Dubai - Welcome to the City of Gold
Famous the world over for its year-round sunshine, beautiful beaches and lavish lifestyle, book your flight to Dubai to experience the Middle East’s leading holiday destination.
Dubai is one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities, and the hub for leisure, tourism and business in the Middle East. You’ll never find yourself short of things to see and do in Dubai - whether it’s shopping in the city’s numerous malls and souks, enjoying the vibrant nightlife, sampling its five-star restaurants or catching the action at one of its many international sporting events.
Dubai International Airport is the Middle East’s leading hub and home to Dubai’s flag carrier, Emirates Airline. Many other international airlines operate flights to Dubai from Europe, Asia, North America and Australasia, with a growing number of regional budget carriers also offering cheap flights to Dubai.
Shop till you drop or soak up the sun
Dubai is a city of superlatives. Home to the world’s tallest tower (the 812m Burj Khalifa), the world’s only-seven star hotel (the iconic Burj Al Arab) and the world’s largest shopping mall (the Dubai Mall - itself home to the world’s largest aquarium), Dubai always strives to go one better.
While shopping and sunbathing are almost national pastimes, there is a lot more to Dubai if you’re willing to look for it. It offers endless water-sports opportunities, from water-skiing to kite-surfing, with the region’s largest waterpark, Wild Wadi, also offering water-based thrills.
The desert landscape that surrounds Dubai also offers a wealth of leisure activities, including desert safaris, dune driving and even sand skiing. If you prefer your slopes to have snow, don’t miss the Mall of the Emirates’ enormous indoor Ski Dubai complex, where you can bundle up against the cold before heading back out into the sun.
After all that exertion, you’ll find some of the world’s best restaurants and cafés in Dubai, along with a wide range of budget dining outlets, including restaurants serving wonderfully authentic Indian, Pakistani and, of course, Arabic cuisine.
For all its modern attractions, visitors to Dubai should also take time to explore some of its more traditional sights. A dinner cruise or abra (water taxi) trip along historic Dubai Creek delivers a fascinating glimpse of the city’s past as a trading port, as does a visit to the atmospheric Dubai Museum.
Dubai weather and when to go
Dubai is renowned for its fierce summer temperatures, when the mercury can top out at 45ºC or higher, although air conditioned indoor attractions still make it worth a visit even during the hottest months from May to September. If you’re planning to spend your holidays in the sun, Yalago recommends that you take your flights to Dubai from October to April which offer cooler daytime temperatures and warm, pleasant evenings.
Getting around Dubai
Dubai’s public transportation system has been hugely improved by the recent opening of the city-spanning Dubai Metro, which runs from Dubai International Airport to Jebel Ali, at the city’s opposite extreme.
The car, however, remains the favoured method of getting around, thanks to the city’s impressive modern road network, and both rental cars and taxis are plentiful and cheap. Along Dubai’s historic creek, you’ll find numerous abras (water taxis) and other craft plying their trade, with a quick trip across the creek or a more leisurely cruise along its length available at surprisingly low rates.
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