Dubai was such an incredible and amazing experience.
It is hard to believe some people suggest only spending 4-5 days there
We've learnt a lot about the city and we wanted to put together a list of
10 things you should know if you are planning a trip to Dubai
that is going to make your time there much more memorable and much more enjoyable
The first thing we wanted to address - because we have received this question a lot
was... Is Dubai Safe?
Actually, Dubai is one of the safest cities in the world,
...and, it has very strict rules and being monitored by a lot of videos all over the city
It still felt extremely safe no matter where we were in Dubai,
from the new touristic side to old Dubai
There was never a moment that we were worried about our safety
So then, the next few things we are going to talk about is stuff to know before you go to Dubai.
and the first one up is going to be the currency
In Dubai, they use what's called the "Dirham"
and one US Dollar is equivalent to 3.67 AED
That rate stays pretty consistent so you don't have to worry about fluctuations when you are there.
and of course, we like to use our Charles Schwabs account to take money out of any ATM
in the entire world, including Dubai, and get ATM rate rebated
If you feel fancy enough, and if you can effort to do it;
you can also withdraw Gold from the ATMs in Dubai.
So, having a rich city with a big Gold Souk.. that was something we didn't expect to be able to do so
Right, but I am pretty sure there's very specific ones that do the gold,
It's just you cant walk up to every one and get Gold.
Next thing is plugs...
Well.. good news for UK travelers because...
Dubai actually use the same exact plugs that UK use which is type G.
Believe it or not, that was actually my first time seeing a UK plug,
never been to the United Kingdom before, definitely have to fix that!
...but makes sense because the highest population of tourists is coming from the UK probably!
and next one is the visa and residency in Dubai.
For UK and US citizens, it is allowed to
visit Dubai for 30 days with no visa requirements,
but in order for you to double check with your own country regulations,
we are going to leave a link below, so you can see what your visa requirements are
and there is a very high population of residence living in Dubai
which is taking up to 80% of entire city!
Even though the official language is Arabic for the UAE
Every single sign is also in English,
and the taxi drivers there have to know an advance level of English,
so there was really never an issue of being able to get around the city
Of course!
Next one is what to pack for Dubai?
Dubai was a desert 20 years ago
and its still a desert...
so maybe avoid going during the Summer months!
It hits like 50 degree (in Celcius) = 120 degrees in Fahrenheit at some of the points
Really really hot!
In December and January, you may actually want to bring a sweater
and definitely a pair of pants when you go to Dubai,
because it could drop down to 18 Celsius at night- about 60 Fahrenheit
in the "winter" of Dubai
and in terms of dressing up, your Westernized clothes are totally fine
we saw a lot of people from different backgrounds and religions
coexist peacefully next to each other without judging each other.
Now you are fully packed and you've made it to Dubai,
and you want to know how to get around,
how to get to and from the airport.
They actually have two ride hailing apps;
Uber and Kareem!
Kareem is a Middle Eastern version of Uber, it works exactly the same way
you load in your credit card or you can even pay it in cash!
and Kareem even works with Dubai's registered taxis
and Kareem is actually a bit cheaper
but other than the cabs, we actually used the trains a lot!
we really enjoyed how clean and how nice and convenient the train system was in Dubai
what I liked at most was during the rush hours, women and children can be using different cars than the other crowds
so they wont be disturbed
that goes back into the safety, Gokce felt completely safe on that women only car
as a solo female traveler going to Dubai you don't have to worry about using the metro system
at its most crowded point and yes they strictly enforce that too, there's cameras there as well
if I went on to the women only car, I would be ticketed so, don't do that!
and they also have private cars, they are called "Gold Class" I believe
they have leather seats as we heard
We haven't tried them yet, but by paying for that VIP train cars, you can actually have an access to those too.
Dubai also has bus service, but we didn't get a chance to use that
we've stuck with the metro and a cab.
and in terms of the question of "Where to stay in Dubai?"
of course the glamorous and luxurious side of Dubai will be very attractive to stay
and if you can effort for it, of course, go for it!
because it has really nice hotels
but we also recommend staying at the old Dubai side if you want to make it a little more efficient
because the hotels are still very nice, clean, and convenient!
It was just a little over $50 USD Dollars a night to stay in the Old Dubai area so much more affordable
and if you plan it out right and stay near a metro station you could get around to the rest of Dubai about 30 min or less
No worries about getting to all the sites in Dubai if you want to stay in the old town
it's really super convenient!
In terms of the Emirati food, it actually blew our minds
because we didn't expect to have such variety of delicious options
We actually have a video about that you will see it somewhere around here!
We will find it eventually!
Spoiler alert! We tried camel burger,
but there are really different and delicious options that you can also try!
So then, getting into a few things that you need to be aware of in Dubai
that are different than Western societies
Alcohol is not permitted to be sold at supermarkets at all
you could purchase it at the hotel that you are staying at,
or you could go to two specific stores that we are going to link down in our description,
you have to sign up for a license there,
and then they will be able to sell you alcohol after you register with them
another thing that is not allowed is the video calls
during our stay there we weren't allowed to use Whatsapp, Facebook, video calls.
but lately, because of Covid and, of course, remote working situation,
now Dubai allows having Zoom calls & Skype calls and a few more apps I believe.
but it made change, because we also read that there are some conversations going on
but another thing that you can't really do in public is going to be showing affection.
Kissing in public, holding hands.. they could lead to tickets and fines.
So just be careful about that as well
and also, videos and photos in public!
Yeah, you are not allowed to take peoples' pictures and videos without permissions,
so that's why when we were going around and asking questions to people, we always ask their permission
Sorry, do you mind if we..?
Yeah no no no, that's fine, yeah!
Just be careful about people's privacy in Dubai
What about chewing a gum, can we chew a gum?
You can chew it in a public place, but like metro...
Oh yeah no eating in the metro I read
Oh yeah eating and chewing a gum...
So then last up the 10 things that you want to know before going to Dubai
part digital nomad, part just general information;
First off, the WIFI is blazing fast in Dubai!
It was pretty nice to be able to upload our YouTube videos pretty quickly!
We had never experienced anything like that before!
Yeah it really beat even the United States for internet speed I will say...
and another thing is the drone laws
We knew that we wouldn't be allowed to fly our drone without a government permission
so we didn't even bother to bring our drone there (with us)
Right, for content creators out there, drones are actually prohibited for non-residents and non-citizens of the UAE
Keep that in mind, its probably best to just to leave your drone at home
So also with regards to VPNs if you are thinking of using one in Dubai
to get around certain restrictions, if you use it for an illegal activity,
say Gambling website for example,
it's actually illegal in Dubai.
You could use a VPN as long as you are not breaking any rules by using the VPN
while you are there.
Recently, Dubai has actually had a huge influx of Digital Nomads.
Honestly, it is a great place to live, because because there is no income tax!
and we heard from the other expats living there that their companies
are supporting them with their rent and their child schooling,
so Dubai is a great place for the Digital Nomads and expats to live in.
and maybe we will consider living there one day!
It's possible, you never know!
Never know!
But, for the time being we really hope that you enjoy these ten things to know about Dubai
Before you go, we hope they wind up being helpful
If there is something we have missed, or if you have any more questions, let us know
let us know in the comment section below!
We have on more Dubai video coming up though, so stay tuned for that!
and please don't forget to subscribe to our channel,
and of course, your support means a lot to us,
and encourages us to make further videos.
Stay tuned and see you on the next one!
See ya! Bye!
So overall $5 for dinner! Not bad at all!
It's in an ideal location and a great way to save money
the hotel here, of course, was only $55 a night!
All in, taxes included!