Dubai in a week

We arrived from Birmingham airport at 7am local time after an overnight flight which took around 7 hours. Upon arrival we headed straight into the airport for luggage collection and passport control. The airport has some stunning features including waterfalls inside, beautiful LED light displays and you even get given a free SIM card with 5G as your passport is scanned!

From the airport we took the metro red line towards EXPO 2020 and this took just under an hour. This train passes by many attractions including the Burj Khalifa, the museum of the future and the Dubai frame, so it’s a cool sightseeing train. However on this particular route it was around 19 stops and very busy, so be prepared for this. Once we disembarked at sobha realty station we had a 15 minute walk to the Marina view towers where we stayed for our week. This hotel has incredible views of the Dubai marina which is stunning and has a lovely communal pool which is available to all guests. We thoroughly recommend staying here for easy access to JBR beach and the palm. We have included the link to the exact air bnb we stayed in. Our host was lovely and couldn’t fault anything.

After arriving at our accommodation we visited a local supermarket to top up supplies for a week and then we had a 2 hour nap because we struggled to get any sleep on our overnight flight. After this recovery period we had a wander down to JBR beach which is not far from the hotel at all. This is one of the most famous beaches in Dubai and this was clear when we arrived, it was rammed! There were so many people on the sand and in the water and there were so many things going on from jet skiing to camel rides, from banana boats to an inflatable water park, there really is loads to do here. So we were in 2 minds about the beaches. It’s incredible for families and people who want to spend a day in and around it, you will not be bored. However, we love to relax on a beautiful calm beach which isn’t too crowded and isn’t stressful, if you’re like us and are looking for a quiet stretch of beach, this place isn’t for you. This brought an end to our first day in Dubai and we were exhausted. We went back to our hotel around 6pm and had drinks and food on our balcony looking at the sunset colours, ready to recharge for our busy week!

We woke up to some glorious sunshine at warm temperatures at 8am, nothing like back home! We had breakfast and a coffee on the balcony before getting ourselves ready and down to the SOBHA realty metro station. We took the red line of the metro towards the Burj Khalifa and Dubai mall stop. This takes around 25 minutes to get there and can be a busy one. We had a booking for a certain time slot and made it in plenty of time, however just be aware when you get off at the Dubai mall metro station, you have a 10-15 minute walk to the actual mall. This is important to know!

Our first activity was to visit the most iconic landmark in Dubai, the World’s tallest building the Burj Khalifa. The attraction we visited in inside the Dubai mall is called ‘At the top Burj Khalifa’, you can book your tickets in our link below. Once inside you can learn about the history behind the construction before jumping in the lift with all its cool animations. This lift takes you to the 124th and 125th floors where you have access to both indoor and outdoor viewing platforms. The panoramic views of Dubai are breathtaking as you can see and there is also a little cafe and other attractions such as a simulated glass walkway.

Next up was a wander around the Dubai mall. In here there is almost every major brand retailer you can think of with some stunning interior design. Of course, endless cuisine options in the food court which we explored later and an incredible waterfall attraction which can be seen on multiple floors. This iconic feature is huge and is so impressive, with dozens of figures diving down the waterfall it really needs to be seen to truly appreciate it. There is also an aquarium within which is free to just stand and admire. You can pay a little bit of money if you would like to go and see some more or even go in a cage and get up close and personal with the marine life inside. We have included a link to the aquarium. A final hidden gem is the view of the Dubai fountain you get from the Nike store! Honestly stunning if you just fancy having a sit down with a free viewpoint!

Next up it was time for some food with a view. Before we came out here we made a reservation with Third avenue boutique which is a restaurant found on the ground (G) floor of the Dubai mall. We visited during Ramadan which meant it was a little quieter and we got a great seat so make sure to book a terrace seat far enough in advance. We had a pizza and a soft drink which wasn’t a horrendous price considering where we were, the views were unreal and we couldn’t believe how amazing the view was.

After lunch we went for a stroll around the fountains and were constantly looking up in awe of the Burj Khalifa! We walked past the restaurants of the food court which include fast food chains and local cuisine restaurants and over a really cute bridge which had some perfect picture spots. We continued our walk round following the beautiful blue waters until we reached our next resting point for some refreshments. The Dubai fountains have shows every hour in the evening from 6:30, however during Ramadan season they pushed them back to after sunset which was around 7pm. Unfortunately today we didn’t get a chance to see them but are hoping too on our last day.

In the peak afternoon heat we both needed a break from the sun and found a resting point in the shade. Out of the corner of our eye we spotted some tables and chairs and thought we found a cute little cafe. Turns out it was a very hidden Starbucks with a really peaceful setting and even a view of the top of the Burj which crept over the adjacent buildings. We had 2 ice coffees to help cool us down.

