DUBAI The City of Gold The City's Best Restaurants, Bars, Shops and Hotels A Pocket Guide of Dubai TABLE OF CONTENTS • The Shining City of Gold: Dubai 3 • When to Visit Dubai 4 • Interesting Facts About Dubai 6 • How to Obtain UAE Visa 11 • Nightlife in Dubai 17 • What to Pack? 20 • Why to Book with Crystal Travel? 21 • Culinary Delights 23 • Shopping In and Around 26 • Safety Tips 30 • Transportation Options 31 • Places to Visit 33 • Things You Should Do 38 • Customs of Dubai 41 • Festivals in Dubai 42 • Flights 47 • Dubai for You 49 A Pocket Guide of Dubai 3 The Shining City of Gold: Dubai A perfect mix of cosmopolitanism with the traditional aspects of local culture, Dubai is a holiday hot spot. With an enticing skyline, perhaps the best in the world, glitzy shopping malls, mammoth aquariums and indoor ski slopes, Dubai promises an extravagant vacation experience to every tourist. Home to some of the most grandeur hotels in the world, you will find almost every leading name in the hospitality industry in this city. Largest, tallest or biggest – Dubai does everything to the extreme. From astonishing skyscrapers and palm- shaped islands to underwater hotels, the city has everything to astound you. Website: crystaltravel.co.uk Ofce Address: 38 Riding House Call Us: 0207 612 0500 Street London W1W 7ES Email: [email protected] United Kingdom A Pocket Guide of Dubai 4 Dubai, once a traditional coastal village still has its remains in the city. The historic quarter of Al Bastakiya dating back to the 19th century is the oldest residential quarter in Dubai with maze-like streets. The traditional buildings constructed originally with materials such as coral is an interesting blend of art and history. When to Visit Dubai Website: crystaltravel.co.uk Ofce Address: 38 Riding House Call Us: 0207 612 0500 Street London W1W 7ES Email: [email protected] United Kingdom A Pocket Guide of Dubai 5 November to March The best time to visit Dubai is from November to April, the winter. The weather is pleasant at this time of the year, making it convenient to indulge in outdoor activities. If you are in Dubai at this time of the year, you can experience the best of the city, like the desert safari and live entertainment. Dubai Shopping Festival, one of the most popular events in Dubai is held in January-February when the city will be more crowded than usual. Since it is the peak season, the hotel rates and tariffs will be too high. So if you plan to visit Dubai during this part of the year, book rooms well in advance to get the best possible rates and avoid any inconvenience. Connect with Crystal Travel to avail cheap flight tickets to Dubai at any time of the year. April to October The summer is better to avoid the crowd and during this period, you may get accommodation at a cheaper rate. However, be ready to bear the intolerable heat as well as the humidity. The summer in Dubai with the temperatures reaching late forties can make it impossible to venture outside during the daytime. However, with all malls, shopping centres, hotels and restaurants being air-conditioned, you can indulge in indoor activities during this time of the year. Website: crystaltravel.co.uk Ofce Address: 38 Riding House Call Us: 0207 612 0500 Street London W1W 7ES Email: [email protected] United Kingdom A Pocket Guide of Dubai 6 Interesting Facts About Dubai Police Run Ferrari and Lamborghini Being oil-rich, Dubai loves to flaunt its wealth in every possible way. The city roads are filled with all luxury cars and don’t be surprised if you find a ‘Police’ sticker on a Lamborghini or a Ferrari parked on the roadside. Law enforcers chasing bad guys in an Austin Martin or Bugatti may sound amusing in the west, but not in Dubai. You can take a glimpse of this amazing sight. Crystal Travel can cater to all your Dubai travel needs. Website: crystaltravel.co.uk Ofce Address: 38 Riding House Call Us: 0207 612 0500 Street London W1W 7ES Email: [email protected] United Kingdom A Pocket Guide of Dubai 7 Approx. 