Between its exotic Bedouin history and futuristic architecture, the Emirate of Dubai has many attractions for visitors to see, making a guided tour the way to go on a brief visit. Families can begin with Dubai’s roots, exploring the old city and harbor on a traditional dhow cruise, or attending camel races. The tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa at 2,716.5 feet, is an example of the city’s stunning architecture, especially beautiful at night. The sky-high observatory is truly a thrill for those who aren’t afraid of heights.
Given that 80 percent of those who live in Dubai are expats on work assignments, they’re always entertaining visiting friends and family. Tour company Day Out Dubai shares their top five evening activities to make you feel like a local, too.
1. Get to Know Dubai City Tours
The company offers family city tours in a 4×4 Land Cruiser, making families feel more adventurous than being on a motorcoach. The variety of Dubai city tours includes museums, mosques, the Dubai Mall and some of the world-famous skyscrapers seen in “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol,” “Star Wars” and other movies.
Day Out Dubai makes it easy by providing a pick-up and drop-off service from your hotel, handy if you are going shopping at the world’s largest shopping extravaganza. The Dubai Mall boasts every store you can imagine from top designers like Alexander McQueen and Versace to bargains like H&M, which are right near shops selling traditional abayas. There are electronics and eyewear, shoe stores and those selling cosmetics, home furnishings and jewelry, even a separate denim area. The mall has an indoor-outdoor area under a retractable roof, big sales in summer and even an aquarium (more on that later)!
The city tour is a great orientation because everywhere you go there are people in traditional dress; women especially who wear an abaya (long black robe) and a burqa head covering so that just their eyes uncovered. At City Walk, another chic shopping complex with every variety of designer and global brand, women’s black abayas are displayed in kiosks in the courtyard the way jewelry or mobile phones might be in a U.S. mall.
2. Adventures with Desert Safari Dubai
Get outside on one of the truly traditional activities that’s one of the most popular with tourists. Different themes are available for Desert Safaris: Evening, Falconry, Morning, Overnight. The most popular though is Evening Desert Safari, because the temperatures are moderate and the lighting is spectacular on the desert sands.
The desert is home to many Bedouins, who historically were nomads and traditionally divided into tribes and shared the job of herding camels and goats. Today, many live in cities but retain their ancestors’ traditional music, poetry, dances and other cultural practices. Locals like to camp in the desert much as Americans would in a state or national park.
3. The Sheik Life on a Yacht Charter
Another popular activity, especially with locals, is to charter a yacht and take a day or evening cruise along the coast. Yacht charters allow visitors to get spectacular shoreline views, enjoy the sunsets and organize parties or events — fun with multigenerational groups and a wy to sample the luxe life the Emirates are known for.
There is a wide range of crewed yachts available for parties of four to 200 guests.
4. Relive History on a Dhow Dinner Cruise
A dhow is a traditional passenger cruise boat typially seen in the Persian Gulf region. Guests start boarding the largest dhow in Dubai for a dhow dinner and show cruise from 7 p.m. then sail out to sea for a sumptuous buffet dinner.
This view of the stunning Dubai skyline, all lit up, is spectacular and such a contrast to being aboard a vessel used for millennia by traders in the Arab Gulf.
5. Inside the Dubai Aquarium and Undersea Zoo
Both Dubai Aquarium and Undersea Zoo are located in the Dubai Mall so, even if you are only window shopping, they round out the offerings at the world’s largest shopping venue.
It is one of the world’s largest aquariums with more than 33,000 marine animals. Don’t miss the very popular walk-through tunnel; kids will love the effect of being in an aquarium themselves as they are surrounded by sealife.
Both venues are a must-see on any family itinerary and use state-of-the-art multimedia to bring the undersea world to life.
This post was sponsored by Day Out Dubai and the opinions expressed are the author’s.
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Nice and informative post, thank you such a nice sharing, we can hope find more from you on this thank you.
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Have you ever actually traveled with kids? It doesn’t seem like it by the tone of this article.
Hello Dr Ramesh,
If both legal guardians or birth parents of the child are traveling with the child, you will not need any other documentation, except everyone’s visas and passports. Check with your employer about medical insurance. If they will not provide medical coverage overseas, you can inquire with your U.S. based insurance company about what they provide. Some travel insurance companies sell one-year policies to cover students studying overseas and that might be another option. Safe Travels!
Sir, we both are going Europe with work visa on base of permit. Taking our 3year old child with us. Any letter or medical form/ paper we need to carry with us?
A Great Family Activity and one that will bring the family back together in the future when they all grow up!!
Take a look at our adventures. https://www.youtube.com/user/00Shaddow00 . We just started doing this to bring the family together and stop wasting our time setting in front of the television. We are filming our trips to document our adventures to remember and to share with family and friends. Maybe to motivate others to get out there with there family.
good article..
thanks for sharing the wonderful and informative details. Love this blog post. Next month coming to san francisco and looking for best hotel.
Dubai is such a nice place to stay and famous for its wonderful sightseeing’s attractions. The best trip is Dubai sightseeing’s tour and desert safari in Dubai. We had great time couple of years ago.
Everything is very open with a precise clarification of the challenges. It was really informative. Your site is extremely helpful. Many thanks for sharing
Let me add http://www.babyquip.com to the list.
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Your blog helped me to plan my family trip to Bangkok and Pattaya. Just made a video blog out if it, https://youtu.be/tok17yOR1W8 please watch ang give feedback.
