Dubai, a city created by visionaries for the world

Many of us might have a dream destination to visit, and few of them would have Dubai as that destination. My wife had the same. She had acquired great knowledge about the emirates from various websites, which helped me understand various places' significance.

Prime Minister, President, Crown Prince

While visiting Dubai, one would appreciate the vision Sheikh Zayed, Sheikh Rashid, and Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid had for the emirates and Dubai.

Flight:

So after a failed planning in March 2016, we planned to visit the man-made city this November (2016). To let you know, October to February is the best time to visit Dubai & other parts of the UAE.

After research of 2-3 days, finally, we zeroed down on the dates. When you are visiting Dubai, one thing that has to be kept in mind is that they have Sun-Thu as weekdays, and Friday may be a holiday (OR closed for visitors) at a few of the places of historical importance. For example, the Abu Dhabi Grand Mosque.

While traveling from Mumbai, you have few non-stop flight options - Jet, Air India Express, Indigo, flyDubai, and a few more. Because of the timing, I chose Air India Express. Etihad or Emirates Airlines do not have a direct flight from Mumbai to Dubai in the morning.
On the fare, Air India Express was at par with Indigo and a little cheaper than Jet. However, it also makes you feel cheap. And therefore, after this trip, I have decided will never choose Air India Express unless there is any urgency.

Anyway, if you are a traveler and like to have vacation thrice in the year, you have to become a little conscious of your wallet and believe it makes you wiser and a better planner, ensuring you don't end up going over-budget while making most of your trip as you had wished. However, if your budget permits OR you don't want to compromise on experience, you can afford to be adventurous. 

We created an itinerary for 4-nights & 5 days to explore all places we wanted to visit and the activities we wanted to do. As we always do, we clearly marked dates and time when we wanted to visit them. This helps you in saving time when you are actually there.

Visa, OTB, and Travel Insurance: 

Few things that you need to plan ahead are - Visa (apply 10 days in advance), Okey to Board, and Travel Insurance. Unless you are visiting Dubai en-route to some other destination, you will have to apply for a 14-days visa that would cost you around ₹6000 (USD 100) / person. Unless you are traveling through Etihad or Emirates airlines, you need to get 'Okey to board' updated on your ticket. Your Visa Agent would do that for you. You may negotiate to get it done in Visa cost itself OR pay a little more on that. If you do it separately with Airlines, it may cost you approx. ₹700 /person. Travel Insurance is another important thing and will cost up to ₹800/- for two a family, and you shouldn't leave without it, as it ensures peace of mind in a foreign country.

Forex:

Other things you need to get is Forex. Ensure you get Travel Card as well as Cash. Travel Card is a little cheaper than cash in terms of Forex charges. If you are a working professional, then you may contact your employer's Forex agent. It may save you some money. I have been told that you may exchange currency in Dubai as well, but I didn't check myself if it would be expensive OR cheaper.

Mobile SIM Card:

So finally, we landed on Wednesday. The first thing one should do is buy a tourist SIM card from the airport, as it helps you connect your trip/activity organizers. I bought Du telecom's SIM. It cost AED 55 and gave me 20 voice minutes, 20 SMSs, and 200 MB along with  AED 80 worth Uber ride free, which almost covered my ride to my hotel - Rove Downtown Toronto. Another option is the Etisalat Telecom Plan, which will cost you AED 100/-, almost double what cost in Du's plan. 

Hotel - Rove Downtown:

Rove Downtown from Burj Khalifa

Breakfast under Burj Khalifa 

Earlier I had booked Hilton, but it was far from Dubai Mall, so I changed it to Rove. It is opposite the Dubai Mall, and you can watch Burj Khalifa from your hotel room. We loved the hotel not only because of its location but also its service.

If possible, book a hotel near Dubai Mall and Shaikh Zayed Road. In the center of Dubai, it ensures the best mobility for you across Dubai. It may cost you a little more than anywhere else, but worth the time and money you'll save later.

Only 15 km from Airport, Rove was just 100-200 meters away from the Main Entrance of Dubai Mall, 1.5 km from Dubai Mall Metro Station, which was very important. We were planning to use the metro extensively for our local conveyance.

