Dubai, first time visit, what to do and see?
Discussion
Evening all, The wife and u are looking at heading to dubai at the start of May for my 30th . don't really know much about the place. So what is there to do? Is it expensive to eat out and expensive for things to do? (i know it depends on what we want to do etc but just a general gist please)
We like immersing ourselves in some local culture also car related stuff and things that are a little different to normal everyday life here in blighty.
So answers on a postcard, failing that (sending a postcard addressed to the tea boy, doesn't work. Not that ive tried)
Please reply here
. Kind regards
Matt
We like immersing ourselves in some local culture also car related stuff and things that are a little different to normal everyday life here in blighty.
So answers on a postcard, failing that (sending a postcard addressed to the tea boy, doesn't work. Not that ive tried)
Please reply here
. Kind regards
Matt
It's a long time since we were there but the Dubai Creek cruise was ok and I wish we had used a wee abra (water taxi) to cross the creek, just to tick another means of transport off my list.
The Sheik's old residence is now a museum and was interesting so long as you are interested in the history of the place, and the souks are a must but be aware that a lot of the gold is a lot more yellow than we would see here. The jeweller who replaced a diamond in my wife's engagement ring dipped it in platinum or something, because they weren't familiar with 9ct!
The desert safari was probably my favourite. Picked up in a Land Cruiser, we were taken out to the desert where the driver let some air out of the tyres before going off-road.
It felt like the more we laughed the faster he got, and although it seemed as if we were the only people out there, we crested a dune and saw 10 other 4x4s criss-crossing. Dropped into a dip and never saw them again!
At one point we lost a tyre, peeled clean off the rim, and it bounced away so our driver just pointed downhill and chased it to the bottom where one of his mates arrived, helped jack up the car, fitted the spare and disappeared with the wheel and the tyre in his boot.
We ended up at a Bedouin camp where we had an evening meal in the desert with beer and wine and much food, belly dancers, falconers, and other entertainers, henna tattooists etc before being dropped off back at the hotel.
We stayed in The Residence at the Hyatt at the bottom of Corniche and there is an ice-rink on the ground floor and a revolving restaurant at the top as well as the rooftop pool.
The Jumaira Beach, The World, ski-skope, waterpark, etc weren't there when we were, so can't comment on those.
The Sheik's old residence is now a museum and was interesting so long as you are interested in the history of the place, and the souks are a must but be aware that a lot of the gold is a lot more yellow than we would see here. The jeweller who replaced a diamond in my wife's engagement ring dipped it in platinum or something, because they weren't familiar with 9ct!
The desert safari was probably my favourite. Picked up in a Land Cruiser, we were taken out to the desert where the driver let some air out of the tyres before going off-road.
It felt like the more we laughed the faster he got, and although it seemed as if we were the only people out there, we crested a dune and saw 10 other 4x4s criss-crossing. Dropped into a dip and never saw them again!
At one point we lost a tyre, peeled clean off the rim, and it bounced away so our driver just pointed downhill and chased it to the bottom where one of his mates arrived, helped jack up the car, fitted the spare and disappeared with the wheel and the tyre in his boot.
We ended up at a Bedouin camp where we had an evening meal in the desert with beer and wine and much food, belly dancers, falconers, and other entertainers, henna tattooists etc before being dropped off back at the hotel.
We stayed in The Residence at the Hyatt at the bottom of Corniche and there is an ice-rink on the ground floor and a revolving restaurant at the top as well as the rooftop pool.
The Jumaira Beach, The World, ski-skope, waterpark, etc weren't there when we were, so can't comment on those.
All of that... The Wild Wadi is a great day, to be honest. A relaxing float around the outer 'streams', or a fast ride up the tubes that rip your pants off, etc. Lots of fun. We stayed in the Burj that night, (17th floor... very nice). The restaurant on the top isn't much to shout about, but the seafood restaurant is really quite excellent, I thought. Hamour was my favourite fish there, even though it isn't anything special, (nicer than lobster).
The Hatta Fort Lodge out near the mountains is a really nice break away from the city. Good food, wine, lovely views, and all that sort of stuff.
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g736302-...
The Hatta Fort Lodge out near the mountains is a really nice break away from the city. Good food, wine, lovely views, and all that sort of stuff.
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g736302-...
I've been a few times and while alcohol is expensive for the most part the price of food isn't too bad, like here there's places to suit most budgets. As most of the places that serve alcohol are hotels or part of hotels then you're paying inflated hotel prices also.
