There are lots of things to do when staying in Dubai but here are the top ten in my mind.
1. Beaches – Dubai is home to the world’s cleaniest beaches with fine, white sand. When visiting, if there’s one thing you musn’t forget, it’s gotta be your favorite sunscreen.
Pristine and my friend from Japan admiring the clear waters
2. Desert Safari – just an hour outside of the city lies the golden desert. You can book a safari tour that will take you to the desert, experience dune bashing and have a great dinner of Arabic/Indian food. If you’re worried of motion sickness, ask your tour operator the duration of the desert ride so you won’t have to be sick in your trip.
3. Cruising the creek – Dubai is divided into two by a natural water formation called Dubai Creek. The creek holds a lot of history and up to this day, the traditional wooden boats are still available for anyone who wants to cross the creek the way the inhabitants did before all the ‘rush’.
4. Shopping for gold – Dubai is bling heaven. A visit to Dubai’s gold souq (Souq is Arabic for market) is worth your time even if you’re not interested in buying jewelry, strolling down the lanes of the gold souq provides “entertainment” for the eyes as shop window after shop window is filled with gold necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings and brooches, all in 22K or 24K. Gold prices here are among the lowest in the world.
5. Golf – You didn’t expect golf courses in the desert, did you? There are a lot of nice golf clubs in Dubai including the only Tiger Woods designed golf course and golf resort in the world (planned).
6. Heritage Tour – Take a tour to see old Dubai at the Dubai Museum and Dubai Heritage Village.
A local woman preparing traditional food, in a traditional way at Heritage Village
7. Dining – Every resident and visitor in Dubai will go through the maze of diverse foods and beverages in this city. With Dubai’s diverse population, it’s not surprising that the city has a wide range of dining options, covering everything from Malaysian to Moroccan.
8. Skiing – Ski Dubai is the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East and offers an amazing snow setting to enjoy skiing, snowboarding and tobogganing or just playing in the snow.
9. Hot Air Balloon Rides – While I haven’t tried this, I know that hot air balloon rides are definitely one of the most exciting things to do while in Dubai. On your hot air balloon, you can view the Dubai skyline and spectacular landscapes of mountains and azure waters, as you go high up in air, almost into the endearing arms of the blue sky.
10. Shopping – Dubai is literally a shopper’s paradise. Dubai holds shopping festivals twice a year, one in winter starting around January (Dubai Shopping Festival) and one in the summer called Dubai Summer Surprises where you can get good bargains. Huge malls are sprouting on a regular basis so the competion results in even more bargains for shoppers!
When in Dubai, which of these would you do first?
GREAT post! I SO want to come there one day!!!!!! And that indoor ski resort? AWESOME! I showed my son (big snowboarder) as he stared in wonderment…I heard him whisper ‘awesome!’.
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I want to come visit. All of those things (maybe no golf) look fun.
Thanks for the tips.
No golf for me too! The only golf I can do is with Nintendo Wii Sports hee hee
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Seriously I think I would go shopping! There really weren’t that many places to shop in Saudi and especially I wanted to visit a souq, but the most famous one (in Hofuf) burned down a couple years ago and they are still rebuilding it. 😦
That’s a bummer – I suppose the souqs in Saudi would have been interesting though, although I doubt if it were as open and lively as in Dubai.
Hope on your next visit to SA, you can go shopping!
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Oh yes, I definitely need to visit Dubai.
Oh yes, come on over! Just not in the summer months! 🙂
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i thought the indoor ski resort in Dubai, in the middle east for that matter, is really great! i saw a TV special how it was made. The funniest thing about when it was being built is that – those architects, engineers and designers who built it are from cold countries, so while they were building the ski resort, they were being roasted alive in Dubai.
True, especially if the construction lasted through summer!
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If I went to the beach, I’m not sure I’d ever leave and do anything else!
You have a very valid point! I can stay near the beach for the whole day.
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Oh good heavens. I think the indoor skiing sounds awesome-est!
But I don’t know. Shopping looks pretty interesting.
Yes shopping is awesome and you won’t have to feel cold – I haven’t been inside Ski Dubai just because I do not like snow and cold temps! 🙂
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This is so interesting, Grace! Have you gone skiing yet? It looks cool and refreshing!
Oh no, I haven’t been inside Ski Dubai yet – and don’t want to! 🙂
So far, I am not missing the cold and snow yet and also, I am afraid to go skiing because of a previous injury I suffered while skiing in Japan. 😦
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This is the first comment ive posted as im new to blogging and havent figured out much of anything! im not sure if im commenting in the right spot even I was hoping to win for the etsy 5 gardenias giveaway :)even if i don’t i wanted to thank you for showing me this link! what a great shop (i’m an expat too so im not sure i can order from it- i live in france) i especially love all the photography- the cute little brooches on the miniature furniture- i wish i could buy it all! My favorite pieces are the owl brooch with the turquoise belly and garnet eyes as well as the pink, blue and yellow flower brooch. My kitty’s nickname is “Hibou”, owl in french, because of this crazy little dance she does when’s bothered with her ears pointed backwards like an owl. Very cute! I love her to pieces. I am also enjoying your blog. Also congrats on being blog of the week!
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wowwwwwwwww look lovely and cooli want to experience the snow in dessert i really excited to visit duba.
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Had fun ahh 🙂
Envy you, I seriously consider going to india.
Thanks for your post.
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i want to try the indoor skiing so so so bad!!!!!! i love skiing and would love to do it indoors. genious
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I knew of the fabulous beaches in Dubai but I didn’t know that you could go dune busting! I am a huge fan of your blog. Your posts are always informative and interesting.
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Excellent Blog on Must do Things in Dubai, Tons of good stuff added in this blog
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Good Information and quiet valuable too. I have also subscribed the RSS of the website to get regular updates.
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“Worlds cleaniest beaches” ?!! You must be kidding me. We have instances of raw sewerage being discharged into sea next to 7 star resorts. And no, this is not a one off incident. The water is not clean at all though it might look it.
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Dubai … Oh, this is the place of my dreams … as well as Singapore
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dhow cruise
and
buffets! 🙂
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I really want to visit Dubai…..i will make it soon
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It’s going to be ending of mine day, however before end I am reading this impressive post to increase my experience.
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We realized on the fabulous seashores throughout Dubai yet We didn’t understand that one could move dune smashing! We are an enormous lover of your respective weblog. The blogposts tend to be usually educational in addition to useful.
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