Dubai and the United Arab Emirates

This guide will give you advice on Dubai, what to see and do whilst there and what to expect in some of the four, five and six star, worlds most luxurious hotels. It will also guide you on what to expect when its time to buy United Arab Emirates Dirham.

The United Arab Emirates consists of seven different Emirates, Dubai being the most popular. The UAE is located on the southern shore of the Persian Gulf, on the Arabian Peninsula. Dubai is the second largest emirate after Abu Dhabi and is recognised for being the “Pearl of the Persian Gulf”

Dubai is known for being a landmark of innovation, with the most remarkable skyscrapers and the worlds tallest tower, the Burj Khalife. Also in the process of being developed is the most technically advance building so far, The Pad. Although being a modern city with phenomenal buildings and skyscrapers, Dubai still has a stretch of historical buildings by the creek and being of strong Islamic culture, you can view the city as traditional past built into modern day.

Being in such an exciting city, you have to sample some of the sights and trips. Jump on one of the water taxi’s, known in Dubai as the abras, which will regularly take you to either side of the creek. Each side of the creek has its fair share of busy souqs, shopping malls, mosques, hotels, hospitals and banks.

If adventure is more your thing, take a day out to go to Wild Wadi Water Park, a great day out for all the family and so much fun for the children. There are many exciting rides and the water park is based on the legend of Arabian adventure, Juha and his friend Sinbad. If you like white knuckle rides try the very popular, almost free fall ride called Jumeirah Sceirah.

Situated on the Bur Dubai side of the creek is the Grand Mosque, rebuilt in 1998, it has 45 small domes in addition to the 9 other large ones. The dramatic stained glass panels make it a distinguished landmark and an important place of worship.

The Old Bastakiya Quarters, in the Bastakiya district has tall wind towers and narrow lanes that give you a tantalizing glimpse of the old Dubai, to the east of the Al Fahidi Fort is the largest concentration of traditional courtyard houses.A worthwhile trip to take.

When arranging your spending money, the United Arab Emirates currency is the Dirham. Its always good to shop around for the different Dubai exchange rates as the bureaus and retailers will give you varied rates. Whilst in Dubai the hotels will change money for you but its not advisable as they will not give you good rates, if you need to change money while your away try and stick to the banks as you will get more for your money.

The hotels in Dubai, truly are fantastic, they will shower you with an array of facilities such as satellite television, balcony or patio, twice daily house keeping, writing desks, welcome drinks, private beach access, vast amount of different speciality restaurants, many activities and sports, excursions to the desert and of course world class spa’s to really indulge. All of the hotels are luxurious and you can look at 4 star, through to 6 star ratings. A couple of the popular hotels are, Atlantis, The Palm, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Royal Mirage Dubai, Raffles Dubai and Le Meridian Mina Seyahi Beach Resort.

Overall, Dubai is a magnificent and exquisite city to travel to. The hospitality is brilliant and the facilities and value for money are great. With such a lot to see and do, you will have to try and make time to have a day on the gorgeous silvery beach and soak up the hot Dubai sun.