Some nights we would spend the night at the Irish Village for a few more reasonably priced drinks and food. Another Irish pub which was nearby where we're based at the marina is McGettigans. Fine if you fancy a pint amongst some ex pats, fish n chips and a pub quiz; but you can do that back home.
If you want to go even cheaper but more local then venture into Bur Dubai for an Indian at the Nawab where four of us ate plenty for less then £30.
Staying at the marina we spent a fair bit of time in The Yacht Club which has a bar and restaurant downstairs. The bar does 2 for 1 deals on drinks some nights and a quiz on a Wednesday iirc. Upstairs it has an area for Friday brunch which is a big deal in Dubai (Friday - Saturday being the weekend in Dubai). They're brunch is good enough but if you want to push the boat out and impress the OH then get booked up for Friday brunch at the Fairmont. Quality food on an epic scale and free flowing champagne for about £70/80 iirc.
My OH recommends Yalumba brunch if you're looking for more of a party atmosphere.
Opposite the Marina there's the Walk along JBR which has lots of shops, restaurants and hotels. It's a nice area to spend the evening and there's usually plenty of nice metal driving slowly by.
If you like a steak there's an Argentinian steak house on the top floor of the Jumeriah beach hotel with a view out to Burj Al Arab. Plush surroundings, excellent service and proper steak with cuts of meat I've never seen the likes of here - just don't forget your wallet.
Gordon Ramsays old place in the Hilton by the creek has changed names I believe but still ran by the same chefs. Probably the finest meal I've ever had but a bill upwards of £700 for four I'm glad I wasn't paying.
A couple of places I'd recommend for extending your night is Barasti in the Le Meridien Mina Seyahi. It's a beach bar where there's the option to chill out with a drink or dance if thats your thing. Grab a sofa/bed on the beach and watch the sunset. Their cheap Strawberry Daquiris from the slush puppy type machine do the job nicely
The Madinat Jumeirah has some nice bars in amongst little waterways where you can surprise the mrs with a little trip in a gondola.
If you're looking to escape the city for the day you can head out into the desert to Hatta Fort. Amongst the mountains it's very quiet and for what was nothing more than a few quid a head we got full use of their pool for the afternoon after having lunch there.
I'd recommend having a bite outside the mall at the bottom of the Burj Khalifa, its pretty special. I wasn't impressed with the viewing area "At the top". I didn't expect to be swinging from the flag pole but I thought we'd be a little higher than around halfway up. Far more impressive from the bottom imo.
Taxis are everywhere and metered. You'll never have to look far for one and they are pretty cheap. The only thing I would say is that on the motorway they have a habit of sitting 2 inches behind the car in front, I've often told the driver to please back off. There's also the metro for getting across town to avoid the tailgating and it's dirt cheap.
Dubai timeout magazine has been a great resource for us plus my future FiL lives out there at the moment having worked there on and off for 25-30 years.
Not sure if any of that blurb is much use, Dubai has literally thousands of hotels and restaurants. I've barely scratched the surface in the few times I've been.
There's also the usual water parks for during the day. Head out to Atlantis, impressive looking hotel plus it gets you out onto the palm just to say you've been. There's not much in it between there and Wild Wadi.
We'll be out at the end of April again this year and talking about going our for new years eve.
Enjoy!
Some nights we would spend the night at the Irish Village for a few more reasonably priced drinks and food. Another Irish pub which was nearby where we're based at the marina is McGettigans. Fine if you fancy a pint amongst some ex pats, fish n chips and a pub quiz; but you can do that back home.
If you want to go even cheaper but more local then venture into Bur Dubai for an Indian at the Nawab where four of us ate plenty for less then £30.
Staying at the marina we spent a fair bit of time in The Yacht Club which has a bar and restaurant downstairs. The bar does 2 for 1 deals on drinks some nights and a quiz on a Wednesday iirc. Upstairs it has an area for Friday brunch which is a big deal in Dubai (Friday - Saturday being the weekend in Dubai). They're brunch is good enough but if you want to push the boat out and impress the OH then get booked up for Friday brunch at the Fairmont. Quality food on an epic scale and free flowing champagne for about £70/80 iirc.
My OH recommends Yalumba brunch if you're looking for more of a party atmosphere.
Opposite the Marina there's the Walk along JBR which has lots of shops, restaurants and hotels. It's a nice area to spend the evening and there's usually plenty of nice metal driving slowly by.
