- During a few years living in Dubai I have been able to visit several areas of interest for visitors and I will briefly write a bit about them
- I will divide this post in three sections:
- Dubai
- Abu Dhabi
- Other Emirates
1. Dubai
- Despite not being the first Emirate of UAE, is probably the most touristic and where most expats live
- Metro and bus communication has a lot of margin to improve, especially in terms of broader network and frequencies, but at least eventual taxis are not too pricy
- a) Dubai Marina, JBR & The Palm
- b) Madinat Jumeirah
- c) Burj Al Arab & Kite Beach
- d) Burj Khalifa & Dubai Water Canal Walk
- e) Dubai Tennis Stadium (february)
- f) Old Dubai (Al Fahidi, Souks, Creek) & Al Manzar beach
- g) Miracle Garden
- h) Al Qudra Cycle Track
- i) Desert Safari
- j) Hatta
a) Dubai Marina, JBR & The Palm:
- Probably Marina, where I have lived a few years, is my favourite area in Dubai
- Traffic is horrible within Marina and not convenient, but I use a bicycle to move around or I simply walk
- Walking around the marina is impressive
- You can find people practising sport at both sides of the Marina, many restaurants and several options for nightlife (Barasti beach club is one of the most popular options both during the day and the night)
- Right next to Marina you find JBR (Jumeirah Beach Residence) beach, also packed with options for food and nightlife, and a very busy beach (maybe too packed)
- There are many events all around the year, many of which are free, such as outdoor yoga
- One of the most attractive plans for visitors might be a boat party or simply a boat ride , across the Marina going into the sea with great views of the Marina and the Palm
- The Palm itself is impressive as an artificial creation and it has amazing resorts, private beaches and beach clubs, communicated by tram but with an awful traffic
- Atlantis Mall is popular in this area but in my opinion it is simply a mall as many other in the region
- Atlantis Water Park is a popular water park in the Palm with private beach as well (very expensive especially for non-residents)
- However, I do not fancy the Palm much and I would not spend much time there
- Traffic into the Palm is pretty bad and the only tram connection from Marina to the Palm is not enough in my opinion, so there is quite dependency on private car or taxi
b) Madinat Jumeirah:
- Near the Palm we find Madinat Jumeirah, where we find a luxury villa resort, a touristic souk or market, several restaurants (let's say not budget restaurants)
- However this place is often enjoyed by visitors and it is also nice for a romantic dinner
- If you have a restaurant booking it offers water transportation within the canals (slightly as a Venetian style) and the views of Burj Al Arab are nice
- Burj Al Arab is the known as 7 star hotel in Dubai, the only one in the world, such a good publicity because that 7 star denomination does not exist
- Public views within the hotel are not easily achieved as the hotel wants to maintain the privacy of their guests, but I met someone working in the hotel who offered a private tour for my parents and me
- Kite beach is my favourite beach in Dubai in terms of space, sports, relaxed...
- It offers a nice view with Burj Al Arab in the background
- As the name indicates, many people go there to play with their kite, but there are also many water sports offered, as well as beach volley, beach tennis, a jogging track, ect...
- Sunset in this beach is also very nice
d) Burj Khalifa & Dubai Water Canal Walk
- Burj Khalifa is currently the highest building in the world, exceeding 800m
- Its construction has a grey history behind (some documentaries give an idea) but the building is currently the most iconic attraction in Dubai, being possible to observe it from several beaches and many areas in the city
- It is possible to go up to almost 500m high to have nice views of the city, but of course this has a price, quite high by the way (around €40 if you book online, much more expensive if you go straight away to the queue)
- The musical fountain show is a huge touristic attraction (every half an hour from the afternoon till midnight), and there are many restaurants nearby to enjoy food, music and the views
- Not far from Burj Khalifa in 2017 has been opened the Dubai Water Canal Walk, a nice area to walk or ride a bicycle, also quite close to Safa Park
- Let me add here another personal attraction: Dubai Tennis Master is played in Dubai in February
- First rounds have free access to secondary courts!
