I traveled from Bangalore to Dubai last year in last week of Dec. I hope this helps you in planning your Dubai Trip. The weather during that time of the year was awesome, like we have in Bangalore. It was difficult to roam around in evenings without a jacket. Whoever I tell this to get surprised as Dubai is typically hot, even my friend who visited last week (November) said that it was hot. Dec end seems perfect time to visit I guess (i have been only once).
The first thing to do is book your tickets as the more you delay, more you pay. Emirates and Etihad are the best, and then there are lot of others like Indigo etc. Visa is easy to get, can approach some agent and get in few days (less than a week). Note that Etihad goes to Abu Dhabi, and then gives you free transfer to Dubai by there AC bus. This can work to your advantage as you get free transfer to Abu Dhabi from Dubai, and Etihad allows you to checkin 24 hours before. So you can checkin in morning in Dubai, go to Abu Dhabi, visit Yas Mall or Ferrari World, which are close to Airport, and then take late night or early morning flight to Bangalore. There were only Audis and Mercedes as Airport Taxis in Abu Dhabi.
Now coming to hotel. Book early. Try to take hotel close to Metro Station. I took one on Sheikh Zayed Road, and metro station was at walk-able distance. Luckily I got Burj Khalifa facing room (its very tall and can be seen from some distance 😉 and beautiful views of Sheikh Zayed Road. If you are vegetarian, I suggest to take the hotel room without breakfast as taking room with breakfast is expensive there and I didn't find many veg options in breakfast buffet to justify the price. There were few fast food joints near the hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road, which were open till late in night.
I travelled a lot in metro. From my experience, i would suggest take a silver card if you have to roam around in bus and train, and better take a daily pass as then you can travel unlimited in pass. Pass has to be taken as per zones - 1/2/3. Just check the map where all you want to travel. If you have to travel only in metro, and not in bus, then red pass is better. Metro was crowded during rush hours. Only time I didn't want to take metro is when going from Hotel to Dubai Mall as it was a long walk from Metro station to Dubai Mall, used to take Taxi to Dubai Mall. Taxi was always Lexus with Uber, and with Careem also I think. Local Taxi otherwise was Camry always. But for sure, you will reach much faster in metro. Metro staff was helpful in answering any query. There are 2 (i think) coaches in front reserved for ladies and kids, so if you are with family, ladies and kids can be in that, but men should not travel in that.
Dubai Mall is the best/big Mall with almost all brand you can think of. Dubai Fountains is next to it, which are the highest fountains which I have ever seen. There are lots of them and which all go too high, nicely choreographed to music. Also few of the sightseeings which are free in Dubai :) There is boating also in the lake. But you can watch it nicely from the sides. The fountain show is not too long, and keeps happening every half an hour (or maybe 1 hour, dont remember exactly). The mall also houses an Aquarium, the ticket for which I got complimentary with 7-Day City Sightseeing hop on hop off (HOHO) bus pass. They have 1/3/7 day passes I think. Dubai Mall is also the transfer point for this.
The iconic Burj Khalifa is next to Dubai Mall. I would suggest to book ticket in advance if you are going in peak days like last week of Dec. I went to 124th floor. The views are awesome, and you can see till far. You can go to higher floors also, but that was more expensive. The tickets can be booked directly at Burj Khalifa website. You can check Klook/Cleartrip if there are some discounts.
You should not miss the Desert Safari. I booked it with Arabian Adventures. I went for the morning Safari as I didnt get slot for evening one. In evening, you can see belly dancing also. These guys pick you from your hotel and drop back. It was a 4x4 Landcruiser. Dune bashing experience was great, and it happens in Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, There was one more family in car, you can keep swapping seats after sometime, which is there rule, I mean you can go in the front row and then second and then third row. They stop car in between for photos. The stop is Al Sahara camp, where camel ride is there, which is short (4-5 mins). You can go up on a sand hill and come down on board, which was nice, The difficult part was walking up with the board. Refreshments/water was there along with breakfast.
In evenings/nights, whenever we had not planned something, we used to go to Malls or just roam around in City Sightseeing bus. Dubai is a very safe place.
Mall of Emirates has Ski Dubai. Its a very big Ski Resort. A must visit. Mall of Emirates is a Metro Station also. You can get close to Penguins in Ski Dubai, but for that tickets must be bought in advance as slots get filled fast. I had taken Polar express ticket (penguin encounter ticket was full), you can take chairlift and zorbing unlimited times in that. I wish they include zip lining also as default in express ticket. You can come out of park and again go back any number of times, as its cold inside even with jackets they provide. Tickets are available online. If not interested in that, tickets can be booked there only. I took Ski lesson also there and it was great.
