Six hours' flight, 25 degrees in January and the tallest towers in the world – Dubai is the winter destination my friends tell me about most.
Photo: Ahmed Aldaie (Unsplash)
Full disclosure: so far I've only seen Dubai from the airport. But as a stopover on the way to Asia and Australia – and as the starting point for the Middle East cruises on my cruises page – it comes up all the time, and friends fly out for a week every winter.
What they describe: the Burj Khalifa with its observation deck, the Dubai Mall with the aquarium, the old town on the Creek with its souks and water taxis, Jumeirah Beach. And the desert: an evening safari with dune bashing, camels and dinner under the stars is the excursion nobody skips.
Dubai is expensive but predictable – in winter the weather is guaranteed, and the hotels are of a standard you won't find in Europe. If you don't like the skyscrapers, head to Abu Dhabi for the Sheikh Zayed Mosque and the Louvre, an hour and a half away.
Jumeirah or the Palm for beach; Downtown for the Burj Khalifa and the Mall; Deira on the Creek for old Dubai and low prices.
I almost always compare hotels, apartments and guesthouses on Booking.com – with genuine reviews and usually free cancellation.
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