If there is one place you must visit on this earth, it is Dubai! 20 years ago, it was a vast desert land. Fast forward to today and it has transformed into a tourism destination with futuristic ambitions. There really s no limit to what Dubai can offer you. I was there for 5 nights and managed to see quite a few places and do some amazing activities. If you're thinking of visiting this wonderland, I'll give you my itinerary for the five days I was able to stay there.
SIM CARD
The best way to keep yourself connected in Dubai is by getting a SIM card at the airport. I received a free 1 GB SIM card at customs after they stamped my passport. I didn't use it as I needed more than 1 GB however, it is always an option if you are only staying for a couple days or not using your phone as much. Instead, I went to the kitmytrip kisok for a SIM card (2-8 GB for $20-30 CDN) only to find out that their system was down. So, I opted for a Virgin SIM card. Their kiosk was located next door to them. I got the 7 day promo for 150 AED ($55.70 CDN). Not cheap but was the only option at the time. Try the kitmytrip kiosk first.
MONEY
I didn't bring any cash to exchange at the airport as I forgot it at home and only remembered on the taxi ride to the airport. So I used the next best thing, my ATM card. I found an ATM that dispensed Arab Emerati Dihram (AED). I was able to get the cash I needed and proceeded to the hotel by taxi.
CAREEM RIDESHARE APP
If you are looking for an Uber rideshare, try downloading the Careem App. This is the local rideshare app. I read reviews that were hit and miss with this one but decided to try them out so I could make my own opinion. I have got to say, it worked really well the whole 5 days I was there. I only had one person agree to take my ride request only to cancel without a reason a minute later. The hotel staff expressed to me that around 3-4pm, it happens a lot. This is because most drivers are off at 4pm and don't want to get stuck with a long drive during rush hour. So, just be aware of that when requesting a ride during this time. You'll have more success with shorter trips in the afternoon. All my drivers were pleasant and got me to my destinations in a timely manner. Their prices were also reasonable.
DAY 1
VIBE CAFE
Start your day off with a unique halal breakfast. If you love the colour pink, this is where you should be! Vibe Cafe's main decor colour is pink. Even the food. I had the Issa Florentine Tinga with a side of sausages. It was amazing. Vibe Cafe offers a variety of breakfast dishes for you to discover. Trust me, you won't regret it. There are a couple different locations for Vibe. One is the Cafe and the other is the restaurant. I went to the cafe as it was nearby to the locations I wanted to visit later.
Location: Lamar Building - Unit #30 - Al Wasl Rd - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
IRANIAN MOSQUE (IMAM HUSSEIN)
The Iranian Mosque, also known as Imam Hussein Mosque, was founded by the Shia community, located in Satwa, Dubai.
It is located on Al Wasl Road, a short distance from the Jumeirah Mosque. Its architecture is inspired by quasi-Fatimid and Persian influences, with its facade and dome covered in traditional blue tiles, much like the exterior of the Iranian Hospital across the road.
The mosque was built in 1979 with the support of the Iranian Red Crescent. It contains several interior halls and rooms and has a library with over 14,000 books of diverse topics and languages.
I visited the mosque in the morning and it was quiet with only the groundskeeper around. I was able to go inside and take a look around. Please note that you should be covered from wrist to ankle when visiting any mosque to show respect and your hair must be covered at all times.
Location: Al Wasl Road, Satwa, Dubai
JUMERIAH MOSQUE
I walked from the Iranian Mosque to the Jumeriah Mosque. It took about 10-15 mins. This is a beautiful mosque however, I was unable to visit it properly.
The mosque opened in 1979. It was a gift from the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the former ruler of Dubai and the father of the current ruler of Dubai HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
The style of architecture is from Syria and Egypt and can accommodate approximately 1500 worshippers.
Jumeriah Mosque offers tours to the public at 10am and at 2pm with the exception on Fridays. Moderate dress and scarfs for women are required. If you come at 10am, you will be treated to Arabic coffee and light refreshments, Emirati style.
Location: Jumeriah Beach Road, Jumeriah 1, Dubai
LA MER BEACH
La Mer Beach is a great place to get away and enjoy the sun. There's plenty to do here. There is a plethora or little boutiques and souvenir shops you can visit or grab something to eat or drink to cool down from the heat. Walk a little further down the boardwalk enjoying the street art and you will come to a waterpark for the whole family to safely enjoy if going into the open water isn't your thing.
However, if the beach is calling your name, they have these cute little bathing change houses set up in delightful colours. Whatever you do, you can't go wrong with La Mer. It's also easy to get a taxi from here to your next destination.
Location: Jumeriah 1, between Jumeriah Bay and Pearl Jumeriah
FOREVER ROSE
Forever Rose is a 2-D illustrated cafe and restaurant in Dubai. If you watch Dubai Bling on Netflix, you will see the owner of this chain, Ebraheem Al Samadi. The entire premise is illustrated in black and white with red roses in glass cases on the tables The menu is good. Everything from salads, sandwiches, soups and plenty of dessert and coffee choices. Service was great and the food was good. No complaints.
