City break in Dubai
I have always loved travelling and my trustee girlfriends and I always try to get away as much as we can, normally choosing to explore secluded tiny beaches and islands or doing random road trips through America, Indonesia, South America or Australia. For us, the “aim of the game” is to immerse ourselves in the culture, eating the local food and making friends with as much of the locals as we possibly can. Therefore we rarely go on short holidays or city breaks but when we stumbled upon a great 4-night city break deal to Dubai, we simply could not resist!
To be honest, I was impressed with Dubai even before we had arrived, due to the amazing service that we received during our flight with Emirates. I’m a sucker for good service (aren’t we all?) and the flight staff really managed to exceed my expectations, along with the in-flight entertainment options and the food. Even our arrival at the airport was something above the ordinary, and I could not shake the feeling of having ended up in a real-life scene from the movie Total Recall, alternatively having entered another planet. Everything just seemed a little bit bigger, shinier and more beautiful.
We were met at the airport by a very friendly and knowledgeable Travco driver (the letsgo2 representatives in Dubai) who took us to our beautiful 5-star hotel Fairmont The Palm.
During our stay in the Fairmont, our routine was pretty much the same every day. Wake up at 8am, get ready for beach & pool (plenty of sun cream as Dubai’s sun is not to be messed with!) eat as much as humanly possible from the breakfast buffet and then chill by the pool until 2pm when the sun was merciful enough to let us go out and explore.
In our afternoons and evenings out we visited the Dubai Museum at Al Fahidi Fort (built in 1787), cruised the creek in an Abra (water taxi) catching a glimpse of Dubai trading heritage before we dined at the Marina, rightfully known as the “Manhattan of Dubai”. Here we even had our very own “sex and the city moment” as we followed an estrange man down a little alleyway in search of ‘designer bags’ at the Souk…
All amazing details aside, the highlight of the trip had to be the Desert Safari and the High Tea at the Burj Khalifa.
The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world, 160 floors high and with an observation deck on the 124th floor! At the restaurant/lounge Atmosphere (located on the not-so-modest 123rd floor) we chose to indulge in the champagne high tea package. Tea is served from 15:00 to 18:00 but the last reservation is at 16:00, so we decided on the late one as we could go straight to the fountains afterwards! What we didn’t know was that we would also see the choreographed fountain show all the way from the top (ask for a table nearby when booking) as the show starts at 18:00. It’s simply a remarkable show to witness, with the fountain jets shooting water as high as 150 metres (equivalent to a 50 story building!).
The Desert Safari was booked through our lovely Travco rep Ali. He arranged for us to be picked up from the hotel at 3pm by the highly experienced, fun and caring driver Nadir. The safari took approximately 5 hrs and cost AED 310, which included crazy fun sand dune bashing (not for the faint-hearted!) a delicious BBQ dinner at the traditional Arabic camp prepared on site (best baba ganoush I have ever tasted!), Tanoura and Belly Dance shows as well as sand boarding, henna painting and a very short (but bumpy) camel ride. The cars are surprisingly comfortable 4x4’s with a great and much-needed air-con system and at the end of it all, they will bring you all the way back your hotel. Perfect if you ask me!
In conclusion, the only regret I have about going to Dubai is that we didn’t stay longer. Dubai is fantastic for the whole family with close to zero crime rate, great bars and restaurants and shopping malls to die for. Enough to make me want to go back!
If you want more information about travelling to Dubai, visit our website here
All the best,
Ally at Letsgo2
