Fozzy

We're not sure how long to go there for 10 days or 7, or even 5 with moving on elsewhere. Is 10 days there too much?

lincasanova

We were there 5 nights, which would have been more than enough for most non-architects. Do take a desert jeep tour, and perhaps use Dubai as a stopover to somewhere with more to offer than fabulous restaurants, bars and nice hotel rooms.

Dubai needs very good organization as, unless you visit it in a logical pattern, you will spend mega time in the taxis traversing the traffic jams from one resort area to another.

Two years ago there was some type of monorail or train being built, but I am unsure if it has finished.

We liked the river area across from the old town. At least it gave some local cultural flair, with the port nearby, and a quick boot ride across to the bazaar and Dubai Museum area.

Adding a trip to Oman, ( nearby) if you MUST stay in the area, would gvie you at least a feel of the fishing villages I understand, but have never been there.

Lynneb

I think 10 days just in Dubai might be too long. However, if you visit some of the nearby countries (such as Oman which has some beautiful areas to visit) then 10 days is fine. You would need a good few days in Oman though to do it justice.

Agree with the other poster that you need to organise yourself for your Dubai sightseeing.

HariS

3-4 days is plenty!

Grcxx3

For me - I'm just happy to pass through the airport! Been there several times (for rugby tournaments) and it just has no appeal.

dutyfree

I agree with the others-3 to 4 days tops.

I would spend one day taking the on and off bus tour which if you get it after 12 noon you can get two days out of a one day price-its a 24 hour ticket.There are two routes-red and blue. One takes you through the old section with the souks and a dow ride on the creek.It includes a visit to the Dubai Museum which traces the rise of this city on the banks of the creek through the centuries.
The other goes along the beach to all of the expensive areas(think Atlantis and the Burg) along with the Juremiah(sp?) mosque.Do take the hour tour that is offered several times a week at the Mosque for non muslims in English as it is quite informative.I picked up my tour on the lower level at the City Centre shopping center.The price was around $50 USD I believe?

The desert safaris usually leave around 3pm pickup and return around 9pm and are well worth it in my opinion-touristy but interesting.They usually price out around $45USD and I used Knight Tours and liked them.They include "dune bashing" in a land rover or jeep for about a half hour with others and then a drive over the sand to a special camp that has "native food and dance-think middle eastern BBQ and belly dancing.You have the opportunity to put on henna,try on a burka outfit,sand painting,etc.The BBQ food was decent and the sun setting over the sand was magnificent.

Traffic in and around Dubai is horrible-sometimes it takes over an hour to move a mile or so during rush hour.The intrastructure is being built but supposedly the fast "metro type" trains will not operate until next year. Until they are done you will have to use taxis which can be expensive-buses seem to be full of immigrants doing the construction jobs.

Seriously, I do airline layovers there for my job and as much as I like to go out and do things on my trips there would not be enough unless you are a super shopper.I quess because I live in Chicago and have great shopping here I don't get Dubai. But maybe its because I don't shop high end either?The whole place is like a Las Vegas in the Middle East desert-keeping some of the old customs but taking some of the worst of the Western culture and incorporating them into their society.

If you go to the shopping malls which is the main tourist thing to do do in the heat,you will see a burka store right next to a Gloria Jean's Coffee or H and M girls clothing.It is a bed of construction trucks,workers,dust and sand and high rises.

I do hope you reconsider a few other destinations before you spend 10 days in Dubai?

Fozzy

Thanks to all for the advice. Not sure what we're going to do at present. Our original idea was 5 nights in Dubai (from the UK), then 5 nights in Singapore...but we're not sure if the combo might be too expensive - looking around £3000 for both of us for the package we're currently looking at but trying to work on getting that down. So we're examining options if adding Singapore on proves too much. We're not looking to add on somewhere closer to Dubai in the Indian Ocean.

dutyfree

When were you planning on going?

Fozzy

Early June was the plan!

