Dubai advice

Arudur

Good morning 

After a fairly rough year we are splurging on a holiday to Dubai.

For those that have been, what are your must dos?

Also, has anyone been up the Burj khalifa? I can't work out the difference with the floors. It seems like there is a top top floor but that has a sudden jump in cost for what appears to be a couple of extra floors up?

Advice appreciated 👍 

saajan_12

What season are you going, and what are you hoping to do eg mostly beach / resort / sight seeing? 

eskbanker

Arudur said:

Also, has anyone been up the Burj khalifa? I can't work out the difference with the floors. It seems like there is a top top floor but that has a sudden jump in cost for what appears to be a couple of extra floors up?

I just bought the standard ticket with access to levels 124 and 125 and didn't see enough benefit in the upgrades to the higher floors (148-154), which weren't value for money as far as I was concerned - the views will be much the same and you're just paying extra for some expensive snacks and drinks.  It can get quite hazy in the middle of the day so potentially worth going early or late....

jimi_man

I've been a couple of times and we went up the Burj. It's an odd experience - because it's so high you don't really appreciate the view as much. Everything is quite distant. But a few extra floors won't make any difference. The history behind it and the construction I found the most interesting. 

Time of year is important. Low season is June to August - simply because it's so hot, but it's usually a lot cheaper if you're prepared to brave the heat. We've been in May and December - both are pleasant (we like the heat so May was fine), but December was definitely busier.

A trip into the desert is worthwhile, driving across the sand dunes. The souks are probably worth a visit too. 

Voyager2002

Probably the best thing to do is take the bus across the desert to Muscat (the capital of Oman). Muscat has a fascinating old city at its core, as well as one of the most beautiful mosques built in the modern period.

Mands

Voyager2002 said:

Probably the best thing to do is take the bus across the desert to Muscat (the capital of Oman). Muscat has a fascinating old city at its core, as well as one of the most beautiful mosques built in the modern period.

And a beautiful grand bazaar. I may have a ridiculous amount of fabric, waiting to be sewn into something fabulous, from there

TheShape

Arudur said:

Good morning 

After a fairly rough year we are splurging on a holiday to Dubai.

For those that have been, what are your must dos?

Also, has anyone been up the Burj khalifa? I can't work out the difference with the floors. It seems like there is a top top floor but that has a sudden jump in cost for what appears to be a couple of extra floors up?

Advice appreciated 👍 

Later I'll add a few more of the things I did when I visited Dubai in November.

Burj Khalifa:  A number of friends and work colleagues had told of long queues to go up to floors 124-125 and that it could be quite crowded up there.  Given it was one of main attractions to visit in Dubai (have been up quite a few of the World's current and former tallest structures/buildings) I decided to go for the At the top-Sky ticket which if memory serves is floor 148 and access to 124-125.

Bought tickets online.  When you get there you skip the queue for tickets and wait in a small room and get a few treats/biscuits and juice or coffee.  You are then fast-tracked through security - the main queue is paused to let you through and then fast-tracked to the lifts.  Again, the main queue is paused.  

When at floor 148, it is both smaller and quieter than 124-125 with some nice seating.  People come around with water, juice and coffee and small sweets/biscuits.

I personally thought it was worth the extra money which is admittedly double the regular price.  There is also a further floor even higher with a more refined experience.  That was another doubling of the price though.

DullGreyGuy

Arudur said:

For those that have been, what are your must dos?

Also, has anyone been up the Burj khalifa? I can't work out the difference with the floors. It seems like there is a top top floor but that has a sudden jump in cost for what appears to be a couple of extra floors up?

Personally would say there isnt much to do in Dubai let alone a "must do". It's much more a place to relax, shop and/or be seen. It has little real history/ is a very modern city and only 10% of people actually have nationality there. 

The Khalifa has three tiers and each is about double the cost of the one below. The view itself won't change too much, and none are truly at the top of the building, but it's what amenities you get, how busy it is etc does. We went for the lowest rung, the "classic" and it was fine. 

