According to a survey, Dubai is among the best places to visit in the world with family and friends. You can go on a solo trip to Dubai also. The United Arab Emirates has a total of seven emirates and among all the seven emirates, Dubai is the second largest emirate after Abu Dhabi. For the people of middle east Asia, Dubai is well known as a fashion capital.
Dubai is not only famous for the buildings but also for the Dubai mall, Dubai fountain, Palm Islands, and a lot of other places. The city is a big massive super fun theme park. It's bling and super fun to visit once a while. Dubai has lots of places to visit and apart from the places, Dubai can give you the best travel experience that you never had before.
Dubai is a major tourist attraction point and its nice public spaces attract the tourists most. Dubai has a lot to offer like luxury hotels, desert safaris, amusement parks, cruise rides, romantic dinners, high-end shopping malls and much more. Dubai is a new large metropolitan city, it lacks urban culture and a city soul connection. As you are traveling for the first time it will be great if you prepare the Dubai itinerary in advance.
They have dinner in the sky, sky diving, jet ski etc. They are nice, but they aren’t things you do when you have a regular life. Those are things for tourists. Even nature (the best places) are controlled. Many dont's. Everything there is for taking pictures, not to feel that they are there for you. Having new friends is hard. It’s almost like they are saying: you are here to make money and leave. Or else, spend here all the money you got here.
So if you want to plan a budget trip to Dubai then here are a few things to know before going to Dubai.
1. Eating is not just at fancy restaurants
Dining is not just at the upscale restaurants in Dubai Marina. The most authentic and affordable bites can be found in Old Dubai. Around 90% of UAE’s population are expats from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Egypt, Iran, Philippines. So the dinning landscape is extremely diverse! A food tour offers trips to the city’s backstreets to snack on stuffed Palestinian falafels, saffron-flavoured Persian ice cream to name a few street delicacies.
2. There’s more to Dubai than skyscrapers
While the country is relatively young, and doesn’t compete with the most historical cities, it’s history still lurks in the heritage-rich area of Al Fahidi Historic District. Overlooking Dubai Creek, a former pearl-diving centre. Wander through the narrow passageways (sikkas), sample Arabic coffee at Arabian Tea House. Explore Dubai Museum, housed in an 18th century fort.
3. Shopping is not just at mega malls
The city’s oldest traditional markets, known as Souks are located in Old Dubai. Straddling Dubai Creek, textile souk is on one side and a gold as well as spice souk on another. You can even ride a traditional wooden boat (abra) across the creek, and bargain on frankincense, cinnamon and saffron! And don’t miss the Antiques Museum in Al Quoz.
Ramadan is the best time to purchase or shop in Dubai. So while shopping during Ramadan in Dubai, be sure to be surprised at the Ramadan offers. This is mainly so that a larger number of customers are drawn into attractive deals as there is always an increase in competition among retailers to offer the best prices. Right from fashion and clothing, perfumes, household goods and the most selling- the electronics sector has spiked over the years.
4. Nightlife in Dubai
The city is super fun for a visit. Great nightlife, great entertainment and lots of fun things to do. When we go outside our city or county we feel a little afraid, and when we are going to the world’s best tourist place for the very first time it’s natural to worry a little. But in the case of Dubai, you need not worry, as Dubai is a very happening place and it's worth spending your time there.
Dubai is quite a safe place for women to travel however it is advised not to venture outdoor alone in late hours which can be true with any other city in the world. The nightlife of Dubai is very vibrant, and all over the night you can get Taxi playing on the roads.
Nightlife is interesting. You can find Arab (Levant) clubs, Filipino clubs, African, Indian clubs and International clubs. It doesn’t mean exclusively for white people, but they are aiming for white people or general high income people. And people will be dressed the same, listening to the same music everywhere. The owners can’t even take the risk to play something different. Homogenous is the rule.
One night stands can happen all the time. But clubs are full of prostitutes disguised as regular guests. Half of the Tinder is composed of prostitutes too. Beautiful women know they are in high demand. So they are even more demanding, be prepared to find gold diggers everywhere. Dating scene kind of suck.
5. Culture of Dubai
Dubai is known all over the world for its skyscraper buildings, world-class hotels, and the great infrastructure. Despite the fact that Dubai is located in the Middle East, you do not feel the Middle Eastern vibe. The culture is more Americanized from food to shopping, brands and everything else. It’s very high-tech, luxurious, futuristic and bling-bling. It's Vegas on steroids.
The city is fun, glamorous, super shiny and very futuristic. Dubai is beautiful with great restaurants, festivals, and parties but its not a city implementing its local culture. It's a business commercial city with too many nice things distracting you.
Dubai has its own culture and they are very strict about their culture, but for the tourists, Dubai is a fully liberal city in comparison to many other cities in Asia. You can wear what you want, but your clothes should not be such as to offend anyone. The local culture is not very visible in the city.