Ranch Vacation with family is a real fun. Here we spent quality time with each other. Truly said, we eat a lot and on-time as well. Riding is also a fun in ranch vacation, Created a perfect picture.
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We have actually done the ATV tour in Cozumel Mexico, and had an amazing time. We booked with Cozumel Cruise Excursions. Net which is a family business and we had an amazing time. Theres nothing better than going to another country and getting great customer service and amazing people as guides. I would highly recommend checking them out next time your in Cozumel http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.net
This sounds like so much fun! From the haunted houses to the different drinks offered. I didn’t know HHN was such a major part for Universal Orlando. Good to know! Thanks for the article!
Hello Annetta,
Yes, one Permission to Travel or Consent Letter can list more than one child on it, if the contact information for the legal guardians/birth parents is the same.
Safe travels!
Can I use one concept form to apply for two sibling from the same father
Hey, very nice site. I came across this on Google, and I am stoked that I did. I will definitely be coming back here more often. Wish I could add to the conversation and bring a bit more to the table,but am just taking in as much info as I can at the moment. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for all of these suggestions.
Chicago is a wonderful place to visit.
Excellent very nice! No doubt Dubai is very famous for more activities but desert safari is very unique activity.i love this one…
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Thanks, recommendation cheap hotels is very useful for the preparation of our vacation that will not be soon. Really nice!
Nice article
Nice Travel Tips…
It’s amazing. I hope i can visit it soon T.T
Beautiful article
Our family of 3 adults booked a tour with Kalka Travels in April 2018. Our tour included transportation and accommodation in Delhi, Pushkar, Udaipur, Bundi, Jaipur and Agra. We then caught an overnight train to Varanasi where we met up with a third party contracted by Kalka Travel. Overall we were very happy with the tour company as they delivered on what we had pre-arranged with them. We upgraded our vehicle to a SUV rather than just a sedan, and added an elephant ride to Agra Fort, tickets to traditional dance show in Udaipur, a movie at the Raj Mandir theatre in Jaipur as well as water was supplied each day to us. All breakfasts were included. Our driver Ravinder was exceptional in that he was always on time and patient with us sometimes being late; the vehicle was always cleaned that morning and comfortable. He was highly attentive to our needs, very reliable, polite, and humorous, and told us what to expect at each stop. We always felt very safe with him as he was an excellent driver. His English was good in that we were able to ask many questions of him. Kalka Travels was flexible with our itinerary and our driver stopped at a few places that were not on our list of stops, unlike the other company we had considered booking who told us the drivers could not be flexible.Our wonderful driver, Ravinder, made our trip very special. Kalka Travels also only asked for a $100 deposit in advance and the remainder when we arrived in India, which put us at ease. Bobby Thakur was very quick to respond to any concerns we had. All in all, a wonderful vacation and experience with Kalka Travels.
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Great article & very practical. Thanks for all the tips – I’ll be thinking about them for a while as we work on our website redesign.
Great vacation ideas and post too..!!!
There are many famous forts and palaces along with wildlife sanctuaries and other monuments which has attracted thousands of visitors and some of them have become a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site as well.
We are completely in accord with these ‘not to miss 5 experiences in Dubai.’ We experienced them on a family trip last year. The one thing we missed out was the charter yacht. Now we have taken it as a priority for our next trip after reading your post.
Look like you had a great adventure trip. The ship looks awesome.
Dubai is amazing. I really enjoyed reading your article! 🙂
I just found a website that lists apple festivals all over the country! So you can find something in your area. They all seem a little bit different, which is fun. http://pickyourown.org/applefestivals.php
St john is more quite than other Caribbean islands. St John accessible only by ferry from the other U.S. Virgin Islands, St. John is a true gem in the Caribbean with crystal clear waters, lush green mountains and gorgeous white sand beaches. Though it is the smallest of the three U.S. Virgin Islands, St. John’s unspoiled beauty is perhaps the greatest found anywhere in the Caribbean.
Rajasthan is one of the most vibrant and colorful states in India with its rich culture and traditions since ancient times. It is known as the land of warriors and beautiful princess who even chose to die for saving their chastity and had a great affinity with their motherland. Whether it is the cuisine or the dress sense everything is unique about Rajasthan’s culture. There are many famous forts and palaces along with wildlife sanctuaries and other monuments which has attracted thousands of visitors and some of them have become a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site as well. The famous sites are described in this blog which is good for the history lovers and for those people who want to explore more about the diversity of Rajasthan.
Being in the city of Royal Tents in Jaisalmer of moving sand ridges, you can’t get away from the seat travel. A rough ride on a camel in the Thar Desert is one of the energizing things to do in Jaisalmer Royal Camps. It enables you to investigate the remote and segregated spots tucked amidst the abandon. Absolutely, the additional time you give on your safari, the more remote spots you are probably going to see and the more you may acclimate to and appreciate the abandon serenity.
I am going to Dubai next month thanks for sharing this information will come in handy
Nice post…
Thank you so much for sharing a great information. I appreciate your time and effort in your work. Keep posting.
Thanks, for posting such and Informatic blog. I had been to Amer Fort in Jaipur and it was an amazing experience.
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A rough ride on a camel in the Thar Desert is one of the energizing things to do in Jaisalmer Royal Camps. It enables you to investigate the remote and segregated spots tucked amidst the abandon.
I think that is a wonderful experience at Dubai. I’ve been to Dubai and it’s pretty