When visiting the Scottsdale or Phoenix area, this is an exciting off-road/racing styled adventure in Arizona's Sonoran Desert you won't want to miss! With a guide, drive through some of the finest off-road trails, washes, and hillsides aboard a sand buggy for an adrenaline-filled adventure.

Drive a desert car off-road in the Sonoran Desert
Enjoy the beautiful desert scenery and look out for wildlife
Convenient meet-up location near Scottsdale
Guide handle navigation so you can relax

What's Included

U-Drive ATV Tour
Safety equipment including goggles and helmet
Bottled water

Gratuities
Hotel pick up and drop-off
Food and drinks, unless specified

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting points

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End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Not far from Scottsdale, Arizona, have fun on desert trails as you drive your own ATV with an experienced guide along for the ride, with key advice and top-notch instruction in this fun and safe excursion.

Outfitted with goggles and a helmet, make your way along sandy washes and rocky creek beds, eventually crossing ridge lines for a bird’s eye view of the Sonoran Desert. Drive a "C2" Desert car, which is a 2-seat vehicle with a roll cage and seatbelts.

Important Note: Each booking must have 2 people.

Tonto National Forest

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 5 days of travel. In this case confirmation will be received within 48 hours, subject to availability
Minimum numbers apply. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there is not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund
Minimum age for drivers is 16 years
2 people per buggy
Not wheelchair accessible
Not recommended for travelers with back problems

Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Weight restriction per buggy is 400 pounds
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 2 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

JanaLee_B

We had a great guide. He explained every thing we needed to do. He was very knowledgeable about the desert and tried to point out wild life. The scenery was beautiful. We even had some rain. All-in-all a great experience. Warning-very dusty! The helmets had visors but our sunglasses were coated on the inside! My son and husband wearing contacts had some trouble. I'd recommend the foam lined glasses to keep the dust out. Great experience!

Reviews

4.5

77 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 77 reviews

Great Experience!

Dameon_B, May 2023

It was amazing experience! Ryan was a great and very knowledgeable guide. We will definitely do it again on our next visit!

Response from Host, May 2023

Thank you! Hope to see you again!

Great day

Will_B, Apr 2023

Very fun and easy going trip. A great day got anyone. I recommend bring something like a bandana to cover your face from the dust.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Thank you for the review!

Great time!

Steven_R, Apr 2023

Great time! It was a blast. If you do this, make sure you take goggles for your eyes and a bandanna for your face

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Thank you for the review!

Fun on the trails

Michael_E, Apr 2023

Just getting out and dirty on the trails. The views were wonderful. The trails where fun and not too scary. The guides where excellent and reassuring. It gets quite dusty so I would recomment a bandana and glasses.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Love your review! It is gorgeous out in the desert right now. Hope you got some great pictures!

Not for tall people

Jill_G, Feb 2023

My adult children and their 4 year old and 7 year old loved it. Unfortunately, we had to turn around as my husband was too tall to fit in the vehicle. Not our fault.....His knee was jammed against the wheel and he could not move his foot from the brake to the gas. Therefore, unable to drive and we had to turn around. I tried to drive the vehicle, but he was having the same problem in the passenger seat with his knees hitting the safety handle.

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Thank you for your review and for the feedback.

Adventurous

Brian_H, Feb 2023

Having my nephew drive a dune buggy for the first time in his life. The guides were excellent and the dune buggies were in great shape.

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Thank you! We're happy your nephew got to drive! It's lots of fun to experience a Dune Buggy!

It’s the most fun you’ll have on a bumpy ride

Samantha_S, Jan 2023

It’s the most fun you’ll have on a bumpy ride! I was smiling like a little kid the more we jumped around!

Response from Host, Jan 2023

Love the review! Thank you and hope to see you again!

Great experience!

JanaLee_B, Oct 2022

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Thank you very much for the 5 star review! Hope you get to visit with us again!

Fun fun fun

David_M, Oct 2022

I highly recommend booking this tour! The guides were awesome and it went for a little over 2 hours. Our guides were very good and have us some history and snacks half way through. Will definitely be coming back.

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Awesome review! Hope you get to visit with us again!

The experience was great....

Mary_M, Sep 2022

The experience was great. I would have loved to of known the price difference booking through this party ahead of time. You can book directly via Desert Dog for $299/buggy instead of $220/person through this website.

Response from Host, Sep 2022

Thank you!

Getting our UTV desert on!

Talan_K, Jul 2022

Driving through the desert with all its beauty and having the experience for the first time! We would definitely recommend this excursion.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Thank you for the 5 star review! Hope to see you again on the trails!

Desert Dogs

Thomas_G, Apr 2022

Seeing the desert from a different perspective. Getting to drive a dune buggy is different! Sharing the experience with my wife.