One day went to Dubai Parks. I took a 2 pass ticket and went to Legoland and its water park. The rides are mostly suited for children, though adults can also take. I mean they are not so fast or thrilling. They have entire Dubai city and 7 wonders made of lego bricks. Kids will thoroughly enjoy, even adults will also if they are lego fans.You can go to last station, UAE exchange, and take taxi from there. Have heard that Motiongate is also great, and is AC. There is Bollywood park there also. I heard Six Flags is also coming soon to Dubai.
You should not miss Miracle Garden. Its a flower garden with lots of varieties and shapes. One can take local bus or HOHO bus from Mall of Emirates. From there I went to Global Village. Its Dilli Haat of countries - cultures/things/good from different countries of world. Shop there local stuff, and many interesting things. There was a show also going on a big stage. It was Dubai Shopping Festival time, and there were fireworks. Just check on which days fireworks will be there.
Another interesting place to visit is La Mer beachfront. I went in night. Its a luxurious walkway with nice shops/restaurants, all well lit up. The best of cars. My son enjoyed the inflatable playground Hawa Hawa. There were fireworks here also. I think Dubai Shopping Festival is a great time to visit Dubai, lot of things are happening that time, many offers/sales and above all awesome weather.
I went to Palm Jumeirah (the island in Palm tree shape). Its a relaxing cruise. Beer is available on board. It was available in my hotel also, but nowhere openly. You can see the beautiful Atlantis and Burj Al Arab. You can go there in HOHO from Mall of Emirates. On the way back, I stopped at Souk Madinat Jumeirah - a luxurious shopping place with lot of traditional shops, Jewelry and expensive restaurants/Cafes.
Went to Gold Souk one day. Many Indian shops are there like Kalyan/Malabar etc. Lots of Gold :) Dhow cruise is nearby which I skipped due to lack of time. Dubai Museum is nearby which shows traditional like of people there before all this development happened. Spice Souk is also nearby.
On the last day, did an early checkin in Dubai and went to Abu Dhabi. From Abu Dhabi Airport, took a cab (Mercedes Van) and went to Yas Mall. Actually I was looking for a slightly cheaper taxi, but later found out that this area is ruled by Audi and Merc. Ferrari World is next to Yas Mall.
There are many Indian restaurants , and the famous ones here like Saravana bhavan, Barbeque Nation. Stores like Lifestyle, Home Centre, Spar (ok ok, these are Dubai Based only)
Thats all folks. I will expand this more and put more links.
The first thing to do is book your tickets as the more you delay, more you pay. Emirates and Etihad are the best, and then there are lot of others like Indigo etc. Visa is easy to get, can approach some agent and get in few days (less than a week). Note that Etihad goes to Abu Dhabi, and then gives you free transfer to Dubai by there AC bus. This can work to your advantage as you get free transfer to Abu Dhabi from Dubai, and Etihad allows you to checkin 24 hours before. So you can checkin in morning in Dubai, go to Abu Dhabi, visit Yas Mall or Ferrari World, which are close to Airport, and then take late night or early morning flight to Bangalore. There were only Audis and Mercedes as Airport Taxis in Abu Dhabi.
Now coming to hotel. Book early. Try to take hotel close to Metro Station. I took one on Sheikh Zayed Road, and metro station was at walk-able distance. Luckily I got Burj Khalifa facing room (its very tall and can be seen from some distance 😉 and beautiful views of Sheikh Zayed Road. If you are vegetarian, I suggest to take the hotel room without breakfast as taking room with breakfast is expensive there and I didn't find many veg options in breakfast buffet to justify the price. There were few fast food joints near the hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road, which were open till late in night.
I travelled a lot in metro. From my experience, i would suggest take a silver card if you have to roam around in bus and train, and better take a daily pass as then you can travel unlimited in pass. Pass has to be taken as per zones - 1/2/3. Just check the map where all you want to travel. If you have to travel only in metro, and not in bus, then red pass is better. Metro was crowded during rush hours. Only time I didn't want to take metro is when going from Hotel to Dubai Mall as it was a long walk from Metro station to Dubai Mall, used to take Taxi to Dubai Mall. Taxi was always Lexus with Uber, and with Careem also I think. Local Taxi otherwise was Camry always. But for sure, you will reach much faster in metro. Metro staff was helpful in answering any query. There are 2 (i think) coaches in front reserved for ladies and kids, so if you are with family, ladies and kids can be in that, but men should not travel in that.
