Dubai is the city people from Baku travel to most, and the reason is obvious. There is a three-hour direct flight and no visa is required. On top of that, sunshine all year and the largest shopping centres in the world are waiting for you. But precisely because it is easy, a trip to Dubai is often put together without thinking, and the budget comes out double. You book a hotel in the wrong district, you take a taxi everywhere, you sit in a resort restaurant every evening. In the end people come home saying Dubai is expensive. What is expensive is not Dubai but the lack of a plan. This article is for first-timers and for anyone saying “this time I will do it properly”: choosing a district, the metro, the safari, Abu Dhabi, the rules, the season and the ways to keep hold of your money.
Dubai in brief
| Country | United Arab Emirates; capital Abu Dhabi |
| Language | Arabic; English everywhere, Russian widespread in tourism |
| Currency | Dirham (AED), 1 dollar = 3.67 dirhams; cards everywhere |
| Visa | 90 days visa-free for citizens of Azerbaijan, passport valid 6 months |
| Best time | November–March; 45 degrees June–August |
| Flight | Baku–Dubai direct, AZAL, flydubai, Emirates, 3 hours |
| Daily budget | 400–600 dirhams at a mid-range level |
The districts of Dubai: where to stay?
Choosing a district is half the trip, and a first-time visitor does not know that. Downtown is the area around Burj Khalifa, the Dubai Mall and the fountains; it is close to everything, but expensive. The Marina and JBR are for the sea, the promenade and the restaurants, and families with children stay there most often. Palm Jumeirah is resort hotels, far from the city, and every outing means a taxi — people go there to rest, not to sightsee.
Deira and Bur Dubai are the old side of the city, and Dubai’s cheapest hotels are there too. The gold souk and the spice souk sit next to each other, and you cross the creek between them in a wooden boat called an abra. You often hear Azerbaijani in the street, and our restaurants are in that district as well. From there the metro gets you to any point in the city in thirty minutes.
Jumeirah is the area of beach villas and the Burj Al Arab — somewhere to look at rather than to stay. The formula for protecting your budget really comes down to one sentence: take a hotel next to a metro station. Deira and Business Bay are the two districts that fit that condition best. If you travel by metro during the day, calling a taxi once in the evening is enough.
Getting around Dubai: metro, taxi and car
The metro is driverless, clean and cheap. The red line crosses the whole city from the airport through Deira, Downtown, Business Bay and out to the Marina; a ride is 3–8 dirhams and the Nol card is sold at every station. If you arrive at midnight with a child and suitcases, a transfer that meets you is easier than looking for the metro. The carriages have a separate section for women, while “gold class” is twice the price and is not worth it. Taxis run on a meter, RTA taxis and the Careem app both work, and Deira to the Marina is 60–80 dirhams. There are buses, but waiting at a stop in the heat is a trial.
Renting a car is 100–150 dirhams a day, fuel is cheap and the roads are wide. Just know one thing: speed cameras are everywhere, and the fines arrive through the rental company after you are back in Baku — people sometimes pay more in fines than for the hotel. Alongside your Azerbaijani licence, get an international one. The bus to Abu Dhabi is 25 dirhams and two hours.
What to see: Burj Khalifa, a safari, Abu Dhabi
Book your Burj Khalifa ticket for the sunset slot and be sure to take it in advance. For the one hundred and twenty-fourth floor the price is between 170 and 250 dirhams, while buying on the spot works out about twice as expensive. The evening slots fill quickly, so the ticket should be locked in as soon as your dates are fixed.
The desert safari is an evening programme and they pick you up from in front of your hotel and bring you back. After the jeep ride over the dunes come a camel ride, a barbecue and a dance programme, all included in one price, and it costs 150–250 dirhams a head. Taking it online both comes out cheaper and lets you read the operator’s reviews beforehand.
The city’s cheapest pleasure is the abra boat on the creek — the crossing is one dirham. Walking around the gold and spice souks is completely free and makes a good evening programme. In the winter months the Miracle Garden flower park and Global Village are open, and both come alive after the sun goes down.
Abu Dhabi is a day trip and is two hours from Dubai. Entry to the Sheikh Zayed mosque is free, while the desert branch of the Louvre is sixty dirhams, and for anyone going with children Ferrari World is a programme of its own. For shopping, the Dubai Mall and the Mall of the Emirates are the classic choice, while anyone looking for a cheap option should look at the Deira souks and Dragon Mart.
Food and rules
Dubai has every cuisine in the world, but the cheap and good food is in the Indian, Pakistani and Arab restaurants. In Deira and Karama a shawarma is 8 dirhams and a biryani 20, while the same biryani in a hotel restaurant is 80. Everything is halal. Do not drink the tap water; bottled water is cheap.
As for the rules, do not treat them as a joke. Alcohol in a public place, a rude gesture or swearing can end in a fine or even arrest. During Ramadan, eating and drinking in the open during the day is considered disrespectful. Some medicines, especially sedatives and strong painkillers, cause problems even with a prescription — check the list before you fly. Beach clothing is for the beach and the pool only; in a shopping centre shoulders and knees must be covered.
Season and weather
From November to March the weather is 22–30 degrees and perfect, and it is also the most expensive period, especially the Christmas, New Year and Novruz weeks. The Shopping Festival runs in January and Global Village from December to April. April and October are transitional months: hot weather but lower prices. From June to September it is 40–45 degrees and humid, life happens in air conditioning, but five-star hotels come down to half price and there are summer discounts, which is exactly when families who can bear the heat go. The calendar of events and festivals is on the Visit Dubai portal.
Budget: what Dubai costs and how to protect it
The cost of staying varies by up to three times depending on the district. In Deira a three-star hotel is 200–300 dirhams a night, in the Marina a four-star is 500–700, and on the Palm a five-star starts at twelve hundred. Staying on the metro line cuts the taxi cost roughly in half, so choosing your hotel by the station is the simplest way to save.
As for daily spending, 100–150 dirhams for food and thirty for transport by metro is enough. So, excluding the flight, a five-day trip fits into 2500–4000 dirhams a head. There are several flights a day from Baku, and a cheap ticket to Dubai is usually found by comparing the flydubai and AZAL options. Lock in the New Year and Novruz dates two or three months ahead, because prices rise sharply in those weeks. For anyone travelling as a family, Dubai tour packages give you the hotel, the transfer and the safari together and often come out cheaper than buying them separately.
Frequently asked questions about Dubai
How many days are enough for Dubai?
Four or five days. Give two days to the city and one to the desert safari. Give one day to Abu Dhabi. Save the last day for the sea and shopping.
Is Dubai good with children?
It is one of the best family destinations: water parks, an aquarium, Legoland and safe beaches. In summer, though, only the air-conditioned places remain.
Can you cross from Dubai into Oman or Saudi Arabia?
Yes. You cross into Oman by land with an eVisa and into Saudi Arabia by air with an eVisa, and when you return to the UAE you enter visa-free again.
Finally
With the right district, a metro card and the right season, Dubai is one of the best-value foreign trips from Baku; with the wrong plan, the most expensive. The entry rules are gathered on the UAE page, and to put the hotel and route plan together with us, fill in the application form.
Note: the prices in this article are those at the time of publication and may change with the season.
