Three Days in Dubai, Old City First
Dubai is usually done in the wrong order: the tall buildings and malls first, the old creek quarter squeezed in afterwards if at all. Reversing that produces a better trip, because the creek explains how the place existed before the towers. Travellers who book Dubai flights on Traveloka and give three days to it can cover the city and still get out to the desert. Day one: Deira and Bur Dubai Start at the gold and spice souqs in Deira, cross the creek on an abra water taxi for one dirham, and walk into Al Fahidi, the restored coral-and-gypsum quarter with wind towers and the city museum in the old fort. This is the pre-oil Dubai and it takes half a day. Go in the morning before the heat. Day one, evening: Al Seef and the creek The reconstructed waterfront south of Al Fahidi runs along the creek with cafes and dhows moored alongside. It is a modern build in old style and is pleasant at dusk. The dhow wharfage further north, where working boats load goods for Iran and India by hand, is the genuine version and free to walk along. Day two: Downtown and the Burj Khalifa Book the tower in advance and take an early slot, which is cheaper and clearer. The fountain show runs every half hour in the evening from the lake below. Dubai Mall is adjacent and unavoidable; the aquarium and the ice rink are inside it. This is the day for the city’s modern face, and half a day covers it. Day two, evening: Jumeirah and the beach Kite Beach and Jumeirah Open Beach are free public sand with showers and a view of the Burj Al Arab, and the sunset from them is the best free thing in Dubai. La Mer and Jumeirah 1 have the restaurants. The Madinat Jumeirah souq is a reconstruction but its waterways photograph well at night. Day three: the desert Desert trips run as half-day afternoon or overnight packages into the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve or the dunes near Al Faqa. The better operators use smaller groups and include falconry or camel rides rather than only dune bashing. Overnight camps are considerably quieter after the day groups leave. Alserkal and the alternative If a third day in the desert does not appeal, Alserkal Avenue in the Al Quoz industrial district holds the city’s contemporary galleries in converted warehouses, with cafes and a cinema. It is free, air-conditioned and the one part of Dubai that feels unplanned. Closed on Sundays and quiet in the mornings. Practical notes The metro is cheap and reaches most of the above, with a Nol card bought at any station. November to March is comfortable; July and August are brutal. Alcohol is served in licensed hotel venues only. Traveloka is the go-to app for the cheapest flights and hotels across Southeast Asia, which makes a Dubai stopover straightforward to add. Do the creek on day one and the towers on day two, not the reverse. Dubai makes far more sense when you have seen what it was first.
