Dubai

A trip to Dubai usually starts with practical questions. You have already picked the destination, and now you need to decide which area to stay in, how many days to allow and which tickets to buy in advance. There are a lot of questions, and they depend on one another. In this section we have gathered articles that help you make these decisions in order.

Most of the articles are about where to stay. There is a general overview of hotels by area for different budgets and a separate selection for a beach vacation: which area to choose and what is included in the stay. For families, we have put together hotels by the beach and near the metro. If you do not need a large resort, the article on small mid-priced hotels will be useful.

The second group answers the question of what to see. The one-day itinerary shows what you can realistically fit into a short stopover in the city. The article on Burj Khalifa tickets explains what going up to a higher floor gives you and when you do not need it. Alongside these are a selection of desert camps for an overnight stay, a list of places to visit with a child, an overview of routes around Dubai and the other emirates for a first trip, and an article on the OAK Collection with its rare Patek Philippe watches.

The third group covers the practical side. We walk through the journey from DXB airport to your hotel by metro, taxi and bus, and work out the trip budget item by item: hotel, food, transportation, tickets. A separate article explains the rules for tourists: alcohol, the metro, standards of behavior. There is a piece on Dubai in summer and what to do in extreme heat. Shopping is covered by articles on gold, perfume and spices, on prices and the sale season, and on the Dubai Shopping Festival. For the evening, there are overviews of bars with panoramic views and of clubs with their age limits and dress codes.

We structure every article the same way. A short conclusion comes first, followed by practical sections: how to get there, what to buy in advance, where the time goes. We check prices and schedules against official websites and state the source and the date of the check. If information cannot be confirmed, we say so. We are direct about the downsides: the hot season, unnecessary ticket surcharges, strict rules of behavior.

The section is meant for people who plan on their own and want to understand what they are paying for. It is useful for a first trip, a vacation with children, a beach vacation and a shopping trip. If you need a detailed historical essay on the city or a ready-made package tour, you will not find that here. We provide information for your decision, we do not sell a trip.

We suggest starting with the article on areas and hotels: where you stay determines both your transportation and your daily routine. Then read the piece on budget to see the total cost broken down by item. After that, move on to the one-day itinerary, the tickets and the rules for tourists. The articles on shopping, bars and desert camps are best read last, once the core of your plan is in place.

The "Dubai" section sits inside the "United Arab Emirates" section, which is worth visiting if you plan to see more than one emirate. One level up is the "Asia" section, and all countries and cities are gathered in the "Destinations" section. Dubai has no subsections, so all the articles are in a single list.

We update the articles: prices, rules and festival dates change from season to season. With each update we check the data against official sources again and change the date of the check. Check visa, insurance and medical questions on the websites of the official authorities before you travel, as we do not give specific rules here. Save the articles you need and come back to them as you put your plan together. Before paying for a hotel or a ticket, look at the date of the check in the article once more.