Dubai - 3 nights - what to do?

[Hard-Drive]

Right then, we're off on honeymoon to Mauritius, but we've got 3 nights in Dubai on the way. Obviously there's a lot to do/see, but for those in the know on distances/transport/traffic I wanted to see if this was sensible?

Saturday
Arrive DXB 0755
Morning-Leave luggage at our hotel, Dukes The Palm
Morning-Gold/spice/hooky watches souk
Lunch-Saturday Brunch somewhere (Saffron has been recommended)
Evening-trip to/up the Burj Khalifa, dinner
Night-viewing of the fountains

Sunday
Day-Water Park, Atlantis (hoping queues won't be too bad as it's not the weekend in Dubai and it's low season)
Evening-Dubai Marina, mall and dinner

Monday
Morning-hotel pool etc
Afternoon/evening-4x4 Desert safari, bedouin camp dinner

Any thoughts on this one?

Thanks!

[shirt]

saturday needs a rethink, generally feels like you're trying to pack too much in and with the flight and time difference it'll wreck you for sunday. you're yo-yoing between opposite ends of town and have maybe 140km of taxis in that itinerary.

brunch, depends if you are looking for a party [saffron] or not. most tourists expecting a fancy lunch on the palm tend to get disappointed when faced with the reality of the 20something pisshead expat.

fountains are only on 6-11pm

sunday is now the weekend, and atlantis will be rammed.

i would slim down your saturday plan and stick to downtown. taxi to creek, abra to the souk and back, brunch creekside, book a table at atmosphere for sundowners, then down to the mall and fountains, then home to bed. i doubt you'll want to eat again post brunch.

sunday and monday look fine, i'd just swap them around. get out of town sunday, then avoid the crowds monday.

[Pent]

when me and my wife took our honeymoon to bali we did a stop over in singapore for 3 nights. it was amazing.

they offered us dubai and i declined. couldnt think of anything worse.

i am no help to you at all

lol

[Triple Six]

Pent said:

when me and my wife took our honeymoon to bali we did a stop over in singapore for 3 nights. it was amazing.

they offered us dubai and i declined. couldnt think of anything worse.

i am no help to you at all

lol

Great input.

The desert driving is good fun, but I found the meal after and camel ride to be a bit naff. Typical tourist crap. If I were to go back I'd see if there was a way to hire a buggy/4x4 and drive myself, or just do that part.

[shirt]

there is:

https://www.bigreddxb.com/

[targarama]

Sunday is the weekend now - UAE moved to a western week schedule a year or two ago.

[hepy]

Regret my choices of going to a country that denies womens and LGBTQ rights?

[thebraketester]

Go and find the mall with the big fish tank in it. I say fish tank... it puts the London aquarium to shame.

[targarama]

thebraketester said:

Go and find the mall with the big fish tank in it. I say fish tank... it puts the London aquarium to shame.

When this first opened I was walking past with my brother who made a comment about if it cracked how scary it would be. I scoffed. A few days later this happened:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/feb/25/duba...

[Hard-Drive]

shirt said:

saturday needs a rethink, generally feels like you're trying to pack too much in and with the flight and time difference it'll wreck you for sunday. you're yo-yoing between opposite ends of town and have maybe 140km of taxis in that itinerary.

brunch, depends if you are looking for a party [saffron] or not. most tourists expecting a fancy lunch on the palm tend to get disappointed when faced with the reality of the 20something pisshead expat.

fountains are only on 6-11pm

sunday is now the weekend, and atlantis will be rammed.

i would slim down your saturday plan and stick to downtown. taxi to creek, abra to the souk and back, brunch creekside, book a table at atmosphere for sundowners, then down to the mall and fountains, then home to bed. i doubt you'll want to eat again post brunch.

sunday and monday look fine, i'd just swap them around. get out of town sunday, then avoid the crowds monday.

This is massivley helpful, thank you. Nothing like inside information!

[Hard-Drive]

shirt said:

there is:

https://www.bigreddxb.com/

Looks really good, although having Andrew Tate as an endorser on their website might need a bit of a rethink...

[hellorent]

Hard-Drive said:

Looks really good, although having Andrew Tate as an endorser on their website might need a bit of a rethink...

Not really, fits in very well with the countries culture and attitude to women.

[shirt]

I’ll ignore the obvious bating, it’s dull and massively out of date. Dubai seems to be about as divisive as Brexit on here with a similar level of gammon.

