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We landed in the United Arab Emirates on a Saturday evening, at the end of September, after a 7-hour flight from London. As soon as we got out of the airport, it hit us: 37° at midnight! Very humid and way too hot.

Dubai is an impressive city in so many different ways. I would call it “the” city with “the most, the biggest, the tallest”.

The easiest way to get around is by taxi and it might even be the cheapest way most times since public transportation doesn’t cover the entire city. In Dubai also have tram. You have to buy an NOL Card (6 AED) and the first minimum charge is a total of 25 AED (19 AED credit). You will be charged depending on the length of the trip. The card that I used was the Silver one. You can find more information about it here.

You have to validate the card when you board and will be charged at the station where you get off. This is a good solution as long as the hotel is located near one of the stations. Otherwise, use Uber or Careem (use the following link to sign up and you’ll get a 30 AED credit).

If you are going to spend more than a couple of days in the Emirates, my recommendation is to buy a SIM card. Etisalat offers a good tourist package with three options based on your needs. You can find them in every Mall. The price is 100 AED and you can use the chosen option for 14 days. My choice was a combo pack with:
40 Local & International minutes + 40 Local & International SMS + 700MB mobile data. More info here

We spent 5 days in Dubai, trying to get a taste of the city as much as possible.

Day 1

The first day we went straight to Dubai Marina and had coffee on one of the terraces at Pier 7. This is my favorite place so far. There are 7 restaurants with views over Dubai Marina, all very beautiful and fancy. Dinner can get quite expensive, but drinks are affordable.

We tried to walk around a bit more, but it was way too hot so we took the bus and went to Abu Dhabi.

I will continue this post about Dubai and will write a separate one for Abu Dhabi.

Day 2

We spent our second day at Aquaventure Waterpark, near Atlantis.

The park opens at 10.00am and the price of the tickets starts at 260 AED/person online. Make sure to claim your free entrance online if it’s your birthday.

The cheapest ticket at the gate is 295 AED and for every extra service, you need to pay.

My advice is to take the meal deal at the entrance, as inside it is more expensive. For 45 AED, they offer one voucher available in 2 different restaurants in the waterpark with a drink included. The choice is limited, but the food is ok.

If you have luggage, there is a locker tax: 40 AED / small locker. And a tax for the towel as well: 30 AED. You can go for the combo pack – Towel and Small Locker Combo for 50 AED.

There were no crowds during the week, so we were able to enjoy every ride as many times as we wanted, without waiting in line.

Except for the rides, the park offers different activities: playing and swimming with dolphins, ray feeding, sea lions, swim with sharks, zipliner, lost chamber, and diving.

https://www.atlantisthepalm.com/marine-water-park/aquaventure-waterpark/prices-rules

Aquaventure is a very clean park and quite fun for a day. Make sure you take your flip flops with you because the floor gets extremely hot.

There are 2 ways to go to Aquaventure Waterpark: by monorail (kind of a metro) or by taxi. One way with the monorail costs 20 AED per person and can be taken at the trunk of the Palm Jumeirah, but it’s not yet linked with Dubai Metro, so my advice is to go by Uber if you are 2 persons or more.

Day 3

Because it was so hot outside, we decided to go out a bit later than usual and to hit the beach before sunset. We chose JBR Beach, which gave us a view of the skyscrapers in the background. It is pretty unusual for me to see the beach, camels and such tall buildings at the same time. The water was warm as well, so we lasted only around 1 hour.

In the evening we went to the IMAX cinema, which is amazing compared to the ones in Spain.

Day 4

Outside it was still extremely hot, so we woke up pretty late and went to see Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall: the tallest building in the world, near the biggest mall in the world. Quite a feeling. Even though I was not impressed by the mall, the place itself is an experience. At 6pm the first show begins at the Dubai Fountains and continues with a dance every 30 minutes. The first song is Arabic, second American/European. Although I had the opportunity to see Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas, the fountains in Dubai are just as amazing as the originals.

After sunset, downtown is the perfect place to spend a few hours. We walked around admiring everything that is man-made. In the evening we had drinks in Madinat Jumeirah at a very nice Belgian Pub where they serve alcohol. Perfect place to celebrate Fabi’s birthday ❤.

Day 5

In the Emirates, it is normal to check out late, so after checking out at 2 p.m., we decided to go back to Madinat Jumeirah and check the place out during the day. All I can say is that it is beautiful and gives you a wonderful view of Burj Al Arab. Madinat Jumeirah is designed to resemble a traditional Arabian town, on the water. It is also known as being the Venice of Dubai.

We booked a boat tour (85 AED/person) which included a 20-minute trip on the canals and also gave us a voucher (2 alcoholic drinks) for the Rockfish Restaurant. So far, this restaurant was one of the most romantic places I’ve ever been to, especially because we got there at sunset. It was worth every penny and if we go back to Dubai, we are going to book this boat trip again.

Before heading back home, we took one last opportunity and went back to Dubai Marina for some drinks on the last floor of Pier 7 @ Atelier M.

Breathtaking views and after five days spent in the city, this was still my favorite place.

To go or not to go?

It is definitely a place that is worth visiting, but I wouldn’t go back anytime soon (maybe just to visit my friend), but not for the city.

In my opinion, they did an amazing job there. The customer service is impressive, the city is amazingly clean, but everything is a copy of something that you can find in the States or in the UK. Actually, they took the best from the best and placed it in the desert, but the temperatures are not-so-friendly more than 6 months per year, so all the activities are inside. To this, add the fact that there is no real vegetation.