This guide is to help find the best areas to stay in Dubai for first-time visitors.

Dubai has grown to become one of the most visited cities in the world. Even if you’re not planning on visiting, you might end up here on the way to somewhere else thanks to the extensive Emirates network.

Dubai is a geographically enormous city, so choosing what area to stay in is just as important as what hotel to stay in.

To give you an idea of how big Dubai is, here is Manhattan in New York overlaid on Dubai.

[Size of Manhattan compared to Dubai (via size-explorer.com.]

This Where To Stay guide is to help find the best areas to stay in Dubai for first-time visitors. This is based on my personal experience and exploration of the city. I want to show you what Dubai really looks like, beyond the Instagram-friendly infinity pools.

[A Hilton Garden Inn in an area I don’t recommend staying in.]

These areas are near public transport and amenities to make the most of your time. You don’t want to be stranded in a suburban area surrounded by freeways. I’ve also added hotels that are famous landmarks or that are a destination in their own right.

Where to stay in Dubai guide

Map of Dubai hotels
Best areas to stay in Dubai
Deira (old city area with the most budget options)
Downtown Dubai (Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall)
Jumeirah (see or stay at the Burj Al Arab)
Palm Jumeirah (the palm tree-shaped island in the sea)
Trade Centre (the most central financial district)
Dubai Marina (popular beach and canal neighbourhood)
Frequently asked questions

Map of Dubai hotels

Hotels mentioned in this article are pinned on this map, along with metro stations in each area.

[View map of Dubai.]

Best areas to stay in Dubai

The short version is that if you are on a budget and don’t know where to stay, then stay in Deira.

If you stay outside Deira, then refer to the metro map and make sure you are staying near a station on the Red Line of the Dubai Metro. This will make a big improvement on your trip as you will be able to visit other places that are along the line.

Start your search for hotels in Dubai.

Deira

[Muteena Park in Deira.]

Deira is the best place to stay if you are on a budget, and it’s my preferred area to stay in Dubai. It’s the most interesting place because the streets are more walkable here than in any other part of the city. There are also more affordable eating options, with cafes and restaurants catering to the army of overseas workers that live in the area (especially from South Asia and the Philippines).

Deira is one of the oldest areas of Deira, though don’t expect to see an “old town” with cobbled streets and ancient buildings. It’s old in that it’s more lived-in than anywhere else, and it has more street activity compared to the newer areas.

Deira has the advantage of being close to the airport and having a metro station where the two lines interchange (Union Station). You can base yourself here and use the metro to see the main sights further up the line. If you are doing a stopover in Dubai then it is easy to get to the airport from here.

While Dubai is famous for lavish hotels that are featured in luxury hotel guides, the budget end of the scale is poor value.

The cheapest private rooms I found were on Airbnb, but many of them are no more than a bed in a partitioned room. There are a number of listings like this on Airbnb, and you will find many rooms run by the same agent.

Partitioned rooms and dorms are how many overseas workers live in Dubai, and you will see advertisements all over the city advertising bed space. My tip for looking for a room is to make sure it has a window, that way your broom-closet-sized room won’t be so depressing.

When looking for a place to stay in Deira, look for hotels near Union Station and along the Red Line at towards Al Rigga and City Centre Deira. And on the Green Line, look towards Salah Al Din Metro Station.

Hotels in Deira

The central point of Deira is Al Ghurair Centre mall, near Union Station. The mall is home to Swissôtel Al Ghurair Dubai.

Near Al Rigga is ibis Dubai Al Rigga and Howard Johnson Plaza by Wyndham Dubai Deira.

I stayed at Royal Falcon Hotel near Salah Al Din Metro Station, and at Panorama Hotel Deira near union Station.

Search for hotels in Deira.

Downtown Dubai

Downtown Dubai is a mixed-use complex created by the Emaar Real Estate Development Company, and not a downtown in an American sense (Deira would be more downtown than anywhere). It is centrally located with lots of skyscrapers that are relatively easy to get to, so I can give them a pass on the name.

If you are doing touristy things then you will end up here at some point to see the Burj Khalifa (the world’s tallest skyscraper). Next to the Burj Khalifa is the Burj Park by Emaar, where you can watch The Dubai Fountain.

Downtown Dubai is home to the Dubai Mall, which is one of the largest malls in the world. The mall is directly connected to the Burj Khalifa/ Dubai Mall Metro Station by an enclosed air-conditioned walkway.

Hotels in Downtown Dubai

Armani Hotel Dubai is a hotel by fashion icon Giorgio Armani. The hotel occupies 11 floors of the Burj Khalifa, and it has direct access to Dubai Mall.

Search for more hotels in Downtown Dubai.

