Top 10 Things You Must Experience In Dubai

Experience in Dubai: Regardless of whether you are a local, a frequent visitor, or even a first timer in Dubai, the fact that this place is nothing short of magnificent is indisputable. In addition to being the city with the highest population in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dubai’s beauty and magnificent structures make it one of the best cities in not only the Middle East but in the entire world.


Dubai is a business and transport hub for the region in and around the Persian Gulf, and is undoubtedly one of the best places to live and go on vacation in the Middle East. Dubai is a great destination for numerous reasons, some of them including the fact that there are many activities for people to do as individuals, friends, or even as a family here. The cuisine in Dubai ranges from the very sweet and delicious local dishes, to great tasting and exotic global cuisines. Dubai has some of the best shopping you’ll find anywhere, and this means that you get all the variety and amazing discounted prices you could dream of. The numerous sandy beaches, the exciting entertainment hot spots, and the adventurous sites and locations are sure to leave you breathless. Dubai has a rich culture and heritage that has also embraced the best of what the west has to offer, making it a place that meets everyone’s needs. Finally, Dubai has some of the best relaxation facilities, where everyone is sure to forget all their troubles and enjoy the beauty and tranquility that is Dubai. The next time you are in Dubai, make sure to visit the following places and take part in the activities associated with them: 10. Jumeirah Beach and Park If you are ever in Dubai and fail to visit the beach, you will end up hating yourself for a very long time. The Jumeirah beach park is a great place for families to go for picnics and to engage in exciting beach activities. This beach and park is breathtaking thanks to the beautiful trees, the well-manicured lawns, a swimming pool, the volleyball courts, and great barbecue spots. You can even enjoy the finger-licking foods from any of the great cafés you will find here on the beach. The entrance charges and the cost of using all the facilities are very affordable, making it a very popular place for tourists to visit.


10. Jumeirah Beach and Park 



9. Dune Buggy Driving



The desert is usually a place associated with extreme heat, no water, no life, and of course no fun. However, since Dubai is a city of possibilities, the desert around it is a playground for dune buggy driving. The buggies come with bucket seats, seat belts, roll cages, fire extinguishers, helmets, nightlights, mechanical support, and a backup vehicle, so there’s no chance of getting stranded in the desert. The dune rides are fun, safe and exciting, especially when you are in the hands of a certified safari driver. These buggies are great for people who love the adrenalin rush, since they offer riders and passengers a great and unmatched desert speed and power experience.

8. The Dolphin Bay



The Dolphin Bay is a great place for having fun as a family or with friends, since all the activities here are all ages. People love the unique opportunity here not only to watch the beautiful dolphins swim and play, but also to join them in the water and swim with them. Furthermore, activities such as scuba diving and gaining access to the Aquaventure Waterpark make visiting here worth the time and money. This Bay in Dubai boasts of being one of the largest and most magnificent dolphin habitats in the UAE and the world, making it a must visit every time you are in Dubai.

7. The Burj Khalifa




Talk of magnificent super structures is never complete without the mention of the Burj Khalifa. This building is the tallest skyscraper in the world, and it is home to many shopping malls, entertainment hot spots, and great hotels. This building is a remarkable sight, and it provides all its visitors with the best view of Dubai thanks to its observation deck on the 124th floor. The telescope on the Burj Khalifa gives an observer a great view of what is happening around the building and all the way to the horizon. This building is an excellent tourist destination since it is the magnificent focus of downtown Dubai.

6. ShuiQi Spa and Fitness



For that unequalled feeling of relaxation and exquisite spa treatment, ShuiQi Spa and Fitness is the place to visit. As a testament to its superior services, this spa and fitness center is a recipient of the World Spa and Wellness Award for 2013 and 2014, a World Luxury Spa Award in 2014, and received nominations for both awards in 2015. The professionals in this spa and fitness center will cater to all your relaxation needs, working on your body to get rid of all the stress and fatigue, and literally guiding you through a journey to another world. Furthermore, this ultramodern fitness facility is host to traditional and modern water therapies, a range of sublime treatments, and provides various bathing options. You cannot afford to miss this exciting experience.

5. The Wild Wadi Water Park



No water park in the world can match up to the Wild Wadi Water Park, owing to its unique and exciting features. This water park has man-made thunderstorms, 30 water rides, 13 interconnecting watersides, 5 restaurants that are very child friendly, souvenir shops, an aquatic roller coaster, and many other attractions that you cannot find elsewhere in the world. This park has over 400 lifeguards with expert training, offers convenient payment methods, is host to 40,000 plants, and is a great place to have fun and relax. Holding the title for Best Theme Park in the world, this is the ideal place to have fun with friends and family.

