Planning a trip to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in 2013

[AJMouse]

Together with a good friend, I'm planning to go on a trip to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in March of 2013.

 

We've already planned quite a lot, and we even booked our flights already. With "planned" I mean, I've looked around the TPR forums, checked TPR trip reports (I think I've checked them all), watched documentaries on Dubai and buildings they're creating, of course nosed around via Google a lot, and pretty much made a list of everything we would like to do.

 

I realize this isn't a Coaster trip I'm planning (although at least 3 coasters are involved), but I value the advise of my fellow TPR members, and knowing for certain some of you have already been there, posting this here sounded like a great idea to get some more tips.

 

We're going in March of 2013 which should give us a temperature of about 16 to 27 degrees Celcius.

 

The To do List and day planning

I've got a list of things we want to do (and included weblinks if you're interested to check out more). And below that I've got a planning. I'm looking to get some tips on our planning, if we've got any bad ideas there, or should switch around something for something else, etc.

 

About us:

• We're not big shoppers, but walking around a huge shopping mall is still interesting. Dubai Mall being very interesting then of course.
  
• Getting up early: we can do it, but we don't mind sleeping in a bit
  
• We'll be using public transport and taxi's to get us places. Any tips on this are very welcome too!
  
• Food: We're definitely on the lookout to try out some American Fatty Food franchisers in Dubai Robb posted:

  Oddly enough, Dubai is also home to the most amount of American fast food and cheesy dining locations I have ever seen. I actually think they had more per square mile...than in America! I'm not joking!

• We do like going out, and we're definitely looking for tips on that too. I know about the alcohol use, sharia-law etc., and that most places don't permit it, but any tips on having a fun night with a couple of beers would be great. We're not looking to get drunk, but having a beer with some other tourists would be fun.

 

 

What we want to do in Dubai:

• Aquaventure (Atlantis, The Palm)
  
• Wild Wadi
   
  
• Dune Safari (Dune Bashing, the afternoon round with the BBQ etc.)
   
  
• Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo (Dubai Mall)
  
• Burj Khalifa "At the Top" experience (Dubai Mall)
  
• Dubai Mall (just a visit, a walk-around)
  
• Sega Republic (Dubai Mall)

 

On the backup list:

• Ski Dubai (Mall of Emirates) - We're both don't really ski, so this is not a "must visit".
  
• Some boat trip through the harbor?
  
• A tour to a different city or town with a tour operator

 

What we want to do in Abu Dhabi:

• Ferrari World
  
• Yas Waterworld

 

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Day to Day Planning

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Thursday: Arrival, Food, Something, Sleep

We will be arriving on a Thursday around 18:00 on Dubai International Airport, DXB. After checking into the hotel, I think we will want to get some food (maybe explore a little), maybe drink a beer at the hotel's bar (if allowed).

Unless there's something we can't miss doing on this particular evening... I don't think we're gonna do much.

 

Friday: Dubai Mall, Sega, Burj Khalifa, Food and Fountains

I've read stores are open longer in the evening on Friday, but I wasn't sure. I thought that we'd start of the week good right away by visiting the Dubai Mall and doing all Dubai Mall related activities.

 

Burj Khalifa: We've then pre-purchased our tickets for the "At the Top" experience to save some money. Based on when we can visit the top, we'll build our day around it: Visit the Sega Republic (coaster time!) in the Mall, playing the machines there, visit the Aquarium (is this worth it?), and walk around the mall checking out those gold plated diamond infused iPhone 5's.

 

We would like to see the big fountain show in front of the Khalifa while enjoying dinner somewhere. It would be cool to go for a couple of beers this evening.

 

Saturday: Something and Sand Safari

Sand Safari: Dune Bashing time! We get picked up at around 15:30 from the Hotel. We can do something before this time, but I'm not sure what yet. Any tips for something that doesn't take too much time?

 

We've seen a couple of companies offering Sand Safaris, and they look very similar. Any tips on this are welcome!

 

Sunday: Monorail to Aqua Venture on the Palm

Go to Aqua Venture: The Palm by Mono..mono..mono...monorail. Have fun aquaventures.

Should we visit the aquarium part here? Is it worth it?

 

Monday: Wild Wadi and Hotel switch

Get some waterparking going on again: Wild Wadi - (new Jumeirah Sceirah slide!)

 

Hotel Switch:

This day we would like to switch hotels to Abu Dhabi. I think. So after a fun day at Wild Wadi, we pick up our packed things from our hotel reception and move to Abu Dhabi, to check into our hotel there, in the evening.

