Dubai! Have you seen this place? You would know it if you had!!
Overview
When to Go
Itineraries
Activities
Events
Shopping
Entertainment
Where to Eat
Where to Sleep
Money & Costs
Getting There &
Getting Around
History
Arabesque and Disneyesque, Dubai is the fastest growing city in the world.
Dubai today is flashy, fun and slightly surreal. Renowned for its sand, sun and shopping, it was once a tranquil town of coral-and-gypsum courtyard houses built by Persian traders and palm-frond huts housing Bedouin fisherman and pearl divers. Today shiny new skyscrapers reflect the mosques and wind towers of Old Dubai.
The audacity of the city's rulers is breathtaking. Running out of coastline to build hotels? Build vast artificial islands with 120km (74.5mi) of new beachfront. Need better connections with the world? Build up an award-winning international airline in 15 years.
The best time of the year to visit Dubai is between November and April, when the weather is coolest. The rest of the year you're more likely to be running from one air-conditioned environment to the next instead of getting out and exploring. Ramadan, which takes place at a different time each year on the Western calendar, is the Muslim month of fasting and is strictly adhered to throughout the UAE. That means that it's illegal, not to mention rude, to eat, drink or smoke in public from sunrise to sunset at this time. On the 'up' side, hotel rates drop to 50% of their usual cost.
Weather
Between November and April Dubai is quite cool, at least compared to the rest of the year, which swelters under the scorching, unforgiving sun.
A Top Day in Dubai
My top day usually involves showing guests around the city, and nothing goes down better than starting the day with a dip in the Gulf complete with an uninterrupted view of the Burj al-Arab from the beach at Jumeirah. The next stop is always a step back in history with a trip to the Dubai Museum. Suitably amused and impressed, my guests are usually keen to keep the heritage theme happening so we'll take a walk through the Bastakia area and down to the Heritage and Diving Village. After a bite to eat it's off to Deira City Centre to start comparing rug prices before heading to the Gold Souq as it inshallah (God willing!) gets a little cooler. As everyone is always keen to keep shopping, we'll head to Souq Madinat Jumeirah, where my hidden agenda is scoring my favourite spot outside at Bahri Bar, with its unsurpassed views of Mina A' Salam and the Burj al-Arab. After a couple of sunset drinks it's generally off to one of my favourite Moroccan restaurants, usually Tagine, so my guests can have some sheesha (tobacco smoked through a water pipe) afterwards in the atmospheric Courtyard outside. If the weather's cool enough, we'll then head to Sho Cho, where the DJ keeps the tunes in time with the breaking waves and then kick on to Boudoir where bottles of spirits and dancers share the tabletops.
Although many beaches are the private domains of various five-star hotels, for a fee, you can spend the day lounging on the sand and swimming in the Gulf's clear water with the beautiful people. There are also public beaches, but single women may find the male attention a bit much.
skating, boating, riding, extreme sports, golf, tennis, racquet games
Skating
Ski Dubai is one of the world's best indoor facilities, with two lifts, plenty of powder and fun for the kids.
Boating
Dubai hosts the Class One World Offshore Championship powerboat races in late October or early November. Admission is free and entertainment is provided for kids. Wooden boats of a slightly older vintage race under sail - up to 50 of them take part in a race and when they're lined up with their sails hoisted it's a spectacular sight.
The President's Cup Dubai-Muscat Sailing Regatta is held every year in March. It begins in Dubai and finishes in Muscat at the Marina Bandar al-Rowdha.
Riding
Racing of the much-beloved camel is a major spectator sport across the UAE and a visit to the camel races is worth the early wake-up call (races start around 07:00 ). The astonishing sight of pint-sized jockeys atop these ships of the desert, travelling at speeds of up to 60kph (37mph), is equalled by the madness of the local camel owners in their 4WDs, driving around the inside of the track, urging on their pride and joy. Races take place early on Thursday and Friday mornings and on public holidays during winter and spring.
