Let me guess. You want to fly with Emirates and get a chance to transit in Dubai. You can choose to transit for 6 hours, 12 hours or 18 hours……and it comes down to one question: Is Dubai worth visiting? And if yes, how many hours is enough?
I heard you.
We were in the same shoes. Before that, I had numerous questions in my mind (so I wrote them below!) and did some research, combining our current experience, gathered all the questions and key points about Dubai travel and put them all in this blog post.
Our destination was Bangalore. We flew from Heathrow to Dubai, intentionally took a 18-hour transit flight so to have enough time to enjoy one more city trip – Dubai, where we had both never visited. We arrived Dubai in the morning 8am, and the departure flight was the next day at midnight 4am.
Dubai Travel: Our 18-hr Trip Itinerary
18 hours looks very long, but deducting resting time in the hotel, the outing time was around 12 hours, and we did it in this way:
Dubai Airport – Gold Souk / Spice Souk – Hotel Check-in – Dubai Mall – Dubai Fountain Show – Al Fahidi Historical neighbourhood – Al Khayma Heritage Restaurant – Hotel – Dubai Airport
Not so much, you might think. It’s because after an overnight flight and under 40ºC hot weather, you really don’t know what or how you can enjoy yourself, until the very moment.
Dubai Travel Q&A
Let’s see the Q&A below to get more ideas and details.
What to Do in Dubai under 40ºC?
Considering we are normal human beings, your body will naturally guide you through this Dubai trip at under 40ºC because it’s just too HOT!!!Anywhere indoor and air-conditioned is fine.
That’s said, Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates (or any shopping mall), Museum of the Future, Dubai Aquarium, Dubai Frame, or the most famous Burj Khalifa are the main tourist attractions.
We did consider going to the Dubai Miracle Garden since it looks so beautiful, but unfortunately the heat really pissed us off.
Another popular alternative is to enjoy a swimming pool in a hotel.
What about Visiting a Mosque?
Before you step inside a mosque, you need to know mosques are not considered a tourist attraction in the UAE. Mosque is for Muslims to pray to their God, to worship. Therefore, most of the mosques do not open for visitors. A few of them are exemptions – 1) Jumeirah Mosque. They have guided tours daily at 10am and 2pm, except Fridays. 2) Grand Bur Dubai Masjid. They allow non-Muslims in the minaret only. For more mosque-visit information on this blog post.
Is it Worth Visiting Gold Souk and Spice Souk?
Souk means market. As their names suggest, they are markets that mainly sell gold and spices. You’ll be walking under a roof with fans turning on, so you won’t feel the heat is unbearable. But what I don’t like is the shopkeepers are quite pushy.
From our experience, the shopkeepers stood in front of their stores, targeting every tourist and saying ‘where are you from? Chinese? Ni-hao?’, or ‘Hi how are you? Come inside and take photos!’, or directly shook hands with us and tried to ‘guide’ us inside the shop.
Unless you really want to buy gold or spices, I recommend you to only have a quick glimpse or simply skip them.
Where to Eat ‘Local Dubai Food’?
First, we have to define what is ‘local’ in Dubai. In 2023, among the 3 million population, the REAL locals, Emiratis are only 11%, the others are expats, mostly Indians and Pakistanis. That also explains why there are so many Indian restaurants in Dubai!
If you are looking for Emirati cuisine, or let’s say, a broader genre, an Arabic cuisine, I recommend Al Khayma Heritage Restaurant.
A Michelin Bib Gourmand Awarded Emirati Restaurant
Among 4000 Google reviews, they retain a 4.9 high rating! Simply because everything is spot on and feels right. From our experience, the food was full of flavour, very tasty and in a generous portion. We ordered chicken machboos and lamb tharid. Both are traditional Emirati food.
With the servers dressed in traditional robes providing attentive service, live music played on, the ambience was so good that you wanted to give them a 5-star review! No wonder they got the Michelin Bib Gourmand award.
You can make a reservation on their website (via WhatsApp), and they reconfirmed my reservation real quickily.
How Nice is the Dubai Fountain Show?
The Dubai fountain show starts daily at 6pm until 11pm every 30 minutes. Each show lasts for about 5 minutes, with different background music. As the tallest fountain show in the world, it catches everybody’s attention with the camera and video non-stop working. It’s also a wonderful way to see Burj Khalifa and its surrounding modern buildings. Anyway, after staying long enough in an air-conditioned shopping mall and the sun is set, it’s always nice to go outside and enjoy this grand fountain show.
If Long Transit in Dubai, Should I Book a Hotel?
If your situation is like ours, going through a 18-hours transit, I suggest you to book a hotel. It’s because after an overnight flight, you want to take a shower, refresh yourself or perhaps take a short nap. Also, under 40ºC, you don’t want to keep roaming outside under the heat to kill yourself.
We had a wonderful short stay in Days Hotel By Wyndham Dubai Deira.
Reason 1) It’s located in the Deira area, close to the old neighbourhood. And from the airport, it takes only 30 minutes to arrive by train. Reason 2) It’s located above the metro station Gold Souk, so you don’t have to expose yourself to the heat. Reason 3) The room is clean and modern, equipped with a powerful hot shower which you will crave after a long flight.
Dubai Day Pass: Can I Use it After 12am?
Dubai day pass is a must when you travel to Dubai. It allows you to have an unlimited ride on train, tram and bus, and costs only AED22 (around £5). My question is: can I use it after 12am? Or to be specific, if I enter before 12am, but get off after 12am, is it allowed?
To find our answer, we did ask a metro staff and his answer was: The day pass allows you to ride on that day’s trains until the end (including trains that depart after 12am). And he told us to catch the 12:15am train.
BUT, the reality was different. As we tried to enter after 12am, our day passes were no longer valid.
Then we talked to another metro staff and told him that we were told it was valid after 12am. They were very kind and helpful though, saying no problem at all, let us in, called the staff at the station where we’ll get off, and wrote a message on our passes as proof.
So, when we arrived at the airport station, we asked the staff again : Is the day pass valid after 12am?
Principally, the answer is NO. Yet, practically, the answer is YES.
If you enter before 12am, of course the pass is still valid. However, if you get off after 12am, the system won’t let you out, but the staff will help you.
Hopefully, our experience can help you make a better plan in Dubai.
Where to Get Free Sim in Dubai?
Do you know you can get a free sim in Dubai? When you go through immigration, the staff will give you a free sim even if you didn’t ask for it. The free sim offers you 1GB of free mobile data valid for 24 hours. It’s more than enough for a transit trip. If you need it for a longer time, simply top it up at the du stores.
Do Indians Need a Visa for Dubai?
Yes. All Indian passport holders need an UAE visa to enter Dubai. But if you have a UK residence visa, you can apply for a visa on arrival, which costs AED141 (as of Oct, 2023). Remember to bring your UK residence card!
Dubai Travel, Shall We?
Worth or not worth, it depends on one’s travel style and what he/she wants. To us, who have never travelled to any Middle-Eastern countries, we wanted to grab this chance to savour the mysterious Arabic taste. But now we know what Dubai travel is like, maybe next time we’ll choose a short transit time or try to visit a new city/country.