 

Tuesday: Ferrari World

Ferrari World. Is it worth to get fasttrack tickets if you look at the month we're going? It's open from 11:00 to 20:00 which seems long enough.

Does Formula Rossa run well? Is it closed often?

We could switch this day with Wednesday, but I'd rather not go to waterparks 3 days in a row

 

Wednesday: YAS Waterworld and Hotel switch

YAS Waterworld *which should be open by March if I can believe all the latest news on this. Some great new slides, and a coaster that goes right through the waterpark. This should be great.

 

Hotel Switch:

In the evening, after YAS Waterworld: move back to a hotel in Dubai.

 

Alternatively we could do something else in Abu Dhabi on Thursday and not move back to Dubai this day. But we're not sure what.

 

Thursday: Something. And then fly back to Amsterdam.

We fly back at 18:50 from DXB. We have to be at the airport some time earlier.

This means we almost have a full day to do stuff!

I thought we could maybe go to the Mall of Emirates that day and meet the pinguins - but we're open for suggestions here.

 

 

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The Hotel(s)

We haven't booked a hotel yet, and we're looking for tips on that. This is where TPR's previous trip takers or trip planners (R&E?) can hopefully help out a little bit! I don't think we can afford the Burj Al Arab, but I don't want to be on the outskirts of everything. We've got a couple of hotels in our favorites now which we could book, but really, experience from you guys on this topic would be great.

 

 

The Questions

So.. in all the text above, I've asked some questions here and there. I'll try to summarize them below:

 

1. Any tips on hotels in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi: decent quality, fairly prized, good location, maybe a swimmingpool for the one in Dubai, Free Wifi perhaps? We've got quite a few listed, but if you know any I should definitely look into, please post them.
    
    
   
2. Visiting a bar: Any tips on fun places to hang out with other tourist and maybe enjoy a beer. Again, not looking to get drunk or violate any laws. Just looking for some socializing.
    
    
   
3. Restaurants we shouldn't miss (this could be an American franchise!)
    
    
   
4. Is the Aquarium in the Mall worth it, or is the big "wall of water" alone enough to check out?
    
    
   
5. Dune Bashing Day: Anything we can do till it's 15:30 (pickup from hotel time).
    
    
   
6. The Aquarium part in Aqua Venture: is it worth the extra money?
    
    
   
7. Sand Safari: There are so many companies doing this (or at least that's what it feels like), any tips are welcome!
    
    
   
8. Any activities we're not doing but we SHOULD do! (maybe one in Abu Dhabi so we don't have to move back to a hotel in Dubai for one night)
    
    
   
9. Any activities we are doing, but definitely shouldn't do!
    
    
   
10. Tips on Public Transport / Regular Transport: Should we get some all access cards for what we're doing? Take the cab? For Dubai I think most places can be visited with Metro (monorail for aqua venture). For Abu Dhabi I think we might have to take cabs.
     
     
    
11. We're moving to Abu Dhabi at a certain moment for 2 days. We're also going back. I've seen that there is a bus that goes there which we could take.
    We haven't decided which transportation method we want to use for this, or which is cheapest/best. So any tips on this would be welcome.
     
     
    
12. Should we get a fasttrack pass for Ferrari World? Does Formula Rossa run well? I'm not sure if I want to "pre-buy" tickets and maybe get them on the day there, just to see if it's actually open.. so that we can, in an emergency switch that day.

 

Thank you!!!

Feel free to share anything that I haven't asked, give us other tips, etc. We welcome everything.

Thanks for sharing anything you can share, and thanks for reading!

[SharkTums]

The Questions

So.. in all the text above, I've asked some questions here and there. I'll try to summarize them below:

 

1. Any tips on hotels in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi: decent quality, fairly prized, good location, maybe a swimmingpool for the one in Dubai, Free Wifi perhaps? We've got quite a few listed, but if you know any I should definitely look into, please post them.
    
    
   
2. Visiting a bar: Any tips on fun places to hang out with other tourist and maybe enjoy a beer. Again, not looking to get drunk or violate any laws. Just looking for some socializing.
    
