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Is Dubai really worth visiting?

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    I'm thinking of flying through Dubai early next year on my way to the Maldives. I've read a lot about how built-up and extravagant it's become over the years. But, I've also heard a good amount of negative feedback about it as a destination.

    The Burj Al Arab seems impressive, but I wanted to know if anyone here's already been and what they thought. Is it really worth visiting? Or should I skip it? Any honest feedback would be helpful.

  2.  

    Depends on why you're going there and how long you have to spend.
    If you're thinking of a 2 day 1 night layover it can definitely be worth it.
    Spend the days checking out Dubai but head to one of the desert resorts (Al Maha or Bab al Shams) for sunset on the sand dunes and an evening experiencing the more luxurious not glitzy culture and the serenity of the desert.
    Let me know if you want tips on what to see in Dubai, I've considered it my second or third home for the past 9 years and would be happy to steer you clear of the more vegas and plastic places that have popped up lately and help you find the parts that make it the amazing place it is.

    Thanks from: forager
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    Thanks Rebecca. I only asked because I know some people who've gone and were really turned off by all the glitz. But, at the same time, I feel as though it may still be worth seeing.

    If you have better suggestions, I'd definitely be interested in hearing your tips.

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    short answer yes!

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    I definitely appreciate the responses, though I'm still not sure anyone has been able to really articulate why it's worth visiting.

    Could you guys, or anyone else, provide any more insight?

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    My personal opinion is that it's worth seeing just to see it. But, Dubai is not a place that I plan to return to any time soon. Most of what we experienced was too ostentatious — to the point of absurdity.

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    Burj Al Arab is worth the visit but that's about it. The hotel is really something to see and stay at for a couple days. Food is just okay and bars slightly impersonnel due to the fact the help is seemingly all from India and speak little or no English. Butler service is outstanding!

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    I visited Abu Dhabi recently, and met with a team of PR professionals who worked out of Dubai. Their advice to me was to wait if I really wanted to see the city properly (obviously, this wasn't the advice in terms of a stopover). In their words, wait until the dust storm is over. One woman, who lived what would be a 5-minute drive from her office said the journey regularly took over an hour due to problems with the city's roads & general congestion.
    If I were to go tomorrow I'd stay at the One & Only Royal Mirage and soak up the sun (to avoid being gawped at by the tourists who flock to the Burj Al Arab), spend a load of cash in the Mall of the Emirates, go skiing at Ski Dubai, eat at Gordon Ramsay's place Verre, go & view some properties on the Palm islands & head out into the desert on a 4x4 trip (I took one in Abu Dhabi & I screamed like a child at the funfair). If you play golf, you'll be happy too.

    Thanks from: forager
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    If you plan to spend more than a night in Dubai, my advice is to check your calendar for local Holy days. During Ramadan, for example, some establishments may be divided (sometimes with a big curtain) or closed. For fun I recommend shopping for gold and rampaging through desert dunes in a Jeep.

    Even if you spend one night in Dubai you will not be sorry.

    Thanks from: forager
  10.  

    Very definitely stop there for a couple of nights. The Burj is spectacular but best seen from afar. Inside is a bit over the top and it's anyway quite difficult just to walk around (they turn you back at the causeway unless you have a reservation). My favourite view of it is from the Madinat Jumeirah at night. Have a drink in one of the upper terrace bars and watch the lights change on the Burj (see photo). The Madinat Jumeirah is itself one of the most romantic places on earth. A complete Arabian city built as two beautiful adjoining hotels, linked by canals with electric boats to ferry you around, and complete with its own souk.

    Thanks from: forager
      aadubai904madinatburjnight1extravigator.jpg
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    I definitely recommend that you do make a quick stop in Dubai!
    Firstly, Dubai (because it is so over the top) is not a place where you will want to plan a week long trip to. So, a short stopover that is conveniently on your way is perfect.

    The fact that it's so ostentatious is exactly why you need to see it. It is just so unbelievable that this entire city was raised from the dessert in so little time... Seriously, not too long ago there were just Bedouins roaming around. The extreme wealth they have is staggering... the architecture and sky scrapers are jaw dropping (I live in Manhattan and I still think Dubai's sky scraper's are jaw dropping).

    For a taste of the "old" Dubai, definitely head to the Bastakiya district and a stop at the gold souk should be mandatory. It’s amazing to see the local women (or a lot of the women visiting from Saudi Arabia – that are a lot more covered up) buying up hordes of gold…

    In the evening, I would highly recommend a desert safari. A land cruiser basically becomes a roller coaster while coasting on the dunes.