Jumeirah

Jumeirah is a residential area on the stretch of the coast between Deira and Palm Jumeirah. There is a surprisingly good public beach here, and the main landmark is the Jumeirah Mosque.

Jumeirah is not on the metro line, so it’s not a convenient area for using as a base to explore.

Hotels in Jumeirah

If you want to blow out your budget, then head to the Burj Al Arab. This hotel looks like a spinnaker sail of a yacht, and it is perhaps the most recognizable hotel in the world. It became known as a seven-star hotel, even though there is no such thing.

Search for more hotels in Jumeirah.

Palm Jumeirah

The Palm Jumeirah is a group of artificial islands off the coast of Dubai that forms the shape of a palm tree. This land-reclamation projection is not to be confused with the other projects that remain unfinished.

The trunk of the palm tree has a 5.4-kilometre-long monorail that connects the mainland to the top of the tree. The monorail is not part of the metro system, and the ticket price is priced more like a theme park, which this entire island group feels like.

The palm fronds are filled with mansions and villas, and the outer breakwater that surrounds the tree has some famous hotels that are a destination unto themselves.

Hotels in Palm Jumeirah

Atlantis, The Palm is the most well-known resort in Dubai, and you have probably seen the photos of its underwater hotel rooms.

[Atlantis, The Palm]

Nearby is Atlantis The Royal, which has become a visible landmark of the city (even so far out at sea). This ultra-luxury resort made global headlines when Beyoncé earned $24 million for a one-hour grand opening concert. She stayed in a a $100,000-a-night suite.

In the middle of the tree trunk at Nakheel Mall is the Palm Tower. This tower includes The St. Regis Dubai, The Palm. Its location in the middle of the tree gives it a better view, and the infinity pool is often featured by Instagram influencers.

Search for more hotels in Palm Jumeirah.

Trade Centre

Trade Centre is a major financial district characterised by a canyon of skyscrapers along Sheikh Zayed Rd. The metro follows the route of Sheikh Zayed Rd with three stops in this area. The most notable landmark in this area is the Museum of the Future.

[Museum of the Future.]

Stay here if you have a conference or business to attend in the area.

Hotels in Trade Centre

A notable hotel here is the Gevora Hotel. According to Guinness World Records, this 356.33 metre / 75-storey tower is officially the tallest hotel in the world.

[Gevora Hotel.]

25hours Hotel Dubai One Central offers a creative respite in a very suit and tie-focused district.

Search for more hotels in Trade Centre area.

Dubai Marina

Dubai Marina is a beachfront district that was purpose-built with canals. The combination of beaches and canals has made Dubai Marina the most sought-after location in Dubai. There is a large expat community that lives here among the many apartment towers, and the big names in luxury hotels are on the seafront.

Hotels in Dubai Marina

Dubai Marina is dominated by Jumeirah Beach Residence, which includes 35 residential towers and 5 hotels. With so many apartments in this area, it’s worth checking for apartment rentals.

Address Beach Resort is the most distinctive hotel on the beach. The hotel features two 77-story towers connected by a sky bridge, topped of by the world’s highest infinity pool.

[Address Beach Resort.]

Search for more hotels in Dubai Marina.

Frequently asked questions

Where to find hotels with gyms?
Visit this list of the best hotel gyms in Dubai.

The Dubai Metro is a rapid transit rail network in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. There are currently two lines, with more lines planned in the future.

Index

Dubai Metro
Red Line
Green Line
Dubai Tram
Other lines
Palm Monorail
Dubai Metro maps
Links and resources

Dubai Metro

Website: rta.ae.

Trains of the Dubai Metro are fully automated and driverless, and the stations are air-conditioned with platform edge doors.

Red Line

The Red Line opened in September 2009, becoming the first urban transit line in the Arabian Peninsula.

[Red Line at Union Station.]

The main line is 52.1 kilometres in length, travelling from the airport to the Jebel Ali Freezone at the western end of Dubai. A branch line from Jebel Ali Station was built to connect the Expo 2020 site.

The Red Line is the world’s longest driverless single metro line.

Green Line

The Green Line is the second line of the Dubai Metro network, interchanging with the Red Line at Union and BurJuman. There are 20 stations on the 22.5 km line.

[Stadium station on the Green Line.]

Dubai Tram

Website: rta.ae.

In addition to the metro, there is a planned light rail system that will provide a feeder service to the metro. The Dubai Tram is the first light rail system in Dubai.

[Mina Seyahi tram stop.]

The Dubai Tram is a 14.5 km tramway from Dubai Marina to Palm Jumeirah and Al Sufouh. The route has stops near the DMCC and Sobha Realty stations of the Red Line. The tram route is shown on the official metro map, and the metro pass (nol card) can be used for the tram.

