Al Ain race week: check the session before setting off

Al Ain’s second Camel Racing Festival has its final competitions scheduled for 3–8 October 2026 at Al Rawda Camel Racetrack. That puts the event on this week’s calendar for a trip to Al Ain. It does not, by itself, tell a visitor which gate to use or when to arrive.

The 1 October announcement from Abu Dhabi Media Office describes a programme beginning with heritage races and progressing through different camel-racing categories. Choose the day and session you want to see before planning the rest of the outing. A festival spanning several days is not one continuous performance.

One detail needs particular care: the published 6–7am window is for camel inspection and age verification for participants in specified races. It is not a spectator opening time. Treating an administrative timetable as a visitor timetable could make for a very early and unproductive start.

Before travelling, ask the organiser to confirm the race-session time, spectator access, the correct entrance and any admission arrangements for your chosen date. The announcement names the Presidential Camels and Camel Racing Affairs Centre as organiser, under the supervision of the Camel Racing Association. Keep the organiser’s reply or current visitor notice with your travel plan.

If you are coordinating a group, share one confirmed arrival point and one session time. Work backwards from those details to departure and parking, with room for a change of plan. Check the weather forecast close to departure and plan water, shade and breaks to suit your group. These are our planning suggestions, not facilities promised by the festival.

On arrival, follow staff directions and use designated spectator areas. Leave access routes clear and ask before photographing people at close range. For a first visit, watching how a session is organised can be as interesting as following the finish.

The practical test is simple: can everyone in the car say which session you are attending and where you are meeting? If the only answer is “the festival is on this week”, there is still one useful check to make before leaving.

Cover: an original AI-generated conceptual oasis and racetrack illustration. It does not depict Al Rawda Camel Racetrack, an actual race or a promised SIBRIS amenity.