Is Dubai Worth Visiting?

Is Dubai worth visiting? Find out all the reasons why you should visit Dubai.

The first time I visited Dubai was in 2011. Then 3 times in 2012 and I keep visiting till now. My last visit after a longer break was in December 2023 when I could see how the city changed in a few years.

Dubai, known as a city of gold, a city of fashion, a city of abundance, and glamour, a city of architecture, and a city of the future grew from the desert to the top of the world in a few years. And to the top literally with the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.

If you are wondering whether is Dubai worth visiting, I will tell you all the reasons why Dubai is worth the visit. From beaches to architecture, attractions, luxury hotels, culture, shopping, food, safety, and much more. Moreover, I will mention some drawbacks, so you will have the whole picture.

Whether you are a family, couple, solo traveler, or a group of friends, Dubai is a place to visit.

Is Dubai Worth Visiting?

Luxury accommodations, large shopping malls, beautiful beaches, relaxing desert, fine dining, amazing waterparks, sensational attractions, and sights are continuously rising in the city so you always have something to do. In Dubai, you can never be bored.

Dubai is on the top of the world with everything being the best, the biggest, the tallest. Dubai is worth visiting and here are some reasons why.

Pros Of Visiting Dubai

Extravagant Architecture

The Architecture in Dubai is one of the most extravagant in the world as they have to excel in everything they do. 

Whether it is the tallest building in the world Burj Khalifa, the largest garden Miracle Garden, the deepest pool in the world, or other attractions like Dubai Frame, Museum of the Future, Sky Views Observatory, Dubai Fountain, or Ain Dubai the biggest observatory wheel. 

The skyscrapers of different shapes are growing like mushrooms after the rain. As you know, 50 years ago, Dubai was just a desert. Now you see the tall shiny buildings all over the city.

Luxury Hotels

Dubai is well known for its most luxurious hotels. There are hotels furnished with gold and marble. You can eat golden steak or have a bath in a golden bath. 

The most luxurious and the only 7* hotel in the world is Burj Al Arab. In this hotel, some rooms have a gold bathroom, there is a Michelin-star restaurant with an aquarium around it, an infinity pool, a private beach, and much more. 

The hotel is built on a private island with a small helipad on the roof. To enter the hotel you have to be either a hotel guest or have a booked table in one of the restaurants.

Some other luxurious hotels are Armani Hotel in Burj Khalifa and Atlantis the Palm located on the man-made island of Palm Jumeirah.

Whether you choose the most luxurious hotels or less, you can be sure to have comfort, cleanliness, great food, and a high standard of customer service.

Here are some of the best hotels in the city center near Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa.

Sandy Beaches

White soft sand and lovely warm water make it the perfect relaxing destination. Besides relaxing, many beaches offer other activities like jet skiing, kitesurfing, parasailing, and renting a yacht. 

Some of the beaches are private belonging to the hotels, however, there are many free public beaches, for example, Jumeirah Beach, Marina Beach, Umm Suqeim Beach, Kite Beach, and more.

➡️Book your Yacht cruise experience HERE  

Shopping

Dubai is heaven for shopaholics. The city is equipped with many amazing malls where you can spend the whole day. 

It wouldn’t be Dubai if they didn’t build one of the largest malls in the world, Dubai Mall. Dubai Mall is a huge mall with many designer shops and middle-range shops, restaurants, a cinema, an ice rink, an aquarium, several amusement parks and an entrance to the Burj Khalifa is also from this mall.

In front of the mall, you can watch the Dubai Fountain, which is a must-see when visiting Dubai.

The second largest mall in Dubai is the Mall of the Emirates, where you also have many shops, restaurants, a cinema, a game center, and a ski center. Yes, you read it right. Ski Dubai is a skiing center with a chairlift built inside the shopping mall. 

Whether you want to go shopping, watch a movie, play games, do some sports, eat, or just wander around, you have plenty of options in the malls in Dubai.

There are many more shopping malls in Dubai, for example, Marina Mall, Ibn Battuta Mall, Dubai Festival City, Wafi City, Dragon Mart, City Centre Mirdif, and Deira City Centre.

