Plan Your Trip To Dubai

What All can I do on My Trip to Dubai???

Burj Khalifa? Desert Safari? What else……???

Here we list down, a few major places worthy to visit on your next travel to Dubai.

Dubai, as you know is one of the 7 Emirates in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai can be roughly divided to Old Dubai and New Dubai, though the categorisation is not a formal one. The old Dubai mainly consists of the old residential quarters in the city and the new Dubai includes the majestic Burj Khalifa, the Downtown and the areas around.

The New Dubai: Down Town, Palm Islands and the Expo Site

All these places are connected by Dubai Metro – Red Line and Dubai Trams.  Passengers must obtain a Nol Card to ride the tram and the metro; you can purchase one at any of the tram or Metro stations.

1. Visit Museum of the Future. The building itself is an architectural marvel worth a visit and is located at the start of Shaikh Zayed Road. The museum is an exhibition space for innovative and futuristic ideologies, services, and products. Located in the Financial District of Dubai, UAE, the Museum of the Future has three main elements: green hill, building, and void.
2. Visit The Dubai Mall which is one of the biggest malls and a happening place in Dubai. It has an aquarium and an indoor ice skating rink. And, visit Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, which is next to the Dubai Mall. . Floors 124 & 125 of Burj Khalifa can be visited and are called “At the Top”. There is one more level you can reach – “At the Top Sky”, which is at level 148. This is costlier.
3. Next to Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa is the Dubai Fountain, one of the world’s largest choreographed fountain system, at the centre of the Downtown Dubai.. Visit Dubai Mall at 12 noon, Burj Khalifa at 4-4:30pm – watch the sunset, then come down to Dubai Fountain at 6:30 pm for the fountain.
   
4. The Palm islands, Atlantis and The Mono rail. Atlantis is a resort built on an island  themed on the myth of Atlantis Kingdom. It also has Aquaventure water park and the Lost Chambers Aquarium, home to over 65,000 marine animals. If you are interested in Sky Dive, it is done above the Palm, and you can see the Palm and Marina clearly. (Skydive at desert is cheaper, but less views.)
   
5. Jumeirah region – Jumeirah beaches, Burj Al Arab, Marina Walk, JBR, etc. Dubai Marina Walk is a seven-kilometre palm tree-lined path bordering the neighbourhood’s popular emerald-hued waterway. The Walk at Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) is a popular promenade where you can shop, dine and stroll by the sea. These places give you a feel of the European towns.  Then, take a drive through City walk, Box park, etc.
6. Visit the Beautiful Souq Madinat Jumeirah, which offers the experience of a wonderful modern take on an old Arabian town. This is next to Burj Al Arab hotel and Wild Wadi, the Water theme park.
7. Burj Al Arab, one of the most luxurious (7 star) hotel in the world, allows visitors to see the inside of the hotel for 250 AED + vat. Here, you can just see the luxury of Dubai in one place.
   
8. Mall of The Emirates – is another mall in Shaikh Zayed Road, Barsha region. But, this one has a Snow Park inside. where you can learns skiing, spent a day for snow games, see penguins, etc.
9.  Ibn Battuta Mall – This is near to Atlantis region. Another Mall, but, the interior is done so differently. The mall interior is done like 7 regions visited by the old traveller Ibn Battuta. The new Hindu Temple in Dubai is located near to this mall.
10.  The Expo 2020 Site, now called as the Expo City where the big expo happened is also worth a visit. The site is open 24X7 and is free to enter. Some of the sites like Garden In the Sky, World carousel, entrance to some pavilions can be done after paying the ticket fare, whereas the Water Feature, Al Wasl Projection shows are all free. 

  The Old Dubai and the Historic Bastakiya Quarter.

1. A must-do thing we recommend here is to do this Walk: Al Seef Area to Fahidi to Bastakiya to Shindagha in Dubai is a very beautiful creek side walk. It’s simply a combination of Old and New. Al Seef is a very modernish neighbourhood with old style buildings. It is a bustling waterfront promenade with rich heritage and contemporary areas for shopping, dining and entertainment. Museum of Illusions is here. If you have not been to any such  museum, this is a good option.Fahidi – is a key heritage site with much of the original infrastructure preserved and intact. Fahidi Fort is the oldest functional building in Dubai; originally made with coral and shells which were cemented together with lime. Later it was turned to a Museum.

   Meena Bazaar here has a lot of Indian shops – and this is definitely not for people who come from India. Then comes Ghubaiba, Bastakiya and Shindagha.
   Bastakiya has a heritage village and Shaikh Rashid’s old house. Dubai’s oldest art space, the Majlis Gallery, Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding are situated here.
   

2. After the creek walk, take the Abra Ride : From Fahidi/ Gubaiba, Take the Abra Boat ride (1 or 2 AED) to opposite side – Deira. There are private water taxis here which may charge you more than 30 AED for a ride, whereas Govt. Water taxi is very cheap. The pre-paid travel card called as Nol Card, that can be used at Dubai Metro and buses can be used here as well.
   
