🇦🇪 Dubai

📍 About Dubai

The city of the future in the desert: Burj Khalifa, artificial islands, extreme luxury and unique contrasts between modernity and Arab tradition. The most spectacular destination in the Persian Gulf.

🗺️ What to do & see in Dubai

• ✅Go up the Burj Khalifa at sunset (book weeks in advance or you'll end up paying triple at the ticket office). The best time is just before the sun sets: the city shifts from golden to electric blue in minutes. Bring water, because the air‑conditioning dries you to the bone.
• ✅Take a ride on an abra (traditional boat) along Dubai Creek at dawn. It costs 1 dirham (25 cents) and you'll see fishermen unloading fresh tuna while Indian and Pakistani workers cross the water to go to their jobs. The smell of fish, gasoline and spices is pure Dubai.
• ✅Get lost in the Gold Souk and haggle as if your life depended on it. Vendors will tell you their gold is "24‑carat, Swiss, certified," but everyone knows 90 % comes from India. Trick: ask for the "friend price" and offer half. If they invite you for tea, you’re on the right track.
• ✅Alternative: Have Turkish coffee at Café Al Ustad, a hidden spot in Bur Dubai where taxi drivers and neighborhood elders have been going since the ’70s. The owner, an Iranian named Abbas, will tell you stories of when Dubai was just sand and four houses. Order the coffee with cardamom and don’t be surprised if they serve you a slice of bread with butter and sugar—it’s tradition.
• ✅Alternative: Take a bike ride through the Dubai Marina canals at sunrise. At 6 am the city is empty and the air smells of brine. Bring water and a scarf to cover your mouth: desert dust mixes with humidity and will leave your throat feeling like sandpaper.
• ✅Alternative: Visit the Satwa district, Dubai’s “Little Manila.” Here there are no skyscrapers, just fabric shops, tailoring workshops and Filipino restaurants serving adobo and sinigang for 15 dirhams. On Sundays the vibe is festive: foreign workers go out for a stroll and feel at home. If you see a group of men playing chess on the street, join in—there’s always room for one more.

🏛️ Must-see attractions in Dubai

• ⭐Burj Khalifa
• ⭐Palm Jumeirah
• ⭐Alserkal Avenue
• ⭐Dubai Frame
• ⭐Dubai Desert (Al Qudra dunes)

✈️ Getting to Dubai

Direct flights from Madrid (7h) with Emirates and Iberia.

💡 Travel tips for Dubai

• 💡Public transport is cheap and efficient, but taxis are even cheaper if you know how to negotiate. Use the "Careem" app (Dubai’s Uber) and always request a "limousine" (newer cars with powerful air‑conditioning). If you hail a taxi on the street, make sure the meter is on or you’ll get ripped off. And note: pink taxis are for women only.
• 💡During Ramadan, do not eat, drink or smoke in public during the day. It’s illegal and you can be fined. But when sunset falls, the city turns into a party: the iftars (fast‑breaking meals) in hotels are spectacular. Go to a luxury one (like Atlantis or Bur J Arab) and order the traditional menu: they’ll serve dates, lentil soup and roasted lamb as if there were no tomorrow.
• 💡Alcohol is only served in hotel bars with a licence (which costs about 270 dirhams a year). But there’s a trick: in the Indian‑neighbourhood supermarkets (like in Bur Dubai) they sell beer without a licence. Look for the brands "Moussa" or "Barbican" (they’re non‑alcoholic but have 0.5 % that will give you a slight buzz if you drink six).
• 💡If you go to a public beach (like JBR or Kite Beach), bring footwear for the water. Jellyfish are a problem in summer, but the worst are rusted cans and glass that the tide drags in. And if you see a group of men barbecuing on the sand, stay away: it’s their space and they don’t like tourists interrupting.