3. The Burj Al Arab



The Burj Al Arab is an extremely luxurious hotel, the first in the world to receive the 7-Star rating. This hotel is nothing short of architectural genius, and it stands as a symbol of human ingenuity and extraordinary creativity. A few interesting things about this hotel are that it stands on a man-made island, the hotel has the unique shape of a sail, and that a curved bridge connects this great icon to the mainland. The hotel offers extraordinary service to its guests, amazing facilities in every room, a comfortable Rolls Royce ride to and from the airport, and excellent reception on every floor. The experience at the Burj Al Arab cannot be expressed fully with words due to how extraordinary it is, therefore, do not pass up on the opportunity to visit this magnificent place if you get the opportunity.

2. Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo



You cannot afford to be in Dubai and not visit this magnificent 10 million-liter aquarium and underwater zoo. Located within the Dubai Mall, this is one of the largest and most beautiful aquariums in the world. This excellent facility will give you a wonderful experience and a tour through aquatic life, with breathtaking views of what happens at the bottom of the ocean from the tunnel. This underwater zoo and aquarium is home to over 33,000 animals, some of which include hundreds of sharks and stingrays. Visiting the zoo here will put you within an arm’s length of piranhas, otters, giant catfish, and of course a wonderful colony of penguins.

1. Ski Dubai



 The mention of skiing in Dubai is enough to send you to the map to confirm the geographic location of this city. Hardly do desert regions experience snow, and without snow, skiing is not possible. However, Ski Dubai is a magnificent indoor ski slope that will give you the impression that you are at the North Pole. Here you will get to interact with real life penguins, which perform the March of the Penguins a few times every day. Ski Dubai is a great place to learn how to ski, thanks to the helpful and qualified instructors and the magnificent ramps. Enjoy spending time at the freestyle zone here at Ski Dubai, doing practice jumps and learning new tricks from the professionals.

See More at : http://theinfong.com/2015/07/top-10-things-you-must-experience-in-dubai/

Dubai: A Luxury Guide For How To Get There, What To Do, And Where To Stay

Useful Information About Dubai

On my way to the Seychelles, I purposefully chose a flight with a long 18-hour layover in Dubai. I wanted to get out of the airport and explore.

Dubai is one emirate of the United Arab Emirates, which is a constitutional federation of seven emirates. (And so is Abu Dhabi, as you may remember as the vacation destination in “Sex and the City 2”.) Dubai is a city built not only in the middle of nowhere, but in the middle of a desert. On the Emirates airlines, I watched a 30-minute documentary about how Dubai was built…very impressive indeed.

Samantha’s Abu Dhabi “YES, I HAVE SEX!” and condom-throwing incident was on my mind as I prepared to travel to the UAE. I briefly thought about donning a burqa to avoid any similar issues seeing that I was traveling alone. Though everything I read and people I spoke with who had been there said it was a progressive culture, I was also warned to never forget Dubai is a Muslim culture and they could enforce their laws anytime they felt like it.

Here is what I saw in public businesses and out on the streets: women in burqas that covered them from head to toe (even mesh panels covered their eyes) as well as women in tank tops and short skirts. Men wore thobes and shoras (with their Prada sandals peeking out), as well as shorts and tee shirts. The dress was varied, but I wasn’t going to take any chances, so I wore a dress that covered my shoulders and went to my knees. I also carried a pashmina to wrap around me for good measure. Even with my pashmina, men stared, especially on the train, because apparently, according to a Dubai Travel site, “women traveling alone are a novelty and may find themselves the focus of unwanted attention.” The men stared either in awe at seeing kneecaps and bare shins or in judgment at my hussy wear.

The Dubai Mall has a “Dress Code” that I did not see enforced (e.g., women had to cover shoulders and knees), but again, I wasn’t taking chances—the pashmina came out and I wrapped it around me. Also, alcohol is forbidden except in hotels, and swimming suits are not suitable for the public unless you are on a private, hotel beach.

Getting to Dubai

From NYC, it’s a non-stop 12 hour flight to Dubai International Airport (DBX). I flew on Emirates Airlines—for a mere $10,000 I could have gone up the stairs to Business Class (my first flight on a double-decker plane!), but my cheap-o $2,000 ticket kept me downstairs among the commoners.

DBX is a beautiful airport—at times you feel like you are walking through a modern shopping mall (five-story floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall waterfalls and rows and rows of glass elevators). Even the Emirates terminal exterior looks like a very large nightclub. Here’s a shot of the interior.

Fly Emirates. It is wholly-owned by the Government of Dubai, so it is THEIR airline. Men who wear Prada sandals don’t skimp on quality. The NYC to Dubai leg is on the A380, and I honestly couldn't believe that double-decker plane and all those people, luggage and fuel made it off the ground.  The flights I looked at with a four or 18 hour layover are about the same price, but if you don’t see a flight with a layover option you like, call Emirates and they will book you a customized flight. Even with my luggage temporarily “misplaced” for over two hours was handled professionally, and they seemed moved by my tears of frustration.

