Hi!
We are a Spanish couple and we will be spending 2 full days in Dubai in December.
Which places do you recommend us to visit there?
We´ve heard about a day tour in the desert, but we don´t know if it´s worth to spend a whole day (of 2 days) there...
Which are the best places to see in the city of Dubai?
Thanks a lot in advance!!!
I live in Dubai for last 12 years
In 2 days you can go lot of places in Dubai.
If you are out door person, you may enjoy the full day desert tours. But be careful when you select a desert tour operator and tours. Most of full day desert tours advertised are not really full day desert trips. They are mixed of some mountain trip in Hatta, heritage village visit in Hatta, lunch, 30 mins of desert drive , desert camp activities ( Camel ride, Henna painting, Arabic costumes, belly dancing and BBQ dinner).
Take a big bus tour for a day. You can visit some good places at your own pace.
Tell me what do you like and what do you expect in Dubai. Based on that I will recommend some cool places for you.
Bastakia, the Suq and Little India in Bur Dubai (= old town, west of the river), Deira Suqs in Deira (= old town, east of the river), plus a river cruise to the sea at nightfall.
Beaches at Jumeirah, Jumeirah Mosque and Burj Dubai.
Thanks a lot for your replies!
Inside Dubai city, I think we are more interested in visiting the "new" places (like Palm Jumeirah, Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab...) than going to see "old" places (like Deira...). What do you think about this? Are the "old" places of Dubai worth the visit?
nsk11: Is it possible to do a quick visit to the "modern" Dubai by a tourist bus? Where do you catch this bus and how does it work? Can you do stop´s-and-go´s in the same day?
About the day tour at the desert, which operator do you think is the best? Which route and activities would you do in the desert?
Many thanks!!!
It all depends on your interests. I did meet some people in Dubai on the night-fall boat cruise to the ocean who had no idea what Little India and abras (boats ferrying passengers from Bur Dubai to Deira) are - they were in Dubai for shopping only. To me Bur Dubai suq, Deira suq, Bastakia and Little India are the only places of interest in Dubai (including the museum). Burj Al-Arab is OK, but I'd rather have a swim with the Burj in view than to actually enter it.
The desert tour I did was pretty bad - dune-bashing with a 4WD, forgettable food and a disappointing belly-dancer. Totally not worth it. Jordan or Morocco were 100 times better. But maybe I was just unlucky to fall in a tourist trap.
Thanks, guitoudebuch!
I understand what you said about the day tour in the desert: we only have 2 days in Dubai, and we don´t want to lose 1 day in the typical "tourist tour" that doesn´t really show you the "soul" of a place...
About the "old" Dubai: is it worth to visit it comparing it to places like Morocco?
We are not in Dubai to go shopping, but we wanted to see the new "big" buildings of Dubai...
We are thinking of having tea at Burj Al-Arab for 80 US$ or so (some people told us that this is the cheapest place to go inside the building), but after you telling me that it´s better to go to the beach and looking at the building from the outside, we don´t know what to do...
What about Burj Khalifa?
Thanks a lot for your recommendations!
Hi,
Dubai compares in no way to Morocco. The old Bastakia district feels like a ghost town and the only lively places are Little India (it's very little indeed) and the suqs (and, reportedly, the shopping malls). Also, it's overall very much over-restored. There's a nice traditional café in a courtyard in Bastakia, though (sorry I forgot the name).
You sure want to some of the "new" sights - but try to put it into perspective with the Dubai Museum exhibits. And try to imagine all these towers were no more than sand dust 30 years ago. Dubai was a backwater fishing village until the 1970s.
Buses do run from Bur Dubai to Jumeirah. There is at least one public beach near the Burj Al-Arab, where you can swim and enjoy the "views" towards the tower. In my opinion 80 USD is an outrageous amount of money - not only is it ridiculously expensive, it is also probably worth a monthly wage for the South Indian workers who crowd public transportation and building sites all over the Emirates.
Sorry I don't know about Burj Khalifa...
Hi Click the following link for Big bus tours. It is one of the best way to see Dubai in your own pace.
http://www.bigbustours.com/eng/dubai/default.aspx
Burj Kalifa tickets can be bought online. If you buy online ticket is cheaper than at the spot.
http://www.burjkhalifa.ae/language/en-us/observation-deck.aspx