I went to Dubai with my family the summer after graduating college and we met up with some family from India since Dubai was kind of in the middle. This was the last trip where I did not directly create the itinerary heading into the trip, and also did not do a great job of documenting activities we did or restaurants we ate at, so this page will be less detailed than the others are in comparison and in a noticeably different format. Regardless of the missing details, I do think that we spent an extra day to a day and a half in Dubai than we needed. Since I am not big into shopping, I feel like this was one of the more average trips I have been on with its saving grace being the city of Abu Dhabi and the sand dunes. Still, I think everyone on the way to Asia should stop by at Dubai at some point since it does have some of the more unique things the world offers.

Day 1: Inbound Flight + Marina Exploring

• Land early in the morning at DXB and go through visa on arrival processing

• Head to hotel and unpack and relax for a while after doing a quick grocery haul and drive through the city

  • We were on vacation for three more weeks in India so the unpacking and organizing process on day 1 ended up taking a lot of time. We also had not seen the rest of our family that we met up with in 4 years so there was a lot of catching up going on as well

• In the afternoon, we walked to the Marina mall which was near our hotel, checked it out for a bit, and then walked back through the streets of Dubai in the evening before heading to bed for an early night

Day 2: Indoor Activities 

• Head to the Palm Jumeirah area to see the famous hotels and views that make Dubai famous

• Go inside the Atlantis Hotel and spend the morning walking through its regal hallways with luxury stores, the famous aquarium with rooms that are attached to it, artistic sculptures, and get something to eat

• Take a taxi to the Dubai Mall afterwards -- this is one of the largest malls in the world with every store you can possibly think of

  • Walking the entire mall will take up the rest of the day, even if there is no interest in shopping. There are lots of activities to do inside if you want as well

• The mall connects with the Burj Khalifa which is a great way to end the night since the views from the top are better once the sun goes down and the lights illuminate the horizon

Day 3: Desert Day

• Book a desert day through a travel agency and then they will take care of all of the following:

  • Pick up from the hotel and a couple hour drive deep into the desert area

  • The driver will go off road at some point and drive up and down over the sand dunes to give you a rollercoaster type of feeling -- the concept of being surrounded by sand for miles and not knowing where anything is is pretty scary

• Ride an ATV through the Dubai sand dunes, following a tour guide for miles deep into the desert

  • You can choose to ride an ATV if you feel confident or a Jeep if you crave more control over the vehicle

• Head to a local campsite to ride on camels, partake in a hookah show while a performance goes on in the center, and eat local food

Day 4: Abu Dhabi Day

• Drive to Abu Dhabi, which is about an hour and a half away from Dubai to take a day trip

• Head to the Grand Mosque to see one of the world's most impressive and beautiful Islamic cultural sites

  • Men and women must be fully covered to enter so make sure to either buy something from a shop nearby or wear appropriate clothing from home

• Drive through the city streets of Abu Dhabi and pause by the water to see the beautiful skyline

• Go inside the Emirates Palace Oriental Hotel to see one of the fanciest hotels in the world

• Visit Ferrari World after lunch to spend a few hours learning about the history behind Ferrari's, riding the world's fastest rollercoaster, and driving a Ferrari if you want to

• Head back to Dubai straight to the bazaar areas

  • Gold Souk bazaar has more gold than you will ever see in your whole life waiting to be bought by the tons of tourists that come to see it