    
   
3. Restaurants we shouldn't miss (this could be an American franchise!)
    
    
   
4. Is the Aquarium in the Mall worth it, or is the big "wall of water" alone enough to check out?
    
    
   
5. Dune Bashing Day: Anything we can do till it's 15:30 (pickup from hotel time).
    
    
   
6. The Aquarium part in Aqua Venture: is it worth the extra money?
    
    
   
7. Sand Safari: There are so many companies doing this (or at least that's what it feels like), any tips are welcome!
    
    
   
8. Any activities we're not doing but we SHOULD do! (maybe one in Abu Dhabi so we don't have to move back to a hotel in Dubai for one night)
    
    
   
9. Any activities we are doing, but definitely shouldn't do!
    
    
   
10. Tips on Public Transport / Regular Transport: Should we get some all access cards for what we're doing? Take the cab? For Dubai I think most places can be visited with Metro (monorail for aqua venture). For Abu Dhabi I think we might have to take cabs.
     
     
    
11. We're moving to Abu Dhabi at a certain moment for 2 days. We're also going back. I've seen that there is a bus that goes there which we could take.
    We haven't decided which transportation method we want to use for this, or which is cheapest/best. So any tips on this would be welcome.
     
     
    
12. Should we get a fasttrack pass for Ferrari World? Does Formula Rossa run well? I'm not sure if I want to "pre-buy" tickets and maybe get them on the day there, just to see if it's actually open.. so that we can, in an emergency switch that day.

 

Thank you!!!

Feel free to share anything that I haven't asked, give us other tips, etc. We welcome everything.

Thanks for sharing anything you can share, and thanks for reading!

 

This is a lot of questions and information...let me see what I can help with quickly.

 

First off, I love Dubai and the UAE, you'll have such a good time! I would rate it just below Japan in my places I like to visit!

 

1. We love the Four Points Sheraton on Sheikh Zayed Road. If for some reason you don't like that, I would still recommend that area (I know there are a couple of cheaper hotels there as well). Walking distance to a ton of restaurants, night time places, a grocery store, and a short taxi ride to many attractions (including the Dubai Mall)

 

2. Stick to your hotel bar for this.

 

3. I love falafel, but that's about all I like for Middle Eastern food. If you're sick of Middle Eastern food, there's a Wagamama and Pizza Hut walking distance from the hotel I suggested...there's also EVERYTHING ELSE ON EARTH within a 5 minute cab ride or 30 minute walk. Tons of restaurants at the Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates.

 

4. I never did the Aquarium but it didn't seem amazing or anything enough to get me inside. Check out the big wall of water and move on.

 

5. You can hit up some smaller Dubai or Sharjah FEC parks, sleep, go to the beach, shop, etc.

 

6. From what we saw of the 'Evening Desert Safari with Dinner' is that it didn't really matter which company you used. Similar to a cruise ship shore excursion they all had very similar compounds, vehicles, and itineraries. It was a lot of fun and we would certainly do it again.

 

7. Did you mention taking a tour of the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi? That would at least fulfill some culture!

 

8. The river cruise seemed a bit dumb from what I saw...we didn't bother with it. Also, once you've seen one giant mosque or souk, you've kind of seen them all.

 

9. The Metro is actually NOT that great. A lot of the stations are still a 20ish minute walk to the actual place you're going. 20 minutes in the heat with no side walks and the drivers there is quite dangerous. Cabs are cheap and easy. Stick with the marked cabs unless you've already agreed on a price with a private car service. Be careful with the monorail at the palm island, I don't think it runs as much anymore and may not be able to get you to the park by opening.

 

10. I think some of our people did the bus, we arranged a car service through the hotel that was super fast (they drive REALLY fast between the speed cameras) and a relatively good price.

 

11. HAHAHAHHA!!! Good luck with Rossa, as you know from our trip reports it certainly has issues. I agree with you though, do NOT pre-buy the express tickets, we did and they were really only useful on one or two things. If you get there early and have a WHOLE DAY (I think that's too much time for that park) you'll be fine.

 

BTW, Ski Dubai is awesome and I would definitely go do it even if you're not big skiers...it's just so unique and awesome.

 

Hope this helps a bit, have fun!

[AJMouse]

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply Elissa!

 

You're right, there's a lot of information there, but I figured, why not post everything I already tried planning/thought of - perhaps someone else finds it useful in the future.

 

Japan is still on the short list, but somehow Dubai slipped in for us ^^ When I'm doing Japan I'm hoping it will some day be with you guys!

