Dubai trip suggestions?

S

smnrock

Herald
Since previous thread by @raksrules is closed, creating this new one.

I'm planning dubai trip with family of four(including kids aged 15 yrs and 12 yrs) in April last week. I know April will be too hot in dubai, but i cannot change the date and already booked the flight tickets. In fact my requirement is almost similar to @raksrules thread. So please suggest your ideas for planning and stay for family friendly hotel. Its five nights/six days trip. I was initially planning to use metro, but then hot weather and too much crowd in metro will not suit. So please suggest taxi options as well.

And any idea on rough estimate of hotel stay for five nights?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dhanush
@smnrock

  1. With you 4 people, avoid metro at all costs. It is super crowded and in Dubai heat, do not assume you will be able to walk 500 meters to the station. It will drain you. Just take a taxi from point A to B. For Taxi, you can just show hand and get it or book using Careem app. The same taxi will come in Careem too but initial fare and then increase per km will be slightly higher.
  2. Take adequate water. There are almost no water filling stations except at handful of places.
  3. You may book tickets on klook or something if you are getting a good deal or check their own website too.
  4. Hotel stay is super subjective on area, period and all. With your kids' ages, you would take 2 rooms if the hotel doesn't have family room (which may have more than one room). We took a room with additional bed as my kids are relatively smaller than yours. I stayed in Bur Dubai so I could go to Meena Bazaar etc walking. "Savoy" range of hotels have very good reputation and I stayed at one of their hotels but it is little inside relative to main road (sort of like in residential area).
  5. Cap - Please wear cap to save yourself from heat.
  6. Food is not an issue at all. You get nice Indian taste food (unlike US where the India restaurants there have not so Indian tasting food).
  7. You will get free SIM card with each passport which will have 1 GB data valid for 1 DAY only and it is over DU Mobile network. So top it up with more data and calling via DU app.
  8. Using the phone, you can register for NOON Minutes (sort of zepto, blink it) and get some money off first 3 orders. This can be good if you want to order something and received instantly.
  9. Zomato is available for ordering food but DO NOT USE it, it is useless. Use Talabat and get your food delivered.
  10. Whatsapp will work but video calling part will not (audio calling, don't recollect). Use Botim for video calls.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: ?dOuBtFiRe?, smnrock, bssunilreddy and 1 other person
  1. If you have booked with Emirates most of the places have discounted rates esp Burj Khalifa, Atlantis etc you will find all those options on emirates sites.
  2. Also, if you're not used to the heat mostly try the indoor activities present in the malls.
  3. For Cabs you can directly use Uber pay if you have forex card or anything like AU Ixigo or Scapia add them to the account.
  4. WhatsApp or facetime won't work in Dubai just in case if you're planning to work get VPN for sure.
  5. If you're planning to buy gold in Gold Souk, try reputed brands only most of the brands available in India are present in Dubai they offer services in India too like Malabar.
  6. Food you can order from Kareem but there are cheaper options as well like some 24/7 stores available at most of the places where you can get juices, snacks etc for cheaper prices.
  7. Get a nice pair of shoes as u need to walk a lot.
 
  • Like
Reactions: smnrock
@AgentBane yes, its Emirates booking only. And i'm planning to use Scapia. Please share information about discounted rates through emirates booking! Is that cheaper than klook likes?

@raksrules Thanks for the details. Booking taxi through careem app is cheaper than taking on the spot? Also all five nights in single hotel is preferred or try different hotels to get different experience?

I also notice most of the hotel charges at least 2.5K to 3K INR per day if i want to book with cancellation option.. Is that expected?
 
smnrock said:
@raksrules Thanks for the details. Booking taxi through careem app is cheaper than taking on the spot?
Click to expand...
All cabs are careem ones (unless they are uber) in Dubai. So doesn't matter if you hail it or book through careem app. The rate is the same. Uber is expensive than careem. Still, taxis are much more expensive compared to India. You will be spending like 3k to go to Global village/IMG. Taxis accept cards.

smnrock said:
I also notice most of the hotel charges at least 2.5K to 3K INR per day if i want to book with cancellation option.. Is that expected?
Click to expand...
Are you sure you are not booking into a dorm? We went last month and 6k/night was the minimum for 2.

