Questions About Dubai Travel Deals

Mary asks…

Is dubai expensive when it comes to hotels, dining and travelling?

Im going to Dubai between christmas and the first week of January 2010. What are the costs there ? hotels, taxis, restaurants, clubs ect..? Can you give me advice on ghow to book the best deals ? all these hotel and vacation websites are too confusing. Thanks

admin answers:

Where do u come from originally? In terms of this, dubai is definitely very expensive. Regarding hotels for stay- you can find a whole load of these, if u want a safe + hasselfree stay pick hotels in Bur Dubai (not DEIRA), and u should always opt for at least 3 star. 4-5 stars are darn expensive. You would be able to google this "dubai hotels". Taxis are also expensive - starts at 5-7 dirhams and goes up, the traffic during regular working hours is as bad as L.A. So you might wanna watch the meter (as a tourist a bus transport is confusing and u would wind up standing in the heat for too long), additionally dubai just opened the world's best METRO SYSTEM yesterday 09-09-09, again u have to purchase a transport card called NOL card from a big hypermarket (CARREFOUR- great shopping esp. Discounts on Food), you would easily find a Pizza Hut, KFC, Mc Donald's closeby here and you could go for up-class retaurants but that would cost around 50-80 dirhams (1 USD= 3.65 DHS). The best nightclub would be 360 (Jumeirah Beach Hotel) and CHI at the Lodge (near AL NASR CINEMA Bur Dubai)- these are regulars! Just Google it all, as simple as this. Have a pleasant stay!!

Donna asks…

what air ticket deal is best for Heathrow-Cairo-Dubai-Tehran-Heathrow?

I have to go to Tehran but I have to stay in Hurghada for 5 days and then go to Tehran for 5 days but I thought it would be nice to see Dubai for a day. Which airline does stopovers in these destinations or should I buy the tickets individually. I plan to travel this month

admin answers:

Airline tickets change by the minute like foreign currencies.

You are best to speak to 1 or 2 travel agents in your area.

Betty asks…

DUBAI - super excited!?

Ok guys,
I am kinda making plans to travel back to my country, Tajikistan, through Dubai. NYC-Dubai-Dushanbe.
I have been to Dubai once, but only for 8 hours in the airport, and I just loved it in there. The city looked so pretty from the airplane. So I decided to try seeing the city for a few days, 2- 3 maximum.
Please, please, share everything you know with me. How did u make ur travel to Dubai? Where did u go? How it works? I would like to be somewhere closer to Dubai Mall, burj al arab and Burj Dubai... Those are the main things I wanna see for sure. Of course, as I am a student I am on a small budget... So if you know any deals, or how much taxis cost? anything...I've heard food isn't that expensive. Oki doki. I am so excited to hear from you all.
I am travelling in early June 2011. I will also have a back ticket in August, but I think it will be terribly hot!! Oh another question is, do I have to book my tickets with a 3 day gap in between now? Or do I book the ones they are offering me with only 8 hours in Dubai, and then will they assist me with chainging my ticket or delaying my flight?
So, yeah, and how much will I pay for visas? What are the prices of the hotels that they offer at Merhaba Services? people are saying they are too expensive, and I better have reservation ahead.

admin answers:

The visa laws will probably see some changes in a years time , so check on that shortly before you actually travel , like a month before. Generally speaking the temps will be in the 40 to 45 C range.
Airlines don't allow you to change bookings without a fee , so book the actual time you will be departing with in 4 days or less which is the transit visa duration. (not exactly 8 hours , and they are now loosing money because of the backed up flights canceled due to the ash clouds, so there is no guarantee the airline will assist, you have to be prepared to do it yourself & pay whatever fee asked by immigration).

Please note if instead you get a tourist/ 30 day visit visa , the immigration is very strict if you do not renew or depart the country , they will charge you 100 AED penalty plus 100AED for each additional day you overstay. Renewal is a lot cheaper & wont get you banned from receiving another visa , overstay might get you banned but not necessarily ,it depends.

Daniel asks…

I m travelling to Dubai next week, tell me frnds what can I buy from there? as a good deal..?

are mobile phone really cheap there? if yes then from where to buy?

admin answers:

Mobile Phones are extremely cheap in Dubai. You could get them in shopping centres and airports. But seriously it is very cheap you should definitely buy your phone there.

Helen asks…

Need help in planning the Dubai Tour. Staying for 1.5 Days?

Hi,

We (my wife and I) are currently based out of Los Angeles and will be travelling to India via Dubai on 26th November. We have taken a stopover at Dubai for 1.5 days and want to tour Dubai city and probably take a few tours.

We are reaching Dubai on 27th November at 1:30 PM and our onwards flight from Dubai to India is on 29th November at 4:40 AM.

So we have approx 1.5 days which we want to utilize in the most efficient way and want to visit Dubai.

We have already applied and the Dubai Tourist Visa and we have received the same.

We would like to know.

1. Can you suggest any good travel agents whom we can contact for reasonable hotel/tour deals ?

2. Is it really worth booking the Hotel/Tour through a Travel agent OR we can do it ourselves too.

3. What are the tours that you would suggest considering we are reaching Dubai on 27th November: 1:30 PM and leaving Dubai on 29th November: 4:40 AM.

4. What are the places in Dubai which I can visit on on own (not taking any tours) ?

5. What are the must see places in Dubai which we should plan to visit in our 1.5 days stay.

6. Any additional information/suggestions/precautions that you would like to suggest.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Regards.

Vishal

admin answers:

Hmm... I'm not sure there's any official tours of Dubai, but perhaps someone else knows better on that. Dubai itself is mostly for shopping and clubbing. The best malls I've been too there are Dubai Mall (which has a really neat aquarium & underwater zoo), The Mall of the Emirates (the largest in UAE and has the skii Dubai located inside), and Wafi Mall (which is shaped like a pyramid). There's plenty more malls to explore there though.

There's also the gold souk in Deira, which is obviously a good place to browse and buy gold if you want. I believe there's also an open market in Bur Dubai, but I'm not sure of the days/hours.

Over in Jumeirah, there's the beach, which isn't really all that impressive, but it's there. The Burj Al Arab hotel tower is also there, which offers a nice view if you go up to the top, and is a nice building to photograph, with it's rather sailboat like shape.

Also, in downtown Dubai, the Burj Khalia is there, which is the tallest building in the world, and will also offer nice views and photograph opportunities.

Clubs are everywhere if you and your wife are interested in that. I stay away from that in Dubai though because it's just too overpriced there and you can find the same stuff in the states.

The best, and most cost effective way to get around in Dubai is to use the metro. It's pretty simple to navigate and costs less than taking a taxi everywhere. I rented a car there once and wouldn't do it again because the roads are CONSTANTLY changing in Dubai, rendering a GPS nearly useless and since I only go on business a few times a year, it's just not worth the hassle to rent a car.

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