dubai advice please

mumlady1

Hi
I'm hoping to go to Dubai next year with OH & 2 teenagers. Can anyone offer any advice please? I know this will be an expensive holiday but does anyone have any tips for us to save money on booking, hotels, eating out etc. Obviously I've checked the advice given elsewhere on this site but if anyone has any experience in this area your advice would be very much appreciated.
Thanks

chelldavies

Try http://www.theentertainerme.com which has lots of discounts, previously it has offered 241 on swimming with dolphins at The Atlantis but also includes lots of restaurant offers.
Unfortunately I didn't discover this until after i returned from Dubai

Desert safari to the dunes is a must and we also did a trip to Oman and went on a boat trip to see dolphins in the wild (an alternative option if you don't agree with the above).

Also try trip advisor, especially for hotels.

daveyjp

Best advice is to go between late October and mid March - it's tolerable heat and you may enjoy it more.

littlereddevil

The cheapest places to eat are the food courts in the malls. Next to nothing

pelirocco

daveyjp wrote: »

Best advice is to go between late October and mid March - it's tolerable heat and you may enjoy it more.

We went one year at the begining of May , it was unpleasantly hot

Sammy85_2

Ive been there in August with work - NOT nice at all.

Went back on holiday in Feb and was much better. The heat was tolerable.

I really enjoyed snowboarding and skiing, more because of the novelty of doing it in Dubai tbh. Also dune bashing/camel ride/ evening bbq in the desert. Day out at Wild Wadi was fun, there were hardly any stairs to climb to get to slides/rides and most were rubber ringos. Dont forget to have a wander round the gold souk. Enjoyed looking at some HUGE diamonds even if i didnt get to take any home. :-)

mumlady1

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the replies. Unfortunately due to kids being in school, we need to go during the April hols as they have exams this year and I don't want to take them out during term time. Summer will be waaay too hot & the only other breaks we get are just 1 week long (I like to have a day or 2 either side of my hols to get organised) so not long enough.
Has anyone tried renting a serviced apartment instead of a hotel? It would appear to be a little cheaper but will we lose out in other areas i.e. free shuttle buses to attractions etc.

richardw

Since Dubai is expensive and you are going at a peak time, are there any particular aspects to a holiday to Dubai that you couldn't get in a cheaper holiday elsewhere?

joaniemerc

The Entertainer Book is a must as per above post. I think it's now about £50 but you more than reap your money back - probably by your first meal/trip.

We went for New Year so were there when the Book changed from 2010/2011. What we did was to buy a second-hand book from Ebay. The Book is huge and there's no way you would use all the buy-one-get-one-free vouchers on a normal one/two week holiday so people bring them back and sell them on Ebay for a lot less. This we picked up ours for about £15.

Also the Dubai forum on Trip Advisor is an excellent source of information. People who have come back will often offer their part-used Entertainer Books on there.

Dubai is fabulous and doesn't compare to any other holiday - it's a one-off but I suppose it could be said it's like Marmite, you either........

We loved it and I'd go back like a shot! The fireworks off the Burj Khalifa Tower at New Year were something else!

littlereddevil

Oh Joanie I was there at New Year too!

revpeachy

Whenever I go I make sure I pick up a copy of this http://www.timeoutdubai.com/
Handy little magazine with listings etc.

Naturally you'll be in money saving heaven in the souks! Don't be shy make sure you haggle your socks off! pay a visit to the spice souks as well, go via the abra (local taxi boats). Try and visit Jumeriah mosque, they do guided tours, really beautiful (make sure cover arms/legs they will give you head cover). Stick to the beige coloured taxis; Government run with strict rules and cheap, as are the public beaches but the do have ladies only days (think it was Tuesday and Thursday).

Hope you do go and hope you have a great time!!



PS Check when Ramadan is too you don't want moaning teenagers because they can't drink water, chew gum etc during day.