Dubai Hints & Tips! (Merged)

khizman

hmm that price seems about right?
which hotel is it???
the seashell inn imo is my favourite because of its location - right next to deira shopping areas and accross the road from https://www.karachidarbar.com
also landmark hotel in nasser sq. is a good one too.
just book a flight and book your hotel at dubai airport, much cheaper and wider selection imo.

budgetflyer

We were B+B in a balcony seaview room, hence the price. (it was a special occasion as normally if im taking the halfwits(3 children :-)) we are cheapskates.
A 3 star hotel wont have beach access. The Sheraton charges aprox £15 each per day for access inc beds,umberella etc. for visitors.
Dubai is MASSIVE. The City centre is a 1/2 taxi from Jumeirah Beach area. (£10) Drink is expensive everywhere ,confined to hotels and entertainment complexes (£4.50 a pint) Food is cheap and the quality is excellent.
We were on a relaxing break so stayed mostly during the day at The Sheraton ,sunbeds were never a problem either at the private beach or pool.
If you like shopping then a city centre hotel would be better, maybe paying for a day at any of the resort hotels for sunbathing.Jumeirah Beach at the moment is a 10KM building site. A seaviw room IMO is a MUST.Dont spoil your holiday for the sake of an upgrade price.

Joe_Millionaire

[QUOTE just book a flight and book your hotel at dubai airport, much cheaper and wider selection.[/QUOTE]


Is this what you done?

I would feel that they would have you over a barrel once you are there as they would know you have no where to stay....................

It does not bother me to book a flight and then a room but to do it when you get there? I don't know?

khizman

Joe_Millionaire wrote:

Is this what you done?

I would feel that they would have you over a barrel once you are there as they would know you have no where to stay....................

It does not bother me to book a flight and then a room but to do it when you get there? I don't know?

yep everytime, it may cause you a heart attack of even thinking about it but it all works out,
there are zillions of desks as you head out towards the exit and the first one you see as you head out is the one u need as they have prices for pretty much all hotels in dubai
wrote this a little while ago for anther forum
I have been to dubai numerous time, most of it business and a few times on holiday, this is the cheapest way to visit, imo

1) Find a flight, emirates usually have sales for about £300 or eithad, some european airlines are v. Cheap too. Prices fluctuate according to season obviously, i cant really say much about flights.

2) make sure you avoid as much as you can the peak times, the worst one i have found is the february one, hotel prices increase sharply because of the shopping festival, which imo isnt anything special.

3) hotels - Relax here, what i am about to tell you may seem very strange indeed but this is the best method. Go to the airport with no booking, when you go out of the baggage scanning bit and towards the exit there are a zillion hotel desks there, one of them just says "HOTEL RESERVATIONS" at the top in bold Red writing, there you can ask them for a hotel and they will give you the best rate you can find, believe me its the cheapest. A standard 3* hotel in a nice area shouldnt cost more than 25-30 a night during normal season for a double room. ask the guy if there is a hotel shuttle that will take you as the taxi from the airport for no reason is extremely expensive, their meters start at 3-4 times the usual rate i have no idea why though. If not then take a taxi.
Edit - I prefer to stay in apartments as they are the same price but bigger and with kitchen etc Smile - also you pay for your hotel at the airport.

4) Transport - if you plan on travelling a bit you can hire a car for about £30 a day, otherwise taxis are reasonably priced, i say reasonable because they have trippled in price since the government started their own taxi service and abolished private taxis. DO NOT hire a car from a random small company - go for the big names (avis, budget etc) dont whatever you do pay their list price, they should charge you half their list. Taxis are all metered - no problem with them, they never complain or try to rip you off, they are watched VERY carefully by the government, they have gps trackers in the car so they are watched where they go all the time so dont worry, if someone does try to do any funny business just take the reg of the taxi and report him

5) currency - take cash travellers checks or whatever you usually take, dont, whatever you do exchange money at the hotels. Exchange at the airport as the rates are good there or better yet go to the shopping area and exchange. (more on the shopping area later)

6) Food - Again dont eat anything from the hotels - extremely expensive they are, (p.s if anyone is complaining about me bieng cheap - read the thread title) also avoid the shopping centers etc, if you go to the shopping areas such as meena bazaar in bur dubai or the shopping center around nasser sq. food there is aplenty and cheap, my favourite food establishment has to be http://www.karachidarbar.com - it absolutely kicks !!!!!! - they may look bad BUT they are not they are clean cheap and comfortable - they sell chinese and indian food - the prices are around 6-10dhs a dish which is about £1-1.50 which is nice and cheap. They have brances all over dubai and I garuntee you every taxi driver knows of them, ask one to take you to the nearest one.

