2024 May Day Holiday: 7 Days 6 Nights in Dubai, Independent Travel

2024 May Day Holiday: 7 Days 6 Nights in Dubai, Independent Travel

Day 1: Hong Kong - Dubai

Arrived at 11 PM (local time), stayed at Holiday Inn opposite T3. Following the shuttle bus signs in the arrival hall, it was easy to find the hotel shuttle bus stop, with buses every half hour.

Day 2: Dubai Mall - Burj Khalifa - Gold Souk - Old Town

Sometimes there were taxis waiting outside Holiday Inn; if not, we could ask the front desk to call one. After breakfast, we took a taxi to the hotel in the city center to drop off our luggage.

The hotel was the Damac Hotel next to Dubai Mall, separated by a small mall and Chinatown, very close. It was convenient to go to Dubai Mall for meals, shopping, watching the fountain show, and the Burj Khalifa light show.

The entrance to Burj Khalifa is under Dubai Mall; it's easy to find 'At the Top' following the signs; there are many information desks in the mall.

Right opposite the entrance of the Gold Souk is the Dubai Creek boat boarding point, with tickets at 2 dirhams, directly to the old town on the other side.

After leaving the old town, we didn't see any taxis, so we called an Uber to go back to the hotel, which was very convenient.

Day 3: Hotel - Museum of the Future - Jumeirah Beach - Dubai Mall

That morning (May 2), we had originally booked a desert safari, but it rained heavily and was canceled; Ctrip refunded the full amount on the same day. In the afternoon, we rebooked a morning desert safari on Ctrip for the next day, but before the order was confirmed, the local guide we had contacted earlier already messaged us to confirm the next day's pick-up time. Kudos to Ctrip and the local guide.

We took a taxi to Jumeirah Beach; the driver said there are several Jumeirah beaches (we hadn't done our homework). We asked him to take us to the one shown on Baidu Maps. The environment was nice, with a view of the Burj Al Arab. Many locals were swimming and sunbathing, but few tourists. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my swimsuit. Later, when we took a helicopter, I saw that this beach is not the closest to the Burj Al Arab; there is another beach in between with a better photo angle.

Day 4: Desert Safari - Palm Jumeirah

For the desert safari, the guide reconfirmed the pick-up time after 10 PM the night before. The driver arrived very punctually, two or three minutes early, very professional, thumbs up. After arriving at the camp, since we had booked a package that included a self-drive quad bike (ordering on Ctrip was indeed cheaper than on-site), the driver asked if we wanted to upgrade to the open area for quad biking. We thought it was too expensive and didn't upgrade; later we realized it wasn't necessary. The restricted area for quad biking was enough; both adults and kids enjoyed it. Then we rode camels, but the route was very short, just a symbolic lap. That was enough for the kids to experience it. The most thrilling part was the dune bashing in the off-road vehicle, speeding up the dunes and doing tail slides when coming down. The driver was very professional, took photos for us the whole time, and gave us chilled bottled water when we left. We returned to the hotel before noon.

In the afternoon, we went to Palm Jumeirah and checked into W Dubai. After check-in, they said the room wasn't ready yet and we would be notified by phone. So we walked around and noticed the restaurant was open. We asked the front desk and found out it was a free afternoon tea with a rich variety. The beach was man-made, so the sand was average, a bit prickly, but the seawater was very clear, and we could see fish in the water. The hotel's seaside promenade was very beautiful, an excellent spot to watch the sunset. The sunset over the Persian Gulf was stunning. The room had a view of the skydive area.

Day 5: Palm Jumeirah Helicopter - Abu Dhabi - Ferrari World

We booked a helicopter ride at 10 AM. The boarding point was in the parking lot next to Atlantis Hotel, about 3 km away; it was easy to take a taxi there.

In the afternoon, we arranged with a Sri Lankan Uber driver from earlier to take us to Abu Dhabi for 350 dirhams (much cheaper without using the platform).

After checking into the hotel, we took a taxi to Ferrari World. It was Saturday, so it was quite crowded. The recommended roller coaster is a must-ride; I'd never been on such a long roller coaster, and it was thrilling. Outside the park is Ferrari Mall, convenient for meals.

Day 6: Abu Dhabi - Louvre Abu Dhabi - Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque - Presidential Palace - Dubai

The Louvre and the Presidential Palace open at 10 AM and require tickets. There weren't many people, so we could buy tickets at the entrance. If you like museums, it's recommended to allocate more time for the Louvre. The mosque is free; you can scan a QR code on your phone to register and enter with the QR code. For the return to Dubai, the same Uber driver picked us up. We stayed near T1 and went to the largest nearby mall in the evening (ask the hotel front desk), which locals visit. The Carrefour inside was large; we took a taxi to go back and forth.

Day 7: Dubai - Hong Kong - Shenzhen

In the morning, we took the hotel shuttle bus to T3. 10:45 AM Dubai, 10 PM Hong Kong, 11:50 PM passed through Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint, just before closing at midnight. Perfect!

Tips:

1. Entering Dubai is very convenient; no arrival card required, customs officers are friendly and even say a few broken 'hello' and 'goodbye'.

2. Emirates airline meals are very generous, especially on the return flight; they served kids first, gave small gifts, and took free photos.

3. Hotel breakfast: most hotels are not strict about who enters; our group of two adults and two kids booked one room and all four of us went for breakfast.

4. The 'Exit Easy' mini-program: our family uses Huawei phones and couldn't download Uber or Google, but we downloaded 'Exit Easy' in China, which includes maps and Uber.

5. Baidu Translate: my English is average, CET-4 level, vocabulary okay (passed CET-6 but not high). With Baidu Translate, everything was smooth.

6. Tickets: Dubai's attractions are not overcrowded (compared to China), and you can usually buy tickets at the entrance.

7. Food: If you don't like local food, go to the supermarket deli section; it's varied and cheap.

8. Abu Dhabi: For a day trip, it's recommended to only visit the Louvre, Presidential Palace, and Mosque; time is sufficient. Ferrari World, Warner Bros. World, and Aquaventure are optional; China has larger theme parks.

9. Late checkout: We needed late checkout twice; both times the front desk allowed us to extend until 2 PM.

10. Internet data: We bought a Skyroam data package on our Huawei phone in China; it activated automatically upon arrival, very convenient.