Extreme sports
Motor sports are very popular with Emiratis and the Emirates Motor Sports Federation (EMSF) has a calendar of events throughout the year, with the important events being held in the cooler months. A round of the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup, the UAE Desert Challenge, attracts top rally drivers from all over the world and is held in November, starting in Abu Dhabi and finishing in Dubai. The Dubai Autodrome, which opened in 2004, now has a pretty full calendar of events (as well as a sideline in dance parties), including a round of the A1GP series.
Golf
It's not surprising that the Dubai Desert Classic (www.dubaidesertclassic.com) attracts some of the best golfers in the world - it's one of the world's richest golf tournaments. Currently held at the Emirates Golf Club, the four-day tournament is held annually in late February or March. Tickets can be purchased from the website. Many golf-crazy expats take the week off to watch the world's best do the rounds of their local course - especially if celebrity-mad Dubai has managed to get Tiger Woods to turn up again.
Tennis
The Dubai Tennis Championships, held over two weeks from late February, consists of a Women's Tennis Association (WTA) event followed by an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) event. Some of the top names turn out for the women's event; the men's event is catching up. Tickets can be purchased for single days, as well as for the whole fortnight.
Racquet Games
The Dubai Rugby Sevens tournament (www.dubairugby7s.com) is one of Dubai's fiercest contests. Besides the boozing, the rugby competition attracts teams from such notable countries as New Zealand, France, South Africa and Fiji as well as a team of expats banded together as the Arabian Gulf team. This popular event usually falls on the first weekend of December and sells out.
Religious holidays are tied to the lunar Islamic Hejira calendar, so dates vary from year to year on the Western Gregorian version, which runs on solar time. Eid al-Fitr (the end of Ramadan), Eid al-Adha (a celebration that follows Pilgrimage), Lailat al-Mi'raj (the Ascension of the Prophet), the Prophet's Birthday and the Islamic New Year are the main celebrations. Secular holidays include New Year's Day (1 January) and National Day (2 December). Keep in mind that Thursday and Friday make up the Dubai weekend.
Ramadan is the month during which Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, and you cannot eat, drink or smoke in public. Although it's highly unlikely, if a Muslim offers you tea or coffee during the daytime in Ramadan, politely refuse. Bars and pubs are closed until sunset each night, and some restaurants do not serve alcohol. At sundown, the feast begins. Bars and pubs are closed until 19:00 each night, and some restaurants do not serve alcohol. At sundown, the feast begins.
Dubai hosts two major tourist-oriented events during the year. The fiercely promoted Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) is held from December to February. Shopping centres bust themselves to bring in the spenders. Entertainment for the kids, fireworks and free raffle tickets with every purchase are just part of the fun. The lower-key Dubai Summer Surprises (held from June to August) is designed, along with cheap hotel rates, to attract tourists during the summer slump. Surprises include displays of traditional culture, cooking demonstrations, art shows and more raffle tickets.
Dubai's shopping muscle draws lifeblood from the thriving contrast of traditional souqs, enormous malls and funky clothing boutiques; each overflowing with fresh produce, old-world exotica, designer collections and new-wave gadgetry. Shopaholics won't know where to begin.
Abundant entertainment options mean you can keep exploring Dubai well into the early hours. Listen to live Oud or Moroccan music, dance to the world's hottest DJs, and smoke traditional sheesha (water pipe) in a lively cafe.
The rich cultural mix of Dubai's population is echoed in the myriad choices of restaurants and coffee shops across the city. From the simplest Indo-Pakistani workers cafe in Karama to the gastronomic delights and design of restaurants at swanky five-star hotels, Dubai offers a huge range of dining experiences.
With hundreds of hotels and many more on the drawing boards, Dubai doesn't lack accommodation. While it caters mainly for four-star-plus guests, in the hotter months you can get amazing discounts. For the platinum-credit-card crowd, there are many superb places to give your credit limit a workout.
