Dubai rewards people who plan a little and punishes people who plan too much. The gardens are the cheapest good decision on that list. It is bigger than it looks on a map, the heat decides your timetable for five months of the year, and the things worth doing are not always the things advertised hardest. This is the list we give friends arriving for the first time, in the order we would do them. If you want the longer version, our full guide to things to do in Dubai covers the rest of the city.
1. Burj Khalifa, and the right slot
The view from level 124 is a genuine moment, and the time of day matters more than the ticket tier. Book about forty five minutes before sunset: you get the desert gold, the switch to night, and the city lighting up, all in one visit.
Non prime slots in the middle of the day cost less and show you the same building with flatter light and more haze. If budget is the deciding factor, take a non prime slot rather than skipping it. Entry is from inside the Dubai Mall and the queue at the box office is the part the ticket saves you.
At The Top, levels 124 and 125 from AED 185. SKY on level 148 from AED 350 if you want the lounge and the higher deck. We have written the comparison properly in which Burj Khalifa ticket is worth it.
2. A desert safari, the real one
Not the version that drives twenty minutes to a fenced lot beside a motorway. A proper safari goes out into the Al Marmoom or Lahbab dunes, takes an hour or so to get there, and gives you a sunset over open sand before dinner.
Dune bashing is the part people worry about. It is a four wheel drive going up and down soft dunes with a driver who does it daily, and it lasts twenty minutes. If anyone in your group is prone to motion sickness, ask for the front seat and say so at pickup.
Premium desert safari with BBQ dinner from AED 100 per person, hotel pickup included. If you would rather be out in the cool of the morning, the morning safari with quad biking runs from AED 195.
3. An abra across Dubai Creek
One dirham. Paid in cash to a man with a tin. The wooden boat is low in the water, holds twenty people, and crosses between Deira and Bur Dubai in about five minutes alongside the trading dhows.
One dirham, and the thing people describe when they get home. Do it between the gold souk and the textile souk, late afternoon, and walk the souks on both sides.
If you want the same water at night with dinner on it, that is the Creek dhow cruise from AED 99.
4. The Dubai Fountain, which is free
Every thirty minutes from early evening, on the lake between the Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa. Nobody charges you. The best free spot is the bridge towards Souk Al Bahar, and the show is better from ground level than from above.
5. Karak chai at a Pakistani cafeteria
Strong tea with evaporated milk and cardamom, two or three dirhams, from the kind of place with plastic chairs and a counter. Al Rigga and Satwa are full of them. This is what most of the city actually drinks, and it is a better half hour than any rooftop.
6. Global Village, if you are here in winter
Open October to April only. More than seventy country pavilions, a food court that runs from Afghan bread to Filipino barbecue, a funfair and stage shows every night. It is loud, crowded and completely unlike the rest of Dubai.
Entry from AED 25, which buys a whole evening. Go on a weekday if you can.
7. Al Fahidi, the old quarter
Wind tower houses, narrow lanes, small museums and coffee shops, next to the creek in Bur Dubai. Thirty to sixty minutes on foot. It is the one part of the city that predates the skyline, and it explains what everything else was built on top of.
It is a stop on the half day city tour, from AED 100, which also covers the Burj Khalifa photo stop, the Marina and the Palm.
8. One day in Abu Dhabi
Ninety minutes down the coast and a different city: quieter, greener, built around a corniche. Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque alone justifies the drive, and entry to it is free.
Full day from AED 100 per person. Read what to wear at the Grand Mosque before you go, because the dress code is enforced at the door and catches people out.
What we would skip on a first visit
- A second observation deck. One is a view. Two is the same view from a different height.
- Driving yourself for the first two days. Dubai roads are fast, the junctions are unforgiving and the fines reach your rental company weeks later.
- Packing the middle of the day between May and September. Plan indoors from eleven to four and you will enjoy the trip far more. We have listed the options in Dubai in summer.
Practical things nobody tells you
- The metro is excellent and cheap, but it does not reach the Palm, the desert or most beach hotels. Plan on taxis or transfers for those.
- Tap water is safe and restaurants serve it free if you ask.
- Dress is relaxed in tourist areas and more modest in souks, malls and anywhere religious.
- Friday is a working day since 2022, with a half day. The weekend is Saturday and Sunday.
- Almost nothing needs cash except the abra and the small cafeterias, and both are worth carrying a few notes for.
A first three days that works
- Day one: old Dubai. Souks, abra, Al Fahidi, Creek dinner cruise.
- Day two: modern Dubai. Half day city tour, Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa at sunset, fountain afterwards.
- Day three: out of the city. Desert safari, decoded in the afternoon and evening, or a full day in Abu Dhabi.
That order puts the least expensive day first, which is useful, and leaves the one that needs an early start until you have adjusted to the time.