Other lines

Palm Monorail

Website: palmmonorail.com.

The Palm Monorail is a monorail that runs up the trunk of Palm Jumeirah, connecting the mainland to the top of the island group. The Palm Monorail is not part of the Dubai metro system, so metro cards can’t be used on this line. The monorail is priced like a theme park ride, so it can’t be considered as an urban rail transit.

There is a plan to extend the line to Dubai Internet City, so it is a shame that it’s not part of the metro system.

Dubai Metro maps

Dubai metro stations and tram stops plotted on a Google Map. Use this map when looking for hotels in Dubai near metro stations.

[Map of Dubai Metro.]

Metro & Tram stations and location map
“The below map showcases all the metro and tram stations that come under the full rail network, including Red line stations, Green line stations and Tram stations.”

Dubai Rail Network
Official metro map in the standard metro map design of straight lines and 45-degree angles. The map shows fare zones and some prominent landmarks with a background of a digitised geographic landscape. The monorail is included on this map for reference, but it is not part of the metro system.

[View full map or download PDF version.]

Links and resources

Sheikh Mohammed: Dubai Metro ridership reaches 2 billion – [23/04/23]
“Milestone crossed in less than 14 years since driverless train’s inauguration in 2009.”

Dubai is a place I’ve wanted to spend more time in to have a proper look around, so I got that chance in November 2021. I have been to Dubai twice before on brief stopovers. Both of those visits were in the summer when the city is practically uninhabitable (45c days), and a one day visit is not enough.

This time I spent three weeks here in what is probably the best month of the year to visit. Here are some of the places I visited during this time.

Expo 2020 Dubai

Even though it was late in 2021, Expo 2020 Dubai was now technically Expo 2021-2022 Dubai due to the pandemic. I went to the 2010 Expo in Shanghai by chance, and it was the same happy coincidence here.

The expo site is at the far end of the Dubai Metro, and it took about an hour to get there from Deira. I got a free pass with my flydubai ticket, so I went for a day to decide if I needed a multi-day ticket.

One of the first pavilions I checked out was my own homeland of Australia. I found it interesting to see how we project ourselves on the world stage.

The front entrance was sponsored by the state of Victoria, and I was pleased to see that they leaned into the cafe theme.

Visiting the expo is like going to a giant travel fair, and I found myself visiting countries that I am familiar with and stopping by to places I want to visit soon.

It was fun to go to the Solomon Islands and be able to show the manager some photos on my phone from my visit in 2018.

The country displays haven’t seemed to have changed at all since my previous expo visit in 2010. It was not as crowded here either, obviously due to the lack of travellers in these pandemic times.

The main reason to go is to see the designs of each pavilion.

I was here for three weeks so I was considering getting a multi-day pass. I was satisfied with a long single day so I didn’t get another ticket.

Deira

I stayed for most of the time in Deira, mainly because it’s the best area to stay in Dubai. It is also the most walkable area, and I think more interesting than anywhere else.

Deira is the old part of Dubai, and it is only a few stops on the metro from the airport.

Union Station is the main interchange station of the metro, so it makes for a good base to .

Deira includes the old spice market and gold souk.

I enjoyed being able to walk along Dubai Creek.

And in a city that is famous for not having many trees, Al Muteena Park is one of the nicest urban parks I have seen anywhere. This is a park that runs down the middle of a road, and in the evening it is always with people walking around.

Food of Deira

The highlight of Deira is the food. There is a big representation of South Asia restaurants, serving the tastes of the workers from the region. I started most days with idly vada from one of the many Indian restaurants.

Masala dosa is my quick and cheap lunch of choice.

I saw this Nepalese restaurant, and I had to stop there.

I had the Veg Khana Set.

Continuing my tour of South Asia, I went to Qasar Al Afghan.

I went veg here, and I enjoyed the ambience of sitting cross-legged eating my meal.

I found a Pakistani restaurant with amazing chicken biryani.

Dubai Marina

I visited Dubai Marina when it was under construction in 2007, so this was my first visit in its completed form. The canals of the marina are artificial, and it is amazing to see how quickly it became a fully-formed city compared to my visit when it was just a construction site.

Dubai Marina has become a neighbourhood of the international well-to-do, and it is a stark contrast to the international working class living in dorm rooms in Deira. I considered staying here but it is too expensive for my taste.

The Marina area is the first area in Dubai with a tram system, even though there are more areas that would be better served by a tram.

The main appeal of the marina is the beach.

There is a long stretch of beach here, and in the background is the 40 towers of the Jumeirah Beach Residence.

The Ain Dubai observation wheel had recently opened when I visited, and it is located near here.