    Thanks from: forager
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    Worth going to shop! Can also recommend Gordon Ramsey's restaurant Verre at the Hilton on Dubai Creek. Had a truly great meal there. The other thing you might like to do is hire one of the little boats that ply along the creek and get a private ferry ride (you can haggle and hire one for yourself). You might also want to check out Silverjet who have just started flying there if you're coming through London or New York, recommended. Main thing is to avoid the summer. I've been a few times and the time I went in August was a big mistake!

    Thanks from: forager
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    If I am jewish, do u think i could/should go on my way to Israel or as an after-trip?

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    Sorry, but what does the order of your itinerary have to do with you being Jewish?

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    well it is part of the United Arab Emiretes and i believe that might have a significance to them....

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    I take it you are worried about anti-semitism. I think your nationality probably is a greater factor. Do you hold an Israeli passport?

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    no to the second question and yes to the first. I would love to visit there but I think after discussions with others, it is best i not travel there if i feel i might be at risk

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    Well, the US Department of State travel warnings are very reliable.

    http://travel.state.gov/travel/warnings.html

    You might be surprised to know that the Department of State considers Israel to be more dangerous than the UAE. You should definitely read the Travel Warning that the Department of State has issued for Israel (including Jerusalem) before you go. You should also read the country specific information for the UAE, which is pretty thorough.

    If you are particularly concerned, and happen to be a US citizen, the US Department of State offers a registration service which allows you to tell them what your travel plans are when you travel to countries with travel warnings. https://travelregistration.state.gov

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    I've heard people say that you can't even get a visa to enter Dubai if you are Jewish. But that's not true.

    Seth Sherwood of the New York Times wrote an article a few years back about traveling to Dubai and a reader wrote a letter to the editor criticizing the article for not mentioning the visa requirements with respect to those who have Israeli stamps in their passport. He responded by saying,

    — Seth Sherwood, Going to DubaiHolders of American passports can receive a free tourist visa upon arrival at Dubai International Airport. It's simply stamped into your passport and valid for one month.

    While it's true that citizens of Israel cannot legally enter the United Arab Emirates, Americans with Israeli stamps in their passports should have no problems, according to the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing in Manhattan. Authorities do not ask your religion when you arrive, and in a cosmopolitan city like Dubai - where four in five residents hail from beyond the United Arab Emirates - no one seems to pay much attention. I have a Hebrew first name, for example, but it never raised any eyebrows or led to any unusual treatment while I was there.

    As long as your don't hold an Israeli passport you'll be fine. However, I would think that the larger issue is whether you want to actively support the economy of the UAE. It's usually not cheap to visit Dubai, and you would be giving a lot of money to a country that doesn't recognize Israel.

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    thankyou for alerting me to that article. I am going to search for the original piece.

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    As for Israel, it is quite right that a person should not travel about Israel without a supervised guide. These tours are with highly trained guides who somehow or another get insider information as to where not to take tourists on any particular day if they suspect that area might be too dangerous to walk around. This is common knowledge in the Jewish Community at least in Montreal. Unless people have family, most tourists go via supervised and organized trips

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    Pinb - the state department reports are not very reliable at all. The state department is the last place you want to be getting travel advice from! Um, need I say more than IRAQ. Seth Sherwood is probably the second last person you want to be taking advice from, especially when it comes to Dubai, where from the sound of his article, he spent all of 10 seconds in.

    Blondee47 - if you have an Israeli passport OR even an Israeli stamp in your US passport - according to the DDTCM in Dubai (as well as Dubai Aviation (which controls airports and immigration), then there's a high chance you could be turned away at the airport as it is illegal to enter the country. Having said that, the immigration officials never look too closely. Emiratis are some of the most tolerant people in the world, so being Jewish isn't the issue - indeed, as Muslims, they have more respect for people with religion than those without, so Jews are more welcome than atheists for instance.

    There are many reasons to visit Dubai, but the Burj Al Arab, while stunning on the outside, is tacky and over-the-top on the inside and isn't worthy of a trip in itself. Dubai does have a culture and a soul, and an incredible history. Do take a read of some of my posts on Dubai here and hopefully you'll see what I mean: http://cooltravelguide.blogspot.com/search?q=Dubai

    For those who take time to get to know the 'real' Dubai, beyond the shopping malls and five star hotels (as beautiful and as hard to leave as they are), a visit here - whether a stopover or longer - can be an elightening experience. I've lived in the UAE, first Abu Dhabi then Dubai, for 10 years, and while my work has kept me on the road travelling all over the world for over 2.5 years ago, it's the place I still call home.

