Dubai and Abu Dhabi This Winter: What to Book Before You Fly

From November to March the UAE is at its best: warm days, cool evenings, everything open. It is also at its busiest. The trip itself is simple to plan. The part that catches people out is timing.

Best months

November to March

Dubai to Abu Dhabi

About 1.5 to 2 hours by road

Weekend

Saturday and Sunday

Visa for Indian passports

Needed; we arrange it with your booking

Reserve these before you travel

• Burj Khalifa, At the Top. Sunset slots sell out first and cost more than daytime ones. Decide which you want and book it early.
• The desert safari. Pickup is mid-afternoon and you are back around 9:30 pm, so it takes the evening. It is not advised for pregnant travellers or anyone with a back problem.
• The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. Entry is free, but visitors are asked to register for a time. Visiting hours change around Friday prayers.
• A dinner cruise, if you want a particular evening. Marina cruises pass the modern towers; Creek cruises pass old Dubai.

Leave these for the day

The Dubai Fountain plays every evening outside The Dubai Mall and costs nothing. The souks, the abra crossing on the Creek and the beach at JBR need no ticket. Keep one afternoon unplanned; winter weather is the reason you came.

Abu Dhabi as a day trip

You do not need to change hotels. Leave Dubai after breakfast, see the Grand Mosque before the midday heat, then Qasr Al Watan, the presidential palace, and drive the Corniche before heading back. It is a long day, so plan nothing for that evening.

Small costs people miss

• The Tourism Dirham fee, charged per room per night and paid at the hotel.
• Lunch on tour days, which is rarely included.
• Taxis between the mall, the marina and your hotel; distances are larger than the map suggests.