Dubai Fountain:

We reached our hotel around 5 PM, and after getting ready, we walked to Dubai mall to witness the Fountain show. It happens every 30 mins from 7 PM to 11 PM every day (timing may vary on different days of a week). You will love it unless you have already watched the Bellagio Fountain Show in Las Vegas. But still, it is worth watching and free of cost as well ;-).

Abu Dhabi Grand Mosque:

The second day was going to be tiring as we were traveling to Abu Dhabi to visit Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Because we knew we would be able to come back to Dubai before 3 PM, we decided to do Desert Safari as well in Abu Dhabi only.

Abu Dhabi is approx 75 Kms from Dubai, and the best & cost-effective way to reach there could be a bus from Ibn-battuta OR Al Ghubaiba Bus station. It would cost AED 25 /person-way. However, it will drop you at the Abu Dhabi main station, and you may have to come back 15 Kms back the same way to Abu Dhabi Mosque. We took a shared cab from Ibn Batuta Main station to save time, it dropped us near the mosque, and we took a cab for another 5-6 km. It cost us more than the bus trip but saved us approx 1-2 hrs in a time.

Mosque has a dress code for both men and women, so check their website. But don't worry, if you're not adequately dressed, you will be given Abaya (Females) & Kandura (Men) free of cost. Just have your id proof as a security deposit.

The mosque is undoubtedly beautiful with the same architecture as of Taj Mahal. I don't need to write anything about that here as you will know when you visit.

Desert Safari:

From there, we went to Al Wahada Mall, which is near Main Bus Station from where we were supposed to be picked up for our Desert Safari. We had our lunch in the Al Wahada mall Food court. It had great options. After that, we went to the bus terminal, where our 4x4 Driver was waiting for us.

There are many tour operators in UAE for Desert Safari, and costs vary from AED 75 to AED 300 / person. You have to do your little research online before booking your tour. I got a deal on Groupon that saved me some money. We booked with Emirates Adventures, and it was awesome. On the safari, you get to experience, Dune Bashing, Camel riding, Sand Sliding, and it ends with a traditional dinner (vegetarian and non-vegetarian) and Belly Dancing. The whole experience exceeded our expectations. It ended around 9 PM, and our driver dropped us back at the Main Bus Terminal. From there, we took the bus to Dubai. I guess Bus terminal is the only place I went where they didn't accept cards, so please have enough cash. We reached our hotel around midnight, tired. But shouldn't go to your room without having Arabian Coffee and dates, a refreshing treat.

World Islands from the top of Burj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa:

The next day our plan was to visit Burj Khalifa in the afternoon and later Global Village in the evening. For Burj Khalifa, we had found a good deal on Groupon. Else you may visit the Burj Khalifa website and book your tickets.

Global Village:

Global Village - China Camp

Global Village - India Camp

After Burj Khalifa, we traveled to Al Ghubaiba Bus station from where we were supposed to take a bus to Global Village. Global Village is about an hour's drive from Al Ghubaiba. And it is a kind of cultural gallery where you will see exhibitions of approx. 32 countries. On Friday they have fireworks as well as a Parade. The ticket cost only AED 15/person. One must visit Global Village if one has time and want to do some shopping. However, It's very crowded, so if you don't like that, please skip it.

Public Beach, Atlantis Hotel

Burj Al Arab - (World's only 7* hotel)

Madness at Atlantis Hotel

The next day was Saturday, and we had planned to visit Public Beach, Atlantis Hotel in the morning, Gold Souk, and old Dubai in the evening. The public beach is 3-4 km from the 'First Gulf Bank' Metro Station. You will enjoy your time on the public beach. And may click pictures of Burj Al Arab Hotel as well. However, a trip to Atlantis is a letdown. First, it is at the end of Palm, and you get stuck in traffic. It cost you approx. AED 60 just for few clicks. However, you may take the monorail from near Dubai Internet City Metro Station. It cost AED 15 / person way and is a good option if you really want to and lick a few pictures of Atlantis.
 

Gold Souk & Spice Souk

After that, we traveled to Gold Souk. It is near Al Ras Metro Station in Old Dubai. Gold Souk is good, but you may skip it if you are short on time. However, if you are there, you can't stop clicking pictures of the body size gold ornaments. I couldn't imagine who, except a few Indian Idols, could afford to wear them - not because of the price but because of ornaments' weight. After this, you may also visit the Spice Souk as well. You'll enjoy them if you are visiting from a western country.

