I’ve been flying between London and Australia with Emirates for the past eight years, each time transiting through Dubai airport, but never actually leaving the airport. Some years I would transit through that airport four times in a year, and yet Dubai still remained a mystery to me.
Finally I took the plunge and decided to have an extended stopover on my way back to Aus, and I’m so glad I waited. I had possibly the best Dubai experience any visitor could ever have…and I’m about to tell you all how to have the same, in just 48 hours on a weekend. Perfect if you don’t have 7 nights to stopover like I did!
What to pack:
It’s important to remember that Dubai is a Muslim country and therefore your clothing should be respectful and adhere to the rules. Many places such as shopping malls and mosques require you to have your knees and shoulders covered, but bars, beach clubs, and restaurants don’t tend to have dress codes. If your clothing is very short or revealing however, especially in public areas and hotels, you will draw unwanted attention to yourself so I suggest just making sure you’re covered to a certain extent. You’ll also feel far more comfortable! Click on the images below to go to the product page and purchase or view similar styles of clothing.
Day 1 in Dubai
9am: Dubai Mall
Head to Dubai Mall for a morning of shopping and sightseeing at the World’s Largest Shopping Mall! Be respectful and cover your shoulders, chest, and knees, and as soon as you enter go and snap a selfie with the fish and sharks swimming in the humongous aquarium right in the middle of the mall. Grab a map from an info point, and after doing a spot of shopping and having a Parisian hot chocolate at Angelina’s (and yep, it tastes exactly the same as the Paris one!), go and check out the waterfall with the diving men, and the Burj Khalifa outside.
12noon: Zero Gravity Beach Club
I had so much fun at Zero Gravity I actually went two days in a row. The first day we got sunbeds on the beach, which was nice. But the second day we went hard, and had a large sun lounger by the pool with magnums of Vodka and non-stop food being delivered to us. The benefits of having an expat friend in Dubs who knows all the best places in the City!
3:30pm: Drinks And Swim at Shades
6:30pm: Head to Zuma for dinner
9pm: One & Only Bar Crawl
Day 2 in Dubai
10am: Morning at Four Seasons
You can’t go to Dubai without spending an afternoon on The Palm. It feels so far from the hustle and bustle of Dubai, and feels super relaxing compared to the main ‘City’ parts of Dubai. Book a day pass (250AED which includes a 160AED food and drinks voucher) at least 24 hours in advance and get a taxi over (remember to take your passport or Emirates ID), and spend the afternoon lounging around the pools and beach at the Sofitel hotel. Choose one of the restaurants to have lunch at, or order food to be brought to your sunbed! Cocktails wise you should try the ‘Coconut Rum Freezy’, whether you’re hungover or not.
6pm: Dubai Fountain & Dinner at At.Mosphere at Burj Khalifa
Check the times online before you go as they change every so often. But try and time your dinner at Burj about 20mins after the Dubai Fountain time. Book dinner in advance and time it so you catch the sunset at the highest restaurant and bar in the World! You can either eat in the main restaurant or the lounge at At.Mosphere – we ate in the lounge and loved it!The food was delicious (make sure you get the Wagyu Beef Sliders and Lobster tacos), and the view was just insane. Gohei used to be one of the top Chefs at Gordon Ramsey’s Maze restaurants, and even he was impressed with the food, so it must have been good 😉 haha. I’ll have a full review on here in the next couple of weeks as it was awesome!
10pm: Four Seasons Bar crawl
Midnight: Head to Provocateur at Four Seasons Resort Jumeirah Beach, this is an awesome club that I absolutely loved! If you’re a guest of the hotel just tell them on the door and you shouldn’t have any issues getting in. Also it means you’re just steps away from resting your sleepy head on your bed before your flight the next day.
Day 3 in Dubai
If you have more than 48 hours, head to Zaya Nurai for a day trip (I’ll be posting about this very soon), and visit Deira for the historical side of Dubai. You could also take a helicopter ride over the city, and a do a day trip out into the desert. If you’re a fan of water parks, head to Atlantis Hotel or the Wild Wadi Waterpark at Jumeirah Beach. And on my list for next time I visit? The 360 bar!
Dubai is massively on my list for a stopover stay one day.
I was pleasantly surprised by Dubai. Some very pretty architecture. Fabulous food. I stayed at the Atlantis on the Palm–very nice.
I have been in Dubai this summer, this is too hot.
Dubai is a place of luxury, money and artificial things.
It is a place you should be there once, for me i will never live there.
You covered quite a lot in 48 hours, very productive! I've only been twice, and for all the flak that Dubai gets (superficial, artificial, etc), I think everyone has to experience this stunning city.
Ah no, I was there for 7 nights 😉 but half the time was spent doing things I haven't included in this, I just whittled it down to my favourite things to do in Dubai 🙂 I did however try 11 bars and clubs in 4 nights, so this itinerary is definitely doable!
Totally agree though, I absolutely loved it and thought it was beautiful!
C x
Summer was probably the wrong time to go as even the locals and expats barely leave their homes during summer as it's too hot. I went in October and it was 37 degrees most days, but I loved it and would love to go back!
C x
I've never really considered going to Dubai, mainly because I'm convinced I'd do something wrong and end up getting arrested! But you've really sold it to me, the food and architecture look incredible xxx
Lucy @ La Lingua | Life, Travel, Italy
I love Dubai, have been there many times and I always love to return. Great suggestions!
Reading all about your party antics have made me equal parts jealous and exhausted – so impressed at how you really made the most of your stopover!
Great post! Fingers crossed that I'll get a chance to experience this one day (:
Camilla | http://cammi.dk
Loving your photos, dear! Starting to miss Dubai just by looking at them! Hope you had a wonderful time there!
https://www.teletextholidays.co.uk/guides/united-arab-emirates/dubai
Dubai is definitely on my list of places to travel to — every time I see pictures of the city or read blog posts about it, it moves up a little higher on the list.
Looks like you had a great time! x
Michelle
dressingwithstyle-s.com