Last Updated on: 13th January 2023, 10:20 pm
Dubai is a popular tourist destination with a great mix of Arab and Western cultures. This destination offers unique desert excursions, a full range of water sports, and a thriving nightlife scene. The city has a culture that is unique to the UAE and is known for its architecture, shopping, and nightlife.
Dubai is also home to the world’s largest mall, The Dubai Mall, which houses more than 500 stores including top international and local brands. Dubai has several local malls including The Mall of the Emirates and Ibn Battuta Mall. To help you put together the perfect Dubai itinerary, we have listed some of the best things to do in Dubai!
Explore the Dubai Desert
Dubai is an emirate in the United Arab Emirates. The desert is a great place to explore for those looking for adventure. From camel rides to sand dunes, the desert provides an authentic experience of Dubai. Some areas of the desert are restricted to visitors to preserve the wildlife, but that doesn’t stop people having fun with sandboarding or dune-buggy rides. The best time to go is in the early morning when temperatures are mild, or in the evening when it starts to cool down again.
A desert safari is a great opportunity to make your stay in Dubai extra memorable. There are a lot of desert safari operators and even Dubai luxury and beach hotels offer them, but they cost much more than the local Dubai tour operators for the same experience. It is recommended to to book your desert safari online to make sure you get a good deal.
Watch a fountain show at the Dubai Mall
The Dubai Mall is a popular destination for tourists because of its variety of shops and restaurants, as well as its wide range of entertainment activities. If you’re looking for a cool way to enjoy the Dubai Mall’s fountain show, then you should book a fountain water show package. For about $25 you will be able to see the fountain show from up close in a little abra – a traditional Emirati boat. Afterwards you can head into the mall to do some shopping, meet the Dubai Dino or experience what it is like to fly an Airbus A380!
Shop in the gold souk
The gold souk is a great place to go shopping in Dubai. The souk has a variety of stores selling clothing, watches, shoes, and jewelry. The jewelry stores are amazing! There are even stores that have jewels that you can rent. The gold souk is great to take pictures of and shop at.
The Gold Souk in Dubai was originally established in 1973 and was then called the “Dubai Gold and Diamond Park”. It later became known as the Gold Souk. Now it attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year!
Would you like to learn more about the Souks in Dubai? Take one of the many souk tours available!
Go Skiing in the Desert with Ski Dubai
Europeans and Americans aren’t the only ones who can enjoy winter sports! Ski Dubai is an indoor ski slope in the Mall of the Emirates. It is the largest ski slope on the Arabian peninsula. Ski Dubai has five slopes: there are two beginner slopes, two expert slopes, and a terrain park for freestyle skiing. There are also facilities for snowboarding and a snowboard school.
If you are not into skiing you can also go tubing in Ski Dubai, head out for a warm coco in the restaurant in the middle of the slope, or take a picture with one of the penguins in Ski Dubai!
Ride the world’s fastest roller coaster, Formula Rossa
One of the best roller coasters in the world, Formula Rossa is located in Abu Dhabi. It has a top speed of 240 km/h and reaches a height of 112 meters. Although it is located in Abu Dhabi, there are lots of great packages available where a driver picks you up from your Dubai hotel!
Ferrari World Abu Dhabi is the first Ferrari theme park outside of Europe and the largest indoor theme park in the world. Ferrari World Abu Dhabi includes a Ferrari-themed hotel, thousands of square meters of retail space and attractions, and more than twenty restaurants and cafes.
Dive in the world’s deepest pool
Have you always wanted to dive into the deepest pool in the world? That is possible in Dubai in Deep Dive Dubai. With a depth of no less than 60 meters and 14 million liters of water (this is equivalent to 6 Olympic-sized swimming pools), the pool of Deep Dive Dubai has been officially the deepest pool in the world since July 2021 according to the Guinness World Record Book.
In the pool you will find no fish, coral reefs or other underwater animals. The pool is built purely for entertainment or to train or to get acquainted with diving in a safe environment. In addition, the fire brigade and the army regularly train in the swimming pool. Freedivers who dive without oxygen cylinders can also train in the safe environment of the pool.
Swim with sharks in the aquarium
Did you know you can also swim with sharks in Dubai? The Dubai Aquarium is a giant aquarium in the Dubai Mall with more than 10 million liters of water. In the Dubai Mall Aquarium and underwater zoo you can see more than 33,000 sea creatures. The large tank can be seen from the outside but if you want to visit the underwater zoo and see the crocodiles and penguins you will need to go inside.
The largest tank is 32 meters by 8 meters and because it is that large, the tank had to be fitted with a 75 centimeter thick glass pane. It is officially the largest glass panel in the world. In this tank you can admire various shark species. You can also buy a special diving package where an experienced instructor will kit you out to dive in the large tank.
Visit the world’s only 7 star hotel
The world’s only 7 star hotel is in Dubai and the rooms are even more extravagant than you could imagine. With a private cinema and large swimming pool, you will never want to leave the Burj al Arab. There are 2 pools at the hotel, a special place to swim is right in front of the bill board. The water in the swimming pool is colored blue like the sky and the pool itself has been designed to look like an oasis in the desert. There is also a central pool where you can relax and enjoy the views of Dubai city as well as the world’s longest outdoor bar and restaurant.
Although staying the night in Burj al Arab will set you back more than 2000 dollar a night, you can always visit and have a coffee or an afternoon tea in this architectural marvel!
Visit the world’s tallest building
The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world at 830 metres. From the observation platform At The Top on the 124th floor you have the opportunity to take some beautiful photos of the area around the Burj Khalifa and the rest of Dubai, including the famous Palm Island and the Burj al Arab.
During the day it is even possible to see part of Iran from the observation platform in good weather. You do need to buy tickets online beforehand as the tickets at the counter are often sold out and more expensive than the tickets you buy online.
Hug a Sloth at Green Planet Dubai
Although Dubai is known for its deserts, you can also visit the rain forest in this Arabian city! Green Planet in Dubai is a large zoo and botanical garden located in the centre of the city. Here you can meet some of the most amazing tropical animals up close. The dome itself is more than 25 metres high and houses a large artificial tree. There are live plants planted around the tree and the idea is that in a couple of years the live plants will have covered the artificial tree completely.
At The Green Planet you can not only see tropical plants up close, you can also meet sloths, Lemur monkeys, see a toucan or even go snorkelling with piranhas!