Location: Boxpark - 467 Al Wasl Rd, Dubai
HIGH TEA
One of the things I love to do in every city is to do a high tea. I wanted to splurge a little bit on this one since it was Dubai, afterall. I chose The Address Lounge for my high tea. No bookings needed. You show up and the tables for outside view are first come, first serve. We were given a set menu for our high tea which included sweet and savoury treats. The drinks were also part of the package. For an extra flair, they sprinkle gold on the treats, as pictured below.
Location: The Lounge at the Address Beach Resort, Dubai
BLUEWATERS ISLAND
Time to walk off that high tea splurge. Head down the steps from your table that lead down to the beach and pathway to the wooden bridge heading to Bluewaters Island. Take in the sights and sounds of Dubai marina. You will be able to see baby manta rays swimming in the water with people and others enjoying water activities as they cool off in the heat. Walk a little further and you'll reach the island. Bluewaters Island is home to the giant Dubai Eye. As you make your way to the eye, you will be walking past retail, souvenir shops and restaurants. Its a wonderful urban retreat.
Location: Walk from Dubai Marina
DHOW CRUISE AT NIGHT
To end the night, take a relaxing dhow cruise from the marina. I used Get Your Guide online to find one that suited me. There are some that have a more party vibe with young people and others are chill with some form of entertainment. We had a belly dancer who gave a wonderful show. She even glowed in the dark. We had dinner buffet style and met some interesting people on our boat. The cruise itself goes around the marina so you can take in the Dubai Eye as it changes during its light show and then by the marina buildings which are lit up in many different ways. I think the twinkling ones were the best. At the end of the night, we took a taxi back to the hotel and rested for day 2.
Location: Dubai Marina
DAY 2
BURJ KHALIFA
Ii started my day off early at the Burj Khalifa. Getting there early is key when trying to find a spot around the large windows for those epic views. The construction for the Burj Khalifa started in 2004 and ended in 2009. It was opened to the public in 2010. It is the world's largest building standing at 829.8m.
The entrance to the Burj Khalifa is thru the Dubai Mall. Make sure you have your tickets ready. I bought tickets for the 124th and 125th floors. If you wanted to, you could also get tickets for the 148th floor where there would be less people, however, you will also have to pay more for accessing that level.
EDGEWALK AT THE OBSERVATORY
Once you are done at the Burj Khalifa, you can use the walkway in the mall to go across to The Observatory for an exciting Edgewalk session. The session lasts an hour. You go up to the 53rd floor and they get you changed into a jumpsuit so you don't get tangled up in the lines. They will take your phone away while you change and put it into a pouch which they will clip onto your jumpsuit so you can use it while you do the Edgewalk for your personal pictures.
Once you are ready, they will take you into a room and show you how to sit in your harness and swing the proper way off the edge. Then it will be time to head out and walk around and do all those leaning and swinging motions they taught you. I felt very safe out there and not scared at all. It was exciting and even more fun once I tried the lean out and swinging off the edge positions. It's not for those scared of heights. So, if you are one of those, don't do it.
The ticket also includes an outside glass slide and walking over glass on the 53rd floor.
Location: 1 Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Blvd - Downtown Dubai
BURJ KHALIFA PARK
Burj Khalifa Park is located outside of the mall by the water fountains. Take a walk around and you will find yourself among giant dandelions and green parks with interesting sculptures to look at. There's also a I heart Dubai sign on the grounds.
Location: Outside of Dubai Mall
WINGS OF MEXICO
From Burj Khalifa Park, keep walking up the stairs until you reach the Wings of Mexico.
This sculpture is meant to be interactive. It is a pair of metal wings on a frame with the Burj Khalifa standing behind it. There are three steps to get up to the platform to stand in front of the wings. This has been coming up on Instagram quite a bit.
The lineup for this wasn't bad. There were 4 people there in line when I got there which was around 1pm. Everyone waited patiently for their turns. Best to get there early if you don't want anyone in your shot.
Location: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Blvd - Address Downtown
PALACE DOWNTOWN
Walk a little further down the street and end up at the Palace Downtown. The entrance to this hotel is amazing. All the Instagrammers were here getting there shots so I did too. What a beautiful place!
Location: Palace Downtown Hotel
SOUK AL BAHAR
If you have some time, drop into Souk Bahar. It's located by Dubai Mall, across the bridge. There is a nice selection of local clothing for reasonable prices. Remember to haggle and not take the first price given. Meet somewhere in the middle and you got yourself a deal. So many beautiful abayas everywhere.