Dubai Mall is the best/big Mall with almost all brand you can think of. Dubai Fountains is next to it, which are the highest fountains which I have ever seen. There are lots of them and which all go too high, nicely choreographed to music. Also few of the sightseeings which are free in Dubai :) There is boating also in the lake. But you can watch it nicely from the sides. The fountain show is not too long, and keeps happening every half an hour (or maybe 1 hour, dont remember exactly). The mall also houses an Aquarium, the ticket for which I got complimentary with 7-Day City Sightseeing hop on hop off (HOHO) bus pass. They have 1/3/7 day passes I think. Dubai Mall is also the transfer point for this.
The iconic Burj Khalifa is next to Dubai Mall. I would suggest to book ticket in advance if you are going in peak days like last week of Dec. I went to 124th floor. The views are awesome, and you can see till far. You can go to higher floors also, but that was more expensive. The tickets can be booked directly at Burj Khalifa website. You can check Klook/Cleartrip if there are some discounts.
You should not miss the Desert Safari. I booked it with Arabian Adventures. I went for the morning Safari as I didnt get slot for evening one. In evening, you can see belly dancing also. These guys pick you from your hotel and drop back. It was a 4x4 Landcruiser. Dune bashing experience was great, and it happens in Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, There was one more family in car, you can keep swapping seats after sometime, which is there rule, I mean you can go in the front row and then second and then third row. They stop car in between for photos. The stop is Al Sahara camp, where camel ride is there, which is short (4-5 mins). You can go up on a sand hill and come down on board, which was nice, The difficult part was walking up with the board. Refreshments/water was there along with breakfast.
Mall of Emirates has Ski Dubai. Its a very big Ski Resort. A must visit. Mall of Emirates is a Metro Station also. You can get close to Penguins in Ski Dubai, but for that tickets must be bought in advance as slots get filled fast. I had taken Polar express ticket (penguin encounter ticket was full), you can take chairlift and zorbing unlimited times in that. I wish they include zip lining also as default in express ticket. You can come out of park and again go back any number of times, as its cold inside even with jackets they provide. Tickets are available online. If not interested in that, tickets can be booked there only. I took Ski lesson also there and it was great.
One day went to Dubai Parks. I took a 2 pass ticket and went to Legoland and its water park. The rides are mostly suited for children, though adults can also take. I mean they are not so fast or thrilling. They have entire Dubai city and 7 wonders made of lego bricks. Kids will thoroughly enjoy, even adults will also if they are lego fans.You can go to last station, UAE exchange, and take taxi from there. Have heard that Motiongate is also great, and is AC. There is Bollywood park there also. I heard Six Flags is also coming soon to Dubai.
You should not miss Miracle Garden. Its a flower garden with lots of varieties and shapes. One can take local bus or HOHO bus from Mall of Emirates. From there I went to Global Village. Its Dilli Haat of countries - cultures/things/good from different countries of world. Shop there local stuff, and many interesting things. There was a show also going on a big stage. It was Dubai Shopping Festival time, and there were fireworks. Just check on which days fireworks will be there.
Another interesting place to visit is La Mer beachfront. I went in night. Its a luxurious walkway with nice shops/restaurants, all well lit up. The best of cars. My son enjoyed the inflatable playground Hawa Hawa. There were fireworks here also. I think Dubai Shopping Festival is a great time to visit Dubai, lot of things are happening that time, many offers/sales and above all awesome weather.
I went to Palm Jumeirah (the island in Palm tree shape). Its a relaxing cruise. Beer is available on board. It was available in my hotel also, but nowhere openly. You can see the beautiful Atlantis and Burj Al Arab. You can go there in HOHO from Mall of Emirates. On the way back, I stopped at Souk Madinat Jumeirah - a luxurious shopping place with lot of traditional shops, Jewelry and expensive restaurants/Cafes.
Went to Gold Souk one day. Many Indian shops are there like Kalyan/Malabar etc. Lots of Gold :) Dhow cruise is nearby which I skipped due to lack of time. Dubai Museum is nearby which shows traditional like of people there before all this development happened. Spice Souk is also nearby.
On the last day, did an early checkin in Dubai and went to Abu Dhabi. From Abu Dhabi Airport, took a cab (Mercedes Van) and went to Yas Mall. Actually I was looking for a slightly cheaper taxi, but later found out that this area is ruled by Audi and Merc. Ferrari World is next to Yas Mall.
There are many Indian restaurants , and the famous ones here like Saravana bhavan, Barbeque Nation. Stores like Lifestyle, Home Centre, Spar (ok ok, these are Dubai Based only)
Thats all folks. I will expand this more and put more links.
