[ramkya1]

Hai BHP'ns,

Thinking of planning a 6 day trip with family during this Diwali to UAE / Dubai. Have good friends there, will stay with them.

Other than the shopping, have heard so much about the 4X4 safari, sand dunes and seen lots of photos here too. From what I heard, electronics and other gizmos are more or less same cost as India; so may not do any major purchase there.

We're raring to do one of these safaris. Some questions:

• A 6 day plan would be enough or do I have to increase days? I can stretch this to 10-12 days also.
• With an International driving licence can one hire a SUV there, wouldn't mind giving an arm / leg to do that. Will take of my friends there as a guide, would not want to drive there without local help.
• I checked out some sites, they quote rentals for a 4 x4 Prado, Pajero etc., with the driver, 3 days, about $ 350, don't know if this is OK? Other options like GPS etc. are extra.
• What are the places one can drive to from Dubai, what are the distances and what time lines are possible.
• Travel agent quoted per person, Rs.28900/- ex. Ahmedabd-Dubai-back on Emirates and Rs.24000/- on Quatar Airlines. Is this OK?

Would be grateful to many of Desert / UAE Gurus here for guidance and help. Thanks in advance.

--Ramky

============

[abhinav.gupta88]

Well dude
1 thing, you cant drive there as you dont have a Left hand drive license ( That's the way it goes i suppose ) I was denied due to the same reason.

6 Days is a decent enough time to spend there
28900 is good for Emirates. ( Nice Flight)

You can try out sharjah and nearby areas ( sharjah will be the nearest AFAIK)

[vintagepoint5]

Hi Ramkya1,

Wish you and your family have nice trip to Dubai, I will be happy to contribute what I know about Dubai & UAE. These are following places
you can visit in Dubai city I know:

1. Burg Al Arab hotel near Jumera beach, you can go inside if you would
like there is fee of Dhs:200 minimum per head or you can just visit the beach and take snaps of hotel in background.
2. Wild Wadi Amusement park adjacent to Burj Al Arab hotel.
3. Mall of Emirates on King Zayad Road, inside the mall you can see lot
of shopping centres and Ski Dubai is major attraction, huge complex for surfing on snow, artificial snow was created inside, where you can do snow surf on the slopes inside or just watch from the glass outside.
4. Ibn e Batuta Mall named after famous Arabian traveller of 14th century, it has 3 pavillions, Chinese, Indian & Moroco showing culture from each countries.
5. King Zayad Road, impressive line of buildings on both side of road
6. Jabel Ali Free zone
7. Creek park have cable car inside and big park, but it was open on
certain days and closed for maintenance on certain days, check it before
you start.
8. Night cruiser from Bur Dubai
9. Dubai Musuem, Bur Dubai Dhs: 5 per head
10. Small Boats cross from one side of canal to other side for small charges.
11. Internet City, Media City on King Zayad Road
12. Dubai City Center
13. Dubai Gold Market
14. World Tallest Building
15. Old Spice market, Abra, opp Bur Dubai
16. Emirates Tower Hotel (twin tower) on King Zayad Road
17. Parks, Cars showrooms, etc.
18. New attraction: Railway line in final stages Phase-I, criss crossing
all the major city roads.
19. Remember most of the busy roads charges toll taxes from motorist.

Abu Dhabi:
Abu Dhabi nice and clean city 170 km from Dubai, can go by car or
very convenient bus services from Bur Dubai (Bus & Taxi stand) Dhs:30/= approx per head, takes about 2 hrs approx by road.

Places to see in Abu Dhabi, Marina Mall on Abu Dhabi beach, shopping centers, quite peaceful roads.

Al Ain:
Al Ain is garden city 190 km aprox from Dubai or Abu Dhabi, famous
for greenery, gardens, etc. I did not have chance to visit, but my friends
praise about the place.

Sand Dunes & Safari ride:
I don't know, but you can get plenty of information from hotels, people
locally.

Caution:
Avoid driving car specially on highways and even locally, even though
road and traffic systems was very efficient, but still there is danger from
rash drivers.

Fog: Some time early morning fog or in evening fog was so thick you cannot able to10-15 ft in front, so in this situation turn back don't drive or
travel, it is dangerous, safety first.

Have pleasant trip.

[ramkya1]

Hai Vintage,
Tnx for your detailed post. will try to touch most of what you recommend.

Gupta88- Thanks, do we have to take a separate LHDrive licence there?
That's tough. Tnx.