About food, you can find nice Pakistani restaurants everywhere. Almost everyone speaks Hindi/urdu.
smnrock said:
I'm planning dubai trip with family of four(including kids aged 15 yrs and 12 yrs) in April last week
Click to expand...
Finding a hotel with a big enough family suite on a budget is a challenge. It might be convenient to book two instead.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: smnrock
Latest experience with Gold >
lockhrt999

Post in thread 'How Do You Score the Best Deals on Phones and Laptops in Dubai? Share Your Hacks !'

I didn't end up buying a phone and laptop in Dubai. I bought both of them here before leaving, as I got better deals here.

Electronics: Some prices in INR with VAT adjusted if anyone interested:
  • iphone16 pro max 256gb: ~97k
  • S24 ultra: ~67k
  • S25 ultra: same price as India (Samsung regulates prices for some time) but you get some accessories like buds 3 pro.
  • DJI stuff: very close to official USD prices
  • Pixels, OnePlus officially not available.

Prices are from Bur Dubai area. Some of these things can be bought at the Airport itself in the duty-free zone at a...
  • Like

smnrock said:
oh no, i meant 2.5K extra they charge if i choose cancellation option.. for eg, per night cost 15K means, if i want to book with cancellation option, then it is changing to 17.5K~ ...
Click to expand...
That's correct. That's normal everywhere. And, you should book with an option to cancel. Dubai rejects 1 in 5 Indian visa applications. Keep that in mind.
 
  • Like
Reactions: smnrock
@lockhrt999 thanks for the details, Any idea on what reasons they rejecting visa?

i'm planning to visit on my way back to india from a Schengen country and family planning to join from India. So two different flight tickets.
 
smnrock said:
@AgentBane yes, its Emirates booking only. And i'm planning to use Scapia. Please share information about discounted rates through emirates booking! Is that cheaper than klook likes?

@raksrules Thanks for the details. Booking taxi through careem app is cheaper than taking on the spot? Also all five nights in single hotel is preferred or try different hotels to get different experience?

I also notice most of the hotel charges at least 2.5K to 3K INR per day if i want to book with cancellation option.. Is that expected?
Click to expand...

Taxi..opposite. Careem expensive than just hailing directly. Hotel is your preference if you want to experience 2 of them. I did not bother. Some people take one night in one of those super expensive ones like atlantis etc. I honestly cannot afford that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: smnrock
A few things I recommend visiting:
  • Ain Dubai
  • Dessert safari (make sure to include dune bashing as well as quad bike)
  • dubai frame
  • global village
  • Abu dhabi's grand mosque
  • IMG
  • Abu dhabi's louvre
  • Abu dhabi's qasr al watn
  • Abu dhabi's Yas marina circuit tour
  • The view at palm
A few things that were meh:
  • Aquaventure water park (world's biggest water park, but there's no difference between this and aquaimagica waterpark which is near mumbai. Aquaventure has repetitive rides)
  • Many other small museums like the museum of illusions.
Things that I found downright shit:
  • Dubai Mall: Biggest mall in the world, but worth nothing to buy from there. Torture for your legs.
  • Burj Khalifa observation deck: Had to stand there 2-3 hours in queue. And, we went in the morning and had booked in advanced. It's fcking inhumane. Additionally, you have to cross the whole dubai mall on foot (1.3km) to reach the queue. At top, the view is the same as any other tall building (from other countries, that is)
  • Burj Khalifa fountains: these run for 2 minutes barely. Highly overrated.
  • Ferrari world: proper piece of shit and a waste of money. There are hardly 2-3 rides worth doing and the queue could be hours long even for someone with a quick pass. IMG is better.

Dubai, in general, is also suffering from overtourism problem like India. Be ready to stand in queues for a long time.

smnrock said:
@lockhrt999 thanks for the details, Any idea on what reasons they rejecting visa?
Click to expand...
It's random. There's no reason. Yours shouldn't be an issue considering you have Schengen stamp. If others visa get rejected, apply again, preferably with another agent.
 
Top Bottom