# Garden City

> Al Ain — the oasis, the palace, and gahwa at the top of Jebel Hafeet as the sun goes down. Four degrees cooler than the coast and almost entirely free to get into.

Package D-04 from Offsyte, corporate recreation in the UAE · [City & Culture](https://offsyte.ae/catalog/city-and-culture-days/) · Web page: https://offsyte.ae/packages/garden-city/

- **Duration:** 12 hrs
- **Ideal start time:** 07:00 pickup — Al Ain is 90 minutes and the mountain matters at sunset, not at noon
- **Departure window:** 06:30–07:30
- **Group size:** 15 min — 50 max
- **Emirate / venue:** Abu Dhabi — Al Ain: Al Ain Oasis, Al Ain Palace Museum, Al Ain Zoo, Jebel Hafeet
- **Season:** Oct–Apr
- **Booking lead time:** 12 days

## Price per person, excluding 5% VAT

| Group size | Per person | Billed for at least |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| 15–29 people | AED 420 | 22 people |
| 30–49 people | AED 370 | — |
| 50+ people | AED 330 | — |

A group smaller than a band's "billed for at least" figure is still served, and is invoiced for that many people.
Where a larger band costs less in total, it is quoted instead: groups of 27–29 are billed as 30 people at the rate for 30–49 people; groups of 45–49 are billed as 50 people at the rate for 50+ people.

Payment: 50% advance on signature. 100% cleared 3 working days before the event. Numbers lock 7 days prior.

## Why this is not the retail version

Almost everything in this day is free or nearly free. The oasis is AED 15. The palace is nothing. The mountain road is nothing. **A company could drive itself here for the price of the fuel**, and the honest position is to say so.

What it would not have is **the gahwa at the summit.** A mobile setup carried 1,240 metres up a mountain and built at a viewpoint before the group arrives is the reason people remember this day rather than the zoo, and it is not something anybody assembles for themselves.

It would also not have **the falaj explained.** Al Ain Oasis without a guide is a pleasant shaded walk. With one, it is a 3,000-year-old gravity-fed irrigation system that is still watering 147,000 trees, and it is the moment people realise the UAE has a history that predates oil. That is a guide's job and it is worth the guide's fee several times over.

**Against D-01 Capital Culture at AED 450** — Abu Dhabi's museums are the famous version and cost AED 128 a person to get into. This is AED 45 in entries, AED 80 cheaper, and it goes to the part of the emirate almost no expatriate employee has seen. **For a company whose staff have all done the Louvre, this is the culture day that is actually new.**

It is also the coolest daytime destination in the country. In late October, when the coast is still 34°C, Al Ain is 30°C and the summit is 25°C.

## Timeline

- **07:00** — Bus departs client office. Breakfast boxes and coffee on board
- **08:45** — Al Ain Oasis. Guided walk through the falaj channels — 147,000 date palms and a 3,000-year-old irrigation system that still runs
- **10:00** — Al Ain Palace Museum — Sheikh Zayed's family home, and free
- **11:15** — Al Ain Zoo — the African section and the Arabian oryx programme
- **13:00** — Arabic set-menu lunch, reserved section
- **14:30** — Free time in the old souq district
- **15:45** — Jebel Hafeet. The climb — 11.7 km of switchbacks, and one of the reasons people come
- **16:30** — Summit. Mobile gahwa and dates setup at the viewpoint
- **17:45** — Sunset over the Empty Quarter. Group photograph
- **18:15** — Descent
- **19:00** — Bus departs Al Ain
- **19:00** — Arrival at drop point

## Included

- Return coach transfer from client office
- Breakfast boxes and coffee on the outbound journey
- All entries — Al Ain Oasis and eco-centre, Al Ain Palace Museum, Al Ain Zoo
- Licensed guide for the full day
- Arabic set-menu lunch at a reserved restaurant section
- Mobile gahwa and dates setup at the Jebel Hafeet summit — carried up and built for the group
- Branded welcome setup
- Photographer, full day — 60+ retouched stills, and an edited 90-second reel within 5 working days
- Event coordinator on site

## Not included

- Green Mubazzarah hot springs entry (see add-ons)
- Camel market visit (a working livestock market, offered as an option rather than built in; see add-ons)
- Alcohol
- 5% VAT

## Weather and backup plan

- **Trigger:** Rain, or fog on Jebel Hafeet — which is common in winter mornings and occasionally closes the summit road.
- **Fallback:** Fog is the real one and it is checked at 15:00 from the road, not from a forecast. If the summit is closed, the gahwa setup moves to the Green Mubazzarah lakes at the mountain's base — same sunset, same setup, 900 metres lower, and the group is told before the bus starts climbing rather than after. The rest of the day is unaffected by weather.
- **You are told by:** For a summit change, at 15:00 on the day, by the coordinator, in person to the senior attendee.

## Customisation options

- Green Mubazzarah hot springs and lakes: AED 60/person
- Camel market visit with the guide: AED 900/event
- Sunset dinner at the summit instead of gahwa: AED 140/person
- Jahili Fort and the Thesiger exhibition: AED 30/person
- Extend to an overnight at a Jebel Hafeet hotel: AED 420/person
- Drone coverage at the summit: AED 500
- Branded thermal flasks as gifting: AED 75/person

## Questions about Garden City

### How much does Garden City cost per person?

AED 420 per person for 15–29 people; AED 370 per person for 30–49 people; AED 330 per person for 50+ people. All figures exclude 5% VAT. A group below a band's minimum chargeable size is billed at that minimum: 22 people in the 15–29 band. Where a larger band costs less in total, it is quoted instead: groups of 27–29 are billed as 30 people at the rate for 30–49 people; groups of 45–49 are billed as 50 people at the rate for 50+ people.

### How long does Garden City take, and when does it start?

12 hrs. Ideal start: 07:00 pickup — Al Ain is 90 minutes and the mountain matters at sunset, not at noon. Departure window: 06:30–07:30.

### What is not included in Garden City?

Green Mubazzarah hot springs entry (see add-ons); Camel market visit (a working livestock market, offered as an option rather than built in; see add-ons); Alcohol; 5% VAT. These are stated before enquiry rather than raised at invoice time.

### What happens to Garden City if the weather turns?

Trigger: Rain, or fog on Jebel Hafeet — which is common in winter mornings and occasionally closes the summit road. Fallback: Fog is the real one and it is checked at 15:00 from the road, not from a forecast. If the summit is closed, the gahwa setup moves to the Green Mubazzarah lakes at the mountain's base — same sunset, same setup, 900 metres lower, and the group is told before the bus starts climbing rather than after. The rest of the day is unaffected by weather. You are told: For a summit change, at 15:00 on the day, by the coordinator, in person to the senior attendee.

### How far in advance do we need to book Garden City?

The booking lead time is 12 days. Ramadan and December dates book out first.

## Read before you book

- [Jebel Hafeet and Al Ain: A Company Day Trip](https://offsyte.ae/blog/al-ain-jebel-hafeet-company-trip/): What a company day across Al Ain Oasis, the zoo and the Jebel Hafeet summit costs per person, and why October to April is the window to run it.

Request a proposal: https://offsyte.ae/enquire/?package=D-04 · proposals@offsyte.ae