Location: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Blvd - Downtown Dubai
DUBAI MALL WATERFALL FEATURE
From the Souk Bihar, you can walk over to Dubai Mall. I think it would take at least 3 days to see all of the mall. It's huge. One of it's features is the Waterfall. Really beautiful to see in person. Besides the shopping, there is loads more to do in the mall.
Location: Dubai Mall
DUBAI MALL AQUARIUM
You have to go to the Dubai Aquarium when you are there. It's quite impressive that they have built an aquarium as large as they have. The feature is the tunnel you walk thru in the beginning.
Location: Dubai Mall
DUBAI WATER FOUNTAIN
End your night by the water fountains at Dubai Mall. There is a water fountain show put on every half hour from 6:30pm. We were entertained to a Michael Jackson song, Thriller with the water show. There are many outdoor restaurants with very large or small patios where you can sit, eat and watch the fountains dance all night.
Location: Dubai Mall
DAY 3
STARBUCKS IN OLD DUBAI
Get up early and head to the old part of Dubai. Old Dubai is what the city actually looked like before they started construction in the early 2000's. Walk down Al Seef St and find the instagrammable Starbucks and get your coffee for the day. Walk around and explore the Fahidi courtyard in Bastakiya and then move on the the Dubai Museum.
Location: Al Seef St, Old Dubai
DUBAI MUSEUM
Location: Al Fahidi Fort, Old Dubai
ARABIAN TEA HOUSE
If you want to take a break and are feeling hungry, stop by the Arabian Tea House for lunch. This is a really cute place to eat with the best decor I've seen so far. You can choose to eat either inside or out. I found it too hot outside that day so I opted to stay indoor with the air conditioning. I ordered a mince kepab wrap. It came with french fries, tomato and cucumbers with a side of hummus and ketchup. I washed it down with refreshing Hibiscus drink.
Once your tummy is full, start walking to the textile and grand souk. Here you can buy whatever you need or don't need. Lots of souvenir items like shirts and hats along with the local wardrobe of abayas and thobes.
Location: Al Fahidi Street, Bur Dubai
GRAND SOUK
When you are done exploring this part of old Dubai, it's time to discover the other side of the river.
Location: Al Fahidi, Old Dubai
GOLD SOUK
Start with the Gold Souk. Its an indoor plaza filled with beautiful abayas, thobes, hand sewn shawls, handbags and a million types of different dates. Make sure you look around before you commit to a store. Every store offers something different. These sellers can be very persuasive and persistent if you are not used to it. Also, haggle over everything. Its the custom to do so and also part of the fun to see how low you can get your purchase for. I bought abayas for my nieces and 18k gold Arabic name necklaces for us as well. They did it in store while I was shopping for clothes in an hour. My nieces loved the necklaces and the outfits because it was so unique.
There are also some lovely shops in the side streets if you want to wander a bit. It's very interesting to look around.
Location: Deira, Old Dubai
GLOBAL VILLAGE
When you are done in Old Dubai, it's time to head back to the hotel for a rest. Make plans to go out in the evening to visit the Global Village. We heard many drivers tell us that Global Village is a great place to visit if you want to walk around the different countries represented while munching on delicious worldly snacks.
There is also a small carnival at one end for the kids. It comes with multiple rides and fair food like cotton candy and mini donuts.
Global Village is open from October - April.
Location: Dubai
DAY 4
DUBAI FRAME
Go early to the Dubai Frame. I got there at 8:15am and started to take my pictures before going in. As I was doing that, I noticed the groups coming out of the tour buses at 8:30am. There were several tour buses that pulled up at that time and the line to enter became longer and longer. I finished taking my pictures quickly and got into the lineup before even more buses showed up.
The Frame is a unique attraction to visit because it showcases the old and new Dubai landscapes. The old Dubai on on side of the frame that shows its humble beginnings and the new Dubai that shows how far the city has come since those days. The elevator keeps you entertained on the way up with information and once you get to the top, it's even more dramatic before you come out to the middle. There is a glass walkway in the middle of the hall if you are brave enough to walk it with the view below your feet.
The ride down takes you through the gift shop and the exit out towards the back. I really enjoyed that visit. The key is to go early if you want those pictures or even some quiet time to explore inside without a ton of people in your way.
Location: Zabeel Park Jogging Track - Za'abeel - Al Kifaf - Dubai
DUBAI CREEK HARBOUR CORNICHE
What a wonderful place to spend during lunchtime. The Dubai Creek Marina is a new location in Dubai in one of the nicest areas. You can get a fantastic skyline view of the city from here. Best to come in the evening when the sun is about to set for the pink dusky sky behind the skyscrapers. The Corniche is a long seawall along the creek with wonderful little shaded places to sit and enjoy the view, like the one pictured above. If you have children with you, there is also play stations set up along the other side of the seawall so you keep a close eye on them while you relax and enjoy the scenery.