Deira Creek

Abra in Deira Creek

From here, you may go to Deira Creek. There are boat rides as well as evening dinner cruises there. We had done enough cruises elsewhere, we chose to do a little boat (Abra) ride from Deira to Bur Dubai. It just costs AED 1, and you will enjoy Old Dubai's Skyline. If you are doing Cruise, ensure you do enough research booking one, as few may prove to be fake on their promises. As you exit from Bur Dubai Abra Dock, you enter the street market. It is a great place if you want to buy some memorabilia, and you must bargain for the best price - start from half of what is quoted.

Central Bank of UAE

When you walk back towards Al Ghubaiba Metro station, you can see Dubai's central Bank and the Office of their Finance Ministry near the station.

From here, we went back to Dubai Mall for one last night view of the Dubai Fountain and Burj Khalifa. It was, once again, a great experience. It was almost midnight when we walked into our hotel.

The next day, before departing for Airport, we again walked to Dubai Mall to have Coffee at Tim Hortons and say good buy to the Burj Khalifa. 

Here we concluded our Dubai Trip and took our cab to the Airport.

Transport:

Rental Cars in Dubai are cheaper than in North America, and the driving experience is awesome, so if you are eligible, you should definitely drive there.

You may be able to drive in UAE - 

If you have Passport and Driving License from the same country and UAE govt. check Dubai Driving Authority's website if it allows your countrymen to drive in Dubai

OR you may get IDP from your native country.

Cabs are not very expensive and cost approx. AED 5 (first km) + 1.5 (subsequent km). However, few drivers at a few specific places may start it from AED 12 (first km). I didn't understand the logic, though.

Dubai Metro Map

Public Transport is fine, but it has to be supplemented with cab rides. For Metro, you have to buy NOL Cards. Although for tourists, they recommend Red Card but Buy silver card as it will also allow you to take the bus if you have to. In the UAE, bus drivers can't accept cash. You have to pay upfront at the terminal (intra-city) OR get an NOL card (inter-city Dubai). So ensure you have enough cash for the round-trip, as all bus-stops may not have NOL card terminals.

Artistry at Al Ghubaiba Metro Station

Moreover, few Metro Stations like Al Ghubaiba & Al Ras are designed beautifully with paintings and designs. One must visit them.

One thing to note, though, on NOL cards, they have some weird recharge options which ensure that you end up leaving some money (AED 5-6) on the card when you leave Dubai. Anyway, Metro Trains are the fast and most cost-effective option to travel longer than 5-6 km.

Other Important Tips:

• Research well and plan itinerary saves you money as well as on-time
• Use Groupon to find local deals.
• Rent a car, but it can't use Metro for long-distance, it is fast and efficient.
• Carry Water bottles from Hotel as it costs AED 5 / bottle (500 ml)
• Carry a small bag with your Passport and Id documents, and also light snacks

Our final Itinerary:

Weekday	Day	Date	Time	Destinations
	Day-0	14-Nov		Visa
	Day-0	15-Nov		Okey To Board
	Day-0	15-Nov		Travel Insurance
Wed	Day-1	16-Nov		Flight
Wed	Day-1	16-Nov		Dubai Sim - Du Telecom
Wed	Day-1	16-Nov		Uber Cab
Wed	Day-1	16-Nov	5 PM	Hotel
Wed	Day-1	16-Nov	10 PM	Dubai fountains
Thu	Day-2	17-Nov	9 AM	Sheikh Zayed mosque
Thu	Day-2	17-Nov	2 PM	Lunch
Thu	Day-2	17-Nov	3 PM	Desert Safari - Groupon
Fri	Day-3	18-Nov	1 PM	Burj Khalifa - Groupon
Fri	Day-3	18-Nov	4 PM	Global village (Friday)
Fri	Day-3	18-Nov	11 PM	Dinner
Sat	Day-4	19-Nov	6 AM	Public beach
Sat	Day-4	19-Nov	9 AM	Atlantis / Burj Al Arab
Sat	Day-4	19-Nov	1 PM	Lunch
Sat	Day-4	19-Nov	5 PM	Gold Souk / Spice Souk
Sat	Day-4	19-Nov	7 PM	Dubai Creek/Barasati Beach
Sun	Day-5	20-Nov	3 PM	Uber Cab To Airport