Tropical_gal

I agree that 10 days is probably too long. We often go to Dubai as a stopover to Europe or Africa as our preferred carrier is Emirates. June will be very hot - the tours already mentioned are great and now the new Atlantis resort is open on the Palm at Jumeirah and there are lots of water activities there. We stayed there for a couple of nights. You could visit Abu Dhabi which is close by.

If you are thinking of going on somewhere else, why not try Galle in Sri Lanka? It is not as far as Singapore, is truly tropical and reasonably priced.

torrem

I agree 3-4 days are more than enough for just Dubai. But there are several interesting one-day or overnight excursions that can fill 3 or 4 more nights.

I rented a car and visited the Musamdam Peninsula in Oman, they call it "the Norway of Arabia" because of its impressive fjord-like formations, the landscape is strikingly beautiful. I went there and back to Dubai in a day, wished I had stayed 1 or 2 nights to better explore the area, but had run out of days -I stayed 5 nights in Dubai. The drive to get to Musamdam is quite nice too.

I also visited Hatta, which makes an interesting half day or full day excursion.

A friend that lived there then strongly recommended visiting Al Ain, an oasis in the desert.

With 10 nights you can probably also cram in a visit to Abu Dhabi, from which you can get to the oasis of Liwa, they say it's beautiful.

lincasanova

Those sound like excellent ideas, torrem. Not that we will be back anytime soon, but I had wanted to branch out a bit had we had the time.

PS. careful about sleeping in the desert on one of those tours. We were VERY happy we opted for just the dune bashing and dinner, belly dancing, as the open place we were taken for the dinner, was also where the others were going to sleep, and I would NOT have been happy there.

Perhaps there are more upscale places.. but I think I would rather go to one of those amazing resorts in the middle of nowhere to experience the desert if I were to sleep there, or.. actually camp out in the desert.

We saw not ONE star during our stay in December a couple years ago.

dutyfree

Early June-you are going to be roasting with the heat. Granted everything is air conditioned but you do go crazy eventually for some fresh air.

No matter what time of the year I have gone-you land at night and you can still feel and see the heat coming off the pavement at the airport.It would be very hard to do the souks,boat cruise and other sightseeing(that has no A/C) at that time of the year in my opinion.

torrem

Oh!, I didn't realize you're going in June, sorry. Then probably the excursions I mentioned are not a good idea, it will be too hot.
I was there in December and it was quite nice, but still the temperature got over 30ºC everyday!

lincasanova

I was also there in December. I imagine in June you are looking at a lot of INDOOR activities being more appealing.

julilynn

I lived in the UAE for 2 1/2 years and can probably advise you to shorten your trip from 10 days to about 5. You can see everything there is to see in that time and also visit Abu Dhabi as well. There is a Big Red Bus tour that will take you all over Dubai and that is the best option I think. You will want to snow ski at the Mall of the Emirates, do a sand safari, and still have time for the beach and shopping at the gold souk. I suggest you also tour the Sheikh Zayed mosque and visit the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. It is only 90 minutes away and worth the trip. The best place to stay is Jumeirah beach and I recommend a room at the Madinat Jumeirah that faces the Burj al Arab. I agree with the other posts that you would love Oman. The Shangri La resort is fantastic.
The weather should be great in April and you will love your visit.

julilynn

oops, I just saw that you want to go in June...where did I get April???
It will be very hot at that time and you probably will not want to spend much time outdoors.

momplaygroup

As people have mentioned--- Dubai is going to be hell in June! Foreign workers (as well as the natives) all LEAVE the U.A.E. and head back to their homelands or for other countries with cooler climates. I'd highly recommend that you skip Dubai all together. We've been there on numerous occassions (and have family who live there). I can't imagine why anyone would want to go there??? Yeah, I know they've got some amazing buildings and shopping but they also have LOTS of traffic, injustice (workers are treated inhumanely) and chaos. I'd skip it and stop somewhere much nicer (Egypt? Turkey? Jordan even?!)