For the first leg of our adventure across Asia, we spent three days and four nights exploring Dubai.
After arriving in Dubai on our KLM flight from Amsterdam we headed straight to the St. Regis Downtown Dubai which would be our home base for this portion of the trip. Since we arrived after midnight, we grabbed a quick bite to eat around the corner from our hotel before turning in for the night.
Day 1: Burj Khalifa & Dubai Mall
Because of our late arrival and the jet lag, we slept in our first day in Dubai, waking up just before noon. Typically, with ATX Jr.’s schedule, I’m lucky to get to sleep past 7:30a, so I’ll call that a win. After grabbing coffee at the hotel, we headed out towards the Dubai Mall for lunch.
Dubai is a city dominated by private vehicle transportation. The city is very much designed with cars in mind and we had to weave around in order to get from our hotel to Dubai Mall, crossing a couple of major roads. Google Maps worked well and we also had the Burj Khalifa to use as a guide.
Entering the grounds of Dubai Mall, we had a great view of the Burj Khalifa front and center. Photos don’t do this thing justice, the sheer size of it is astounding, especially when you’re standing right next to it.
It was roughly 2:30p by the time we got to the mall so we started looking for a place to grab lunch. There were so many choices here, including a Texas Roadhouse, and ultimately we settled on Günaydin, a Turkish meatery located in Souk Al Bahar.
The restaurant was fairly empty given the time and we were able to get a table on the patio with a view of the Burj Khalifa. The weather was cooperating and it felt great to be outside. We ordered a traditional lamb dish which was quite good, though given the location you were definitely paying a premium for the view.
While we ate, we reserved tickets for the At The Top viewing deck at the Burj Khaifa for later in the day. Some times were sold out so if you are trying to fit this into your schedule, book early.
With our bellies full, Mrs. ATX was ready to do some shopping so we headed over to the mall. Dubai Mall is one of the largest malls in the world and has an internal floor area of almost six million square feet. You can get lost in here easily and the mall has almost every store you can imagine.
We spent a few hours wandering around the mall, collecting shopping bags which I was thankfully able to clip on to ATX Jr.s stroller. The store that would likely be the most interesting to readers of this site is the Emirates A380 Experience, located on the 2nd floor near the aquarium.
My only complaint about the mall was the lack of elevators. Based on our experience the UAE is a very family friendly country, yet there were long lines at all of the elevators due to families with strollers.
After shopping for a couple of hours it was time to make our way over to the entrance of the Burj Khalifa “At the Top” viewing experience. Our ticket time was for 6:00p and we arrived a few minutes before. The hope being that we would be on the viewing deck for sunset which was at 6:31p.
Unfortunately the endless hallways and lines meant that we didn’t even get to the elevator hold room until 6:45p. We fully missed sunset and didn’t make it up to the viewing deck until a full hour after arrival. The tickets aren’t cheap with the basic experience at roughly $50 per person and going up from there.
Finally, at 7:00p, a full hour after we arrived. While the sun had completely set, the views were still great. The city lights sprawled out below us and because we were so high, buildings looked like they were made out of Legos. You’re so high up that, on good visibility days, it is possible to see the shores of Iran across the Persian Gulf.
By the time we made it back to the base of the Burj Khalifa it was getting late and we were hungry. Instead of trying to do any sort of sit down dinner, we grabbed some food from the food court in the Dubai Mall. While we didn’t eat here, I got a good laugh out of the very un-Cajun “Cajun Grill”.
Full from dinner, we decided to walk back to our hotel. Though the sun had been down for a couple of hours it was still warm out so we took the path back along the water. While it was the same distance as the route we took earlier in the day, it was much more relaxing being away from the road.
As we started our walk, the evening fountain show was about to begin so we stayed to watch. Dubai Mall has the largest choreographed fountain show in the world, and is similar to what you see at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. The show happens every 30 minutes between 6:00p and 11:00p and we managed to get a great spot right at the water’s edge.
Right on cue the music began and the fountains kicked on. The show was impressive and ran for a little over five minutes.
During each show, the Burj Khalifa is lit up in blue and white lights.
After the show ended, we made the 20 minute walk back to the St. Regis on the banks of the fountain.
We got back to the hotel around 10:30p and, after giving ATX Jr. a bath and putting him to bed, we ordered drinks to the room and toasted to our first day in Dubai.
Day 2: Souqs & Dubai Aquarium
As we slowly adjusted to the jet lag we would get up a little earlier each day so, on our second full day in Dubai, we were up at 11:00a but decided to hang around the hotel for a bit and grab some lunch before venturing out. Around 2:15p we gathered all of our stuff and headed out to the Old Souq located along Dubai Creek.
Mrs. ATX had seen a metro station on the map near our hotel, or so we thought, and we decided to use that to get around. Bad idea.
The walk from our hotel to the metro is roughly 20 minutes but with all of the construction in the Business Bay neighborhood there are multiple sections of sidewalks that are either closed off or missing entirely. Without a tree in sight and with 90+ degree temperatures, everyone was miserable. We thought about turning around and going back but managed to push through.
Our tickets on the train were only a couple of dollars and for a nominal fee we upgraded to the Gold Class Cabin. This is a separate, calmer cabin located at the front or rear of the train (depending on direction). With the large crowds on the Dubai Metro, I was glad to have the extra breathing room.
While the metro stations are off the beaten path, trains moved quickly and came in rapid succession. We had to change trains once but, thirty minutes after boarding we were walking through the streets of the Grand Souq.