It’s a personal recommendation for big red. They are the only operator I would use for self drive atv tours. More expensive than some but they have decently maintained kit, will let you properly hoon it, insured, no surprises.

[Countdown]

Hard-Drive said:

Right then, we're off on honeymoon to Mauritius, but we've got 3 nights in Dubai on the way. Obviously there's a lot to do/see, but for those in the know on distances/transport/traffic I wanted to see if this was sensible?

Saturday
Arrive DXB 0755
Morning-Leave luggage at our hotel, Dukes The Palm
Morning-Gold/spice/hooky watches souk
Lunch-Saturday Brunch somewhere (Saffron has been recommended)
Evening-trip to/up the Burj Khalifa, dinner
Night-viewing of the fountains

Sunday
Day-Water Park, Atlantis (hoping queues won't be too bad as it's not the weekend in Dubai and it's low season)
Evening-Dubai Marina, mall and dinner

Monday
Morning-hotel pool etc
Afternoon/evening-4x4 Desert safari, bedouin camp dinner

Any thoughts on this one?

Thanks!

We did something similar back in February. To be honest I found the BK somewhat of a disappointment. It was jam-packed and full of people taking selfies when we got to the top. We went to a similar place in Abu Dhabi and that was just so much better.

The fountains were surprisingly enjoyable. We saw them just after dark and really enjoyed them. The Mall in general was great albeit a bit on the pricey side The souks were great as well, absolutely no hassle unlike places in Morocco, Turkey, Egypt etc...

[shirt]

Countdown said:

We did something similar back in February. To be honest I found the BK somewhat of a disappointment. It was jam-packed and full of people taking selfies when we got to the top. We went to a similar place in Abu Dhabi and that was just so much better.

May have been a better experience but BK is 450m taller, which is an entirely different experience. Being that high up inside a building is weird, and kinda the point.

For the OP, don’t go to viewing platform. Atmosphere bar is one floor below. There is a minimum spend but it’s comparable to ticket prices. Book a table 1hr before sunset for the best experience. Only half the floor is the bar, the other half the restaurant, but staff will give you a tour if you ask for the full 360deg view.

[ecs]

I'm exhausted and I've only read your plans!

I can echo what shirt said about Atmosphere - I've been there for cocktails at night and a breakfast recently. Good food and drink and the view is pretty decent!

If you're staying at a Jumeirah hotel then you should be able to get into Wild Wadi for free; it's a less busy alternative water park to Atlantis and is a good laugh. Not sure if I'd pay for it though.

Edited by ecs on Friday 1st September 14:10

[R33FAL]

Re water parks, i can only add if you are going to do them, the Atlantis water parks are much better than the Wadi Wadi ones. Think by virtue of Atlantis being more remote (end of the palm) and more expensive it cuts out a lot of people and as a result is a much much more pleasant place to be. (Staying at the Atlantis Royale at the moment and have been to the water park 3 days on the trot- 0 Qs)

[The G Kid]

R33FAL said:

Re water parks, i can only add if you are going to do them, the Atlantis water parks are much better than the Wadi Wadi ones. Think by virtue of Atlantis being more remote (end of the palm) and more expensive it cuts out a lot of people and as a result is a much much more pleasant place to be. (Staying at the Atlantis Royale at the moment and have been to the water park 3 days on the trot- 0 Qs)

+1, the park at Atlantis is miles better.

[Saweep]

R33FAL said:

Re water parks, i can only add if you are going to do them, the Atlantis water parks are much better than the Wadi Wadi ones. Think by virtue of Atlantis being more remote (end of the palm) and more expensive it cuts out a lot of people and as a result is a much much more pleasant place to be. (Staying at the Atlantis Royale at the moment and have been to the water park 3 days on the trot- 0 Qs)

I've just checked out of there after a week. Did you have constant water temp issues?

I wouldn't stay there again tbh.

[R33FAL]

Saweep said:

I've just checked out of there after a week. Did you have constant water temp issues?

I wouldn't stay there again tbh.

Really? Didnt think it was bad. Seems a big upgrade on the Atlantis for sure (which feels dated/tired). You can tell the staff are trying pretty hard (in my view). As usual, only downside is its in the middle of “nowhere” so getting off the palm (especially with the roadworks) is a disaster.

Thought Nobu by the beach was decent. Didnt try Cloud22 though heard the reviews are less than glowing there.

the gym/spa were amongst the best i have experienced in Dubai.

Would come back.