We visited Dubai a couple of months back. It was a short vacation, we stayed there for five days and four nights. We pre-planned it well ahead to get the most out of the trip in the short duration. During our visit we stayed at Auris Boutique Hotel, it was just 10 minutes walk from Emirates mall.
DAY 1:
We arrived at Dubai at 1 PM, had our lunch and we were all set to explore the place.
Dubai Garden Glow: It is opened from 4 PM to 11 PM. The garden glow, Dinosaur and Ice park are located inside the Dubai Glow Garden.You can spend around 2-3 hours here. They also have small food courts and some souvenir shops here. Entry fee - 60 AED.
Ice Park
Dubai Marina: Best time to visit it is during the evening. To take a complete walk around the marina, you would require around one hour. Many restaurants are there around the walkway. It is one of the best place to have dinner and wind up the day.
Dubai Marina
DAY 2:
Burj Kalifa: It is the tallest building in the world, it is located inside Dubai mall. We reached the place around 11 AM and got our tickets from a travel agent at our hotel at a discount price. You can spend around two hours here.
Burj Kalifa Night View
Dubai Mall Aquarium and Underwater Zoo: It is opened from 10 AM to 10 PM. They have crocodile and shark feeding show. We did get time to check out crocodile feeding, but we missed out on shark feeding. According to me, this place is a bit overrated; I like Bangkok ocean world better than this one. Ticket cost around 100 AED per head.
Dubai Mall Aquarium and Zoo
Dubai Mall Fountain Show: They have beautiful light and fountain show from 6 PM to 11 PM for every 30 minutes. Reach the place around 20 minutes early to grab a seat.
Gold Souk: From Dubai mall, we took a taxi to the Gold Souk, had a glance at the showrooms. We did not buy anything as we are not sure about the cost and the purity.
Gold Souk
DAY 3:
Miracle Garden: It is opened from 10 AM to 8 PM As it is quite hot in Dubai, it is advisable to visit this place after 4 PM. They have food court all over the place, and you are not allowed to take your food or drinks inside the garden. This place has many Instagram spots, and it is adviceable to spend around 3 hours here to get the most out of it.
If you like butterflies, you can visit the Butterfly park which is located adjacent to miracle garden, as I have already visited the Butterfly garden in Malaysia I skipped this one. It is opened from 9 AM to 9 PM
Miracle Garden
Miracle Garden
Global Village: Global village is 15 minutes drive from Miracle garden. It is opened from 4 PM to 1 AM. They have display of products from the countries all around the world. They also have a boat ride and fun-filled rides for kids as well as adults. It is quite a big place, and you need more than 4 hours to take a good look at it. Barging is a must at this place. Entrance fee: 15 AED
Global village
Day 4:
Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Masque: It takes around two and a half hours to reach Abu Dhabi. You need to wear pardha to gain access to the mosque. You can visit it from 9 AM to 10 PM. Entrance is free, and Fridays there is no entry for non-Muslims. If you are into architecture you could check out this place otherwise you could replace it with some Dubai amusement park visit.
Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Masque
Jumeirah Beach: On our way back to hotel, we stopped at Jumeirah beach. The Palm Jumeirah hotel is visible from this beach. It is an excellent place to hang out with kids without burning a hole in the pocket.
Jumeirah Beach
Day 5:We finish packing checked out form the room and spend the remaining time at LULU mall. They had some fantastic discounts on perfumes and their in-store clothing. We started off to airport four hours before our check-in timing and had a pleasant flying experience with Air India.
TIPS:
* Dubai is an expensive place, be prepared to spend 40-60 AED per meal (Single person)* Taxi is very easy to find throughout Dubai.* Carrefour and LULU mall are budget-friendly place to shop and eat in Dubai.
* According to me you can get perfumes and clothing from International brands at a better price in India than in Dubai. I was surprised to see that the cost of the makeup and dresses were exorbitantly high in Dubai. In short, it is not the best place for shopping.