The entire Terminal 3 is dedicated to Emirates passengers. First and Business class passengers have complimentary use of Emirates Lounges (relax, eat, or even take advantage of spa treatments during a layover), but Economy class can use the “marhaba lounge” for a fee. There are certain requirements (e.g., duration of layover and this must be a layover stop to another destination). 

Getting Around Dubai

First, almost everyone speaks English. The train announcements, the airport signs, businesses—they are all spoken in English. And Arabic, should you be fluent in that language.

Second, the local currency is UAE Dirham, or AED. At the time of publication, $1 USD equals about 3.67 AED. I converted US Dollars at my local NYC bank before I went and avoided a fee.

Cabs are clean and not pricey. My 15 minute and 3.5 mile cab ride to my hotel from the airport was about 40 AED or just over $10 USD.  There are also pink women-only cabs driven by women for those who do not want to sit in a car with a man. Clearly, I did not mind. Also, taxi drivers don’t expect to be tipped, but I tipped them since they helped me with my luggage.

The train (the Dubai Metro) is above-ground, so you get a great view as you’re zipping along. If you have taken a subway in a large city, nothing will be unfamiliar with this system. There are two lines (red and green line) and seven zones, and you can get a ticket (called a “Nol Card”) depending on which zones you travel through. But don’t waste time calculating zones–I bought a 14AED pre-paid Nol at the station ticket booth that was good for one day in unlimited zones.  Gold Nol card holders can take the “Gold Car” (akin to first class), and there is also a women’s-only car. I opted to stand in the general seating cars, but again, I was stared at big time. I think the women-only car passengers would have also stared me down. Here’s a shot of the Metro:

The stations are announced in English, and with the two lines and destinations on each end of each line, it’s not too complicated. There are only two transfer stations for transfer to the other line, so if you are at one end of a line, you have to travel a way to get to the transfer station.

Note: Keep your ticket handy when you exit the station because you need it to pass through the turnstile.

What to Do in Dubai

I wanted to visit the world’s only self-appointed seven-star hotel, the Burj Al Arab, but you cannot visit without reservations at one of its eight restaurants or bars. I did not plan far ahead enough (they were all booked for months in advance), and my request to please get a table somewhere went nowhere. And by the way, there is no such thing as a seven-star hotel unless you’re Dubai and you say so. Anyway, after seeing what a trek it is to get to (not accessible by train, because anyone ostentatious enough to stay there would never be caught dead on public transportation, is my guess), I was fine seeing it from a distance as the train whizzed by.

I just hopped on the train and stopped at random stops. The stops are oh-so logically named; the Dubai Mall stop is named “Dubai Mall”, the Dubai Marina stop is named “Dubai Marina” and so on. I wanted to visit the gold souks and the Burj Khalifa, and I planned on winging the rest. The Concierge at my hotel gave me a map and told me how to get to the train. Here is the mall:

Gold Souk

My first stop: the Gold Souk. It was the gold version of the NYC Diamond District: store after store selling gold jewelry. On the outskirts of the souk are markets that sell food, snacks, travel souvenirs and clothing. I just window-shopped, but I should have bought something, since: 1. the government regulates the quality of all the merchandise, so you can be assured that your purchases are genuine, and 2. If you are stubborn enough and haggle well enough, you can drop the asking price in half. To get there: I took the green line to Al Ras and walked there.

Dubai Marina

Next, I transferred to the red line and took it all the way to the Dubai Marina stop. It’s a marina, all right. It has boats, ice cream for sale on the pier, and some pretty amazing Jetson-esqe buildings. It’s a leisurely 20 minute stroll from one end of the pier to the other, and you can eat water-front at one of the many restaurants if you like.

 

Mall of the Emirates

Then I backtracked on the red line to the Mall of the Emirates Stop. This is where Ski Dubai, the indoor snow park, is located (complete with a chair lift) for those who long for snow and cold weather (it was spring and 100 degrees when I was there—see below). It’s quite a mall with 520 stores, Magic Planet, the largest indoor family entertainment center in Dubai, and a 14-theater movie complex, but if you want a real mall that means serious business, go to the Dubai Mall.

Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa 

A few stops on the red line, and you get to Burj Khalifa / Dubai mall stop. The city is planned to keep people out of the heat—the entire walkway from the train to the mall itself is an indoor walkway—and this was a good 20 minute walk. The mall is designed for visitors to spend the entire day inside. Every high-end luxury store you can imagine is in this 1,200 store mall, and Bradley Cooper even sells Häagen-Dazs.