There are also many outlets where you can buy designer clothes for less, for example, Dubai Outlet Mall and Brands for less.

Fun and Adrenaline activities

Fun and adrenaline belong to Dubai. There are so many attractions for fun and also adrenalin activities you can experience in Dubai.

There are several water parks, Wild Wadi, Aquaventure, Aquafan, Splash ‘n’ Party Kids Waterpark, Legoland Water Park, and Splash Pad.

If you like rollercoasters or playing games, visit IMG Worlds of Adventure, Magic Planet, Bollywood, Motiongate Parks, Legoland, and many more to have lots of fun.

Besides the parks, you can go skiing, ice skating, camel riding, dune bashing, sandboarding, swimming with dolphins, going to pool parties, nightclubs, and cinema.

If you are an adrenalin junkie, you can choose from ziplining, skydiving, diving in the deepest pool in the world, or diving in a Dubai Aquarium with sharks.

International City

Dubai is an international city with 90% of people living here being expats. So even though Dubai is a Muslim city, you don’t really feel it as you are meeting people from all over the world of different nationalities.

You can tell it is an international city due to the fashion, food, and art, and feel that you taste a bit from each corner of the world. The big plus is the location of Dubai in the world. Dubai became a connection hub among countries and also built the most successful airline Emirates Airline.

Fine Dining

I have to say that Dubai excels in food. Whether you eat in a Micheline star restaurant or a small restaurant, you won’t be disappointed.

Moreover, as Dubai is a multicultural city, you can find food from each corner of the world. You can eat Lebanese, Indian, Italian, Thai, Chinese, anything you desire, you will find it here.

For Lebanese cuisine head to Abd El Wahab in Souk Al Bahar with a stunning view of the Dubai Fountain and Burj Khalifa. 

You definitely must try shawarma and Arabic sweets like baklava, basbosa, kunafa, and more. The prices of food in smaller restaurants or food courts are very reasonable.

Sometimes we could find lower prices than in Europe. However, the more luxurious the restaurant, the higher the prices. For pizza lovers, Pizza Hut is the best.

Old Traditional Dubai

Dubai is not only about new, shiny, and extravagant.  There is also part of Dubai that keeps the old tradition and culture. This part of Dubai is the Old Dubai with districts like Bur Dubai or Deira that you should visit.

In Deira, you will find many souks like the Gold Souk or Spice Souk. In Bur Dubai, visit Al Bastakiya District which is the oldest area of Dubai. Continue to Al Seef which will take you back in time with sandstone buildings and alleys.

To boost your experience even more take a ride on Dubai Creek by traditional Abra boat, which costs only 1 AED.

To see all that Old Dubai has to offer, take a guided tour where you will receive a lot of information about the culture and you will not miss any part of it.

➡️Book a guided tour of Old Dubai HERE

Safety and Cleanliness

Dubai is an extremely safe city. It is actually one of the safest cities in the world. Obviously, there is some crime happening, but compared to other countries it is very low due to strict rules.

I traveled to Dubai alone or with a friend and I always felt safe. I went out at night and walked on the streets without being worried. In Europe, I would not do that. There are no drug addicts, drunks, or homeless on the streets.

Streets are extremely clean, as well as parks and all shopping malls. The responsible cleaners clean all the areas throughout the day.

If you travel as a solo female, read my article here.

Nature

Now you are probably asking, what nature? There is no nature in Dubai, everything is fake. This is not true. Dubai has a beautiful desert. I totally fell in love with it.

When you have enough of the hustle and bustle of the city, just go to the desert. Sitting in the desert surrounded by sand, the peace is a balsam on your mind and body.

You probably didn’t know, but there are also mountains in Dubai and the surrounding Emirates. So if you are more of a nature lover and hiker, you have many places to go to.

Cons Of Visiting Dubai

Even though there are hundreds of reasons to visit Dubai, let me mention a few disadvantages that you may be facing while making your decision whether or not to visit Dubai. In any case, the advantages greatly outweigh the disadvantages.