There is also a small airfield nearby where you can go skydiving.

Food is also expensive here. I didn’t find any cheap restaurants that can be found all over Deira. Thankfully there are these South Asian snack kiosks everywhere, so you can get samosas and chai for a cheap lunch.

Palm Jumeirah

One of the things Dubai is most famous for are the artificial islands off the coast. While The World is sinking and losing its shape, Palm Jumeirah is now a fully functioning palm tree-shaped neighbourhood.

There is a monorail that travels down the trunk of the palm tree. I showed my metro card only to find out that it is a private monorail and not part of the transit system.

At the top of the palm tree is the Atlantis The Palm resort and Atlantis Waterpark.

More buildings are being built around the road that rings the crown of the tree, including the Royal Residences. The building reminds me of The Interlace in Singapore with its stacked blocks.

To see what else is happening on the palm tree, on the way back I got off the monorail halfway down the trunk and walked back. The trunk turned out to be an urban design win, with a garden walking path following the monorail line. You would get a better view of the palm leaves from The View at The Palm as it’s in the middle of the tree.

This would be a good model for any future urban rail system, where you could have the option to walk in greenery or catch the train. Unfortunately, the monorail is useless for urban transit because it is priced like a theme park.

I knew it was going to be problematic to get off the palm tree, but I figured I will cross that bridge when I get to it. The bridge turned out to be a pedestrian-hostile overpass that connected to another freeway. I walked along a narrow ledge on the road to the nearest offramp, where I was met with more road hell. The monorail whizzed by as I navigated this hellscape for walkers.

Barsha Heights

I stayed for a week in Barsha Heights, which is next to the Dubai Internet City station. I picked this area mainly because it is further down the line on the metro, giving me a base to explore different areas. I also picked it because Dubai Internet City sounded like a cool cyberpunk/metaverse neighbourhood. The reality though was this area is another pocket of bad urban design, where the street layout seems to have been designed by someone who thought it looked nice when viewed on a computer. Walking around here enraged me so much that I will save this for another article.

Burj al Arab

The Burj al Arab has become the symbol of Dubai like the Opera House is for Sydney (though Burj Khalifa may say otherwise). There is a beach near the hotel where you can take a photo that makes it look like it’s just sitting on the beach by itself. That view has now been blocked by a new hotel and residential development.

The beach is surprisingly good, and there is a surf break here with surfboards for rent.

Mall of the Emirates

I visited the Mall of the Emirates last time I was here because I wanted to see the indoor skiing at Ski Dubai.

I was impressed that Borders still exists here.

And if you’re feeling middle class fancy, there is a Chili’s.

I was here to visit a cafe called Common Grounds. They are an Australian-style cafe that also has another Dubai cafe called The Sum Of Us.

Also at the mall is the specialty cafe, Arabica.

Dubai Mall

Spend any amount of time in Dubai and you will probably end up at the Dubai Mall. This is near the Burj Khalifa and it shares the same metro stop.

The mall is connected to the metro by a step-free air-conditioned walkway that takes 10 minutes to get there.

I came here to see a movie, so I got here early to have a walk around one of the largest malls in the world.

I also came here to work out of the Caribou or Starbucks.

Burj Khalifa

The last time I was here it was too hot to go outside, so I only went outside to take a photo of the Burj Khalifa before going back inside.

This time I got to comfortably walk around the base of the 829.8 m tower to find the perfect photo angle and admire the view.

Landmark Buildings

Dubai is filled with architectural wonders that would be more famous if they were in another city. The Museum of the Future was on the verge of opening when I was there.

The Dubai Frame appears to have been built with Instagrammers in mind.

To be a true city of modern architectural wonder you have to have a Zaha Hadid (even if she is no longer with us). Here is the Opus by Zaha Hadid Architects.

The twisty Cayan Tower at Dubai Marina is another highlight.

Final thoughts

I enjoyed my time here, even though the urban planning made me crazy at times. There are so many illogical roads that make it hard to walk, that I will save that for another post.

No doubt I will pass through here again on the way to somewhere else, and if it is the right time of year I will stop over again for another look around.

My last visit to Dubai was in 2007, just before the Global Financial Crisis. There was so much construction going on that I knew I would have to return to check on its progress. I finally returned 11 years later, at what feels like the peak of another financial bubble, and like last time there was construction everywhere.

I was here on a stopover, so rather than flying through I planned a full day to have a look around. I arrived in Dubai via Sharjah, which is the neighbouring emirate. Dubai and Sharjah have grown so big that they now merge into each other. Unfortunately like my last trip, I came during the summer. After sweating it out in Sharjah I realised I wasn’t going to get much sightseeing done in Dubai.