Currency
Name
United Arab Emirates: dirham
Symbol:
Dh
Changing Your Money
You can change money at moneychangers or banks; moneychangers sometimes offer better rates than banks, but they can be fussy about changing travellers cheques. The best currency to bring is US dollars, followed by British pounds and Euros. Credit and debit cards are widely accepted and there are plenty of ATMs connected to one or more of the global ATM systems.
Sample Price Guide
abra ride
0.50
beer at a five-star hotel
20.00
CD from Virgin Megastore
50.00
round of golf (18 holes)
425.00
fresh juice cocktail
5.00
newspaper
2.00
movie ticket
30.00
street shwarma
4.00
coffee
10.00
three-star room
350.00
Average Room Prices
Low Mid High Deluxe
Dh120-180 Dh180-500 Dh500-1200 Dh1200+
Average Meal Prices
Low Mid High Deluxe
Dh5-15 Dh15-35 Dh35-65 Dh65+
Tipping
In Dubai most hotel and restaurant bills will have 10% tacked on for a service charge and another 10% for a municipality tax. If a price is quoted 'net', this means that it includes all taxes and service charges. As a rule of thumb, in taxis, round the fare up to the nearest dirham.
Orientation
Dubai was really two towns merged into one and divided by Dubai Creek (Khor Dubai), an inlet of the Gulf. Deira lies to the north and Bur Dubai to the south. Both districts are home to traditional architecture and bustling souqs, but the old city centre is in Deira. Glittering new office buildings along Sheikh Zayed Rd have moved the centre of Dubai further towards Abu Dhabi, while Jumeirah has stretched close to Jebel Ali, an area many are calling the 'new Dubai'. The focal point of Deira's hustle and bustle is on Baniyas Rd, which runs along Dubai Creek; Baniyas Square, also known as Al-Nasr Sq, which is at the heart of this commercial centre; Al-Maktoum Rd and Al-Maktoum Hospital Rd; and Naif Rd. On the Bur Dubai side, the old souq area runs from Al-Ghubaiba Rd to the Diwan (Ruler's Office) and inland as far as Khalid bin al-Waleed Rd.
Street addresses aren't used in Dubai. People refer to the main roads by name, but the smaller, numbered streets remain largely anonymous. If someone offers you directions like 'It's in the white villa, next to the big tree, across from the Avari Hotel,' don't fret. Your taxi driver will probably know the way.
Dubai International Airport (DXB) is the busiest airport in the Middle East. The national carrier is Emirates, which flies to more than 80 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, Australia, Africa and the Indian subcontinent. For all the talk of free markets, air fares out of the UAE are just as strictly regulated as anywhere else; there are no bucket shops. Dubai International Airport has no separate airport departure tax; it's included in the price of your ticket.
Buses run from Dubai to other parts of the UAE and surrounding countries. One useful bus route runs to Hatta from the Deira bus station. To get to most other cities in the Emirates, take a Dubai Transport bus or minibus. There are two buses a day to Muscat, Oman. Balawi Bus Service runs to Jordan twice weekly and to Egypt on Wednesdays.
Long-distance taxis can take you to any other emirate on a shared or 'engaged' basis (which means you'll either have to wait until all five seats are filled or pay for them yourself). Settle the price before you leave.
Passenger ferries make the 12-hour trip between Sharjah (a 20-minute drive from Dubai) and the port of Bandar-e Abbas in Iran daily. There's also a fortnightly passenger service between Dubai and Bushehr in Iran. It leaves the passenger terminal at Port Rashid every second Sunday.
Bus
Intercity buses operate within the Dubai emirate only. To go to another emirate, you have to take a Dubai Transport minibus. Dubai Transport's minibuses carry 14 passengers and run every 15 or 20 minutes depending on when they fill up. They are clean and efficient, and have fixed prices. Larger buses also now ply the route between Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Minibuses leave Deira from the bus and taxi station near the intersection of Omar ibn al-Khattab and Al-Rigga Rds. Minibuses for Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain leave from the Bur Dubai bus station on Al-Ghubaiba Rd.