 

I'll be meeting with my friend later this week when we're booking a hotel (or at least we thought we'd to that in the coming weeks). The Sheraton looks good, and it's good to know we should aim for that neighborhood. "EVERYTHING ELSE" for food sounds like a dream come true

 

Good to hear the evening desert safari is pretty much the same, I don't think we will be able to fail on that one then. Getting some culture in would be a good idea too. If we plan the mosque in Abu Dhabi, we might be able to pull of 3 days there instead of 2, which gives us an extra chance to have a working Rossa, hehe. I wouldn't mind visiting a souk either, but like you say: if you've seen one, you've seen them all. And we've probably already seen one in Dubai by then.

 

I'm surprised to hear about the Metro, but since cabs are indeed not too expensive, that shouldn't be a problem. Can you explain what you mean with a "marked" cab? I'm unfamiliar with the term - or does it just mean that he's registered or something?

 

I'm going to check on a car service between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. I think that could be an adventure on its own actually.

 

Again, thanks so much!

[SharkTums]

^There are many 'cabs' that are just people driving around for money. They are not registered, and while most of the time they won't cause any problems for you (other than maybe charging you and extra $3-$5), there is no meter and it could end in an argument that you won't be able to win. Sometimes when at a mall or hotel they will have connections and the people working the taxi line will try to put you in one. Just politely say no and wait for a metered and marked taxi.

 

The car service was certainly worth it!

[dubaidave]

For the Abu dhabi hotel have a look at the yas rotana. They often do deals with Ferrari world tickets.

The walkthrough of the aquarium isn't tat exciting but the underwater zoo is pretty good.

 

Depending on how much of a credit whore you are you Can hit most if the fecs in Sharjah and Dubai in a day or less. You would really need a car from the hotel for this. If I'm not working I'm happy to drive you round the Sharjah and Dubai parks.

 

I would agree with everything Elissa has said.

[dubaidave]

Hi.

 

Are you still planning on heading out here?

Let me know.

[AJMouse]

We sure are!

 

We're leaving next Thursday and purchased/planned just about all days. It's not far off the plan we had before. We're staying at the Number One Tower Suites.

 

In short:

We'll be visiting the Dubai Mall/Sega Republic on Friday, and we've got ticket to the Burj Khalifa "At the Top" at around 16:30 (couldn't get later tickets, but we should be able to catch the start of sunset if we stay a bit longer, sun sets at 18:31). Of course we'll be checking the fountains then too!

On Saturday we have booked a helicopter tour over Dubai at around 1PM, and in the afternoon we're doing a Sand Safari with a Hummer because it's awesome.

On Saturday morning we might be visiting Ski Dubai, a Souk or maybe some other sight seeing.

 

Sunday is Aqua Venture, Monday is Wild Wadi and also the day we switch hotels to the Crowne Plaza on YAS Island. Both days we'll probably be done earlier

 

Tuesday we'll visit Ferrari World, and Wednesday YAS Waterworld. We decided to go for the premium Yas Park Pass that gives us entry to both parks in Abu Dhabi.

 

Thursday we fly back home in the afternoon! - Can't wait to go, one more week!

[SharkTums]

^Have fun! Please do a report on Yas Water World now that it's been open for a bit, would love to see how it's all working out.

[dubaidave]

Ah. Should really read this more often.

 

Hope you had a great time.

[AJMouse]

We're nearly done with the trip. I'm really happy we didn't miss out on the Dune Safari with a Hummer. Burj Khalifa, Sega Republic and Wild Wadi was great and amazing fun too. We kind of rained out on Aquaventure, but the park felt a lot smaller than we thought it would be, so we didn't really mind. Oh and the Helicopter flight was AWEsome.

 

Today was Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, and Formula Rossa was awesome. They did have to do some maintenance, and we were happy to have our premium passes today (it was pretty busy). We had 3 rides on Formula Rossa, 2 of them in the front seat, which is worth the extra wait. We did one back seat, but agreed we liked front so much better (great face massage).

 

We tried going on V12, and I'm not sure if it's just a slow ride, or they didn't have as many boats as they could have, but the premium pass line (while really short) took about an hour. Then we were right at the front, and someone in the ride decided to stand up and press the emergency stop, or something. So the ride closed down and wasn't opened for the rest of the day. We got compensated with 2 free sodas, which was nice, but we were kind of sad we lost an hour queuing for nothing - still, Rossa made up for all that. We didn't queue longer than 10 minutes each time. Great day!

 

Tomorrow is YAS Waterworld, and I'm bringing my waterproof camera!

 

Here's our onride face massage picture:

Face Massage Rossa