Egypt, Dubai, Morocco & Arabia 2013 - Travel Club Elite

16 united ar ab emir ates Dubai & Abu Dhabi
h call 01306 744722 / www.kuoni.co.uk / see your travel agent
Dubai & Abu Dhabi
Dubai is one of the world’s most exciting destinations; a glittering city that
guarantees fun, sun and endless shopping. In this ever-changing emirate,
spectacular and innovative developments grace endless golden beaches
and towering commercial centres, all the while contrasting starkly against
a silent desert interior.
Long overshadowed by its more pretentious next-door neighbour, Abu Dhabi
is slowly stepping up its game, with numerous impressive developments,
fabulous hotels and attractions intriguingly complementing its natural
riches born of its archipelago location calved off the mainland of Arabia.
These are cities of black gold that buzz with new and exciting ideas,
but still echo to the traditions of the past.
city guide
uae & BEYOND
Etihad and Emirates, connect their
respective cities to every corner of
the Middle East as well as across
the Indian Ocean, Australasia, the
Far East and Europe, making the
UAE a fabulous stopover as part of a
larger holiday as well as exciting
destinations on their own right.
See p56-57 for further details on
combining Dubai and Abu Dhabi
with other destinations.
GETTING AROUND
Dubai h The Dubai Metro connects
the airport to older parts of the
city such as Deira and the Creek as
well as running the length of Sheikh
Zayeed Road to Dubai Marina and
Jebel Ali. Buses also patrol the
main focal points. However, for
the tourists at least, the ceaseless
stream of taxis flowing around the
city provides an affordable and
convenient way to explore. Open
top tour buses also operate a hopon-hop-off
service to all major
tourist destinations.
Abu Dhabi h Although the city
centre is mainly confined to one
island, the city has been built for
cars and there are not many
crossings, so pedestrian excursions
are not so practical. Taxis are
abundant and affordable and
distances not as great as can be in
Dubai. The metered limousine taxis
are most common around the
hotels but are the most expensive.
The Silver taxis are normally
better value but still offer a good
standard of car and driver. The
white and gold ones often do not
have meters and may often
require a negotiation on the fare.
There is a local bus network which
is very cheap but you may need to
ask the driver to advise when you
have reached your destination.
The buses are also a cheap way
to get to Dubai.
SIGHTSEEING &
SHOPPING
Dubai h The oldest part of the city
is centred around the Dubai Creek,
with souks, mosques and an
authentic regional architecture in
the Deira and Bur Dubai districts.
The city’s aorta is Sheikh Zayed
Road, a massive multi-lane
highway that links the Creek to
Jumeirah and Jebel Ali as well as
all the main malls. Jumeirah Beach
offers a vast stretch of open sand
with warm, albeit sometimes
choppy waters to swim in. There
are public access points but beach
lovers are best advised to stay in
one of the upscale beachfront
hotels to enjoy the best facilities.
The national pastime is shopping,
with the vast malls mainly devoid
of visitors by day, but springing
into life later in the evening. The
Dubai Mall and Mall of the
Emirates are the two biggest with
ice rinks, cinemas, western highstreet
and designer brands, vast
gold souks and giant fish tanks.
Other attractions include skiing in
the desert at the impressive Ski
Dubai indoor ski arena; splashing
around at the Wild Wadi and
Aquaventure waterparks; golf on
one of the numerous heavily
manicured golf courses; ‘dune
bashing’ in the desert and riding
the elevator to the observation
deck of the Burj Khalifa – the
world’s tallest building.
Abu Dhabi h As with Dubai, in
Abu Dhabi there is no shortage of
luxury hotels and extravagant
shopping experiences. The national
landmarks include the magnificent
Sheikh Zayeed Mosque and the
giant Flagpole. The best of the
beach scene is found on the sweep
of wide sands that form the
Corniche at the city’s heart along
with private stretches of hotel
developments such as those on
Saadyat Island. Other attractions
include the high-octane Ferrari
World theme park (which is located
adjacent to the famous Yas Marina
F1 Circuit). The future will also bring
new Louvre and Guggenheim
museums to the city (completion
TBC). Abu Dhabi also offers fine
golfing and all the desert
adventures – e.g. dune bashing –
also associated with Dubai.
PERSIAN
GULF
Abu Dhabi
U.A.E
SAUDI ARABIA
Ras Al Khaimah
Dubai
eating out
In both cities the finest dining
establishments are concentrated
in the numerous luxury hotels,
which compete with each other
with celebrity chefs, Michelin
Stars and extravagant gourmet
cuisine. Most hotels offer a choice
of dining options, whilst the
Madinat Jumeirah complex in
Dubai is particularly pleasant
place to stroll, shop and eat for
guests and non-guests alike. For
more affordable dining
alternatives the big malls offer
every type of cuisine imaginable
including American and regional
fast foods, noodle bars,
restaurants of every denomination
and about three times more coffee
and cake shops than seems
economically viable.
Ajman
OMAN
Musandam
peninsula
Fujairah
OMAN
GULF OF
OMAN