What to wear for winter camping in the UAE: warm days, cold nights

One of the biggest surprises of winter camping in the UAE is the temperature difference between day and night. You arrive in a T-shirt, and by midnight you are looking for every warm thing in the car. Special outdoor clothing is not required. Layers are, along with a plan for each part of the day. This guide uses temperatures reported in the UAE press, with dates, so you can pack for the place you are going.

How cold it gets, by place

These are reported readings from particular days, not forecasts or averages. Treat them as a range to pack for.

Desert

• Al Qudra desert, Dubai, one week in November 2025: about 22 °C in the early morning, 32 °C in the afternoon (Khaleej Times).
• Tal Moreeb near Liwa, December–January festival season: 9 °C at sunrise (Khaleej Times).
• Range to pack for: warm afternoons, and nights from mild in November to under 10 °C in midwinter.

Hatta

• Same November 2025 week: lows of about 20 °C, highs of about 30 °C.
• Range to pack for: mild in early season, cooler nights later in winter. Hatta sits at about 300 to 400 metres.

Jebel Jais and other mountains

• Jebel Jais, same November 2025 week: about 9 °C at 5 am and 20 °C by 1 pm.
• Jebel Jais, January 2025: 1.8 °C, a recorded cold snap rather than a typical night. The National notes the mountain averages about 10 °C cooler than the rest of the country (The National).
• Jebel Hafeet, Al Ain, November 2025: about 14 °C around 6 am and 27 °C in the day.
• Range to pack for: cool in November, close to freezing on the coldest midwinter nights.

The place matters more than the month: a December night in the Dubai desert and one on Jebel Jais need different clothes.

Layering, explained simply

A layer is one piece of clothing you add or remove as the temperature changes. Three are enough for most UAE camping.

• Base layer, next to the skin: a long-sleeved top and long trousers or leggings. Avoid jeans for the evening: once damp with sweat or dew, they stay cold.
• Warm layer: a fleece, a sweatshirt or a light padded jacket. This goes on at sunset.
• Outer layer: a windproof jacket. In the desert and on the mountains, wind is what chills you.

For Jebel Jais in December or January, add a thick jacket, a hat that covers the ears and gloves. One visitor told The National she came wearing three layers of clothes.

Through the day

Afternoon

Light, long-sleeved clothes, a hat with a brim, sunglasses and sunscreen. Closed shoes for rocks and hot sand.

Sunset and evening

Put the warm layer on as the sun goes down, before you feel cold: it is easier to stay warm than to warm up again. Swap sandals for socks and shoes. By the fire, a blanket around the shoulders does a lot. The Bestie Blanket is soft on both sides and also works as an extra layer over or under your sleeping bag. The Wayback Biggie Blanket is oversized, with ripstop nylon on one side, organic cotton flannel on the other and insulation between, so it can go on the ground too. The Galactic Down Blanket is filled with 550-fill down and packs small.

Sleeping warm: clothes, pad and bag together

Warmth at night comes from three things working together. Clothes keep you warm in the bag; the pad stops the ground drawing heat from below; the bag holds the warmth in. Weakness in any one of them makes a cold night.

Change into dry clothes before bed: a clean base layer, dry socks and, on cold nights, a hat. Do not sleep in a bulky jacket inside the bag; it squashes the insulation, which needs to loft, or fluff up, around you. Put it over the bag instead.

Khaleej Times recommends bags for 5 to 10 °C on winter trips. The number in a Kelty bag’s name is the US rating label, not degrees Celsius. The Mistral 40 is rated to about 4 °C, a reasonable fit for mild desert and Hatta nights. For Jebel Jais in midwinter, a bag rated to about −7 °C, such as the Cosmic Synthetic 20, gives more margin. Children need their own bag, such as the Kids’ Mistral 30, rated to around −1 °C. Ratings are not comfort guarantees: people sleep warmer or colder, and the pad and clothes change the result. See our sleeping bag guide and, for pads, Your first camping trip in the UAE.

Packing list per person

• Day: long-sleeved top, light trousers, hat, sunglasses.
• Evening: fleece or sweatshirt, plus a windproof jacket.
• Mountains in midwinter: a thick jacket, a warm hat and gloves.
• Night: a clean base layer and dry socks, packed in a separate bag.
• Closed shoes, plus sandals for around camp.
• Spare socks: sand and dew both get in.
• A blanket or extra layer for the fire.