whoopie! Going to Dubai!
whoopie! Going to Dubai!
hey baggers!
REally happy right now as have just booked a 4 day break in Dubai in April. I have wanted to go for a while as it sounds really glitzy and fun - a bit like Las Vegas!
Has anyone been before? What is it like? Any must-have things I should do?
Thanks
Heidi X
Answers:
I've been twice & it's great. I can recommend wandering around by the Creek, gold souk, spice souk - be prepared to haggle if you want to buy anything.
The Madinat is lovely - loads of little shops and eateries right on the sea front near the beach and Burj al Arab.
Cocktail bar at the top of Jumeira Beach hotel for the fab view of the Burj al Arab and surrounding area.
The Ibn Battuta mall is amazing - it's sections are themed according to different countries, eg. Egypt, China, Persia etc and is amazing. If you like ice-cream there is a fab ice-cream shop called the Marble Slab or something similar (I thin it's in the China section) where you chose the base flavour and what you want mixed in, and they mash it all up together for you on this marble slab (eg fruit, Snickers, cookies, nuts etc etc) - it's to die for :munch: :munch: :munch:
Mall of the Emirates is brand new - it's the one with the ski slope on the top, but to be honest, I was bored there and thought it was a waste of time.
Al Karama market is great for things like pashminas, cheap copies of designer goods, gifty type things and tacky touristy crap - it's fun to wander around though, very 'authentic'.
Taxis are dirt cheap out there so it's very easy to get around. You can't drink alcohol in public though and there are very few licensed places to drink - mainly hotels where alcohol tends to be very expensive. It's illegal to be seen drinking alcohol or be drunk in public.
With regards to shopping there, your best deals will be buying 'local' type goods or imported stuff like pashminas etc in the markets where you can haggle, or gold in the gold souk is exceptional value for money. In the malls they have most of the same shops as here but I think they're often the same price or even more expensive as buying in this country so I wouldn't bother if I were you - unless you want to take an empty suitcase and bring home exactly the same stuff as you could buy on your local high street for more money. They even sell all our 'winter' stuff at the same time of the year as we do, which is pointless since their average temp is like a hot British summer.
I hope this helps - if you need any more info please pm me (or just ask on this thread). My brother in law lives there so I've probably had a bit more of an insiders view of the place :)
Answers:
We went as part of our honeymoon and stayed at the jumeirah beach. We are going back in august and staying at the Madinat
It is amazing, I had the best time. It is so clean and shiny. It is modern and everyone is polite
You will have an amazing time. We bought loads so have your credit cards at the ready!
Thanks Duckie your post was super informative and I have saved it for my trip. It is a huge suprise for hubby, im not going to tell him until the day we fly, so we'll have to quickly pack, but it will be worth it to see the look on his face. Ive booked the time off with his work, arranged for both sets of parents to look after the little one, oh Im so excited i could burst!!!!:yay:
Answers:
I started a thread a while back about shopping in Dubai. You may find some useful info off that
Answers:
We went as part of our honeymoon and stayed at the jumeirah beach. We are going back in august and staying at the Madinat
Thanks Duckie your post was super informative and I have saved it for my trip. It is a huge suprise for hubby, im not going to tell him until the day we fly, so we'll have to quickly pack, but it will be worth it to see the look on his face. Ive booked the time off with his work, arranged for both sets of parents to look after the little one, oh Im so excited i could burst!!!!:yay:
Ooh, lucky you - the Madinat hotel looked absolutely beautiful. Are you okay with the heat though? It's normally about 45-50deg c in August :eek: :eek: . I just ask becuase I know it would kill me, but then I'm not that great with excessive heat - we went in March first time and last November, so for me the temperature was just right at that time of year.
I'm glad my post was helpful - I'm sure you'll have a fab time and I hope hubby is suitably impressed by all the effort you've gone to. I think he should treat you to something lovely in the Gold Souk :D
hey baggers!
REally happy right now as have just booked a 4 day break in Dubai in April. I have wanted to go for a while as it sounds really glitzy and fun - a bit like Las Vegas!
Has anyone been before? What is it like? Any must-have things I should do?
Thanks
Heidi X
Answers:
I've been twice & it's great. I can recommend wandering around by the Creek, gold souk, spice souk - be prepared to haggle if you want to buy anything.
The Madinat is lovely - loads of little shops and eateries right on the sea front near the beach and Burj al Arab.
Cocktail bar at the top of Jumeira Beach hotel for the fab view of the Burj al Arab and surrounding area.
The Ibn Battuta mall is amazing - it's sections are themed according to different countries, eg. Egypt, China, Persia etc and is amazing. If you like ice-cream there is a fab ice-cream shop called the Marble Slab or something similar (I thin it's in the China section) where you chose the base flavour and what you want mixed in, and they mash it all up together for you on this marble slab (eg fruit, Snickers, cookies, nuts etc etc) - it's to die for :munch: :munch: :munch:
Mall of the Emirates is brand new - it's the one with the ski slope on the top, but to be honest, I was bored there and thought it was a waste of time.
Al Karama market is great for things like pashminas, cheap copies of designer goods, gifty type things and tacky touristy crap - it's fun to wander around though, very 'authentic'.
Taxis are dirt cheap out there so it's very easy to get around. You can't drink alcohol in public though and there are very few licensed places to drink - mainly hotels where alcohol tends to be very expensive. It's illegal to be seen drinking alcohol or be drunk in public.
With regards to shopping there, your best deals will be buying 'local' type goods or imported stuff like pashminas etc in the markets where you can haggle, or gold in the gold souk is exceptional value for money. In the malls they have most of the same shops as here but I think they're often the same price or even more expensive as buying in this country so I wouldn't bother if I were you - unless you want to take an empty suitcase and bring home exactly the same stuff as you could buy on your local high street for more money. They even sell all our 'winter' stuff at the same time of the year as we do, which is pointless since their average temp is like a hot British summer.
I hope this helps - if you need any more info please pm me (or just ask on this thread). My brother in law lives there so I've probably had a bit more of an insiders view of the place :)
Answers:
We went as part of our honeymoon and stayed at the jumeirah beach. We are going back in august and staying at the Madinat
It is amazing, I had the best time. It is so clean and shiny. It is modern and everyone is polite
You will have an amazing time. We bought loads so have your credit cards at the ready!
Thanks Duckie your post was super informative and I have saved it for my trip. It is a huge suprise for hubby, im not going to tell him until the day we fly, so we'll have to quickly pack, but it will be worth it to see the look on his face. Ive booked the time off with his work, arranged for both sets of parents to look after the little one, oh Im so excited i could burst!!!!:yay:
Answers:
I started a thread a while back about shopping in Dubai. You may find some useful info off that
Answers:
We went as part of our honeymoon and stayed at the jumeirah beach. We are going back in august and staying at the Madinat
Thanks Duckie your post was super informative and I have saved it for my trip. It is a huge suprise for hubby, im not going to tell him until the day we fly, so we'll have to quickly pack, but it will be worth it to see the look on his face. Ive booked the time off with his work, arranged for both sets of parents to look after the little one, oh Im so excited i could burst!!!!:yay:
Ooh, lucky you - the Madinat hotel looked absolutely beautiful. Are you okay with the heat though? It's normally about 45-50deg c in August :eek: :eek: . I just ask becuase I know it would kill me, but then I'm not that great with excessive heat - we went in March first time and last November, so for me the temperature was just right at that time of year.
I'm glad my post was helpful - I'm sure you'll have a fab time and I hope hubby is suitably impressed by all the effort you've gone to. I think he should treat you to something lovely in the Gold Souk :D