What It's Actually Like on a Women-Only F1 Trip: Abu Dhabi Edition

Every season, the question I get most often isn't about grandstand views or hotel star ratings. It's some version of: "But what is it actually like? I'd be coming alone. I've never been to the Middle East. What do I even pack?"

Fair questions. So instead of answering in the abstract, let me walk you through our sold-out 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix trip — day by day, exactly as it happened — including the part most travel companies never talk about: everything that happens before you ever get on the plane.

It Starts a Month Before Departure

Here's something I learned running VIP programs in the art world for a decade: the experience doesn't begin at check-in. It begins the moment someone stops feeling like a stranger.

So one month out, three things happen:

The packing list arrives. Not a generic "bring sunscreen" checklist — a detailed guide built for this specific trip. What to wear at the Grand Mosque, what works for a yacht day, what the paddock-adjacent dress code actually looks like in practice, and what December in the UAE feels like (warm days, surprisingly cool desert evenings).

The WhatsApp chat opens. This is where the group starts becoming a group. Flight details get compared, outfit questions get crowdsourced, and someone inevitably starts a thread about which driver everyone's rooting for. By departure day, nobody is walking into a room of strangers.

We host a group Zoom. Everyone joins, faces to names, and we go through the itinerary day by day — what to expect, how each day flows, what to pack for which outing, and every question anyone wants to ask. Guests who were nervous about traveling solo tell me afterward that this call is the moment the nerves disappeared. You board your flight already knowing fourteen women are landing to meet you.

Monday & Tuesday: Landing Soft in Dubai

We started in Dubai, checking into the SO/ Uptown on Monday afternoon with welcome drinks and dinner that evening. There's no forced icebreaker energy — by this point the WhatsApp chat has done its work, and dinner feels like a reunion of people who technically just met.

Tuesday was Dubai in full: a guided historical tour in the morning (yes, there is an old Dubai, and it's fascinating), lunch at Ce La Vi with the skyline stretched out below, an afternoon exploring Dubai Mall, and dinner at Ariana's — Ariana Bundy's love letter to Persian cooking.

Wednesday: Yacht Day

If there is one photo from every OTTR trip that makes people finally book the next one, it's from yacht day. We spent the day on the water off Dubai — swimming, lounging, a long lunch, and the kind of unhurried conversation that turns trip-mates into actual friends. Back at the hotel by mid-afternoon, optional sunset drinks at Attiko for those still going strong, and dinner at Sucre.

This is also where the women-only part of the trip quietly matters. Everyone gets to relax and approach the day their way — if you want a million pictures taken, the girls are there hyping you up, and if you'd rather chill out, take in the sights, and dip into your book, you can do exactly that too.

Thursday: The Move to Abu Dhabi

After breakfast, we drove to Abu Dhabi — about 90 minutes, and yes, the transfer is handled, your bags simply appear at the next hotel — with lunch on arrival and check-in that afternoon.

Then, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. I schedule this deliberately before race weekend takes over, because it deserves your full attention. It is one of the most breathtaking buildings I've ever stood inside, and I've spent my career around beautiful spaces.

A note on what to wear, because everyone asks: the mosque requires modest dress — arms and legs covered, and a headscarf for women. This is on your packing list a month in advance, we talk through it on the Zoom, and I bring backup scarves because someone always forgets. It's a moment of cultural respect, not an inconvenience, and honestly the group photos in the marble courtyard are some of the most stunning of the entire trip.

Dinner that night at Punjab Grill, and then early to bed — race weekend starts tomorrow.

What Women Actually Need to Know About the UAE

Let me pause the itinerary for the practical stuff, because misinformation keeps too many women from making this trip.

Dress in the cities is more relaxed than you think. In Dubai and Abu Dhabi's hotels, restaurants, malls, and at Yas Marina Circuit, you'll see everything from sundresses to jeans. The general guideline: shoulders and knees covered in traditional or government areas (souks, mosques), and dress as you would in any cosmopolitan city elsewhere. At the track, race-day fashion is alive and well.

Yes, you can drink. Licensed venues — which include essentially every hotel, restaurant, and hospitality suite we visit — serve alcohol. Our welcome drinks, yacht day, and sunset cocktails all happened without a hitch.

It's one of the safest places I've ever brought a group. The UAE consistently ranks among the safest countries in the world, and my guests — many traveling to the region for the first time — routinely comment on how comfortable they felt walking around, even at night.

Traveling with a group that has done this before means you never have to wonder whether you've gotten it right. That's the entire point.

Friday: Culture Morning, Desert Evening

Friday opened with a tour of the Louvre Abu Dhabi — Jean Nouvel's floating dome and its "rain of light" is worth the trip alone, and as someone who spent ten years in the art world, I refuse to bring a group to Abu Dhabi and skip it. Casual lunch, a short reset at the hotel, and then out to the desert.

The desert safari is the day guests underestimate most. Dune driving, a private camp, dinner under the stars, and the strange, wonderful quiet of the Empty Quarter's edge as the temperature drops and someone hands you mint tea. We rolled back to the hotel around 9 pm, sandy and glowing.

Saturday: Qualifying Day

A slow morning by design — breakfast, and a group yoga class for anyone who wanted to stretch out the desert. Then to Yas Marina Circuit for the business end of the weekend: Formula 1 Free Practice 3, the Formula 2 sprint race, and F1 Qualifying under the lights at 6 pm.

Abu Dhabi is a twilight race weekend, which means the track sessions run into the evening and the whole circuit glows. If you've only ever watched this on TV, the first time the cars scream past the marina at dusk is genuinely emotional.

Sunday: Race Day

Race day at OTTR begins in the Glam Room. Hair, makeup, a rack of accessories, prosecco, and fifteen women getting ready together like the world's most glamorous pre-game. It is, I will admit, one of my favorite traditions we've built.

Then the circuit: the Formula 2 feature race, the drivers' parade at 3 pm, and the main event — the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final race of the F1 season, lights out at 5 pm as the sun sets over Yas Island.

We closed with a farewell dinner at the hotel. There were toasts. There were tears (happy ones). There was a WhatsApp chat that, I can report, is still active months later — because that's the real souvenir.

The Honest Answer

So what's it actually like? It's a trip where the logistics disappear and the friendships don't. Where you can be a die-hard fan debating tire strategy or a first-timer who came for the yacht day, and both are exactly right. Where every cultural question has already been answered before you packed your bag.

Over half of our guests return for another race - and every guest on the Abu Dhabi trip booked again for the 2026 season. The 2025 Abu Dhabi trip sold out. If you're thinking about the 2026 season finale — this is your sign to stop thinking about it.

Off to the Races curates all-inclusive Formula 1 race weekends geared for women. Explore the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2026 trip →