All our Practical & planning guides for Dubai, in one place.
Dubai separates public decency law, venue dress codes at mosques and malls, and beach norms. Here is what each one actually asks of you before you land.
How entering Dubai works: who gets a visa on arrival, who applies in advance, passport validity, what customs restricts, and rules that surprise visitors.
When to visit Dubai: the cool high season, the scorching summer, the shoulder months, and how heat, crowds, prices and Ramadan shape your dates.
Planning your first trip to Dubai? When to go, which area to stay in, how the visa works for your passport, how to get around, and local etiquette.
Ramadan falls in Dubai peak season in 2027. Restaurants stay open, hotel bars serve, and the city quietens by day and wakes after sunset. What changes.
Weeks of sales, raffles and late openings across the malls in the cool season. When it runs, what really drops in price, and whether to move your dates.
The UAE refunds most of the VAT on shopping taken out of the country. Who qualifies, the minimum spend, what is excluded, and the airport step people miss.
The metro is cheap and cold but misses the beaches, and Dubai taxis cost less than expected. How fares work and why the answer depends on where you sleep.
Why almost every Dubai bar is attached to a hotel, what the weekend change did to brunch, rooftops against beach clubs, dress codes, and one fixed rule.
The city runs two price levels in parallel. Where the metro, souks and beaches keep costs down, where alcohol and attractions raise them, and a budget.
Dubai is not dry, but the rules are specific and the penalties are real. How the tourist liquor permit works, where drinking is legal, and lines to avoid.
Dubai eats in four registers, from a five dirham paratha to a tasting menu with a view. How to read the scene by area and how lunch opens expensive rooms.
Driving here is easy, cheap and heavily automated: the licence rules by nationality, how Salik tolls and speed cameras work, and the surprise deposit.
Dubai Summer Surprises turns the hottest months into the cheapest time to shop. When DSS runs, where the real bargains are, and how to beat 45C heat.
Four hours, eight hours or overnight: whether to leave the airport at all, what fits into the time, and the visa question that decides it.
A long term residence permit tied to a qualifying property investment: how the route works in outline, what it does not give you, and why to check sources.
A driverless metro along the city spine, a tram at the Marina, abras across the Creek and taxis for gaps: how to get around Dubai without renting a car.
Two airports, three terminals and four sensible ways into the city: what the metro, taxis, ride hailing and hotel transfers cost you in time and hassle.
Healthcare here is private and billed, and the activities people book are the ones basic policies exclude: dune bashing, quad bikes, diving and hire cars.
Police 999, ambulance 998, fire 997 and the non emergency line 901: the numbers to save, how hospitals and pharmacies work, and laws visitors trip over.