The final activity on our long day was to visit the Sky views observatory which was included in our ‘At the top Burj Khalifa ticket. It’s another great viewpoint of the Burj and includes an actual glass walkway this time which is both cool and a little frightening if you don’t like heights, as well as a fully glass slide which you can go down for yet another great view. Just be wary that the slide isn’t always included in your tickets and you may have to pay when you’re there. If you’re a real thrill seeker you can do the sky walk, which is a walk outside on the very edge of the observatory deck. You are attached to a harness and have the opportunity to hang over the edge! We didn’t do this but we did snap a picture of other brave people that gave it a go. After this we returned back to our place, shattered we chilled by our pool before getting off to bed early as we were up at 3am the next day for a hot air balloon ride

A truly magical experience. Our alarm went off at 3am and our tour collected us from our hotel at 4am and drove us out of the city and to the site of Balloon Flights, a company which offers hot air balloon rides at sunrise. This was truly amazing and we highly recommend, it’s worth the early rise. The company also offered a buffet breakfast after the flight in a really cute little breakfast area, they even allowed us to go inside the balloon after the flight! This should be on every Dubai travellers itinerary.

We returned to our apartments at around 9am and couldn’t believe we had been up since 3am! We definitely went back to sleep for a few hours before our next activity.

To be honest the majority of today was recovering from our early rise. We spent much of the day napping, chilling by the pool at our accommodation and then getting ready to visit the Global Village. This place is amazing! Within this amusement park come market, there are areas for different countries of the World. In each section there are authentic shops selling goods native to the country in question as well as food from that cuisine and decorations from that country. Our favourite has to be the Thailand inspired floating market found in the middle of the park. We grabbed some food from here which was amazing. There are many other countries offering shops and food such as an India section, China, Europe, Africa and many other countries. There is also an arcade area with mini golf and fairground rides. For what you get inside it really is worth the price, we paid on the day and we was around £6 each, but on the link below you can get in for cheaper!

To show you exactly where we are this evening, the floating village is inspired by Thailand and as Cerys will tell you it feels very authentic. We wandered passed the seemingly endless food stalls which all smelled amazing. There were so many food options available and there were so many customers which is always a great sign. We had some calamari bites and jumbo prawns just to fill us up until we returned home to our snacks.

A special birthday treat for Will. One of the more famous attractions in Dubai, a lot of people don’t realise that Aquaventure offers free tickets for people who have a birthday within a week of their visit! Make sure to bring your passport and sign up in plenty of time before your visit to secure a free trip for any people with birthdays within a week of visiting and then 2 friends get 20% off their ticket, a great deal to be aware of. If not be prepared to spend about £80 for adults to enter. The park is huge and easy to get to, just hop on the palm monorail and you get straight there for a very reasonable fee. The park can get busy but offers so many cool slides and rides as well as an awesome lazy river which has rapids within it. There is also a private man made beach which you can chill on. We spent pretty much the entire day here as the queues can be long, but when we were there they weren’t horrendous. 45 mins tops. The iconic leap of faith slide (first picture) was an adrenaline rush but there are other less strenuous rides. For those who don’t like water there are many restaurants and sunbeds for chilling. We grabbed some pizza rolls and a couple of coffees and chilled on the beach as a little break from the park, we recommend this to anyone who enjoys water parks.

To take a break from the water slides we grabbed a pizza cone from a kiosk within the park and a coffee from good old Starbucks and headed for the beach. This beach is private to those visiting the water park and offers a 1km stretch of soft sand a free sunbeds. The sun wasn’t out on our visit which is why it was quiet, but this was great. We chilled here for a while, wandered into the water and just chilled before returning to the park. Just before the beach there are areas for football, beach volleyball, badminton and other games. Plenty of things to do as well as the water park.

After an exhausting but fun day, we decided to have a little stroll along the Dubai marina which was exactly where we were staying so wasn’t far for us. At night the Marina takes on a whole different vibe with skyscrapers lighting up in all manner of cool ways. There are also plenty of restaurants along here with great views, just be wary of people trying to get you into their restaurant. Despite the fact you are only out for a stroll they will still try and get you to look at their menu, this was the only down side here.

After a long day of walking and adrenaline rushing, we couldn’t really be bothered to cook. So we wandered to a kebab place just near our apartment and we didn’t expect it to be as great as it was. The owner was very friendly and it was very reasonably priced and of course it was delicious. Just what we needed after a long day.

We knew that we were in for a really busy day, so we spent the morning chilling by the pool and catching some sun before getting ready for our tour guide pickup at 2pm.

