Dubai Advice Please

Well we're looking at going to Dubai next Feb and having not been there before would welcome any advice from previous visitors. Some specifics are, do you need a visa and what's it like to hire a car/drive there?

As the main activity is likely to be lazing around by the pool/beach we're also thinking of staying outside Dubai itself and have found a few decent hotels in Fujairah so would welcome any thoughts here as well.

Thanks in advance.

Miopyk [8D]

No visa needed..Forget the hire car.Think M25 on a good day....Get a car/taxi...stay in the city...beach is a mess at the moment....

[honey lamb]

Originally posted by miopyk
Well we're looking at going to Dubai next Feb and having not been there before would welcome any advice from previous visitors. Some specifics are, do you need a visa and what's it like to hire a car/drive there?

As the main activity is likely to be lazing around by the pool/beach we're also thinking of staying outside Dubai itself and have found a few decent hotels in Fujairah so would welcome any thoughts here as well.

Thanks in advance.

Miopyk [8D]

You don't need a special visa for travel to Dubai as part of a holiday. Your passport will suffice.

From my experience of Dubai I would be very hesitant at driving there. The traffic is busy and a little chaotic at times and they seem to have different rules for barging in! [:0] I found taxis were an excellent way of getting round.

When we stayed there we stayed in Deira which is at the side of the creek. I did go to Jumeirah one day to the beach at the Hilton there and was amazed by the construction there.

Several people have been and if you do a search you may be able to find some more information including pictures of the amount of construction - which may well be finished now

Absolutely agree with other members, do not hire a car. The driving in Dubai is very chaotic and dam right dangerous at times. The taxies are very reasonable also the hotels offer limo services witch are also quite reasonable and we felt very safe with the hotel cars in Dubai. We stayed at the Al Qasr, which is the last major hotel on Jumeira beach before reaching the palm. This area is very pristine and does not suffer from the mega construction going on in other parts of the city.

We are going back in January 08 for our winter sun. and will be staying at the al Qasr again as it suites all our needs.

One word of advice though is to pack a brolly, as Dubai seems to be getting quite a bit of rain between December and March.

Hope you have a grate trip

Jerseyboy

[Decker]

Tough call but eventually moved to ask a guru rather than Travel General as it seeks advice. Strictly ask a guru is about VS but this MAY be an oversight...

Originally posted by jerseyboy
Absolutely agree with other members, do not hire a car. The driving in Dubai is very chaotic and dam right dangerous at times.

You may not know the answer to this but is the traffic any worse than Rome or for that matter any major Italian city?

Miopyk[8D]

Stick with a taxi, it's not the traffic necessarily that's bad, it's the style of driving.
I didn't find anything wrong with the beaches and wouldn't hesitate to use them again (stayed at Le Meridien Mina Seyahi).

VS.

We're here in Dubai right now - our third time at Dar Al Masyaf at Madinat Jumeirah. Jeresyboy mentioned the Al Qasr, essentially Al Qasr, Dar Al Masyaf and Mina A'Salam comprise the Madinat Jumeirah. (http://www.madinatjumeirah.com/) The place is fantastic and the beach just perfect. Building work? What building work - there's none whatsoever around here, just miles of perfect beach and clear blue sea There are dozens of restaurants and bars to choose from too [y]

I'll upload a few pics in a few days to the Hotels section of the photo gallery. Just off skiing now!

Cheers
James

EDIT: Photos now uploaded

Hire car is my choice of getting around Dubai. Traffic can be a pain and yes the drivers are aggressive, but for me the benefits of your own transport balance out these issues.

Drivers will flash you and encourage you to move over and drive close to your rear end, I don't find it worse than inner city driving in the UK to be honest.

Just avoid Zayed road at peak times, arm yourself with a good map, lots of alternatives routes are available to use.

Providing your a confident driver you won't have any problems doing battle with the locals, give me a hire car all day long...

If you do take your own car, watch out for roads where you can't cross over the centre to turn;)

VS.

Thanks for your advice, however we had a major change of mind today and we're now going to Cairo. Dubai will have to wait for another time.

Thanks again

Miopyk [8D]

We've looked at Dubai a couple of times but never booked up - is it a short break destination or is there enough out there (apart from sun bathing!) to make it a ten day / two week type holiday?

Cheers,

Neil

[honey lamb]

It depends on the kind of holiday you want. If your idea of a holiday is sitting by a pool/on a beach then 10 days/two weeks would be fine. I however found it an ideal short break holiday

[Nottingham Nick]

I agree with HL. It is a great short break destination, but I wouldn't want more than 5 nights there.

Nick

Not being a lay on the beach all day person, I recently spent 4 days/3 nights there (stopover on the way to Malaysia) and felt that it was just the perfect amount of time. I could probably have spent another day but anymore would have got a bit boring and repetitive - there are only so many shopping malls you can visit.

Jonathan