85 Per cent of Dubai’s Population is a Foreigner Every second person you find in Dubai is a foreign passport holder. As per the estimates, only 15% of the city residents are Emiratis and the rest have migrated to Dubai in search of a livelihood. And more than 50% of the construction workers belong to three countries – India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Interestingly, the class divide in Dubai is also too large, with a majority of the immigrant workers staying at labour camps, earning a meagre income while Emiratis and the upper-class foreigners earn handsome salaries. Earn More and Pay No Tax There is no concept of tax in Dubai and this attracts professionals to the city to earn more in less time. Home to hundreds of corporate offices, there is no scarcity of jobs here and getting attractive paychecks are easy. More interestingly, with multiple avenues to shell out, you end up spending a lot in Dubai than any other city. Dubai Loves Gold You might have heard about the city’s love for yellow metal but would be surprised to know that the city even has ATMs dispensing gold bars. Unheard in any part of the world, Dubai loves to exhibit its passion for gold in strange ways. In 2013, more than 40% of all the gold trading in the world happened in Dubai, which weighed more than 354 elephants. Website: crystaltravel.co.uk Ofce Address: 38 Riding House Call Us: 0207 612 0500 Street London W1W 7ES Email: [email protected] United Kingdom A Pocket Guide of Dubai 8 Do Skiing Inside a Mall Originally a desert, Dubai does not have any mountain and the tallest point is either a dune or a skyscraper. But this will not stop you from skiing while in Dubai. The city has provisions to experience skiing inside a shopping mall, which you can experience only in Dubai. Fly to Dubai by connecting with Crystal Travel as we promise affordable tickets. Home to the World’s Largest Building The 163-floor Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. The 828-m building is home to the world’s highest restaurant, highest mosque, highest nightclub and highest observatory deck. During Ramadan, the holy Islamic month of fasting, the people living in the upper part of the building need to wait up to 2 more minutes than the rest of the city to break the fasting until the sun sets Dubai has the World’s Only 7-Star Hotel Website: crystaltravel.co.uk Ofce Address: 38 Riding House Call Us: 0207 612 0500 Street London W1W 7ES Email: [email protected] United Kingdom A Pocket Guide of Dubai 9 The yacht -shaped Burj al Arab is the only 7-star hotel in the world. The hotel with a rooftop helipad is the most luxurious in the world with the cheapest room costing 1,000 Euros per night. Home to the World’s Largest Shopping Mall Spread over a retail area of 502,000 square meters (5,400,000 sq ft), the Dubai Mall is the largest mall on the earth. Located at Downtown Dubai, the four-floor mall was opened to the public in 2008 and has more than 1,200 shops. More than 5 million people visit the mall every year. No Drain City Dubai has no potholes on roads or no drains as it rains only once or twice a year, that too in winter. So, when it rains, it can end up in a flash flood. Website: crystaltravel.co.uk Ofce Address: 38 Riding House Call Us: 0207 612 0500 Street London W1W 7ES Email: [email protected] United Kingdom A Pocket Guide of Dubai 10 Air-conditioned Bus stops In Dubai, air conditioning is not only limited to buildings. Due to hot weather conditions, even bus stops are air-conditioned. So while waiting for the bus, you don’t need to worry about the scorching sun and intolerable humidity. How to Obtain UAE Visa The United Arab Emirates offers visas for three purposes — Tourism, work and transit. The procedures for a tourist visa vary with countries, while for work and transit visa, the regulations are almost the same for everyone. Website: crystaltravel.co.uk Ofce Address: 38 Riding House Call Us: 0207 612 0500 Street London W1W 7ES Email: [email protected] United Kingdom A Pocket Guide of Dubai 11 Tourist Visa UK Passport Holders: Citizens of the United Kingdom can obtain a visa on arrival valid for 30 days. Visa information: The visa on arrival is valid for 30 days from the date of entry. There is a 10-day grace period for an extension. If extended, the total validity would be 60 days from the date of entry. Passports should be normal and valid for more than six months. This is a multi-entry visa. The visa holder can consume the 30-day validity regardless of whether they are inside or outside the UAE – days spent outside the UAE are calculated from the 40-day validity of the visa. The citizens of the UK, the Commonwealth, as well as those with a 'certificate of entitlement to the right to abode', are all required to get a visa to enter the United Arab Emirates. US Passport Holders Citizens of the United States can obtain a visa on arrival valid for 30 days.