-Ramky

[Dhar's]

Sorry Ramky for the late reply.

Well I guess vantagepoint has covered most of the sight seeing places.

I'd add the Autodrome, UAQ Motorplex, Awir and Sharjah used car market and Festival City etc. By Diwali, the climate would be cooler.

For the dune bashing, I'd rather suggest you to approach a tour operator, hire a LandCruiser and let an experienced driver take you to the desert. Its more safe. But do remember to occupy the front passenger seat. Thats where it can enjoy to max.

Enjoy the trip

[Steeroid]

Six days are fine. Let me have the dates and I will arrange for a booking. PM me for the rest, we'll take care of everything.

Welcome to Do Buy!

[ramkya1]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Six days are fine. Let me have the dates and I will arrange for a booking. PM me for the rest, we'll take care of everything.

Welcome to Do Buy!

Hai,

Will PM you the complete plan once I get the quotes from our travel agents etc., then I'll double check it you to see if they're ripping me...
and then I'd leave it to you to paln out the best possibilities. I'm planning to travel to Europe from there, a lot will depend on the leaves I get.

Thanks for the offer.

--Ramky
==========

[Pankaj1126]

Hi Ramky,
Excellent dear that you are extending your endeavours beyond India.
I did 15 days of fossil hunting (geoscientific field studies for oil exploration) in early 2006 covering 4000kms between Muscat & Dubai and all famous Oman Mountains.

If shopping etc. are not your priority in Dubai..then go out side Dubai for real beauty of Arabia. These so called desert safaris just give you little glimpse of of deserts but for your kind of person would require much more than this. So here is my take

- Must visits Al-Ain (abt 250 kms from Dubai). Jebel Hafit is the place to go there. Jebel means Mountain. You have lot of hot springs scattered in Al-Ain city.

If you have Omani visa then you can enter in Oman form here to visit beautiful Valley Dhank & go upto Ibri in Oman to view ancient Al- Falaj (The old water supply system --very famous for its role in Arabian civilization). But it would be difficult for you to arrange UAE visa again to enter back.

- Do go to Musandam & Fujairah. a.. about 150 kms form Dubai...beautiful place where mountains are hugging the sea. Some outsatnding roads , tunnels & beaches around witha glimpse of Arabian culture (not like expat populations of Dubai)

- Go to Jebel Faya (around 100kms) for some really big fossil called rudhist (of Dinosure time) hunting

- After returning from these places you can do the regular Dubai stuff during evening time

Best plan would have been to land at Muscat & then visit Muscat (prefered over Dubai any day for its natural beauty)) then hire an SUV to take you to Dubai either via Batinah coast (through Sohar) or via Nijwa -Ibri- Al Ain-Dubai route. You can have really majestic view of spectrum colored Oman mountains all through your way & you may wish to spend a day or two in Oman mountains.

Pl. let me know if you need any more information. If you wish I can post some pics from the trip.
chrs
pankaj

[Engine_Roars]

Hi Team,

We are a group of 5. Me, My wife, My FIL, MIL & BIL. We are planning to visit Dubai in the third week of January'2016, for 4 days 3 nights. The first option we have is to book a packaged tour, however I am not very comfortable with the idea of following a Time-Table even when I am on a vacation. I need your help to decide if I should go with a packaged tour (I don't want to but If I should) and if not where should I start from?

1. How do I get the Visas?
2. Suggestions on places to visit and must visit (With due respect, We are not much into temple and religious places).
3. Hotels/Area to stay at? Should not be very expensive, average should do.
4. Is self drive rental car an option? My BIL has USA's driving license if that helps and (I am an Indian DL holder help) !!
5. Anything else which is not covered under above 4.

Thanks in advance!!

[kkkkkaran]

Originally Posted by Engine_Roars

Hi Team,

We are a group of 5. Me, My wife, My FIL, MIL & BIL. We are planning to visit Dubai in the third week of January'2016, for 4 days 3 nights. The first option we have is to book a packaged tour, however I am not very comfortable with the idea of following a Time-Table even when I am on a vacation. I need your help to decide if I should go with a packaged tour (I don't want to but If I should) and if not where should I start from?

1. How do I get the Visas?
2. Suggestions on places to visit and must visit (With due respect, We are not much into temple and religious places).
3. Hotels/Area to stay at? Should not be very expensive, average should do.
4. Is self drive rental car an option? My BIL has USA's driving license if that helps and (I am an Indian DL holder help) !!
5. Anything else which is not covered under above 4.

