Dubai
Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai.
It is on a creek on the southeastern coast of the Persian Gulf. As of 2025, its population stands at 4 million, 92% of whom are expatriates. The wider urban area includes Sharjah and has a population of 5 million people as of 2023, while the Dubai–Sharjah–Ajman metropolitan area has a population of 6 million people.
Getting to Dubai
See the Get in section for the United Arab Emirates for visa and customs regulations. Dubai is a five-hour flight from Europe and three hours from most parts of the Middle East, the Near East, and the Indian subcontinent. Dubai's main airport is the Dubai International Airport (DXB IATA).
- 01Dubai International Airport
This is the largest hub in the Middle East and the home base of Dubai's flag carrier Emirates and its low-cost wing flydubai.
- 02Sharjah International Airport
It is 30 min by road from Dubai and takes an increasing number of international flights as Dubai Airport struggles to keep up with demand.
- 03Zayed International Airport
E102 bus service connects Dubai (Ibn Battuta Bus Station) directly with Abu Dhabi Airport.
Worth seeing
Dubai is a mixture of old and new, traditional and modern. From old traditional souks and historical buildings (now being preserved for cultural reasons or already part of the national heritage) to modern Dubai's overwhelming shopping malls, incredible artificial islands and giant modern skyscrapers that include the world's tallest building, Dubai is a world in itself and offers plenty of wonderful attractions.
Things to do
Abra ride. A boat ride is best done at night in the cool weather and to enjoy the city lights. Abras can be hired for a private tour (for a price negotiable with the driver, but usually very cheap). This is quite a popular activity at sunset on a clear day, particularly if the driver is able to enliven the tour with stories about the structures on either side of the Creek.
Where to eat
Shawarma is the most available food item on almost all streets (and cheap) in Dubai. It is the Arabic equivalent of the burger. It is meat that has been cooked on a skewer and then cut into thin strips and placed into a kuhbus (pita) bread with vegetables and dressing. There is the plain-jane variety and the more exotic Lebanese and Iranian varieties.
Getting around Dubai the local way
- Get inDubai is a trading hub for dhows from around the Indian Ocean.
- Get inMost of the dhows sail to Iran; some also head to Yemen and Somalia.
- Get inEmulating Michael Palin and heading to India on a dhow is difficult-to-impossible.
- Get aroundAn easy way of crossing Dubai Creek is by abra, a small ferry.
- Get aroundThe Creek is also the home of many boats offering more comfortable (and correspondingly more expensive) tours, often in boats designed to resemble dhows.
- Get aroundVehicles range from small 10– 15-seat minibuses to large air-conditioned coaches designed for longer trips within Dubai or to nearby emirates.
From Wikivoyage: Dubai, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Phil6007 (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons.