We walked through the alleyways past rows and rows of shops selling everything under the sun. There wasn’t anything we felt that we needed to buy but just taking in the sights and sounds was interesting enough.
Eventually we ended up back along the banks of Dubai Creek and made our way down towards Al Seef Street, which is home to more shops and restaurants.
I was surprised to find that the buildings in this complex are part of a Hilton hotel. Specifically the Al Seef Heritage Hotel Dubai, Curio Collection by Hilton. At first glance it seemed like a standard market but, if you looked closer you find tons of western brands with stores along the street including Starbucks Coffee and Baskin Robbins Ice Cream.
It was getting late in the day at this point so we stopped at the Wokyo Noodle Bar located on the property for a quick bite to eat. ATX Jr. loved the low seating since he was able to stand and play while we ate.
After eating, we did a bit more shopping before deciding to take a boat to the other side of the water. While waiting in line to buy tickets we saw some familiar faces standing behind us. As it turns out we had run into our KLM cabin crew from our inbound flight to Dubai. They recognized ATX Jr. by name and we chatted with them a bit while we waited on the boat. They were returning to Amsterdam later that evening and doing some last minute sightseeing before heading to the airport.
The crossing itself took all of 90 seconds and strangely photography was not allowed on the boat. As you can see in the photo below, the boats used to cross the creek are not very large.
On this side of the creek, we said goodbye to our crew and headed up Old Baladiya Street away from the water. This led us to the Gold Souq which is crammed with hundreds of jewelry shops on both sides of the walkway.
By the time we wrapped up at the Gold Souq, it was already approaching 6:00p. We still wanted to get to the museum so we made the 20 minute walk over to Union Metro Station where we caught a Red Line train back to Dubai Mall.
Though the metro station is signed as the Dubai Mall, be prepared for a very long walk before you actually reach the mall. On the plus side, it’s air conditioned and the glass walkways give you some good views of the Burj Khalifa and the mall grounds.
We ordered our aquarium tickets in advance and prices ranged from AED 199 to AED 399 ($55-109) depending on the package you purchased. Since we were with a 10 month old in a stroller, we decided that the basic package was plenty for us.
To enter the aquarium, you get your ticket scanned and then walk through a glass tunnel at the base of the main tank. If you’re just interested in the sharks and large fish in the tank, you can see these from the mall for free.
After passing through the short tube on the first level, you have to head up one level to the second floor to continue the experience. This was slightly problematic given the stroller but we took ATX Jr. out and managed to get everything up there.
After passing through the upstairs tank, the rest of the aquarium is setup like a zoo of sorts. There are a variety of smaller tanks with different fish as well as land animals spread throughout different exhibits.
One of the coolest parts of the aquarium, both figuratively and literally, was the penguin exhibit. They were very curious about humans and ATX Jr. loved interacting with them. If you’re so inclined, you can pay extra for an experience with the penguins.
Finally, we rounded out our tour by walking by the crocodile enclosure at the aquarium which holds a massive, 100+ year old male and an equally massive 70+ year old female.
We spent just under an hour in the aquarium and while it isn’t the best bang for your buck, it was still a cool experience and worth a visit if you find yourself at the Dubai Mall. Tickets can be purchased at a discount if you bundle them with a visit to the Burj Dubai observation deck.
It was 8:30p by the time we wrapped up at the aquarium and we were starving. Fortunately, Dubai Mall has an outpost of one of our favorite Asian restaurants, Din Tai Fung, on property. We got a table after a short wait and, while our service wasn’t as polished as we had expected, it was still a delicious meal to round out the day.
Day 3: Beach Day & Dubai Marina
On our third and final day in Dubai, we decided to head off to the beach, specifically the Palm Jumeriah. Mrs. ATX found a family friendly beach club and we hopped in an Uber Family for the trip down. As an aside, if you’re unfamiliar with Uber Family in Dubai, they are either Toyota Highlander SUVs or Lexus ES sedans outfitted with car seats. These are fantastic for getting around with kids as you don’t need to bring a stroller and car seat with you on each trip.
Traffic getting onto Palm Jumeriah was awful but, eventually, we arrived at the February 30 beach club. Check-in was fast and we were immediately shown to our reserved chairs on the beach. Each chair has a minimum spend but the pricing is very reasonable and we easily hit the minimums with some food and a couple of drinks.
We had a very attentive server who came around often to see if we needed anything. The club had a large menu and the food that we ordered during our visit wasn’t gourmet, but it was very good for beach food.
The atmosphere here was perfect for us, music was playing but it wasn’t too loud or over the top. There were a few kids around but not a ton running all over the place. We managed to go for a little swim with ATX Jr., read a book, and just relax and enjoy the day. As a boat nerd, it was also fun watching the yachts sailing in and out of Dubai Harbor.
After spending the early part of the afternoon at the beach, we finished the day by taking an Uber over to the Dubai Marina development. We strolled along the waterfront looking at the skyscrapers and boats that were going by while we looked for a place to grab dinner.
Ultimately, we settled on Nando’s, a chicken chain that Mrs. ATX was familiar with from her travels. The food wasn’t great but it did its job. With that, our time in Dubai was coming to a close and we headed to the rideshare pickup just as the sun was setting over the marina.
Summary
We enjoyed our visit to Dubai but, even in late March it was hot. I can’t imagine doing many of the things we did during the peak summer months. Also, our visit occurred during Ramadan, so that may have had an affect on the crowds.
Overall, we will definitely return to Dubai in the future, though not necessarily just to visit the city. Mrs. ATX wants to go on a desert excursion and, given its global route network, we will likely pass through in the future on an Emirates flight.