Expensive

Dubai can get very expensive if you don’t do your research. For example, there are hotels in different price categories you can choose from. There are different kinds of restaurants, where you can pay a high amount or eat for a reasonable price. 

Traveling by public transportation is cheaper than using taxes, while taxes are cheaper than Uber in Dubai.

If you travel during the high peak season, which is December and January, the prices of the hotels will be the highest as well as of the flight tickets.

➡️You can also save money on attractions by buying the Dubai city pass HERE

Conservative

As Dubai is a city in a Muslim country despite being very international, it is still a bit conservative and some rules need to be followed. 

For example dress code for women. Even women wear almost what they want, you should still respect the culture and not wear shorts that show more than is necessary. The exception is nightclubs. For more about the dress code in Dubai, check my article here.

You can’t drink alcohol and be wild and drunk on the streets. During the Holy month of Ramadan, you should not eat and drink on the streets during the daytime.  For more rules, see my article here.

Not Walkable

Dubai is not a very walkable city like cities in Europe where you can easily walk around. Dubai is spread over a large area and almost everywhere you must go by public transportation or car. 

There are certainly places where you can walk, like Marina, Downtown, or parks, however, to get there you need to use transportation.

Weather

While on the one hand, the weather in Dubai can be one of the good things as there is sunshine the whole year around, it can be a bad thing during a few months.

In the summer, starting from mid-June until mid-September, the temperatures rise to 40-50 degrees Celsius/104-122 degrees Fahrenheit and it is impossible to stay outside. During these months you can enjoy mostly indoor activities where there is AC.

Click here to see when is the worst time to visit Dubai

Busy

During my last visit in 2023, I realized how busy Dubai is. Even though there were always some traffic jams in the past years, this time it was much more.

We were many times on different roads stuck in traffic. Even the metro was crowded most of the time, whereas before it was usually empty.

I totally understand, Dubai has become a very popular city and many expats moved here, plus a lot of tourists visit Dubai the whole year round, especially in the winter, so the city gets busier.

With more hotels and residential buildings built each year, the city became more crowded.

Also, what you should be careful about are people on bicycles and scooters that ride on pavements. This used to be forbidden but now they are everywhere and not everyone is driving safely.

I understand that it is more convenient as the roads are full of cars and the city is spread over a large area which makes it difficult to go on foot.

Is Dubai Worth The Visit?: FAQs

Now you know all the reasons why Dubai is worth visiting as well as some drawbacks. Here are a few more answers to questions you may have.

How many days in Dubai is enough?

How many days in Dubai is enough depends on what you want to do there and what you want to see. If you just want to visit the main attractions, then 4-5 days is enough.

However, if you want to spend some days on the beach and see more things in peace and not rush, then 10 days would be ideal.

In Dubai, there is always something to do and you can’t be bored even if you stay for three weeks. There are fun and adrenalin activities to do as well as relaxing to rejuvenate your body and soul.

Is Dubai a good tourist destination?

Dubai is absolutely a good tourist destination. Whether you love to relax on the beach, swim and practice water sports and adrenalin activities, do sightseeing, have fun, or taste different kinds of food, you will find it all in Dubai.

And with many luxury hotels, you will be pampered throughout your stay.

Is visiting Dubai safe for women?

Dubai is one of the safest cities in the world. Even if you are traveling as a solo female traveler or as a group of girlfriends, Dubai is very safe during the day and night. 

However, no matter how safe the city is, you should behave responsibly and use common sense.  Moreover, in Dubai, you should follow the rules of the country, so you don’t get in trouble.

Conclusion: Is Dubai Worth Visiting?

So is Dubai worth visiting? In my opinion, it absolutely is. Imagine staying in a luxury hotel, relaxing on the beach, eating delicious food, walking through old Dubai, admiring the amazing architecture, having fun, and unwinding in the desert during sunset.

Doesn’t it sound like a dream? Your dream can become a reality in Dubai. Don’t wait any longer, plan your trip and go to Dubai. Or as people in Dubai say: “Habibi come to Dubai.”