Since my last visit the Dubai Metro has opened, which is a game-changer for getting around. There are two lines now, with more lines planned. The red line travels from the airport and parallel to the coast. My hotel was next to a metro stop, so I planned my day around what I could see along the metro.

The trains are driverless and the stations are gloriously air conditioned. The carriages have a separate female section, and also a Gold Class section at the front if you want to go first class.

The biggest change that has happened since I was last here has been the completion of the Burj Khalifa, so that was the most obvious way to start my day. The tower is next to the Dubai Mall which has its own metro stop. The metro is about 10 minutes walk from the mall, and it’s connected by an air conditioned walkway. If you are visiting for a day then you should book tickets in advance.

I don’t usually go up towers unless they are super-tall or iconic. I went up the Petronas Twin Towers recently, and I will go up the Landmark81 in Saigon soon. I had considered going up, but visibility wasn’t the best on the day I was there. I only needed to go outside briefly to get the obligatory Burj selfie, then I was back inside.

The brief foray outside reminded me to not even consider going out for a walk (lesson learned in Sharjah), so my day was reduced to mall hopping on the metro. I felt bad that I was going to be hanging out at malls all day, then I found that the Dubai Mall has a Kinokuniya book store.

My next stop was the Mall of the Emirates to see that other outlandish Dubai project that is Ski Dubai.

Eventually my body demanded a real coffee, so I had to stray beyond the malls. I looked on Google Maps for some cafes nearby. One showed up called The Sum Of Us, and I knew without even looking that it would be an Australian-style hipster cafe (The Sum of Us is an Australian play/film). It was everything I hoped it would be.

Straying beyond the air conditioned confines of the malls I was reminded how unwalkable Dubai can be. It feels like the city was planned by a prince who has never had to walk a day of his life in a city. Big cities should be walkable. I’ve walked the length of Manhattan, and I’ve walked all day across London and Tokyo many times. There are too many big highways that make walking around hard. I’ll take a Barcelona Superblock over a city scarred with superhighways any day.

Having said that there are walkable areas of Dubai. Once the worst of the midday heat was over I spent the late afternoon wandering around Deira. This is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Dubai, and it’s built at a more human scale. You can walk around here, and there is enough street-level activity to make it interesting.

I stayed at a budget hotel in Deira, and I think it is the best area to stay in Dubai.

In Deira you feel like you are in a trading hub where Asia and Africa meet.

I like that there are hotels named after Kinshasa.

And the Dubai gold souk has resisted total modernisation, with its walkways still being outside (though heavily shaded).

One of the most interesting aspects about Dubai is that it’s full of migrants from around the world. I went to another cafe and was served by a guy from Bhutan. Apart from once at a travel trade show, I’ve never met anyone from Bhutan. He said there were about 300 Bhutanese in Dubai.

And like my experience in Sharjah, I also met a lot of Filipinos here. In fact most of the human interaction I had in Dubai was with Filipinos, so I may as well have been in Davao. In solidarity for the workers of the Philippines, I went to a Filipino restaurant for dinner. It made me realise that I’m long overdue for a Philippines revisit.

Most of the labour workforce in Dubai is from South Asia, so there are plenty of cheap Indian restaurants. No need to start your day at a hotel buffet when you can have an Indian breakfast and tea for a couple of dollars.

Despite Dubai being such a pedestrian-hostile environment, I find it a fascinating city. If they keep expanding the metro, and go ahead with the plan to plant one million trees by 2020, hopefully it will become more pedestrian friendly.

Dubai is also interesting for the architectural mega projects. At the Dubai Mall there was a model of the Dubai Creek Tower, which is expected to be over one kilometre high. So far the foundations have been prepared but work remains on hold.

So that was my one-day stopover in Dubai, 2018 edition. No doubt I’ll be back on the way to somewhere else, but next time I’ll not visit during the summer.

There is a saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and expecting a different result. I thought about this saying when I found myself back in the United Arab Emirates in the summer, when I said I would never again visit in the summer.

The last I was in the UAE was in 2007 when I had a stopover in Dubai. It was summertime, where daytime temperatures reach the mid 40’s celsius. I didn’t see much as it was too hot to go out, so I made a mental note to not visit at this time of year.

I was back in the UAE because Air Arabia have their largest hub in Sharjah (next to Dubai). They are like the AirAsia of the Middle East, and they are a good option if you need a cheap flight to Dubai. I was flying out of Dubai, but I didn’t want to just fly to Sharjah and not at least have a look around.

I was worried it was going to be too hot to do anything, but I told myself that maybe it wasn’t as bad as I remembered it to be. Plus I grew up in the Australian desert, and I currently live in a tropical city, so I should be able to handle the heat.

