I have just returned from Dubai. It was a great holiday.
The flight went well and it was nice having use of the airport lounge.
We were told on the way to the hotel that they were letting us have early check in which saves us waiting till 2pm. We got to the hotel about 9am but still couldnt check in till 11. This would have been a good time to have an orientation tour or something that saved us waiting 2 hours before we could have our room. some people got their rooms earlier than others.
As soon as i got my room i went to the pool for the sun! some people did the same and others wondered round the hotel. That evening we had a Dhow cruise which was excellent! good food and saw the skyline all lit up. A very nice welcome to Dubai,
The next day was a long day. we first went to a museum which we arrived at the same time as the other tours so maybe we should have gone slightly earlier as it was very busy. we then went on a short boat ride to the gold and spice souk. The group was asked if they would prefer to explore the gold or spice souk. We picked the gold. We did briefly see the spice souk. We had only 20 mins here but it was enough time unless you actually wanted to buy something, we then went to museum number 2 and then museum number 3 and then another souk and then another museum and when told we had 2 more souks to go to the group said we only wanted to see one more. We then spent an hour at the last souk. This day could have been spread out more and maybe a few less souks etc.
We went to the Burj Khalifa and Dubai mall. we only had an hour to go to the viewing floor and had lunch so we didn't have much time shopping. We also caught the mono rail to the palm. We didn't have a sky view of the palm.
The desert safari was BBQ was the highlight of my holiday. The food was excellent and it was a very nice evening,
Abu Dhabi - Unless you really want to see the mosque then there isnt much point doing this trip. However the clothing is very strict. Women need a head scarf and long sleeves and long trousers. I was unable to go in the mosque as i was wearing white trousers. The local tour guide ok'd them before leaving the hotel but there was 2 of us who was not allowed in. Men were allowed to wear shorts below the knee and short sleeves.
Overall it was a very good holiday but hopefully the comments from the first group will improve it sightly
xx