Experience Dubai
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Where to go

11 places, and what each one is actually for.

Every one of them is a day trip from a Dubai hotel. Pick the place that sounds like your kind of day and we will show you what runs there.

Dubai

The one everyone comes for, and the one that keeps surprising them

A city that built itself in fifty years and has not stopped. The tallest building on earth stands twenty minutes from a creek where wooden dhows still unload cargo by hand, and both are worth your afternoon. Come for the skyline; stay for the gold souk, the old quarter and the desert that starts where the last road ends.

  • Burj Khalifa and the fountain
  • Old Dubai, the creek and the souks
  • Palm Jumeirah
  • Desert on the doorstep
Experiences listed
68
From
$8

Abu Dhabi

The capital: quieter, grander, and better at museums

An hour and a half down the coast and a different register entirely. Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is the building people fly in to see, and the Louvre's perforated dome does something to daylight that photographs cannot hold. Yas Island keeps the children busy for a full day on its own.

  • Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
  • Louvre Abu Dhabi
  • Qasr Al Watan
  • Yas Island and the F1 circuit
From Dubai
About 1h 30m
Experiences listed
123
From
$8

Sharjah

The cultural capital, and the one visitors skip by mistake

Twenty minutes from Dubai and a century away in feel. The Heart of Sharjah restoration has brought back a whole quarter of coral-block houses and wind towers, and the museums here are the serious ones. No alcohol is served in the emirate, which is worth knowing before you plan dinner.

  • Heart of Sharjah
  • Museum of Islamic Civilisation
  • Al Noor Mosque
  • Blue Souq
From Dubai
About 30m
Experiences listed
4
From
$112

Ras Al Khaimah

Mountains, and the longest zipline in the world

The northern emirate is where the Hajar mountains meet the Gulf. Jebel Jais is the highest peak in the country, cool enough for a jacket in winter, and the road up it is one of the best drives in the region. The coast below is quiet in a way Dubai has not been for thirty years.

  • Jebel Jais and the Jais Flight
  • Dhayah Fort
  • Hot springs at Khatt
  • Empty beaches
From Dubai
About 1h
Experiences listed
10
From
$33

Fujairah

The other coast, on the Gulf of Oman

The only emirate entirely on the east coast, which means a different sea, different light and genuine diving. Snoopy Island is the snorkelling everyone means when they say the UAE has reefs. The drive across the mountains is half the reason to go.

  • Snoopy Island snorkelling
  • Al Bidyah Mosque
  • Wadi Wurayah
  • The mountain road
From Dubai
About 1h 45m
Experiences listed
3
From
$150

Al Ain

The garden city, and where the UAE actually began

Inland on the Omani border, built around oases that have been farmed for four thousand years. The falaj irrigation channels still run. Jebel Hafeet's summit road climbs to a view across the border into Oman, and the oasis walk beneath the palms is the coolest hour of any UAE afternoon.

  • Al Ain Oasis
  • Jebel Hafeet
  • Al Jahili Fort
  • The camel market
From Dubai
About 1h 45m
Experiences listed
7
From
$10

Hatta

A mountain exclave with turquoise water

Technically part of Dubai but ninety minutes inland, in the Hajar mountains. The dam's water is an improbable green, there are kayaks on it, and the heritage village at the foot of the valley is the real thing rather than a reconstruction.

  • Hatta Dam kayaking
  • Heritage Village
  • Mountain biking trails
  • Wadi hiking
From Dubai
About 1h 30m
Experiences listed
1
From
$196

Ajman

The smallest emirate, and the least hurried

Forty minutes up the coast, and a corniche that locals actually use in the evening. The museum sits in an eighteenth-century fort. It is a half day rather than a day, and it pairs naturally with Sharjah on the way back.

  • Ajman Museum and fort
  • The corniche
  • Dhow-building yard
  • Quiet beaches
From Dubai
About 45m
Experiences listed
1
From
$87

Umm Al Quwain

Mangroves, birdlife and almost nobody

The least developed emirate, and the reason to come is the lagoon: mangrove channels you can kayak through, flamingos in winter, and an old town that has changed very little. Bring a camera and low expectations of restaurants.

  • Mangrove kayaking
  • Flamingos in winter
  • Old town and fort
  • Dreamland water park
From Dubai
About 50m
Experiences listed
1
From
$103

Musandam

Oman's fjords, two hours up the road

Not an emirate at all: an Omani peninsula that hangs off the top of the UAE, reached through a border post and a mountain road that drops to the sea. The khors are drowned valleys of bare rock and still water, dolphins ride the bow of the dhows, and the villages along the shore have no road to them. Bring your passport; the day is worth the stamp.

  • The khors by dhow
  • Dolphins at the bow
  • Khasab and its fort
  • Snorkelling off Telegraph Island
From Dubai
About 2h 15m, plus the border
Experiences listed
4
From
$256

Where to go | Experience Dubai