7) shopping, obviously cheap. avoid the expensive malls - instead go to meena bazaar in bur dubai for clothes etc. or the area around nasser square the cheapest way to get between the places is by boat. What i usually do is stay in nasser sq. shop around there and then go to to boat station where i cross the river and it drops you off at the center of the meena bazaar, the boat ride costs 50fils which is about 10p.

khizman

budgetflyer wrote:

We were B+B in a balcony seaview room, hence the price. (it was a special occasion as normally if im taking the halfwits(3 children :-)) we are cheapskates.
A 3 star hotel wont have beach access. The Sheraton charges aprox £15 each per day for access inc beds,umberella etc. for visitors.
Dubai is MASSIVE. The City centre is a 1/2 taxi from Jumeirah Beach area. (£10) Drink is expensive everywhere ,confined to hotels and entertainment complexes (£4.50 a pint) Food is cheap and the quality is excellent.
We were on a relaxing break so stayed mostly during the day at The Sheraton ,sunbeds were never a problem either at the private beach or pool.
If you like shopping then a city centre hotel would be better, maybe paying for a day at any of the resort hotels for sunbathing.Jumeirah Beach at the moment is a 10KM building site. A seaviw room IMO is a MUST.Dont spoil your holiday for the sake of an upgrade price.

also yes these beach hotels are miles away from any civilisation they are a good taxi ride away from the city, some city hotels may have a shuttle service to the beach i kno seashell do. i only went to the beach once for a visit and i took my hire car so not too sure about which beach is good etc.

khizman

i wrote this up a while ago for another holiday forum
just though ppl might find it useful here

I have been to dubai numerous times, most of it business and a few times on holiday, this is the cheapest way to visit, imo

1) Find a flight, emirates usually have sales for about £300 or eithad, some european airlines are v. Cheap too. Prices fluctuate according to season obviously, i cant really say much about flights.

2) make sure you avoid as much as you can the peak times, the worst one i have found is the february one, hotel prices increase sharply because of the shopping festival, which imo isnt anything special.

3) hotels - Relax here, what i am about to tell you may seem very strange indeed but this is the best method. Go to the airport with no booking, when you go out of the baggage scanning bit and towards the exit there are a zillion hotel desks there, one of them just says "HOTEL RESERVATIONS" at the top in bold Red writing, there you can ask them for a hotel and they will give you the best rate you can find, believe me its the cheapest. A standard 3* hotel in a nice area shouldnt cost more than 25-30 a night during normal season for a double room. ask the guy if there is a hotel shuttle that will take you as the taxi from the airport for no reason is extremely expensive, their meters start at 3-4 times the usual rate i have no idea why though. If not then take a taxi.
Edit - I prefer to stay in apartments as they are the same price but bigger and with kitchen etc Smile - also you pay for your hotel at the airport.

4) Transport - if you plan on travelling a bit you can hire a car for about £30 a day, otherwise taxis are reasonably priced, i say reasonable because they have trippled in price since the government started their own taxi service and abolished private taxis. DO NOT hire a car from a random small company - go for the big names (avis, budget etc) dont whatever you do pay their list price, they should charge you half their list. Taxis are all metered - no problem with them, they never complain or try to rip you off, they are watched VERY carefully by the government, they have gps trackers in the car so they are watched where they go all the time so dont worry, if someone does try to do any funny business just take the reg of the taxi and report him

5) currency - take cash travellers checks or whatever you usually take, dont, whatever you do exchange money at the hotels. Exchange at the airport as the rates are good there or better yet go to the shopping area and exchange. (more on the shopping area later)

6) Food - Again dont eat anything from the hotels - extremely expensive they are, (p.s if anyone is complaining about me bieng cheap - read the thread title) also avoid the shopping centers etc, if you go to the shopping areas such as meena bazaar in bur dubai or the shopping center around nasser sq. food there is aplenty and cheap, my favourite food establishment has to be http://www.karachidarbar.com - it absolutely kicks !!!!!! - they may look bad BUT they are not they are clean cheap and comfortable - they sell chinese and indian food - the prices are around 6-10dhs a dish which is about £1-1.50 which is nice and cheap. They have brances all over dubai and I garuntee you every taxi driver knows of them, ask one to take you to the nearest one.

7) shopping, obviously cheap. avoid the expensive malls - instead go to meena bazaar in bur dubai for clothes etc. or the area around nasser square the cheapest way to get between the places is by boat. What i usually do is stay in nasser sq. shop around there and then go to to boat station where i cross the river and it drops you off at the center of the meena bazaar, the boat ride costs 50fils which is about 10p.

budgetflyer

Should make this a sticky seeing Dubai is going to be MASSIVE next year.

I'll add my bits.
Jumeirah beach is all resort hotels. Fab if you like lazing around during the day within your own hotel surroundings.
Dubai Marina is being built at the back of it and although it will look fab in a couple of years, at the moment it looks like Beirut on a bad day so BOOK A SEA VIW ROOM. that way you wont see it.
If its shopping and bargains ,then a city hotel may be better. They are cheaper than Jumeirah Beach and you are where its all happening.
If you want a day at the beach then most of the resort hotels will let you in for £15-£25 each per day inc beds ,umbarella,towells etc.
With carefull planing you could easily pay for your trip on the savings you make on Jewelrey and Electrical goods.
Personally I didnt buy much apart from a 6 meg camera for £70. but you could pick up a laptop for £300. Gold Jewelry is where the bargains are.

fatboyonadiet

Just had a gander at this thread and found it useful, especially your tips khizman, I've been told Swiss Air do cheap flights to Dubai now too.

Joe_Millionaire

No way, the first deal I quoted for the flights is no longer available.

The dates I am looking for is 22nd (pm only) 23rd or 24th July for 7 to 10 days.

Although I have just looked on KLM's page and they are showing flights leaving on the 22 AM (No good to us)
for 10 nights for a price of

Flights £220.00 & Tax £90.40 per person

X 2

Total £620.80.

This is the cheapest so far for flights but as I said no good for me.

Joe_Millionaire

fatboyonadiet wrote:

I've been told Swiss Air do cheap flights to Dubai now too.

Too expensive but thanks for the info.