There are several restaurants where you can stop and have lunch or dinner. We chose Mondeux Restaurant. We sat our on the patio and people watched as we ate our lunch and drank our yummy looking drinks.
Location: Dubai Creek Harbour, Dubai
HERITAGE PLATINUM DESERT SAFARI
I had booked a desert safari for the afternoon into late evening for the rest of the day. Heritage Platinum Desert Safari was the company I used. We were picked up at our hotel by our driver, who kept in contact with me using WhatsApp. He drove us out of the city while explaining to us what certain landmarks we crossed were. Once at the base, we were assigned a 50's Range Rover and we were handed a stainless steel water bottle and we got to chose the colour scarf we wanted to wear for our safari. Our group leader would then wrap them around our heads in the common Emirati style.
We went for a tour of the desert and were shown plant life and some animals that live out there. We were also given some time to explore and take pictures on our own on the sand dunes during sun set. Afterwards, we were driven to a camp where we stopped to enjoy some cinnamon tea and enjoy a falcon show as the sun went down. When it got dark, we were then taken to our dinner camp. This is where we stayed for the rest of the night before heading back to the hotel. We were given a chance to ride a camel outside of the camp before dinner. It was a short ride and also a photo op but cool experience, nonetheless.
The Emirati dinner was explained to us how it is made. It was then time to eat and we also got to try camel meat for the first time along with the lamb they had prepared for us. New experiences make it more fun. They also had camel milk for those who wanted to try. The evening ended with am Emirati performance and the ride back to the base camp where we transferred back into our regular van for the journey back to the hotel. Wonderful experience and fully recommend it!
Location: Arabian Desert
DAY 5
VIEW AT THE PALM
Our morning started off early again. It was our last night in Dubai before moving on to Abu Dhabi. We left the best for last. The View at the Palm is located inside the Nikhil Mall. Take the elevator up to the top and enjoy this 360 degree view.
Location: Palm Jumeirah Rd, The Palm Tower, 52nd Floor, Dubai
LOST CHAMBERS AQUARIUM AT ATLANTIS
From Nikhil Mall, take the monorail for $10 AED to Atlantis. Once you are at the Atlantis stop, make your way inside and find the Lost Chambers Aquarium. The different chambers showcase all the amazing sea life of Dubai. I loved the Manta Rays the best.
Location: Atlantis, The Palm - The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai
24K GOLD CAPPUCCINO AT BURJ AL ARAB
I had made a reservation online at the Sahn Eddar Lounge for 2 people to experience the 24K gold cappuccino. This little treat came with a cute chocolate marshmallow. I also paired it with a dessert a la carte. I chose the Hazelnut cheesecake which was exceptional. If you would also like to have this experience, note that there is a minimum spend of 200 AED in this lounge. If you are unable to get a reservation for the lounge, you can still experience this little gold delight by paying for the experience at the front gate ticket window. You will get a landyard to wear so the bellman know you have paid for the experience. An added bonus would be to add on a tour of the beautiful hotel. You can also purchase this tour at the front gate ticket window along with the golden cappuccino for 199 AED/but you will not be able to sit in the Sahn Eddar lounge to drink your coffee.
A must do when in Dubai!
Location: Umm Suqeim 3, Dubai
MUSEUM OF THE FUTURE
My night ended with a visit to the extremely popular Museum of the Future. Dubai had futuristic dreams and when you look at the city being built, you can see it. It was exciting to enter this beautifully constructed building with Arabic calligraphy etched on it and seeing it glow on the inside. We saw a futuristic robotic dog walking around among the guests in the main lobby. We were too late to see the flying bird. There is a tour you can take inside. You first get on the futuristic looking glass elevator that takes you to the top level. Each level has something new to share. On the third level, you can access the patio going through the middle of the museum. Its a wonderful place to take your pictures. Once you are done, go back in and finish the tour. You can take your time looking at all the exciting exhibits on all the levels.
When we were done, we exited and found ourselves a cab to take us back to our hotel. We were leaving for Abu Dhabi by taxi right after so our driver from the museum offered to take us to our hotel in Abu Dhabi because he was bored and we liked him. He was great to talk to. The ride to Abu Dhabi took 2 hours and cost us 400 AED.
Location: Sheikh Zayed Road, Trade Centre 2, Dubai
If you follow my itinerary you will see a lot and do a lot of things while you are there. However, I feel if I had another day in Dubai, I could have seen and done more. Five days is certainly not enough. I would say 6-7 days to properly see it, a little bit longer if you want to visit the malls or do some more shopping. Dubai Mall itself would take 3 days to see the entire mall, just to give you an idea.
Overall, come to the middle east, eat wonderful food, meet amazing people and have fun. Transportation is easy to use there. Taxis, buses, train stations and just plain walking around in some areas, will certainly do the job.
Comment below and let me know if there is something that I missed or what you think of this article.
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