On the way to Sharjah I saw this advertisement in the inflight magazine. After experiencing the Sharjah summer I give a hat tip to the Sharjah Tourism Board for such a brazen marketing campaign.

[Come to Sharjah in summer they said, it’s great for family vacations they said.]

When we were approaching Sharjah Airport the captain announced it was 35c, and that was at 9pm. I wasn’t sure if I heard correctly, but sure enough as soon as I stepped out of the airport I was greeted with a baking-hot breeze.

By the time I reached my hotel it was 11pm. Once I got wifi I checked the weather and it was still 35c.

I should have been more organised and got up earlier to go exploring. That would have at least made the day easier.

After a late start my first order of business was to find breakfast. Like in Dubai, Sharjah is powered by the labour of South Asians, so I had a hunch that I would be able to find some cheap Indian restaurants.

Sure enough there was a 24-hour workers cafe near my hotel. I got a dosa breakfast that was as good as anything you would find in India.

I was only here for half a day so I picked a hotel close to the main sites to make the most of my time.

It was about 20 minutes walk to the main park, but I had already broken out into a sweat by the time I got there.

By the time I got to the Central Souq I was already feeling worn out from the heat.

The Central Souq is a modern souq, so it’s all indoors and air-conditioned. It’s like a mall with independent traders, and it’s a sensible design for this part of the world. I took refuge in here, grateful for the air conditioning.

Next to the souq is Khalid Lake. There is a walking path and some architecturally interesting buildings around it. Any other time of year I would have walked a lap of the lake (about 5km in total). Today I wasn’t even going to try.

One of those big red tour buses was parked outside the souq, and for the first time in my life I considered taking it. If I had more time in Sharjah this bus would have made sense to take as the attractions are too spread out to walk between.

Instead of doing the tour I figured I would go to the old fort then call it a day. That was also about 20 minutes walk away, but it wasn’t getting any cooler. I was seriously tempted to jump under this sprinkler.

The Heart of Sharjah is the historic part of the city, though much of it has already been lost. The area contains a collection of preserved and restored buildings, alongside new buildings built in the traditional style of the area.

It was too hot to enjoy walking around, and it was no surprise to find I was the only madman outside. Not even a single mad dog or Englishman to be seen.

I wasn’t expecting to find a good coffee in the old area, so I was absolutely delighted to find an Aussie-style cafe serving proper flat whites. By now I was really not wanting to go out again.

In the older part of Sharjah the architecture is built with shelter from the sun, like the five foot ways of Singapore and Malaysian shophouses. The new buildings offer no such protection. By the time I got back to my hotel I was done.

After my mini walking tour I still had to check out and transfer to Dubai. The bus stop for the express Dubai bus was about 10 minutes walk according to Google Maps, and my hotel in Dubai was next to the bus stop in Deira. I had planned this when booking my hotels, and it seemed like such an easy travel day.

In that 10 minute walk to the bus stop I was completely drenched in sweat. I looked like I had just come from a Songkran water festival.

The bus arrived after about 10 minutes. I was too sweaty to take a seat, so I just stood in the bus, still sweating while shivering from the air conditioning. A kind Filipina saw my plight and came over and gave me a handful of tissues. There are Filipinos everywhere here, and pretty much everyone I spoke to in Sharjah were from the Philippines.

By the time the bus arrived in Dubai I was still sweating. I got to my hotel and took a cold shower to bring my core body temperature down. I had to Google to make sure I wasn’t having a heat stroke. I didn’t have any of the symptoms, but I made a note to myself to not be wandering around in the midday summer sun in the UAE ever again.

I wouldn’t be surprised if I ended up in Sharjah again on a cheap Air Arabia flight, but I will make sure I’m back during the cooler months.

Flight: Emirates EK 392
From: Dubai (DXB) To: Ho Chi Minh City (SGN)

I flew with Emirates from Dubai to Ho Chi Minh City. This was a booking with points from Qantas, who are their partner outside of the Oneworld Alliance. I’ve flown with Emirates a few times before I like their service, so this was an easy choice to make.

My last flight with Emirates was from Dubai to Johannesburg, which was a connecting flight from Barcelona. This time I was staying in Dubai, so I would experience the checking in process of Dubai Airport as well.

When I first flew with Emirates in 2006 I remember being thoroughly impressed with DXB Airport. It felt modern and spacious, and that Dubai was living up to its goal of becoming the centre of the aviation world. Now, 12 years later, DXB feels cramped and completely overwhelmed with the traffic it now receives.

The one improvement from my previous visit is that there is now a metro station at the airport, so getting here is much easier. I was staying at a hotel in Deira, which is the cheapest area to stay in Dubai.