- In 2015 I was lucky to get tickets for the final Federed-Djokovic
- Going towards downtown and near the next Emirate (Sharjah) you seem to be in a different country
- Most expats are from a complete different geographical location and many do not live in the best "expat" conditions
- In particular I liked Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, where you can observe ancient and traditional Dubai, narrow streets, local tea and coffee shops, the Fort, mosque and Museums (history, Arabic calligraphy, numismatic...)
- In this area I would recommend the restaurant Arabian Tea House, with great Arabic food, lovely decoration and lot of pictures of some decades ago
- In downtown you can find popular souks such as Gold Souk Dubai, with all kind of jewellery, try local dresses, food, buy souvenirs and find much better prices than in the rest of the city
- Also you can enjoy Dubai Creek, a river within Dubai where traditional old Dubai started with plenty of fishermen and a complete different economical situation than nowadays
- Starting at only 1 dirham (a quarter of an euro) you can take a small both from one side to the other of the Creek
- Al Manzar beach is another popular beach but right before Sharjah Emirate, much more conservative
- The actual beach has a small entrance fee (€1) and has some green area and barbecue spaces, but the following photo is a few kilometres before
- Another option in Dubai is Miracle Garden, opened quite recently, with plenty of representations made of flowers and plants (i.e. this huge aircraft)
- Another sport idea that I want to include is cycling in Al Qudra, where you can take your own bike or just rent it
- I took my parents, couple and friends to cycle along this long asphalted path across the desert
- You can even cycle till Bab Al Shams resort and have some food and relax there
- Finally another popular activity in Dubai is going to the desert
- Locals and expats go often for camping, barbecue etc
- However most visitors book a desert "safari" which is nice but has nothing of safari apart from 2 camels
- Cheapest prices I found were at www.hunturdeals.com but charging only €20 per person including transport and food do not expect the most impressive tour of course
- They include a few minutes 4x4 ride across the dunes, a short camel ride and sand boarding trial if you want, some dinner with dances and you can take one of these vehicles at an extra cost
j) Hatta
- Quite far from the other points of interest but still belonging to Dubai Emirate as far as I understand, you can visit Hatta Dam where you can go for a picnic, rent canoes or simply enjoy the views
2. Abu Dhabi
- Capital of UAE, a bit more conservative than Dubai but still touristic and hosting lot of expats
Main areas visited:
- a) Sheikh Zayed Mosque (Grand Mosque)
- b) Corniche Beach
- c) Emirates Palace & Etihad Towers
- d) Tiara Revolving Restaurant (Marina Mall)
- e) Yas Marina F1 Circuit
- f) Louvre Abu Dhabi
- g) Al Ain & Wadi Adventure park
a) Sheikh Zayed Mosque (Grand Mosque):
- Most visited touristic attraction in Abu Dhabi
- Finished in 2007, was built in honour of first President of UAE
- Largest mosque in the UAE
b) Corniche Beach:
- Lovely walking corniche with a nice long beach with several restaurants, more relaxed than Dubai in my opinion
c) Emirates Palace & Etihad Towers:
- Built in 2005, Emirates Palace is one of the most luxurious hotels in the UAE and it can be somehow easily visited while you cannot enjoy its private beach or facilities unless you are hosted there obviously
- Right outside the hotel we can see Etihad Towers, a beautiful iconic group of 5 towers
d) Tiara Revolving Restaurant (as of Jan 2018 I found it closed due to reforms):
- A personal advice for a restaurant would be Tiara Revolving Restaurant, in Marina Mall, not for the food which is quite average and even slightly expensive but for its concept, as the restaurants turns 360 degrees every 90 minutes offering nice views of the city
- For Formula 1 lovers the circuit can be visited as well, together with Yas Viceroy luxurious hotel
- Nearby there are some theme parks such as Ferrari and Abu Dhabi is opening several museums such as Louvre or Guggenheim but I have not been there yet
- Opened in November 2017, it is the first of several museums intended in Saadiyat Island
- The architecture of the museum itself is very nice and the pieces of art are well organized in 12 permanent stages through history plus a few temporary exhibitions
