Dubai, UAE
Winter sun capital for Europe. Perfect 25 °C from November to March; brutal by June.
Best time to visit
Weather by month
Cost
Serves travellers at Budget→Ultra-luxury level. Typically around $300 a day on the ground.
Ranges are typical costs, not quotes. Check the real price before you book.
What's on
Dubai Shopping Festival January
City-wide sales and fireworks
Dubai Food Festival February
Restaurant week and street eats
Worth knowing
Cards everywhere, taxis included. Cash in the old souks, where haggling is expected.
money · editorial
Modest dress is expected in malls and required at mosques. Ramadan changes the rhythm of the city, with daytime eating and drinking in public restricted.
know before · editorial
The summer months are brutal, well over 40 °C with humidity on top, and life moves entirely indoors.
when not to go · editorial
Downtown for the tower and the mall. Marina and JBR for beach and promenade. Deira and Bur Dubai for the creek, the souks and lower-rise streets. Palm Jumeirah for resorts and total dependence on taxis.
where to stay · editorial
The metro follows the spine along Sheikh Zayed Road and taxis fill the gaps. Everything is further apart than it looks, and two buildings that appear adjacent are often not walkable.
getting around · editorial
Dubai International sits close to the centre with the metro running from it. Al Maktoum, further out, takes some carriers and is a long drive from everything.
getting there · editorial
Quests
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Burj Khalifa
828 metres. From the ground at its foot, it does not fit in your field of vision.
The Burj fountain
Jets of 150 metres, every half hour after dark, free.
Burj Al Arab from the beach
A 321-metre sail on an artificial island. From the outside is enough.
The gold souk, Deira
Tonnes of gold in the windows, and the price is by the gram and negotiable.
Jumeirah Mosque
The only one open to non-Muslims, with a guided visit and questions allowed.
Museum of the Future
A steel torus with Arabic calligraphy cut through it, and not one column inside.
See
Go up the Burj Khalifa in late afternoon and stay until the city lights up
Eat
Eat a street shawarma in Deira, not the hotel brunch
Shawarma from a pavement shop
A dollar fifty, wrapped in paper, at two in the morning.
Luqaimat
Fried dough balls in date syrup. A Ramadan sweet eaten all year.
Arabic coffee with a date
Cardamom, served in a small cup, always with the right hand.
Moment
Cross the Creek in a wooden abra for one dirham
Cross the Creek in an abra
One dirham, a wooden boat, a loud engine. The city before all the rest of it.
The desert in late afternoon
Forty minutes from the city and the silence is complete.
Trail
The Hatta pools
Two hours by car to the Hajar mountains, then a valley on foot.