 

The Dubai Fountain is outside, and the show starts right at 6:00 p.m. How do I know this? I arrived at the fountain at 6:04 and the show was over. From the Fountain site, you can see the Burj Khalifa—the world’s tallest building. I couldn't even get the entire building in one photo! You can go to the top, but it was getting dark and I didn't feel like traversing Dubai alone, at night, so I headed back to my hotel. Here is Burj Khalifa:

 

Also inside is the two-floor Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, the Dubai Ice Rink, and KidZania®, an interactive “edutainment centre” where children get to “understand the world of grown-ups better, by being grown-ups themselves”. No, they don’t pay bills and argue with their spouses. They choose one of 80 different roles to “play” including surgeons, firefighters, chefs, and models, since we all know how many grown –ups are models.

ALSO VISIT

Other points of interest are the Palm Jumeirah, a man-made island shaped like a palm tree, but from the ground it looks like, well, a street. You should get an aerial view of this. Also visit Traditional Dubai by taking the green line to the Al Fahidi Station 2 stop. A desert safari is something to do if you have a full day, which I did not, and even if I did, spending the day in a sandy oven with no cool ocean or pool in sight is not my idea of fun, but if it is your idea of a good time, there are numerous desert tour companies to take you on this adventure. 

WHERE TO STAY

I stayed at the five-star Mövenpick Hotel Deira in the Deira area of Dubai. The hotel has 216 rooms, an outdoor rooftop pool, fully-equipped fitness center, and “beauty lounge”.  I cannot speak to much more than the room, as I arrived late morning, was out exploring the city all day, then came back to the hotel, took a short nap, showered and left at 11:30 for my 2 am flight. I stayed in a king-size Superior Room.

Check-in was a breeze. I requested early check-in and was able to do so. The elevator is glass, and you have a view over the outdoor courtyard on the ride up. My luggage was delivered to my room shortly after I got in my room.

I will say that the room was clean and modern. There was a seating area, and the king-size room came equipped with a large flat screen TV, iPod dock, free Wi-Fi, in-room safe, two complimentary bottles of water and coffee and tea, iron and ironing board, and two robes and sets of slippers. There was a mini bar with drinks and snacks for purchase—I ate a whole jar of cashews and it was only about $5.

 

The bathroom had a separate glass-wall shower with rainfall showerhead, large vanity and lighted magnifying make-up mirror, hairdryer, a toilet AND bidet, and came stocked with standard toiletries like lotion, shampoo, conditioner, and body soap (which was on the bathroom counter instead of in the shower…?), as well as cotton swabs, cotton balls, nail file, sewing kit and shower cap. The towels were white (of course) and large and fluffy.

I am sad I missed out on the breakfast buffet at their restaurant, Jigsaw. The travel site reviews said the breakfast was delicious and offered a large variety of food and beverages. Jigsaw also serves food all day and has a selection of international cuisine and creatively-themed buffets. The other restaurant is Options by Sanjeev Kapoor, and this serves exotic Indian dishes in an elegant setting. The hotel’s bar, Fashion Lounge, is “a chic and trendy lounge, where the fashionable meet.” Well, I must have not been fashionable that day because I made a bee line to my room to get in 3 hours of sleep, a shower, and a can of cashews.

Check-out was actually pretty entertaining. The desk staff member was so friendly—as I was snapping photos of the lobby, he offered to take photos of me, then proceeded to conduct a mini-photo shoot of me in all the sections of the lobby. He even personally hailed me a cab and shooed away my tip.

There is a complimentary shuttle to the nearby malls, I suggest taking the Metro and exploring the city if you’re a little adventurous—the nearest train station is Abu Baker Al Siddique Station on the red line, and it is right down the street from the hotel.

A Few Things to Note

There are 220 volt outlets and the sockets use the three-pin, 13-amp plugs of British standard design. There were ample plugs in the room to plug all my electronic devices. The one complaint I have is that there were many oddly-placed light switches in the room (e.g., the light switch for the bathroom wasn’t in the bathroom), and to this day, I’m not sure it clicking them up or down turned them on. I feel like I was switching every light switch up and down to figure out how to turn on what.

Also of note is that they responded promptly to my numerous emails asking about outlets, amenities provided, and early check in options. Overall, I would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone looking to spend the night in a five-star hotel (which may actually be a 4-star hotel by U.S. standards being that Dubai rates their hotels as compared to their seven-star hotel).

Mövenpick Hotel Deira Information

Address: Corner Abu Bakker Al Siddique and Sallahuddin Road, PO BOX 234344, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Phone:  +971 4 444 0111

Email: Hotel.deira@moevenpick.com

Website

Cost: My Superior King room was 594.00 AED, including tax or about $160 USD. A Suite will run you around $950 AED or a little over $250.

*Disclosure*

All lodging was paid for at full price. The hotel had no idea there was going to write a review and service was still exceptional.

Contributed by KATIE 

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