Checking in at Dubai was smooth enough given how busy it is. There is a dedicated checking in hall at Terminal 3 for Emirates, which is overwhelmingly the largest carrier at the airport. The check in process is open for all flights, and the big lines move fast.

Along with the metro, the other best thing about DXB is when they are giving away free ice cream. I may or may not have gone back for seconds.

But don’t let the free ice cream distract you from how overcrowded the airport is. Part of it has to do with the terminal design, which is a like a skinny tube with gates on either side.

The departure lounges for the gates do not have much space, and crowds spill out on to the hallways. It’s a completely different experience to my first visit, when Emirates was only half the airline that it is now.

Dubai have built a new airport (DWC Al Maktoum International Airport), which has ambitions of becoming the biggest airport in the world. Emirates are expected to move there by 2025.

To highlight how crowded DXB has become, my flight was boarded via a lower gate using buses to load the plane. Emirates only fly 777 and A380 aircraft, and bus gates are usually reserved for smaller aircraft like 737/A320.

On the bus we go.

Our plane happened to be parked far away from the terminal, so it was a mini tour of the airport grounds.

My flight was in August, which is the hottest month of the year in Dubai.

Hot work while standing around in the sun while loading a 777 load of passengers via the tarmac.

Anyway, now that the DXB experience is done, here is the flight review. I was flying economy, and the 777 have seats in 3-4-3 configuration.

One of the highlights of Emirates is how good their inflight entertainment is. The screen is as wide as the seat, and they have electrical and USB plugs.

One of the reasons I picked this flight was the flight time. The flight departs Dubai at 9.30, and arrives in Ho Chi Minh City at 20.00. The scheduled flying time is 7H, 30M, though the actual flying time was 6H, 37M. This is as close to perfect a flight time as it gets for me. Fly during the day and arrive in the evening, so no jetlag the next day. I can’t sleep on flights, so I am being more selective with my flight times these days. Of course the people flying back from SGN to DXB have to pay it back with an overnight flight, so I probably wouldn’t do that flight.

There wasn’t an inflight magazine available, so I’m not sure if they have been discontinued completely. The ubiquitous duty free magazine is still there.

I haven’t flown enough airlines to be able to proclaim that one particular airline is the best in the world, but I wouldn’t argue with the award of World’s Best Inflight Entertainment going to Emirates (and for 14 years running at that).

Emirates has an enormous selection of movies to choose from. I’m usually scouring the movie selection trying to pick one. Here I had several I wanted to watch.

There are different themes, such as all the DC movies.

And all the Marvel movies.

The menu for todays flight.

The flight is not quite long enough to justify two full meals, so there is an “After Take Off” meal and then lunch.

The “After Take Off” meal was a smoked turkey sandwich and coffee.

For lunch I got the grilled chicken with peppercorn sauce.

Despite all the tempting movies to watch I ended up just working for the flight. I find day time flights a great place to get work done.

The flight arrived pretty much on time, and then we were stuck on the tarmac for 20 minutes. Like Dubai International Airport, Tan Son Nhat International Airport is also having issues with overcrowding. SGN long ago ran out of space, and they haven’t even started building the new airport for Ho Chi Minh City. Eventually the plane was parked on the tarmac and we were bussed to the airport terminal. This is the first flight in a 777 where I had to bus it to and from the plane.

Overall though this was a great flight to get back to Vietnam, and I would be happy to fly with Emirates again.

Hotel Name: Royal Falcon Hotel
Address: Salah Al Din Street, Deira, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

I stayed at the Royal Falcon Hotel in Dubai, UAE. I booked it online at the rate of 146.48 AED ($39.88 USD) per night and selected it for its price and location in Deira, which is one of the best areas to stay in Dubai.

The hotel is a 3-star hotel in Deira, which is my preferred area to stay in Dubai. Deira is the old city area, and the streets are a more walkable scale than the big roads of the new Dubai. I also booked this hotel as it was near the metro line, and it turned out to be the most useful location for my trip. I started my UAE trip in Sharjah, and the express bus from Sharjah stops next to the metro right outside the hotel. This was especially useful as it was near to 40c when I arrived.

The hotel is in what looks like a shiny blue office tower.

I was happy to step inside to the air conditioned comfort. The staff were friendly and efficient and I was shown to my room.

I had a double room with a big window looking out to the surrounding neighbourhood. The bed was comfortable and it had power outlets near the bed.

Note quite as spacious as my Sharjah hotel, but it was more than enough space for a solo traveller. The room included free water, and there were tempting snacks left on the desk for purchase.

The bathroom was clean and orderly. The shower was inside a bathtub and the water escaped too easily, but other than that it was fine.

