DUBAI · UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
The desert that built a skyline.
Desert safaris and the world’s tallest tower, dhow dinner cruises and day trips to Abu Dhabi. The best things to do across Dubai and the Emirates, in one place.
Only in the UAE
Three things you can only do here.
Plenty of cities have towers and plenty of countries have desert. Stacking the tallest building on earth, an island shaped like a palm tree and a red-dune safari within an hour of each other is a UAE thing. Build the trip around these three.
Into the dunes
Dune-bash the Red Desert
An hour from the skyline the tarmac stops and the dunes begin. A 4x4 lets the air out of its tyres and drops over the crest of the red sand, then it is camels, a falcon on the glove, a board down a dune and dinner in a camp under the stars. The dunes around Dubai run that deep shade of rust you do not see anywhere else.
- 1 Dubai: Desert Safari, Quad Bike, Camel Ride & Al Khayma Camp
- 2 Dubai: Desert Safari, Quad Bike, Camel Ride and Sandboarding
- 3 Dubai: Safari, Quad Bike, Camel Ride, and Buffet Dinner
Up high
The View From the Top of the World
Nowhere else can you stand this high. The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building ever built, and the observation decks on 124, 125 and 148 put the whole city, the coast and the desert under your feet. Go up for sunset and watch the lights come on across Downtown from half a kilometre up.
- 1 Dubai: Burj Khalifa Levels 124 & 125 Entry Ticket + Options
- 2 Dubai: Burj Khalifa Sky Level 148, 124, & 125 Entry Ticket
- 3 Dubai: Burj Khalifa Level 124, 125 & Sky Views Entry Ticket
From the air
The Palm From Above
Dubai built an island in the shape of a palm tree and parked a resort city on it. From a helicopter or a seaplane the fronds, the crescent and Atlantis lay out below you, with the Marina towers behind. It is the one view that only makes sense from the air, and only exists here.
- 1 Dubai: Sightseeing Helicopter Ride from The Palm
- 2 Dubai: 12-Min Helicopter Adventure Above The Palm
- 3 Dubai: Palm Jumeirah Monorail Day Pass with Unlimited Rides
Beyond the last interchange
The desert starts where the city ends.
An hour past the skyline the road runs out and the red dunes take over, rolling on towards the Empty Quarter. This is where the safaris head at golden hour, when the sand turns copper, the camels come out and the camp fires get lit for dinner under the stars.
The desert safaris →Top of every list
Start with the one nobody skips.
If you only book one thing in the UAE, it tends to be this. The experience that sits at the top of almost every first-timer’s list.
The must-dos
The UAE’s Most Popular Experiences
The Burj Khalifa, the red dunes, the Grand Mosque, the Marina after dark. The experiences first-timers come for.
By place
Pick your part of the UAE.
Dubai for the skyline and the shopping. Abu Dhabi for the Grand Mosque and the islands. The desert for the dunes. Old Dubai for the souks and the creek.
By tour type
Or pick the kind of day you want.
A safari if you want the dunes. A dhow cruise if you want the water. The Burj Khalifa if you want the view. Quad bikes, jet skis, theme parks and the rest.
Out in the dunes
Which desert safari?
They all start with a drive into the same red sand, but the day they give you is different. Pick by when you want to go, and how you want it to end.
The capital
Save a day for Abu Dhabi.
The capital sits about ninety minutes down the coast from Dubai. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and its 82 white domes, the Louvre under its floating silver roof, the Presidential Palace at Qasr Al Watan, and the theme parks out on Yas Island. Most people do it as one long day trip, and the drive could not be easier.
- 1 From Dubai: Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Mosque Guided Tour
- 2 Dubai To Abu Dhabi: Grand Mosque, Royal Palace & Etihad Towers
- 3 From Dubai: Abu Dhabi Grand Mosque & Louvre Museum Full-Day
On the water
Dubai by boat.
A yacht out of the Marina at sunset, a traditional wooden dhow down the creek with dinner laid on, a speedboat past the Burj Al Arab and the Palm. The three we would step aboard first.
After dark
When the city lights up.
The UAE waits for the heat to drop before it really starts. The fountain show under the tower, the decks once the skyline is lit, dinner moving along the creek. Three favourites for after sundown.
The record-breakers
The tallest, the biggest, the brightest.
The UAE collects world records like souvenirs. The tallest building on earth, the only sail-shaped hotel, the biggest fountain, theme parks built around the fastest rides. Three of the records worth the ticket.
Plan it
Three perfect days in the UAE.
First time here? A long weekend that takes in the city, the desert and the capital without a wasted morning.
Just added