If you’re really keen to experience khaleeji Arabic culture, you have to drive downtown to Deira - the old part of the city. Maybe you could visit to other cities in UAE to explore the local culture, like Sharjah or Al Aine.
Dubai doesn’t have an identity. Many people here can say “They are Muslim”, but can you imagine going to the Netherlands, coming back and saying “They are Christians”? People wouldn’t be very excited about their culture. Egypt, Morocco, Turkey, Indonesia, Iran, they are all Muslims too, but they have more to show.
Looks like Dubai doesn’t want to show their roots, their Museums doesn’t have the same investment as the other regular buildings. That one will sound a little harsh, but they have a culture where if I’m your boss or you are my servant, then you I’m your owner. Many other cultures there in Dubai seems to comply easily with that. Westerners really have a hard time though.
6. Ramadan in Dubai
The Ramadan date changes every year. During the holy month of Ramadan the city essentially shuts down. Restaurants in Dubai are closed with respect to local people as they observe fasting during the Ramadan month.
7. Choose the right time to visit Dubai
Summers are the best time for those looking to visit Dubai on a shoestring budget. In summers you can get the best deals on hotels and super exciting offers all over Dubai. So if you like summer more than any other weather, and if you are much capable of handling the sun and humidity, you can save a lot of money in Dubai.
8. Transportation in Dubai
It’s not a walkable city, especially at the new and more touristic places, if you try to go to some places by foot, you feel stupid. Because it’s too hot and there is nothing to help a pedestrian. It is, in fact, stupid. Drive, take a cab, but don’t walk.
When we go out of our city or country, we face the trouble most in going from one place to another and transportation is the one and the only thing which can help us out. So if you can use the local transport in Dubai wisely, you can easily save lots of money. And when we are talking about Dubai, it has the best option to travel from one place to another. Taxis are safe in Dubai even for solo female travelers.
In Dubai, you can easily get a metro within 30 minutes for most of the places in Dubai. The metro is divided into two different classes, regular class and gold class. Gold is classified as first class. While in the metro you’re not allowed to eat, drink, chew gum or nap. Dubai has a Metro which even has a separate compartment for Females. Metro connects most popular malls and busy streets.
9. Free beaches in Dubai
Dubai has lots of beaches but most of the beaches are owned by hotels, resorts, or by private owners. On those beaches, outsiders are not allowed and if they are allowed they have to pay some amount. So if you want to enjoy the beach and don’t want to pay for that, then you can go to the free beaches like the Jumeirah Open Beach, Palace Beach, Marina Beach.
10. Be like a local in Dubai
The main unwritten rule in Dubai is: Keep yourself low profile! Don’t be scandalous. Don’t get too much attention to yourself if you are doing something that is not allowed to do. It’s not only for Dubai, but it’s also everywhere. If you want to do shopping in Dubai talk like a local. If you do the same, with that trick you can save a handsome amount while shopping.
The old downtown feels like a real city, but it’s not where the tourists go and they (the government) prefer no one going there. They are inhabited mostly by Indians, Pakistanis and Filipinos and if you have lived in Dubai, you know they don’t enjoy the highest status there. It’s a whole different city. The shining buildings tend to disappear there.
When you are at the “main” places, the only people you see in public parks or public spaces, trees and grass are the menial workers. They can’t afford to be visiting all the shinning places. There is a invisible, non written, accepted behavior to follow. There is no life on the streets. That’s one of the reasons behind the “Fake city vibe”.
11. Best Time To Visit Dubai
Dubai is also famous for its temperature. The average temperature of Dubai is around 40 to 45 degrees Celsius. So when you book your tour package keep in mind that you ask your tour operator to plan your trip in Dubai accordingly. Winter (November to March) is the best time to plan a Dubai trip according to the weather in Dubai.
If you are not too comfortable with high temperatures, Dubai is not for you in summer. Dubai is mostly covered by soil. And the special thing about soil is that it gets cold and hot too quickly. IF you are planning to visit Dubai in summer, avoid your plan between July to August, These are the hottest months of Dubai. These two months of Dubai are not only hot but extremely humid.
But these two months can give you the best offer over the restaurants and hotels in Dubai. Because from July to August most people avoid going on a Dubai tour.
12. Visa Requirements for Dubai
UAE provides a visa on arrival facility for 30 days, for 45 countries. It includes USA, Canada, Australia, and all European countries. After spending 30 days in Dubai, to spend some more time in Dubai, visitors can take permission of the government of UAE and exceed their visa limit by 60 days after some paperwork and a fee of AED 220.
These were some of the tips for first-time planners. You can well plan your first tour of Dubai and it will be great if you choose the best tour planners for your Dubai tour package.
Also Read: Top Adventures Things To Do In Dubai