How much spending money for a weekend in Dubai?

than4

My husband and I are stoping over for a weekend in Dubai on our way to Australia.

Obviously we don't want to get out more money than we need and were wondering how much people think we might need for the weekend.

We arrive Saturday morning and depart Sunday night/Monday morning.
Our accomodation has been paid in advance.

We want to see some sights, but don't plan on doing a lot of shopping and would probably like to eat out in a restaurant on Saturday night.

any suggestions welcome!
Thanks

than4

Just also wondering if anyone has used The Entertainer book to get 2 for 1 on things in Dubai?
Does anyone know if there are vouchers around for discount on the Open Top bus tour?
Not sure if it will be worth purchasing the book as we are only there for a short time.
Thanks

neilbond007

Do you need to get a cab from the airport?
Which area are you stopping?
What are you looking to see (IE - will you need a cab there?)
If you're stopping in Deira then you can walk around the town.
Do you need a cab back to the airport?
Cabs are cheap but will add up. Most take credit cards though.
Personally I'd take as little currency as I felt comfortable with (say £20 per person) and pay everything on a credit card.

A very good cheap meal is a Lebanese chain called "Automatic". 2 can eat for less than £10... easily. There are a few of these about.
On the other end of the scale go to Creekside Japanese restaurant in the Sheraton Dubai Creek. This is one of my favourite restaurants in the world!!

MancBrel

I was in Dubai about 2 months ago for about 10 days. Most drinks in hotel bars were 38 dirhams to 45 dirhams (£8-£9) each, and sometimes that is just a bottle of beer rather than a pint, or a small glass of wine.

When you arrive in Dubai airport, you can buy some alcohol at the Duty Free shop by the baggage claim. Even just one bottle of wine will save you a tidy sum, compared to the hotel bars. A few glasses in the room followed will offset the cost you pay in the bars!

I doubt that you will have enough time to justify any benefits from The Entertainer book. It's quite an outlay to buy it. So two days is pushing it to make that a sensible purchase.

Travel is by taxi, as they are cheap. The most I ever paid was about £15, and that was from the airport to the marina. Most 15 minute journeys were about £4.

The rule of thumb for eating is that you dont eat in a licensed place. Anywhere that sells alcohol will seriously overcharge on the food, because they can. Eating in the "dry" restaurants will save you a tidy fortune in Dubai.

loveabargain13

I was thinking the same, I am off to Dubai for 4 days, tuesday to friday though and have no idea what sort of money to take, am staying at le royal meridian beach resort, has anyone stayed here? I didn't realise food and drinks were expensive out there, although the hotels are expensive to start with!

MancBrel

Food is actually quite reasonable in the vast majority of places. However the hotels can serve alcohol, so have the captive audience required to up the ante on the prices. This they generally take to the extreme.

jcorbygas

If you eat as previous poster says in 'dry' places or in the shopping malls the food is reasonably priced, but if you eat in the hotels it can be very expensive. Quite a lot of the hotels do buffet style meals where various drinks are included which can work out a good deal although a lot more expensive this year than last because of the exchange rate - now it is around £80 for a champagne included buffet!!
If hotel breakfast is included in the price of your hotel they are very good and could keep you going till dinner with maybe just a small snack inbetween. Loveabargain- food and drink at Le Royal Meridien is very expensive unfortunately, but you are not too much of a taxi ride from Mall of the Emirates, and there is a great reasonably priced place to eat at the Gold and Diamond Park called More - not the greatest of surroundings but nice food.
I am going back to Dubai in June for 4 nights, and 3 of the nights are half board and I will be taking around £400 with me, as I will be having a champagne brunch and tea at the Burj.
If you look on the Time Out website for Dubai there are lots of reviews on restaurants and prices or go on www.tripadvisor.co.uk Dubai forum for extremely helpful people.

Jackie

loveabargain13

Thats what I've been recommended and told to book, do you know how much it is roughly? Thanks for your info, I've now got to look up the currency rate.

jcorbygas

I assume you mean afternoon tea at the Burj - in September it was the equivalent of around £60 so more now - based on about 5.2 dirhams to the pound. Go on the the Burj website and you can email them to book up. The best time to go I think is around 4pm as you can see the view (if you have tea at the Skyview bar) and then when it gets dark you can see it all lit up - amazing. You get a lot to eat and can ask for more so you wont need any lunch or dinner that day!!
When are you going?
A really good brunch with free flowing champagne is at Yalumba which is at Le Meridien near the airport. We are going to try The Observatory at the Harbour complex this time. I know its a lot of money, but when you think about how much you would be charged in this country in a restaurant for the type of food you can get from the buffet and one glass of champagne let alone a bottle (or 2 in my husbands case)the cost in Dubai is not too bad, and the service is normally excellent.

Any more info let me know.

Jackie

loveabargain13

Yes, I did mean the Burj for afternoon tea, you assumed right, thanks! I have just emailed them for availability, I am going in under 2 weeks now, I don't know much about Dubai at all, I've stopped off there on numerous occasions on the way to Australia, but never been out of the airport, its the sort of place its just nice to say I've been! Will look up Yalumba, going back to tea oh thats good maybe around 4 and then that could be lunch and dinner combined! Scones always fill me up, not so long ago I went to Harrods asked for a scone, one portion is 2 scones, and 1 was making me fill ready to burst!! hehe thanks for your info! much appreciated

jcorbygas

I forgot to mention - they normally require your credit card details to book the tea.

Have a great break in Dubai - you will either love it or hate it there!!