Going out into the desert is virtually all "dune bashing" in 4x4 or quad bikes or sandboarding etc, ok if it's your thing. There is a hotel out in the desert which does some less adrenaline based activities but being part of the Marriot's Luxury Collection its not a cheap place. 

The Atlantis Waterpark was the better of the waterparks we went to if you like slides, lazy rivers etc. 

There are a ton of things to do simply because it's there but it all feels very plastic, skiing in a shopping mall, scuba diving in the deepest swimming pool etc etc. You can go to the "old town" (not old by a European yard stick) but the souks etc are nothing compared to other Arab countries with a true history. 

We spend most the time either on the beach or in the waterpark. 

jimi_man said:

Time of year is important. Low season is June to August - simply because it's so hot, but it's usually a lot cheaper if you're prepared to brave the heat. 

It is exceptionally hot but actually in the daytime it's not that bad as you are either on the beach, in the pool or indoors (which has exceptional airconditioning everywhere). Night time the same with the AC. 

Where we found summer challenge (early June) was the evenings where its still high 30s temps but many restaurants etc have fairly formal dress code. It's ok, just make sure you are sitting inside (or go to a less formal place). 

Ramadan is the other consideration when going to any muslim country, haven't been to Dubai during it but have been to other countries. Given how early it is this year I'm guessing it won't overlap with the OP's holiday. Again it pushes down prices but may impact the experience. 

jimi_man

Personally, having just returned from Abu Dhabi, I prefer it there. Still a modern city but far less brash than Dubai. 

TheShape

I'd disagree with an earlier poster that there isn't much to do, but that's because it's very subjective.

A brief summary of 5 days is spent in Dubai

Day One:  Spent time at our pool in the morning.  Afternoon, took a hotel bus down to kite beach.  Sat on the beach, wandered around, had lunch, had a swim.  Evening, had a wander up and down Sheikh Zayed Road.

Day Two:  Went to the Burj Khalifa.  Viewed it from the bottom and took a trip up to floor 148.  Afternoon got the Metro and a tram down to the Marina.  Wandered around, had lunch.  Then took a tram to the Palm.  From there took the Monorail down to the end to the Atlantis just before sunset.  Took the Monorail part way back, walked around the park area on the Palm and out to a beach area where we sat at viewed the Marina as the sun set.

Day Three:  Got a tour to Hatta.  Stopped of in the Dunes.  Didn’t really do any Dune-bashing but did a little sandboarding and wandered around the Dunes and the rocks.  Visited the Hatta dam.  Visited an Apiary/bee farm on the tour and got dressed up in the bee keeping gear and had a look inside a hive.  That was very interesting.  In the Evening, we had a wander around the Dubai Mall and saw the fountains and the Burj Khalifa light show.

Day Four: Walking tour of Deira including the souks and Abra rides.  Pool in the afternoon.  Pub in the evening.

Day Five: Day tour to Abu-Dhabi including the Sheikh Zayed Mosque.

Overall, we really filled our days and really enjoyed it.  You can do as much of the ‘site-seeing’ as you like and chill out at the beach or you pool if you fancy.

The place does feel somewhat artificial/brash/gaudy even but I thought it was something of a marvel.  There are plenty of towns and cities around the world that were built to meet the needs/wants of the day just as Dubai has been built today.  A lot of people like those because they're old but at one time they were probably built on some old field or wasteland, just as Dubai was built in the dessert.

DullGreyGuy

TheShape said:

I'd disagree with an earlier poster that there isn't much to do, but that's because it's very subjective.

Fully agree it's subjective but for only a short 5 day holiday you spent 2 of those days outside of Dubai and one of those was outside the Emirate of Dubai. Feels more akin to saying that going to Paris is great because you can go to the Champagne region easily or get good well priced wine down in Bordeaux. 

The wider UAE is more interesting than Dubai but assumed we were considering the city itself not the whole country or Arabian Peninsula.