Daryl Visscher for The New York Times  Away from town, not everything depends on oil.  Daryl Visscher for The New York Times  In the waters of the Gulf of Oman, even novice snorkelers can see a gorgeous array of tropical fish.  DUBAI is a singular destination, not to mention a bit confusing. Road signs point to places that havent been built, and the Old Town is still under construction. The best ski slopes are indoors, and an underwater shopping mall is supposed to be that way.  Amid the over-the-top skyscrapers lining Sheikh Zayed Road and the hotels shaped like sailboats, it is easy to miss the splendor of the natural world of the Arabian Peninsula, wedged between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. But in the surrounding emirates and parts of neighboring Oman, there are adventure day trips you can take from Dubai either with a tour group or on your own. Here are a few ways to escape the glare of the city.  HIKING The best time to go looking for adventure around the region is from late autumn to early spring, when the weather is cooler, with lows from 60 to 75 degrees and highs from 75 to 90. This is a good time to hike in the extraordinary Hajar Mountains of the Oman Promontory, a small hunk of rugged Omani land at the tip of the Musandam Peninsula, just a few hours drive northeast of Dubai. Still, given the elevation (some of the mountains approach 7,000 feet) and sparse, oceanside cloud cover, the sun can be intense and unrelenting.  The Hajars, which rise abruptly out of the sea at the tip of the Musandam Peninsula, are young by mountain standards, having emerged probably between 5 million and 37 million years ago. They are great for hiking. Even easy hikes provide stunning vistas across the Hajars and out to the Gulf of Oman. Remnants of terrace farming and tribal settlements, where until the last half-century mountain dwellers lived the same way for millenniums, are scattered about.  To get there, drive east from Dubai to Masafi, then north to Dibba, which straddles the Omani border. From there, the only way to get deep into the mountains is by a narrow ravine path alongside the Wadi Bih riverbed.  A 4x4 is a must. If you dont have one, companies like Mountain Extreme (971-7-204-1370; www.mountain-extreme.com) can take you there for the day or for overnights at their traditional-style lodging. Day trips start at 250 dirhams, or $68; overnights are 650 dirhams, or $177 (prices, unless in dollars, are calculated at 3.67 dirhams to the dollar).  SNORKELING AND DIVING Its hard to say what the building of islands shaped like a map of the world is doing to the ecosystem on the Persian Gulf coast, but the hour-and-a-half drive east from Dubai to the Gulf of Oman is still well worth the trip for snorkeling, diving and lower-key tourism.  Just south of Dibba is Snoopy Island  more of a large rock, really  so named because it looks like the cartoon character lying on his back. Just below the waters surface is a surrounding coral reef, where even novice snorkelers can glimpse a gorgeous array of tropical fish. Wade out to Snoopy Island using the private beach at Sandy Beach Hotel and Resort (971-9-244-5555; www.sandybm.com), where day passes cost 40 dirhams for nonguests.  For more serious snorkelers and divers, the east coast abounds with spots less traveled, which provide a wider array of wildlife and room for deeper exploration. Scuba 2000 (971-9-2388-477; www.scuba-2000.com), a snorkeling and diving center about 15 minutes south of Snoopy Island, goes to dozens of dive sites along the coast, from easier ones like Dibba rock, to the Inchcape shipwrecks, where experienced divers can explore at depths as great as 100 feet.  But the best diving in the United Arab Emirates, says Dewi Srulatri, assistant manager of Scuba 2000, is at Martini Rock, a nearby multilevel coral outcropping with dives ranging from 40 to 70 feet, where divers can see lion fish, trigger fish and even the occasional small shark. Prices vary; a single dive with full equipment rental is 235 dirhams.  WETLANDS AND WILDLIFE Another reason to visit the area during autumn and spring is to watch wildlife in various wetlands and reserves in the emirates, a major stop for about 300 species of migrating birds.  Rapid development threatens much of the emirates wetlands, so you should see them while you can. One such spot lies off the emirate of Umm al-Quwain, about an hour northeast of Dubai. The Khor al-Beidah, a shallow lagoon dotted with small, dense mangrove islands, is a seasonal home to many water birds. At places like the Flamingo Beach Resort (971-6-765-0001; www.flamingoresort.ae) nonguests can hire a boat (180 dirhams an hour) to tour the lagoon and spy on flocks of flamingoes, herons and cranes, a reprieve from the city.  For something closer, take a quick trip to the tidal lagoon at Dubai Creek (Khor Dubai), where a broad swatch of dense mangroves was set aside in early 2005 for wildlife preservation. Three viewing stations, just off the highway, provide telescopes through which visitors can gaze at dozens of bird species, including flamingoes, Kentish plovers, white egrets, gray and longbeak herons and Caspian terns, all against the backdrop of the Dubai skyline.  One of the emirates wildlife centerpieces is Sir Bani Yas, a 30-square-mile island just off the coast of Jebel Dhanna, about 150 miles west of the city of Abu Dhabi. Once the private reserve of the former president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, the island has been groomed for years as a wildlife sanctuary. But, little by little, it is opening up.  For now, the Danat Resort Jebel Dhanna (971-2-801-2222; www.ncth.com/danat-hotels.php) offers the only land-based tours to the island (9 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, weather permitting). As of early September, the islands mangrove wetlands were closed to protect its resident birds, but visitors can see thousands of other animals, including captive-bred oryx, giraffes and gazelles. Tours are 200 dirhams for guests, 375 for nonguests.  THE ARABIAN DESERT Under the shade of palmettos by the sea, its easy to forget that Dubai sits at the edge of the Arabian Desert, a 900,000-square-mile expanse of sand and rock, second only in size to the Sahara.  The 1960s oil boom upended the emirates nomadic social landscape, as people flocked to rapidly growing cities. But locals havent forgotten their Bedouin past: dune bashing excursions are still popular. Shorter-term visitors can try one of many tour companies around Dubai, like Alpha Tours, (971-4-294-9888; www.alphatoursdubai.com). About 25 miles southeast of Dubai City, theyll zip you across the desert in air-conditioned 4x4s, climbing towering dunes and barreling down them at angles close to 90 degrees. Many operators take early evening tours so visitors can see the sun setting over the deserts glowing red sands. Afterward, the caravan heads to a Bedouin-style camp, complete with shisha pipes, camel rides and a smorgasbord of Middle Eastern food. A belly dancer performance ends the night before everyone heads home. Trips with Alpha Tours cost about 260 dirhams a person.  Eco-tourism is still a fledging industry in the United Arab Emirates. One option is to stay in a desert eco-lodge like Al Maha Desert Resort and Spa, (971-4-303-4222; www.al-maha.com), which offers camel and horseback treks through the desert to guests. Suites start at between $700 and $1,500 a night, depending on the season.  Usually less expensive operators like Arabian Adventures (971-4-303-4888; www.arabian-adventures.com), based in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, offer custom-made, single- or multiday itineraries that can go much deeper into the desert wilderness  perfect for spotting native wildlife like Arabian gazelles and beisa oryx. Some of the tours let you drive the vehicles yourself. At Arabian Adventures, custom overnight trips into the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, for example, start at 630 dirhams a person.
Exploring the mountains, water and desert near Dubai reveals spots to snorkel, hike and dune bash in a splendid natural setting.