There are two buses a day to Muscat, departing from the parking lot of the DNATA Airline Centre on Al-Maktoum Rd. Tickets are available at the Oman Transport office at the DNATA Airline Centre or from the bus driver.
Car
Rates for car hire drop away the longer you are willing to rent the vehicle. You'll need a credit card and drivers licence. There are dozens of agencies listed in the phone book; the smaller ones may offer slightly better rates.
Air
You can fly to almost anywhere from Dubai International Airport (tel: 224 5555, flight inquiries 206 6666). Dubai is the base for Emirates Airlines (tel: 214 4444, fax 204 4040; DNATA Airline Centre, Al-Maktoum Rd, Deira).
Buses run between Dubai International Airport and Deira bus station every 15 to 20 minutes; however, the most popular way in and out is the metered, beige-coloured Dubai Transport taxis - which are also the best to catch anywhere, as most drivers know their way around.
Local buses run from the Deira bus station, near the Gold Souq, and the Bur Dubai station on Al-Ghubaiba Rd. Monthly bus passes, known as taufeer , get you unlimited travel on one or the other side of Dubai Creek or, more expensively, throughout the city.
Driving in the city of Dubai is considered an extreme sport, but masochists love it. If you hire a car, bring your credit card and a copy of your passport. Note that all accidents, no matter how small, must be reported to the police.
The older parts of Dubai, with their souqs, fascinating architecture and museums, are best seen on foot. Abra (water taxi) crisscross Dubai Creek from early morning until around midnight, and are a great way to see the waterfront.
Bus
Local buses operate out of stations in both Deira and Bur Dubai. The Deira bus station is off Al-Khor St, near the intersection with Al-Soor St. There is also the Bur Dubai bus station on Al-Ghubaiba Rd. Numbers and routes are posted on the buses in English as well as Arabic. Free route maps are available at both bus stations. The best way to get to where you're going is just to say where you want to go and someone will point you to the right bus. Tell the bus driver where you're going and he'll tell you when to get off.
There are buses every day to Hatta from the Deira bus station. Also from Deira, bus Nos 4, 11 and 15 go to the airport about every 30 minutes.
Water Taxi
Abras leave constantly from early morning until about midnight. There are two routes. The one closer to the mouth of the Creek runs between Bur Dubai Abra Dock and Deira Old Souq Abra Dock, while the other is between Dubai Old Souq Abra Dock and Sabkha Abra Dock. The fare is collected once you are out on the water.
Taxi
Dubai has a large taxi fleet, many of which will beep you if they see you walking. You can also call Dubai Transport (tel: 208 0808) for a taxi. Only the beige-coloured Dubai Transport taxis are allowed to pick up passengers at the airport.
Disabled Travellers
Dubai's Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing has a highly detailed list of facilities offered at dozens of hotels for disabled people. All the major shopping centres have wheelchair access, but ramps in car parks and into most buildings in the city are few and far between. There are a number of car parks for disabled drivers.
Dubai Transport Company has taxis that can accommodate wheelchairs. The airport has facilities for disabled travellers, including low check-in counters, but things do get more difficult once you are out of the airport. While many hotels in Dubai now claim that they are disabled-friendly, not all of them have specifically paid attention to the details of what this actually means. Dubai Museum has ramps, but other tourist attractions are difficult for disabled visitors to get around on their own. Dubai airport has modern facilities for people with disabilities, including lounges and carts for getting around the concourse.
Pre-20th-Century History
Although little is known about the ancient history of this area, archaeological finds suggest that humans have been living here since at least 3000 BC. Other evidence links the peoples of what are now the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman to the mysterious Bronze Age Magan civilization. Magan ships sailed to Babylonia, Mesopotamia and beyond, trading copper from Oman and pearls from the mouth of Dubai Creek with the heavyweights of the Bronze Age economy. The Magan civilization waned around 2000 BC, but Dubai's instinct for trade remained.
