage Safari by Vintage G Class Al Marmoom Oasis
At Al Marmoom Oasis, the experience centres on heritage through a Vintage G-Class journey, camel caravan, traditional hospitality and a Bedouin-style evening, adding another interpretation of the UAE desert to the portfolio's recognised experiences.
In Dubai's Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, Al Khayma Heritage Restaurant has built its own record of international recognition.
In 2025, the restaurant's team received the MICHELIN Service Award, with MICHELIN highlighting the team's welcome, attentiveness and hospitality, recognising the service experience alongside the restaurant's established culinary credentials.
MICHELIN — Guide Ceremony Dubai 2025, Service Award
That award sits on top of a Bib Gourmand held in 2025, 2024 and 2023, and first awarded when the restaurant entered the inaugural MICHELIN Guide Dubai in 2022.
MICHELIN Guide — Al Khayma Heritage Restaurant 2025
MICHELIN Guide — Al Khayma Heritage Restaurant 2023
MICHELIN Guide — Dubai Bib Gourmand 2022
2022–2023: A DESERT PORTFOLIO ON THE WORLD STAGE
Before the Middle East rankings, OceanAir's recognition was global, and it came from the desert.
In 2023, Red Dunes ATV, Sandsurf, Camels, Stargazing & 5* BBQ placed No. 4 among Tripadvisor's Top Experiences in the World while also taking the No. 1 Bucket List Experience in the World position for 2023.
Tripadvisor — Best Travel Experiences in the World 2023
The year before, OceanAir had delivered two major results at once. Red Dunes Quad Bike, Sandsurf, Camels & BBQ at Al Khayma Camp from Dubai was ranked No. 2 among the Top 10 Experiences in the World in 2022, placing it second in Tripadvisor's overall worldwide list.
Tripadvisor — Best of the Best Things to Do 2022
The same year, Premium Red Dunes, Camel Safari & BBQ at Al Khayma Camp was named No. 1 Bucket List Experience in the World.
The two achievements captured OceanAir's position across two levels of Tripadvisor recognition: No. 2 in the overall worldwide Experiences ranking and No. 1 globally within the Bucket List Experiences category.
Together, 2022 and 2023 gave OceanAir's desert portfolio back-to-back world No. 1 positions in the Bucket List category, alongside consecutive appearances in Tripadvisor's broader global Top Experiences ranking.
2020: THE FIRST GLOBAL NO. 1
The record starts at the top.
In 2020, Premium Red Dunes & Camel Safari with BBQ at Al Khayma Camp was ranked No. 1 among Tripadvisor's Top Experiences in the World, at the summit of Tripadvisor and Viator's worldwide Experiences list, ahead of experiences in Florence, Amsterdam, Berlin and Dublin.
It was the overall global Experiences ranking, giving OceanAir's desert portfolio the No. 1 position worldwide. Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism recorded the same achievement as the world's No. 1 tourism experience.
Tripadvisor — Travelers' Choice Awards for Experiences 2020
Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism — Dubai Desert Safari Ranked World No. 1 Tourism Experience
Tripadvisor said its 2020 awards drew on reviews, opinions and popularity over the preceding year.
For OceanAir, that result established the desert as the opening chapter of an awards record that would go on to span several of Tripadvisor's most prominent global categories, and, six years later, the Middle East's leading positions.
BEYOND THE RANKINGS
OceanAir's awards history follows the growth of the experiences themselves.
In 2026, the leading positions belong to an inter-emirate journey and an Old Dubai cultural experience, with OceanAir occupying the top two places in the Middle East and the UAE. Behind them stand consecutive worldwide placements and back-to-back No. 1 Bucket List Experience in the World titles, and behind those, the desert safari that first took the world's No. 1 position.
Across Al Salah Holding, Al Marmoom Oasis and Al Khayma Heritage Restaurant add heritage and hospitality to that wider story of recognition.
More than 5.3 million guests since 2010 provide the scale behind those awards. The rankings add another dimension: they show how traveller response has followed OceanAir as its portfolio has grown across the UAE.
The latest number is one. So was the first. Six years apart, OceanAir holds No. 1 at the top of the Middle East, with a portfolio that connects the desert, the city and the wider story of the Emirates.
