Accommodation for kinds of budgets - Vicki. Date of travel: Aug 2008
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Dubai today is flashy, fun and slightly surreal. Renowned for its sand, sun and shopping, it was once a tranquil town of coral-and-gypsum courtyard houses built by Persian traders and palm-frond huts housing Bedouin fisherman and pearl divers. Today shiny new skyscrapers reflect the mosques and wind towers of Old Dubai. There are plenty of things to do and see in Dubai and with so much on offer it’s helpful to have some inspiration. Treat yourself from sprawling souqs to mammoth malls, dine out from a simple street shawarma to haute cuisine, find the nightlife whether you're here for the sheesha or dancing, sleep in style in the best luxury hotels such as Burj Al Arab Hotel Dubai and make tracks with day trips to Hatta, the Buraimi Oasis and Abu Dhabi. Dubai has a lively calendar of events and festivals all year round including Islamic New Year, Dubai Fashion Week, Dubai International Jazz Festival, Dubai Marathon, Dubai Tennis Championships, Dubai Desert Golf Classic, Dubai World Cup, Prophet Mohammed's Birthday, Ramadan, UAE Desert Challenge, Eid al-Fitr, Dubai Shopping Festival, Dubai International Film Festival, Eid al-Adha and National Day. Whether you want to stay in Dubai Airport hotels, Dubai City Center hotels, Deira hotels, Sheikh Zayed Road hotels, or anywhere else, make sure you visit www.HotelsCombined.com as this site offers over 390 Dubai hotel deals so you’ll find good options for your next hotel reservation in every price range. Dubai International Airport (DXB) is the busiest airport in the Middle East. The national carrier is Emirates which flies to more than 80 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, Australia, Africa and the Indian subcontinent, for more information visit www.Emirates.com. For all the talk of free markets, air fares out of the UAE are just as strictly regulated as anywhere else; there are no bucket shops. Dubai International Airport has no separate airport departure tax; it's included in the price of your ticket. Buses run from Dubai to other parts of the UAE and surrounding countries. One useful bus route runs to Hatta from the Deira bus station. To get to most other cities in the Emirates, take a Dubai Transport bus or minibus. There are two buses a day to Muscat, Oman. Balawi Bus Service runs to Jordan twice weekly and to Egypt on Wednesdays. Long-distance taxis can take you to any other emirate on a shared or 'engaged' basis (which means you'll either have to wait until all five seats are filled or pay for them yourself). Settle the price before you leave. Passenger ferries make the 12-hour trip between Sharjah (a 20-minute drive from Dubai) and the port of Bandar-e Abbas in Iran daily. There's also a fortnightly passenger service between Dubai and Bushehr in Iran. It leaves the passenger terminal at Port Rashid every second Sunday. Tour Operator:
Hotels Combined
7-star service - Richard Perry. Date of travel: Jun 2007
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I stayed at the Burj El Arab in June, and couldn't recommend the hotel highly enough. The service was impecable, with quick check-in and room service. The restaurants were first-rate and facilities extensive with free high-speed internet, a spa and private swimming pools. It was over 40 degrees outside, so we found the Burj a welcome oasis, and made use of the cool pool!