Thanks in advance!!

Im heading to dubai on sunday for a family holiday (5N 6D). Been there earlier too.
The best places to visit are the desert safari, the dhow cruise, the burj khalifa. Dubai mall and Mall of the emirates would be the malls id recommend, and Meena bazaar and the gold souqs for local shopping. PM me after 19th and ill give you a fresh detailed experience 😜

Bur Dubai is a predominantly Indian area, with pretty reasonable prices. Id recommend looking around in that area. The emirates website has a visa option, though i got my visas done from my agent. Costs close to 6000 rupees per person, and people above 70 require compulsory travel health insurance.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Engine_Roars

How do I get the Visas?

I believe it's a simple process. I had an active USA visa, so didn't need to send across any document at all!

Suggestions on places to visit and must visit

Be sure to visit the race tracks. Dubai has one in the city where you can drive some interesting cars .

Hotels/Area to stay at? Should not be very expensive, average should do.

Check out Gloria Apartments.

Is self drive rental car an option? My BIL has USA's driving license if that helps and (I am an Indian DL holder help) !!

Since you're going there only for 4 days, you'll be spending all your time hopping in and out of the car. Would recommend using cabs instead. They are practically everywhere in Dubai. Super convenient.

[avkurian]

Hi, I may be a bit late on this, but hopefully helpful for Engine_Roars trip in Jan.

1. How do I get the Visas?
- If you fly Emirates, Air Arabia, FlyDubai or Etihad, they would be able to assist with visas. Documentation and fees would be fairly standard. Alternatively, if you find a good deal with a hotel/apartment, they can offer you the visa as well. There are a number of visitor visa options, from the 14-day tourist visa to the 2-month (extendable by 30 days) visit visa.

2. Suggestions on places to visit and must visit (With due respect, We are not much into temple and religious places).
- For a motorhead, some of the must-experience activities are below.
a. Ferrari World - Experience this themed amusement park, for the whole family. Entry ticket will give you access to almost all rides. This is in Abu Dhabi, so factor in a 2-hour drive each way.
b. Dubai Autodrome - For karting and some branded experiences, such as the Audi or McLaren experiences. See their website for offerings, pricing.
c. Emirates National Auto Museum - Again further away, since this is beyond Abu Dhabi city. This is a private collection of the 'Rainbow Sheikh', and is a must-experience for the collection of cars from around the world and various timeframes.
d. Thursday/Friday nights at JBR The Walk - Just get an outdoor table at Starbucks and watch the parade of supercars, superbikes, and some superhumans too
e. Desert Safari - Various options exist, for various price points. Some include a bar, some have shows, some have overnight camping, so you can imagine the range. Your hotel/travel agent will have a list of options
f. Drive yourself around - When on a visit visa, if you have an international licence from India, you can drive a rented car. Again, prices vary depending on model you choose, but starting from a Chevy Beat/Kia Sorento all the way up to a Lambo, everything's available.

3. Hotels/Area to stay at? Should not be very expensive, average should do.
Average hotels are spread all over town. Bur Dubai, Karama and Deira have some good options, but you won't have the feeling of having left India Ideally, you should look for any hotel/apartments near the Metro line, since many attractions (such as the must-see malls) are on the metro lines. You can look at Barsha and Tecom areas as well.

4. Is self drive rental car an option? My BIL has USA's driving license if that helps and (I am an Indian DL holder help) !!
- See above - additional point is that you will need a credit card to make a booking and they will block a certain amount for security (Typically AED 1500 or 2000) that will be released around 2 weeks after car is returned. This is to cover traffic fines that may show up only in a few days.

There are a number of options online. This is not a commercial offer, but if I can help in anyway, do DM me

[mayank0782]

Hello Fellow BHPians,

Can somebody please share some pointers on good desert safari tour operators in Dubai. There are too many options online. I stumbled upon different websites and found it really confusing.

Some offer really cheap deals while for some prices are atrocious.
Some include everything like Dune bashing/Dinner/Dance shows while some charge extra for Falcon Pictures/Quad Bikes.

It would be good if someone can share their first hand experience on the tours and some recommendations.

Thanks !

[balajird]

Hello BHPians, Could somebody help me in giving pointers to get VISA for Muscat (Oman)? I have my stay arranged in my friend's place but it looks like the hotel guys can get you VISA ONLY if you book a hotel room. :(

[Jomz]

Book On hotels.com and cancel after you get the visa??