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    @laradunston: I had no idea that the State Department travel warnings were so unreliable, though you make a good point about Iraq. I just assumed that the travel warnings on tourist destinations were well researched — since a slight error could send American citizens into harm's way.. It's strange that they don't mention this issue at all. Thanks for setting the record straight!

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    Well, they wouldn't mention it because they're the ones making the 'mistake'. The state department don't think it's a mistake though - they're just always over-cautious I guess. As a travel writer who is always on the move I subscribe to the warnings bulletins with the Australian govts (my country of birth), the UK and the USA, and the USA ones are always more 'cautious' than the others. They tend to over-dramatize things and say that the situation is a lot worse than it really is on the ground. I guess that way they don't get blamed if people do get themselves into trouble.

  25.  

    Oh, hey, if anyone is interested in chatting about Dubai or asking any more questions, you can join me for a live chat here:
    http://travel.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=613866

    Hopefully our nice friends at Extravigator won't mind me posting this? :)

  26.  

    Dubai is fascinating. I'm not sure I'd fly a long way just to see it, but it can easily be combined with another trip. All the gulf state airlines (eg. Emirates) have free stop-over packages there.

  27.  

    Just come back from our 4th trip/break to Dubai. So, to answer the original question..........yes, if you know what you are going for. If its shopping, great food and first class hotels and service, yes (if you don't mind sitting in traffic, mass construction and the noise that goes with it, and horrendously bad driving from taxi drivers).

    If its a 2 week holiday with loads to see and do, no.

    A note on the shopping. Prices double the price of London in some stores (not just a flippant remark, we've checked) and electronics, phones etc no longer the bargain they once were.

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    DEFINITELY NOT! Not unless you want to visit a disaster area. When the economy was booming and oil was selling for about $140 a barrel, maybe this was the place to go. But now, with the current global financial crisis in full swing and the price of oil below $36 a barrel, it's falling apart!

    Take a look at the following article that appeared in the NY Times earlier today. The sentence that talks about the cockroaches says it all:

    Laid-Off Foreigners Flee as Dubai Spirals Down

  29.  

    As much as I love the New York Times that article was full of errors. Have not yet heard about any cockroaches coming out of taps (crazy!), streets are still busy sadly (people would love it if it was a ghost town), and the claims of cars being abandoned are a gross exaggeration - think about the security risk. The thing is that unfortunately this story was 'inspired' by a story in a British tabloid newspaper and a dozen papers have simply repeated its contents without anyone checking the facts. Nobody even went to Dubai Police for official comments about the number of cars, and the police had to hold a press conference to give the correct number. Can you imagine a story being written about Sydney or New York in such a way and a journalist not checking the facts? Sadly, a lot of the reporting on Dubai recently is simply racist. Or has arisen from jealousy. People want to see it fail.

    But it won't, and it's not. It's a wonderful place to live for most of us. Not everybody is going to like it. Not everyone likes London. Or Melbourne. I even know people to hate New York. Why should Dubai appeal to everyone? We are each suited to different places and different forms of travel and destinations. If you want a safe version of the Middle East, with great restaurants, fab shopping, gorgeous hotels, beautiful bars - plus some fascinating culture, history and art thrown in - then Dubai is for you. If you can't tolerate building and construction and traffic, and all those things that are simply part of development (going on in many cities around the world), and you're not prepared to make concessions to the culture and religion (i.e. dress a little bit modestly), then don't go, simple as that.

    Thanks from: Herry Lawford
  30.  

    Just to add to Rick O'Shea's post about how bad things are in Dubai, consider the following recent article:

    http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=160999

    It seems that Dubai currently has enormous problems, and it's certainly not a place that I'd go out of my way to visit, especially since the economy collapsed there.

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    @The Rover,

    That's only the beginning. The Independent just published an extensive article:

    The Dark Side of Dubai

    The article uncovers the unique system of slavery that built (and runs) the city. Workers stripped of their passports and forced to work in deplorable conditions for very little pay.

    In addition to the sad state (and condition) of the real estate, the article also touches on the environmental issues since the city has no natural source of fresh water — the water is actually more expensive than oil!

    It sounds like an awful place to be right now.

    Thanks from: The Rover
  32.  

    Further to comments I made on how badly the economy is doing in Dubai, in this discussion thread in February, 2009, the situation is continuing to get worse, and is now starting to affect the world's financial markets:

    http://www.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/11/27/dubai.world.debt.reaction/index.html?section=cnn_latest

    Under these circumstances, I'd say that Dubai is still a good place to stay away from.

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    The key question is whether any of the other Emirates (and in particular the Emirate of Abu Dhabi) will bail them out.

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