We booked onto an entire afternoon itinerary run by the exceptional Ocean Air travel, a truly great company with great guides who organised a fabulous day of activities for us. To use the same great tour we did, click the link below. First up on the itinerary was dune quad biking at Desert Fun Off road. At this centre you are given the option of solo quad biking, pair quad biking or even dune buggy rides (you need to pay to upgrade to this). We opted for 2 solo bikes and had the best time driving around the dunes freely (within the zones boundaries).

Next up was Dune bashing, something UK health and safety would truly hate! If you suffer from car sickness this may not be so fun but we loved it. Ocean Air tours then drove us into the heart of the desert, somewhere Google maps has no location for, but as they were driving we were swung from left to ride, sped over dune tops and harsh braking to make for a truly wild and hilarious ride. The drivers are in complete control and very skilful, this was such good fun! After this we left our vehicles and had the opportunity to try stand up or sit down sand surfing. Cerys aced the stand up surfing whilst Will went for the sit down option, both were hilarious. We then had some cool photo opportunities in the desert before heading to our evening camp.

Our final stop on the tour was Al Khayma camp for an evening meal and entertainment show, there was even the opportunity for some camel riding. We absolutely loved it here. Upon arrival we were treated to complementary Arabian tea and snacks before being seated. After a little free time it was time for dinner. The food options were incredible with a 3 cuisine buffet on offer. They were Moroccan, Emirate and Arabian as well as a dessert station and grilled meats. We were seated in a very authentic dining area with drinks provided by the tour in their own cool boxes which was a nice touch. After food there were several entertainment acts which were all very impressive, especially the fire show! We were also given periods of free time to explore the camp, the surrounding desert dunes and have a go at camel riding. Just a quick note about the camel riding, the camels are treated very well and looked after. They didn’t appear to be under any kind of stress and we didn’t witness any kind of bad treatment towards them. We thought that all workers were very respectful towards them and they didn’t appear to be under any stress. After a great day we were taken back to our hotel, we thoroughly recommend this tour, we were looked after and it was amazing.

Booked throughGetYourGuide, we got up early to go explore the Old Town of Dubai, filled with history and charm. We began the tour at the Al Seef neighbourhood, along the Dubai Creek. We strolled through enjoying the quiet and beautiful streets, while learning how the local’s used to live and even got to enter a heritage house that locals used to live and meet up in. We got to try local Arabic coffee and tea, which we highly recommend to try! We continued our tour through the Grand Souk of Bur Dubai, with trying some local cuisine before jumping onto a scenic cruise to get to the other side of the river. We then learned and enjoyed the highlights of Deira Dubai, where we visited the spices souk and gold market. Perfect to purchase gifts to take home for family and friends! We loved out three tour and highly recommend! The tour was highly insightful and amazing value for money!

After our amazing tour, we got the metro back to the Dubai Marina and had a few hours around the pool before getting dressed up for our last evening.

After visiting this restaurant on our second day, we said we would love to come back one evening and see the Burj Khalifa and the fountain show at night time. This was the perfect decision! The views were incredible! During our stay we watched four fountain shows and saw the Burj light up in all different manners! To think of our view and where we were, the bill was not horrendous. Also, their puddings are a must! Super delicious and fun. This was a beautiful way to end our amazing week in Dubai.

For our last day, we woke up and got all packed up, while taking in those incredible marina views for the last time. The metro to the airport took 50 minutes from the marina and check in was super easy and quick. You can still see the iconic Burj Khalifa as you board the plane. A truly incredible week and we can’t to return one day to explore even more. That brought us to the end of our amazing week and honestly it flew by. Our final impressions of Dubai…..outstanding. Dubai is like another World to us coming from the UK, there are beaches to relax on, skyscrapers and business areas offering amazing restaurants and the largest mall in the World, a marina which is beautiful to walk around and the dessert! A truly amazing place. Our tips, well it is possible to do Dubai in a relatively cheap way. You see lots of influencers going to amazing beach clubs and observation decks which obviously will cost loads and give the impression that Dubai is an expensive city and of course it can be. However, if you’re prepared to look there are cheaper alternatives which provide you with just as good as experience and don’t break the bank. Tours can be cheap and the guides as well as the locals are extremely friendly. Dubai also has the reputation of being a strict place especially for couples and those who are not married. We didn’t experience any trouble and the tour guide on our old town guide said Dubai is very accommodating. They want people from all religions, all backgrounds to come and start businesses as well as come for holidays. Dubai is a very open minded place and people should not worry about anything when they arrive, as long as you respect everyone else and their beliefs you will have no problems at all.