48 hours in the Liwa desert: arrival at a desert camp, a full day and night in the dunes, several hours of true solitude, and a guided return.
Group capped at 4 participants.
9,000 AED per participant
Some part of you is quietly waiting to feel recentered, clear, and reconnected to what actually matters. Every leader who ends up here fits one of two profiles: someone who’s just come through an intense stretch and needs to let the pressure go, or someone about to enter one and wants clarity before the storm hits. Either way, 48 hours in the desert gives you back exactly that: extended stillness measurably lowers physiological arousal, heart rate and stress markers drop, attention sharpens, and you’re face-to-face with who you are without the noise.
People don’t need more information. They need the right environment.
A 48-hour shift doesn’t hold on its own. The four follow-up calls are what make it stick.
Most participants arrive with one of these intentions:
1. Qualify. A short call to confirm this is the right experience, at the right time, for you and for the small group you will be sharing it with.
2. Immerse. 48 hours in the Liwa desert: a walk into the dunes, a night under an open sky, several hours of true solitude, and a guided return to camp.
3. Integrate. A structured follow-up after the journey, so what you found in the desert follows you into daily life.
Phones go off, talking drops to nothing, and you walk into the dunes. By evening you reach camp and close the day with a short reflection under the stars. You sleep out in the open desert.
You wake before sunrise for a walk and a guided meditation. Then several hours entirely alone: no phone, nothing scheduled. The group reunites mid-morning and walks back together.
The day ends at a Bedouin camp on the edge of the Empty Quarter, for a debrief before dinner. One night of true wild, one night of true comfort.
Meeting point: confirmed on the pre-journey call, with transport from Abu Dhabi arranged for you
Bring: desert clothing and broken-in footwear. All technical and safety gear is provided, and a full packing list follows two weeks before.
Phones are collected after the Day 1 briefing and returned at the end of Day 2.
Time in nature away from constant input lowers stress reactivity and quiets the mind’s background noise (Frontiers in Psychology, 2019). Shared physical effort in a small group builds real trust faster than any networking event.
All our guides are Wilderness First Responders, trained to rescue people in remote areas, and are Leave No Trace certified, ensuring complete respect of the land.
Four calls over 90 days, opening with the Bring it Back (BIB) practice, to keep your motivation high, deepen the shift, and help each other integrate this new quality of life.
We create the conditions for change through nature; we’re not the ones doing the changing.
All our guides are Wilderness First Responders, trained to rescue people in remote areas, and are Leave No Trace certified, ensuring complete respect of the land.
Arno Gazo, founder & guide. Arno stepped out of a CEO seat once he realized success alone wasn’t enough, and built Away Expedition to give other leaders a faster way back to themselves. Featured in HBS Blog for his work on rethinking the linear life model.
“My role isn’t to challenge you. My role is to build the conditions where you challenge yourself, and to make sure those conditions are both demanding and safe.”
Sarah is the photographer and filmmaker behind the images on this page, based in Château-d’Oex in the Swiss Alps, known for her work with independent, nature-rooted businesses. She will be capturing the real camp, the real guides, and the real light of this journey, so future versions of this page can retire the placeholders for the real thing.
“No words are enough to describe the experience. It’s magnificent and fabulous. And in the silence, many things of the past were also presented to me. I smiled. It came up to be healed on another level.”
“If you listen to the desert, the desert whispered very loudly the question that you may ask yourself. I surrendered, and it was a beautiful three hours left because I didn’t do anything. Best meditation ever.”
“Climbing the dune, you slip a little with every step. Two steps forward, one back. It’s long, it’s hot, and you’re happy when you reach the top. It becomes a metaphor for life. In the desert, you walk where you want. There’s real freedom in that.”
“There is nothing to hide in the desert. You face yourself directly, and I felt I needed that. I feel like I’ve lived a full month of experience in 24 hours.”
You don’t need to be tougher. You need 48 hours of quiet in a natural environment, held by people who know exactly how to bring you there.
Every journey is capped at 4 people, and applications are reviewed individually.
The guide makes the call on the ground and adjusts the plan to conditions.
All guides are certified Wilderness First Responders, trained for remote-area emergencies, with a backup team nearby throughout. You must be free of any medical condition that could be risky far from medical facilities. If a genuine emergency requires early departure, the journey coordinator manages the extraction, and your 90-day integration continues as planned.
A 50% deposit secures your spot. Cancel 30+ days out and the deposit is kept; less than 30 days out, the full fee is due, unless you transfer to a future date at no cost by notifying us at least 14 days ahead. If Away Expedition cancels or postpones for low enrollment, you are fully refunded within 7 business days.
Mostly personal clothing and shoes. Away Expedition provides most equipment, and you will complete an equipment checklist before departure.
No, electronics are not permitted and are returned afterward. Communication is limited to technical questions and emergencies.
Four 60-minute integration calls follow: the week after, one week later, one month later, and at 90 days. Exact dates are confirmed in writing beforehand.
Yes. Anything shared during the journey, debrief, or integration calls stays private between participants. Testimonials are recorded and published only with your knowledge; you can opt out beforehand.
Yes, a 30-minute video call confirms it is the right fit and helps prepare you.