3. The Abra ride takes you to the opposite side of Al Seef – called as Deira, which is also a part of Old Dubai. Your trip to Dubai can never be complete without visiting the Gold souk Dubai. It’s one of the oldest and most fascinating markets in the Emirates. Gold Souk, also known as the city of gold, is located in Deira Dubai. Next to that is the Spice Souq, which has a wide selection of exotic spices. You have to explore these places by foot. Driving and car parking are very difficult here.
4.  Souq Al Marfa ( which is actually a new souq in Deira islands) and Waterfront market.Water front market is mostly for residents – not for people who come for a week. Still, it is obviously worth a visit – You can get nice grilled fish here, fish chosen from the Fish market here.
   Souq Al Marfa is like – the Dragon mart placed in Deira, but with more posh look. It is very new, and not all shops are open.
   Here also ferry service is available from Deira – Gold Souq area.
5. Now Visit Dubai Frame, one side of this is Old Dubai, and the other side is New Dubai. It serves as a metaphorical bridge connecting the emirate’s rich past with its magnificent present.
   
6. Malls in this Area: Deira City Centre, Mirdif City Centre, Dubai Festival City are the main ones. Dubai Festival City holds a beautiful laser show in the evenings, and has a good creek area too. This mall has the IKEA store in it. 

  One time visit places/experiences in Dubai :
  Some of them are seasonal – closed during Summer. 

1. Dubai safari park (Sharjah has a bigger Safari similar to Dubai one) – is an eco-friendly safari park with more than 2500 animals from more than 250 species. Kids will love this.
2. Global village, is truly a world without borders. It is a place where you can visit different country pavilions, experience different cultures, flavours and activities. It opens in October, Closes in March-April.
   
3. Miracle garden and butterfly garden.
   Miracle garden is a 72,000-sq-m paradise of 150 million flowers in full bloom. 
   The Dubai Butterfly Garden is one of the World’s Largest Covered Butterfly Garden consisting of ten custom built domes filled with thousands of butterflies in different sizes and colors flying around the visitors. Dubai Butterfly Garden gives you the opportunity to see how butterflies evolve through each stage.
4. Desert Safari – This is mandatory in your first visit to Dubai. Normally, it consists of 35 Minutes Dune Bashing in the sand dunes, Camel Ride, Sandboard, Quad Bike (to pay extra), Belly Dance and Buffet Dinner along with minor activities like free henna, Arabic costume trying, etc. When you book this, opt for safari with proper Dune bashing for minimum 25 minutes.. Kids below 3 are not allowed for dune bashing. 
5. There is another activity- Dhow cruise through the Marina. Not so mandatory. But still… you can try. Dhow Cruise at Deira is not as good as the one through Marina.
   
6. Sky Dive Dubai. Just note that – it is conducted at 2 different locations: One at the desert and the other at Palm. The Palm one is more beautiful. 

Parks and Beaches 

1. Normal Parks: Zabeel park, Creekpark (where dolphinarium is there), Safa park, Mamzar park, Mushrif park are a few of the many parks here in Dubai. The way the govt. maintain these parks – is amazing. If you have time for only one park, visit Zabeel Park.
   Al Qudra: You can visit Al Qudra Lake and Dubai’s Love Lake for a desert oasis. This place is ideal for picnics and desert cycling, as well as wildlife spotting!
2. If you are interested in Themed Parks, Visit Dubai Parks and Resorts.  It has 4 parks inside: 1. Lego land, 2. Lego water world, 3. Bolly wood parks, 4. Motiongate and the open-air Riverland area.If you stay in any of the hotels inside Dubai Resort and Parks, lets say, Lapita Resort for 2 nights, you get to access all parks for 3 days – multiple entry. Bollywood parks and motion gate has all those 4-d rides that are so engaging and thrilling.Another notable Themed park is : IMG Parks. This is an in-door park, with more of adventure rides.
3. Beaches: 
   1. The Jumeirah Public Beach in Dubai is one of the oldest public beaches is Dubai and one of the best places to start your beach-hopping! It is about 3 km long and is divided into two areas for swimming and one for water sports.
   2. The Kite beach in Dubai provides many opportunities to indulge in water sports like kitesurfing, wakeboarding, and paddleboarding.
   3.  Mercato Beach has a long jogging track along the beach that is great for a quick early morning run. And if you wish to relax with a book, then there is a library on the beach with benches and bean bags for people to sit around and chill! There is also the Mercato Mall opposite the beach.
   4.  The La Mer is one of the recently created fashionable and artistic beach space that provides a respite from the constant buzz of the metropolis. There is also a super cool inflatable playground called ‘Hawa Hawa’ and a water park too!

Food: This has to be an enitrely different blog post. Dubai has different cuisines from different parts of the world. Karama, Burdubai has amazing Indian food options. If you like Veg food, try Rasoi Ghar, Maharajabhog, and all.  

Shopping – Everywhere – as mentioned… from Dubai old souqs to all malls to Lulu hypermarkets to the Day-To-Day centres. One thing to mention here is the Dragon Mart. It is a big shopping centre for Chinese items.