A Tourist’s Guide to Dubai

Dubai is one of the most glamorous cities in the world, and a hot destination for wealthy people looking for fun and excess. It is also a major business hub, as well as a world class vacation favorite. Located on the Arabian Peninsula, with a stunning city coastline and many innovative developments by way of hotels and resorts, Dubai is impressive and luxurious, but can be surprisingly cheap to visit.

Best Time to Travel

Dubai gets extremely hot. We are not talking pleasant and balmy here, but far too hot to go outside at the hottest parts of the day at certain times of the year (though if you are by a pool or the sea of course, you may be able to cool down there). For this reason, you will get more out of your time there if you aim to go in the winter. You will still be looking at hot weather, but it will be a lot more manageable in November through to February. Avoid the height of summer if you can, unless you want to spend all your time doing indoor things.

Amazing Attractions to See

In Dubai, you can see both the old, traditional Arabic architecture and style of old Dubai, with attractions such as the Dubai Museum, and the Jumeirah Mosque, and the amazing modern structures more famously associated with Dubai now that it is a world leading metropolis. The Dubai Museum shows you exactly how, and how quickly, Dubai was transformed into the iconic city you see today. It is quite a remarkable story of how money and commerce progressed a reasonably small and old fashioned Arabian city into a stunning, wealthy modern hub. To see the results of this transformation, you only have to look at the Burj Al-Arab Hotel – the only seven star hotel in the world. This is literally the most luxurious hotel on Earth. Dubai also has the world's tallest structure, the Burj Khalifa, and of course the world famous Palm Islands – man made islands made of sand in the shape of palm trees.

Exquisite and Delicious Restaurants

As you would expect in a city of this class, in Dubai you can get any style of cuisine you want, from Indian in Ravi Restaurant, through to English fish and chips at the London Fish and Chip Shop. For something special, try the Al Dawaar revolving restaurant, which gives you a beautiful view of the city as it revolves while you dine, or eat at AT.MOSPHERE, which is inside the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.

Going Places in Dubai

While Dubai does have reasonably good public transport, it is very much a car oriented place and so you may find that hiring a car or using taxis is the best way to get around. There are many well known brands of car rental companies with offices all over Dubai, so you can pick up a good deal on a car for your stay if you expect to be traveling around a lot. Otherwise, taxis are a good choice, or you can try using the buses and the metro. You can buy day passes for use on the bus and metro network much like in other major cities, and this works out cheaper than buying individual tickets if you are out sightseeing.