We are going to Dubai for 3 nights from 1st June 2009 leaving the 4th June.

Thankyou, aussiedreamer, for your wonderful post. I will check out what is available.

The reason for our trip is a World Cup football (soccer) qualifier match for us (Australia vs Qatar) in Dohar Qatar 6th, so 3 nights in Dubai and 3 nights in Doha.

Really looking forward to it.

Would love any info from people, but in any case, I will post to this forum.

Have a wonderful time, thats exactly one year since we were there ! Looks like we will be back next year on our way to Europe. Love to hear about your trip.

Thanks Aussiedreamer for your very informative posts. We are stopping over in Dubai in May 2010 for the first time so I need to research all I can before I start booking accommodation and tours. We're inclined to give the desert/dune bashing a miss though! The main worry is the very early arrival and late check in most hotels so we'll be looking for something quiet and restful to pass the time on the first morning.

Hi TassieTwo (I was born in Burnie!!!!} Currently in Vegas on this years adventure. If you can fit it in, do the desert thing every aussie I have ever spoken to has loved it. If budget allows, you must stay at Jumeriah Beach Hotel. It was the best we've ever stayed in, we are currently staying at Bellagio, which is great too, but Jumeriah Beach is AWSOME.

I'll be home in a fortnight, if I can help at all please let me know.

AD

Ps. we also arrived early (I'd have to look up the time) and we got our room straight away.

I have a queston, are people who have their passports stamped in Israel permitted in Dubai? I have heard various answers.
thanks

alan43,

I have heard the same and I think it is true the Israeli stamp is a problem in Dubai. If that's the case you will have to get a new passport before visiting Dubai. I remember a post from Gardyloo saying he had an overnight connection at the Dubai airport but he was not allowed to leave the airport due to his Israeli stamp.

I visited Israel in 2007 and at my request they did not stamp my passport. I would like to know if my info is in a computer, in other words, will they know I visited Israel even though I have no stamp?

alan, the info in my post above might be out of date. I checked the UAE Embassy's web site and there is no mention of a problem with the Israeli stamp. But I would still call the embassy and ask that question just to make sure.

Regarding your earlier comment: we buy jewellery from the souk each time we're in Dubai and our sister-in-law, who is in the business, says we've paid around a third of the UK retail price. We do haggle, though not obsessively, and have been very pleased with the quality of the gems and workmanship: herself is very, very fussy about such things.

Jewellery valuations are a big rip off. It's like trying to value your picaso... you can have from $$ to $$$$$$$ for the same item.

aussiedreamer, thanks for your report. I'm headed to India, with a stop in Dubai, in January.

I am just back from three days in Dubai visiting a friend there at the end of a trip around the world. He is young and suggested that I should do that desert trip as I was anxious to see the stars. I read in the brochure that there would be "dune bashing" but expected it to be optional. Oh no, it was the intro to the whole thing. It ranks among the stupidest possible activities humans could engage in. Pointless roaring up and down sand dunes. The driver said any person who ate lunch would now be sick, and that was the case. Drivers in India & "dune bashing" made me realize once again how foolishly some people treat the great convenience of motor vehicles. One more item; when you are in Dubai and look up at that tallest tower sched for completion Jan 2010, ask yourself how many men have died for that? Answer - nearly 600. The architect warned that they might have 700-800 fatalities if his plan was accepted. Dubai is often amazing but seldom interesting (altho I loved the Dhows - and the new Raffles Hotel).

WOH, bah hum bug!!!! We loved it, still talk about it a year on. Each to their own.

aussiedreamer, great TR. I'll be in Dubai later this year and I will refer to your TR again when planning my trip.

Glad to help. We talk all the time about going back. for us its a stopover (not sure where your from). Hope to be going to Italy for an extended stay later in the year and will absolutely go via or home via Dubai.

Please let me know if I can be of any helps.

aussidreamer, many thanks for your kind offer of help. I hope you enjoy Hong Kong and the other destinations you are visiting on your upcoming trip.