Dubai Travel Answers

Yes you can do both, though the Jumeirah Beach hotel is a good distance away from the airport, about half an hour by car. Closer to the airport is the Deira City Center, a prime shopping mall. If you're going to see Burj Khalifa, you can also visit Dubai Mall which is right there. It's the best mall in Dubai right now.

Depending upon your arrival time- yes, its possible (but only Burj Khalifa) Beware that the traffic situation at peak hour time is horrendous- and the airport is a long way from city. Make sure that you have enough time to catch your connecting flight. Incidentally- Dubai Airport has many facilities, lounges, shopping,restuarants etc if you decide to stay in transit.

Thanks all for your information. Can anyone how much would it cost by taxi from Airport Terminal 3 to the Dubai Mall? If I just want to take a photo of Jumeirah, how long does it take from the Dubai Mall to there, by taxi, and how much? And how long does it take from the airport? As I will be arriving on Friday morning at 4:30am, do you think is possible for me to get to Jumeriah to take a picture first (in the early morning) and then revert back to Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall by 9am so that I can get the 10:00am ticket to get up to the tower? And can I take the metro back from Burj Khalifa back to the airport? How long does it take for the metro journey? Sorry that I have so many questions, but I don't want to just walk around in Dubai airport since I will have another time during my inbound journey back home. Thx a lot.

A quick correction - the airport is actually in the city, only about 7 kilometres from the city centre. Dubai is now really two distinct parts - the original city and New Dubai. Burj Khalifa and the new developments, including the beach hotels, are in New Dubai. If you don't have large luggage you can use the Metro to get around to some of the places. Otherwise there's the BigBus hop-on hop-off tours or taxis, which are plentiful, well regulated, metered, air conditioned. You should be clear of the airport formalities, and the long walks, at maybe 5.30 or 6am. Nothing is open at that time so you may want to get a taxi out to see Burj Al Arab hotel, then you could go into the adjacent Madinat Jumeirah for coffee and breakfast. I assume that by 'Jumeirah' hotel you mean Burj Al Arab (the seven star hotel)? There are plenty of photo opportunities in this area. You can get a taxi from there to Burj Khalifa (you can easily do that by 9am) and spend some time looking round the Old Town area too. In my opinion the only things worth seeing in Dubai Mall are the aquarium and the gold souk, otherwise it's just yet another shopping mall with all the usual shops. Airport taxis have a AED20 surcharge, and the fare is charged by meter. To Burj Al Arab it would be about AED60 or 70 in total. Early morning the traffic isn't bad, it should take about half an hour. There's a Metro station at Burj Khalifa and another at Terminal 3 (Emirates' terminal). It will take less than half an hour. I recommend that you not only see the new parts but also go into the heart of the city, to see the Creek and the souks. I suggest you do that after your visit to Burj Khalifa, have a stroll around the gold and spice souks, see the dhows on the Creek, then get a taxi to the airport, which will only take ten or fifteen minutes.

My apologies, Colin. We stayed with my cousin, who must live in New Dubai- it took us ages to get to the airport, and traffic was very busy. Your reply covers it all......

Sorry to contradict you Lynne :-) You're right, New Dubai can be a bit of a haul from the airport, especially in morning peak traffic. But it's actually much better now, with many new roads and interchanges open and with less traffic anyway as a lot of people have moved back to Dubai from Sharjah since rents came down.

Thanks Colin for your detailed explanation. As we will be in transit, hence we won't be carrying our lugguages with us. I am very eager to experience my 12 hrs in Dubai. BTW, as I know Friday is being counted as weekend in Dubai, where actually I found metro won't be running until 2pm, will stores be opening on Friday morning?

Shops open a bit later on Fridays, some don't open at all. You can expect the shops in the malls to begin opening from about 10am, although the supermarkets and hypermarkets usually open around 8 or 8.30am. You're right, currently the Metro doesn't start operating until the afternoon on Fridays.

Hello from Dubai! Wow Colin, your answer really covered everything :-) As Colin said, the malls open at 10am but most of the shops only open around midday or even a bit later. Restaurants and cafes, however, are open. You could have breakfast at the Dubai Mall which is great for taking photos of Burj Khalifa (world's tallest tower). I recommend either MORE Cafe or Carluccio's. These are all located on the Lower Ground floor near the Food court. You could also have a look around the Dubai Aquarium whilst you're there (I'm assuming you'll be visiting soon, and it's way too hot to sit / walk around outside.) The Aquarium opens at 10am. There's a great interactive map on www.dubaimall.com