If you like a steak there's an Argentinian steak house on the top floor of the Jumeriah beach hotel with a view out to Burj Al Arab. Plush surroundings, excellent service and proper steak with cuts of meat I've never seen the likes of here - just don't forget your wallet.
Gordon Ramsays old place in the Hilton by the creek has changed names I believe but still ran by the same chefs. Probably the finest meal I've ever had but a bill upwards of £700 for four I'm glad I wasn't paying.
A couple of places I'd recommend for extending your night is Barasti in the Le Meridien Mina Seyahi. It's a beach bar where there's the option to chill out with a drink or dance if thats your thing. Grab a sofa/bed on the beach and watch the sunset. Their cheap Strawberry Daquiris from the slush puppy type machine do the job nicely
The Madinat Jumeirah has some nice bars in amongst little waterways where you can surprise the mrs with a little trip in a gondola.
If you're looking to escape the city for the day you can head out into the desert to Hatta Fort. Amongst the mountains it's very quiet and for what was nothing more than a few quid a head we got full use of their pool for the afternoon after having lunch there.
I'd recommend having a bite outside the mall at the bottom of the Burj Khalifa, its pretty special. I wasn't impressed with the viewing area "At the top". I didn't expect to be swinging from the flag pole but I thought we'd be a little higher than around halfway up. Far more impressive from the bottom imo.
Taxis are everywhere and metered. You'll never have to look far for one and they are pretty cheap. The only thing I would say is that on the motorway they have a habit of sitting 2 inches behind the car in front, I've often told the driver to please back off. There's also the metro for getting across town to avoid the tailgating and it's dirt cheap.
Dubai timeout magazine has been a great resource for us plus my future FiL lives out there at the moment having worked there on and off for 25-30 years.
Not sure if any of that blurb is much use, Dubai has literally thousands of hotels and restaurants. I've barely scratched the surface in the few times I've been.
There's also the usual water parks for during the day. Head out to Atlantis, impressive looking hotel plus it gets you out onto the palm just to say you've been. There's not much in it between there and Wild Wadi.
We'll be out at the end of April again this year and talking about going our for new years eve.
Enjoy!
I've lived here for a couple of years now and LAPlace has covered a lot of the high spots.... I can make plenty more recommendations but how long are you here for, where are you staying and what type of things do you like to do....
You mention local culture... The Batistika district of old Dubai is well worth a walk around, as is the Dubai museum (it's a stop on the bus tour and free with the tour ticket)
If you can get out of DXB then the Al Ain fort and museum is well worth visiting, it's not far from there to Jebel Hafeet mountain which has a cracking road up it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6do7zGGqnk
and a nice hotel at the top for a drink.
There's lots to do in the Emirates, I've barely scratched the surface and every time friends / relatives stay we always find new stuff to do and see.
You mention local culture... The Batistika district of old Dubai is well worth a walk around, as is the Dubai museum (it's a stop on the bus tour and free with the tour ticket)
If you can get out of DXB then the Al Ain fort and museum is well worth visiting, it's not far from there to Jebel Hafeet mountain which has a cracking road up it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6do7zGGqnk
and a nice hotel at the top for a drink.
There's lots to do in the Emirates, I've barely scratched the surface and every time friends / relatives stay we always find new stuff to do and see.
Edited by K50 DEL on Thursday 3rd January 04:49
What to do? I think it's more of a question of 'what do you want to do'.
Dubai is a land of dreams - if you want to do it, you probably can.
Number one on the list HAS to be a helicopter flight over the city and Palms / World - AMAZING!
Then get yourself into the desert for a camel ride, dune bashing and the most romantic sunset in the world, followed by dinner and dancing under the stars.
Then go shopping for Gold.
Wild Wadi Water Park - then the Atlantis Water Park to compare the two.
It's all tourist orientated, but that really doesn't matter I don't think - just embrace it.
[off to search last minute holidays]
Dubai is a land of dreams - if you want to do it, you probably can.
Number one on the list HAS to be a helicopter flight over the city and Palms / World - AMAZING!
Then get yourself into the desert for a camel ride, dune bashing and the most romantic sunset in the world, followed by dinner and dancing under the stars.
Then go shopping for Gold.
Wild Wadi Water Park - then the Atlantis Water Park to compare the two.
It's all tourist orientated, but that really doesn't matter I don't think - just embrace it.
[off to search last minute holidays]
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