There is free wifi at the hotel and I had no problem with the reception in my room. There is a breakfast service available in the restaurant downstairs, but my booking didn’t include breakfast. I found an Indian workers cafe behind the hotel and had a cheap Indian breakfast instead.

The location was ideal for exploring Deira, and I walked around Deira from here. For other points in Dubai the metro is the best way to travel. There are a couple of big malls within a block of the hotel as well, and a supermarket across the road. The only thing that was missing was a convenient cafe.

Overall this was a great place to stay in Dubai. Book the Royal Falcon Hotel online, or search for more hotels in Dubai. If you’re new to Dubai check out this guide on where to stay in Dubai.

Notes from my trip to Dubai in October 2007.

Dubai Weather…

…is hot. Damn hot! At the end of September the forecast maximum is 40 deg C and a minimum of 29 deg C. Step out of the air conditioned comfort of the airport and it hits you in the face and fills your lungs. And this is at 6 in the morning.

For 4 months of the year Dubai gets to over 40 degrees Celsius every day. The rest of the year is in the more liveable 30’s and in the “winter” months down to the very comfortable 20’s.

Rain is so rare here that there is not need for street drains. In the south of Spain they boast of 300 days of sunshine a year. Here in Dubai the boast is of 360 days of sunshine a year. You would be unlucky to get those 5/6 days of no sunshine. No wonder they are building beach resorts and theme parks everywhere here.

[Heritage Village, Dubai: You’ll only find crazy Australians on the street in the middle of the day]

Old and New

The old part of Dubai is centred around Dubai Creek, an inlet of water from the Gulf which served as Dubai’s original port, and still handles small cargo vessels today. Old Dubai consists of Deira on the north side of the creek and Bur-Dubai to the south.

[Traditional abra (boat) on Dubai Creek.]

The area around the creek is where the older and more interesting streets of Dubai lay. Here you will find old and reconstructed market laneways (souqs) on either side of the creek. One of the most famous markets is the Dubai gold souk.

[Bur Dubai Souq Laneway]

If you are staying in the creek area of Dubai you could be forgiven for wondering what all the noise is about regarding Dubai. The old part of town is an interesting if architecturally unremarkable place, and there are not many high rise buildings in the area. Old Dubai looks like what an Indian city would look like if it had no rubbish and livestock on the streets and if the roads were all sealed.

[Dubai Marina construction workers.]

It is not until you get out of the old town and drive along the coast that you start to see the jaw dropping expansion of greater Dubai. The Emirate of Dubai has lofty ambitions of become one of the great global cities of the world so there are construction sites on steroids all over the place.

[A canyon of construction at Dubai Marina]

Air conditioned bus stops – Dubai

It sounds crazy, but then this is Dubai. The Dubai bus shelter project is billed as the first ever air conditioned bus shelters in the world on such a large scale. There will be 500 of these built eventually.

[Dubai Air Conditioned Bus Stop]

[Dubai Air Conditioned Bus Stop Seats]

Arrow to Mecca in hotel rooms

[Black arrow on the hotel ceiling indicating the direction to Mecca.]

My hotel room has a black arrow on the ceiling pointing in the direction to Mecca, a common feature of hotels in Islamic countries.

As Arabian as date pie

McDonalds date pie.

Greenery makes great cities

What a difference a tree makes in a baking-hot city of concrete. With all the money that is pouring into Dubai to make it one of the premier global cities of the world, they should start planting shady trees everywhere to make a more pleasant place.

[A shady tree in Deira – Dubai]

A good example of a green city in a hot and dry climate is Madrid. The Spanish capital in the middle of the Iberian Peninsula is one of the greenest cities in Europe. The shady elm trees make the summer days bearable.

Trees For Cities is a site about beautifying our cities through tree planting.

Having greenery is one thing, but it needs to be usable as well. I found this park near the creek only to find that you can’t use it.

Dubai travel resources

Rayna Tours and Travels is a Dubai-based destination management service offering all-inclusive holidays, tours, safaris, and cruises that go beyond the ordinary. Its extensive portfolio offers international visa services, high-end logistic solutions, and sightseeing tours introducing visitors to the city’s most modern and cultural landmarks. They are also specialists in Dubai desert safari and dhow cruise packages, and arranging tours to attractions such as the Burj Khalifa, theme parks, water parks, and museums (including the Museum of the Future).

Visit Dubai – Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing.

Time Out Dubai – Dubai lifestyle magazine featuring restaurants, nightlife, films, things to do and places to see.

Dubai hotels – Search for discount hotels in Dubai with lowest rates guaranteed.

Where to stay in Dubai.

Best 7-day Dubai itinerary

Dubai Dolphinarium tickets.

Lonely Planet Pocket Dubai (Travel Guide)