Response from Host, Apr 2022

Thank you for the Awesome review!

Horrible experience

Palmer_M, Apr 2022

Overall it was a good experience but at the end we got accused of damaging the door on one of the vehicles. Don was very rude when asked how it was damage he gave no answer. I asked what’s the next step if you believe we did this, no answer and then he walked away. He then explained the passenger door was broken because it would not close all the way. I explain it was like that when we got in because he also accused us of hitting something while on the trip when we had done everything during the trip which was asked and I had never hit anything. I showed Don when we got into the vehicle the door needed to be pulled to close. He told me I should have known the door closes on its own and I should of told him it was like that before we left like I was supposed to do that. The door closed so I assumed it was fine. Checking to see if the vehicle is damaged before we leave is Don’s job and it was not done before properly making us being held accountable. It ruined a good trip and we won’t be coming back or suggesting it to anyone else

Response from Host, Apr 2022

Thank you

Fun ride and easy to do

Dane_C, Mar 2022

This ride was fun and unusual as we've never done it before. The trail was bumpy and often mogul-like, which meant that our speed was 10-15 mph. When the trail smoothed out, we got up to 25. The buggy is a bare-bones vehicle converted from a 400 cc quad cycle, It's easy to drive with most of the time only needing to use the gas pedal, but with the simple linkage steering and bumpy road, you have to hang on pretty tight to the steering wheel. I really wanted a little more open driving and faster speed, so if you're a newbie in for a bit of a thrill, this ride is for you. They give you helmets and bring along water and a little snack. If you want a real challenge in driving, then this ride is not for you. It kinda reminded me of other tours I've been on, like Downhill Bike ride on Maui and snowmobile tour in Tahoe, where the tour leader makes sure that everybody keeps up, which is pretty tame.

Response from Host, Mar 2022

Thank you for the review!

A must do tour

Beth_C, Mar 2022

It was beautiful and a lot of fun. The guides were very nice. We felt safe the entire time. I would definitely recommend this tour!

Response from Host, Mar 2022

Thank you for the 5 star review!

The crew at Desert Dog...

Dakota_H, Dec 2021

The crew at Desert Dog Adventures was professional from start to finish. AMAZING, FUN, and muddy! I recommend

Response from Host, Jan 2022

Great review! Thank you for visiting with us and hope to see you again!

Incredible time!

Paul_P, Dec 2021

My wife and I had a blast. Luke was great. Very knowledgeable about the area. It was my wife's birthday and she really enjoyed herself. We loved it so much we are thinking about buyer our own ATV.

Response from Host, Dec 2021

Thank you for the great review and Happy Birthday again!

Great outdoor adventure

Amanda_H, Oct 2021

This was an amazing adventure I really enjoyed it!! Ryan and Spencer are super nice and made the ride very enjoyable. Spencer had so much knowledge about the area.

Response from Host, Nov 2021

Thank you for the wonderful review! Hope to go off-roading with you again!

Fun and beautiful

Michele_T, Jun 2021

It was hot and dusty, but the trail was fun and the scenery was beautiful! Would definitely recommend!

Response from Host, Jun 2021

Thank you for the Awesome 5 star review and for choosing Desert Dog Offroad for your offroad adventure! We hope you can join us on the trails again!

Wasn't much of a site seeing trip as...

Glen M, Apr 2013

Wasn't much of a site seeing trip as you could not see anything but dust. The crew were very professional and overall a good experience.

This was very exciting because you...

Kristi H, Feb 2013

This was very exciting because you get to drive your own Desert Car and we went quite fast. The biggest downfall was the tour guide not very friendly, nor organized. During our tour we unfortunately had a flat tire, they did not have a patch nor spare to fix on trail, which according to terrain must happen periodically so had to cut the whole ride short. The guide put blame on the driver for not driving in the exact trail that he was but closer to the back it was very dusty, they were moving quickly and you had to pick your trail, I do not believe it was a total driver fault, for accidents like this happen to the best of us. The tour could have continued if the guides were prepared. This could have been a blast for the terrain is quite rugged, they do move fast and go through water, so be prepared to get wet and dirty and have fun!

Our desert car tour was great! The...

Leslie T, Aug 2012

Our desert car tour was great! The cars were fun to drive and felt very safe and stable. The guides were helpful and polite and were concerned about our safety. It was a unique way to see the desert landscape. I was frustrated with two items about booking through Viator. I received my confirmation and printed my voucher. Only on the day of my tour did I see that I was supposed to contact the vendor directly to confirm. Viator should have made this more clear on the confirmation. Luckily, we were still booked for the tour. If we had contacted them we might have found out that the meeting place was different than the Viator information said. Also, the confirmation said the tour left at 8:00 am in the summer but the tour operator was prepared for 9:30. We waited an hour and a half.