Excavations at Jumeirah, just south of Dubai, recently unearthed a 6th-century caravan station, proving that the area's population was still keeping the trade routes well oiled during this period. Around this same time, the Sassanids, a Persian dynasty who had inhabited the mouth of Dubai Creek since 224, were driven out by the Umayyads, who came to stay and brought Islam with them.
Exploiting their prime location between the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean, the new inhabitants, working with the old, began re-establishing old trade routes and spreading the word of Allah, all the while making folks fantastic deals for the lowest everyday prices in the Gulf. As trade began to match pearl diving's importance to the local economy, merchant dhows sailed as far as China, returning with silk and porcelain for Middle Eastern and European markets. This maritime madness reached its peak between 750 and 1258.
Soon everyone wanted a piece of the Gulf's action. By the late 16th century the Portuguese were attempting to control local trade. Their success was such that many coastal settlements were practically abandoned, and the tribes took refuge in oases far from the coast. The British finally gained control of the region's waterways in 1766. Dubai was caught between local power struggles and Europe's imperial dreams, but somehow turned this bad situation to its advantage, expanding its pearl trade through every channel.
In 1833 a neighbouring tribal power, the Bani Yas, decided that Dubai would be its new turf. Eight hundred Bani Yas moved into the Bur Dubai area under the leadership of Maktoum bin Butti, founder of the Al-Maktoum dynasty that still rules the emirate today.
The region's two economic epicentres, neighbouring Sharjah and Lingah in modern-day Iran, were already losing business to bustling Dubai. Sheikh Maktoum decided to capitalise on the opportunity. In 1892 he signed an exclusive business deal with the British and in 1894 permitted a full tax exemption for foreign traders. Persian merchants were the first group of expats to take advantage of the deal, but traders the world over were on the way.
Modern History
In 1903, when the sheikh convinced a major British steamship line to make Dubai a port of call, a 25-year boom began. The Great Depression, compounded by the emergence of artificial pearls in 1929, cast a dark cloud over Dubai's newfound prosperity. Young Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed al-Maktoum, convinced that the pearl trade was dead, decided that this cloud had a 24-karat lining. Dubai wasn't duty-free for nothing. Soon, the re-export business, whereby goods were cheaply imported into a duty-free port and immediately exported to another market, exploded. After Dubai Creek was dredged in 1963, allowing almost any boat safe harbour, gold smuggling took off like a rocket.
Dubai's lucky streak had only just begun. In 1966, oil was discovered and the economy kicked into overdrive. The British had already decided to pack up the empire and head home, and in 1971, Dubai became the seventh emirate of the newly formed UAE. Sheikh Rashid agreed to a formula that gave the emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai the most weight in the federation, and made sure that Dubai would continue living life in the fast lane. Border disputes and friction about the integration of the Emirates led to some tension, but in 1979, Sheikh Rashid and Sheikh Zayed of Abu Dhabi sealed a compromise; in effect, Dubai would remain a bastion of free trade while Abu Dhabi imposed a tighter federal structure on the rest of the Emirates.
When Sheikh Rashid, the architect of Dubai's success and unrivalled financial freedom, died in 1990, his son Sheikh Maktoum took the reins of power. The core of Maktoum's policies were economic freedom and the no-holds-barred promotion of Dubai, the public face of which was his brother Sheikh Mohammed, who took over after Sheikh Maktoum's death in 2006.
Recent History
World-class tennis tournaments, boat and horse races, desert rallies and one of the largest air shows in the world attract millions of visitors to the city. Other high-profile events, such as the Dubai Shopping Festival and Dubai Summer Surprises, bring hordes of tourists into town. With oil revenues now only for only 6% of Dubai's income, post-petroleum Dubai is going to be in good shape.
The story of Dubai reads like a rags-to-riches tale, and indeed, it is hard to imagine anywhere else in the world that has developed at such a pace, in such a short time, for so many different people.