- I am not a big fan of museums but I enjoyed this one and I have to admit they have done a good job
- Here you can see a few examples:
- Al Ain belongs to Abu Dhabi but it borders with Oman, and it is the 4th largest city in the UAE
- In Al Ain there are spectacular mountains (Jebel Hafeet) which can be easily accessed by car and offer great views of Abu Dhabi (unfortunately my photo was taken too late)
- Also you can visit Wadi Adventure water theme park which in my opinion is not something special but ok
- The other 5 Emirates in the UAE, quite more conservative specially Sharjah, still offer several avtivities to enjoy
- I will only write slightly about Fujairah, Ras al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain and Ajman but I am sure there is still much more to discover
a) Fujairah:
- In my opinion the best Emirate in the UAE for diving and snorkeling
- Snoopy Island is probably the most relevant spot in Fujairah
- An advice I would have loved to know is not to pay the entrance fee of €25 in the hotel which has direct access to Snoopy Island but just park next to the hotel and simply swim 2 more minutes!
b) Ras al Khaimah:
- An impressive Emirate in my opinion for climbing, trekkings and relax
- I enjoyed some climbing with a colleague at work in 2015 but unfortunately I do not remember the location
- Besides, in Ras al Khaimah I experienced one of the most amazing hikes I have ever done, even dangerous due to my lack of proper information and lack of signals, which makes it amazing and adventurous
- The hike goes to STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN, and the start of the hike is Wadi Ghalilah, where you can park your car and start walking and enjoying
- Stairway to Heaven is 200% recommended as you can see in the following pictures
- However it is not easy to reach the top and for my couple and me it meant spending more than 10h trekking and spending the night hosted by some Pakistani farmers who were unbelievably helpful and kind
- Remember to take enough water and food because there is absolutely nothing on the way but for some goats and maybe a farmer
- There are trekking tours organized if you are scared of not finding the way
- For my couple and me, despite some temporary moments of being scared and lost, it was one of our most amazing stories together so still I would not recommend a guide
- Jebel Jais flight, the longest zipline, in in Ras Al Khaimah as well, and we were able to enjoy it at the end of 2018
- Near Barracuda Resort in Umm Al Quwain there are two abandoned aircrafts which I found pretty cool to visit
- One of them is quite big but both are easily observed from the road, and it is easy to park and see them
- Sometimes there are a few people trying to prevent you from getting close enough but after a few minutes the scene is clear again
- Not far you can visit the Umm Al Quwain Fort turned into a museum but when we reached it was closed at lunchtime
d) Ajman
- Even if only spent a few hours in Ajman, I can say the beach looks nice and the water might be clearer than in other busier Emirates
- The UAE has experienced an incredible growth in just a few decades and it is something to admire, having become a desired holiday for many people
- In my opinion there are areas to improve (I have to be "soft"):
- The huge dependency on cars should be reduced with a proper metro and bus network. I have to admit this has improved a lot in the last decade but people need better communication
- The employee rights are limited: despite spending decades working in this country you will never get residence unless you buy a property. There is not right of strike for employees, all contracts are limited to 3 renewable years making it very easy for companies to get rid of workers, there is no social security, no paternity leave and limited maternity leave, and some workers have very tough conditions (i.e. in the construction sector)
- As a consequence of the previous fact, it is very hard for expats to have a family and extend roots in this country, and that leads to a general feeling loneliness and temporary experience abroad
- Finally, even if some projects are in place, I also miss more areas where to enjoy a walk and green areas
- Anyway, the UAE has been a place of opportunity for me and I have to be grateful for that
- I hope this post helps :)
