☀️ In the morning● Now
Morning at JBR beachWarm water and fine sand with the skyline behind, before the heat builds.
✦ Your self-guided tour
Dubai
Discover the city at your own pace, with your route and your trip essentials in one place.
5 stops · about 3 h 58 · audio guide12 languages
Highlights
5 stops · about 3 h 58 · audio guide
Photos
Photos: Wikimedia Commons (each author credited) and Google.
Dubai: your route
Pay once. Access is saved on this device and sent by email.
5 stops · about 3 h 58 · audio guideTransport on the route: about AED 27.00
Included: the full route, audio guide in 12 languages and the travel tools. Not included: museum and monument tickets, transport tickets.
💡 Good to know in Dubai
Practical tips before you step out.
Luggage
Leave luggage at the airport left-luggage desk or a partner storage point on the route (marked ★). Carry only essentials and your passport. DXB has left-luggage desks in Terminals 1 and 3.
Internet
Outside EU roaming: use a data eSIM or the free Wi‑Fi at the airport, malls and metro.
Payments
Cards and contactless work almost everywhere, including taxis and the metro. Carry a little cash for souks and boats.
Tipping
Many restaurants include service; otherwise 10% is usual. Round up in taxis.
Water
Tap water is desalinated and safe, but most people drink bottled; it's cheap in any shop.
Mosques
Cover shoulders and knees in mosques, souks and public buildings; women cover their hair in mosques (many lend an abaya and scarf). Take shoes off at the door.
Safety
A very safe city. Drink plenty of water and avoid walking in the sun between 11:00 and 16:00 in summer. During Ramadan don't eat, drink or smoke in public in daytime; many places change hours. The metro has a women-and-children carriage and Gold Class: don't board by mistake, there are fines.
Sockets
Type G (British) sockets, 230 V: bring an adapter.
Toilets
Clean, free toilets in malls, metro stations and by mosques (separate ablution areas).
ⓘ Practical information compiled from official and public sources in October 2026. Not yet checked on the ground in this city — if something has changed, use “Report a problem”.
Safety in Dubai
Emergency numbers, common scams and how to get help. Free for everyone.
Emergency999
Ambulance998
Fire brigade997
Police (non-urgent)901
Tourist policeDubai Police · 901 · app Dubai Police
Hospital and pharmacy search around the city centre — share your location for results near you.
Look for: صيدلية · Pharmacy
Show this to someone nearby
النجدة! أحتاج إلى مساعدة. من فضلك اتصل بالشرطة أو الإسعاف.
Common scams and risks
Extreme heat
From May to September it tops 40 °C. Drink water constantly, wear a hat and sunscreen, stay in the shade and do outdoor visits early or late in the day.
Strict laws
No public displays of affection, no alcohol in the street and zero tolerance for drugs (some codeine medicines need a permit). Don't photograph people without asking, or government buildings.
Dress and respect
In mosques, souks and public buildings cover shoulders and knees; in mosques women cover their hair. Away from beaches, avoid very short or see-through clothes.
Taxis
Use official taxi ranks or apps with a fixed fare. Turn down rides offered inside the airport arrivals hall.
👜 Watch your wallet in
Gold Souk · Spice Souk · Dubai Mall
🌙 At night, take extra care in
Keep a photo of your passport on your phone, carry just one card and some cash, and stick to busy, well-lit streets.
ⓘ Practical information compiled from official and public sources in October 2026. Not yet checked on the ground in this city — if something has changed, use “Report a problem”.
General guidance. If you're in danger, call 999 now. · Dubai
Everything in Dubai
All the useful things in one place.
🆕 Today in Dubai
Friday 23 October · updated automatically every day
26° – 35°Little chance of rain
0 travellers this week0 comments · 2 posts
Experiences in Dubai
Moments, fun and events, picked for you.
Your interests
🌙 At night
Dubai Fountain showEvery 30 minutes in the evening the fountain dances to music at the foot of the Burj Khalifa. Free; watch from the Souk Al Bahar bridge.
🌅 At sunset
Sunset abra on the CreekA wooden boat for 1 AED between Bur Dubai and Deira, as the souk lights come on.
🕐 Flexible — check opening times
Desert in the late afternoonRed dunes 45 minutes from the city: 4x4 safari, camels and a Bedouin dinner. Book a licensed operator.
🕐 Flexible — check opening times
Emirati breakfast in Al FahidiCardamom tea, luqaimat (date-syrup dumplings) and balaleet in an old house courtyard.
🕐 Flexible — check opening times
Dubai Mall AquariumThe giant tank is free to see from the mall corridor; the tunnel is paid.
🏛️ History & culture of Dubai
How the city came to be, in a few minutes of reading.
Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai. It is on a creek on the southeastern coast of the Persian Gulf. As of 2025, its population stands at 4 million, 92% of whom are expatriates. The wider urban area includes Sharjah and has a population of 5 million people as of 2023, while the Dubai–Sharjah–Ajman metropolitan area has a population of 6 million people.
Founded in the early 18th century as a pearling and fishing settlement, Dubai became a regional trade hub in the 20th century after declaring itself a free port (1901) and extending the Creek (1961). Modest oil revenue helped accelerate Dubai's development from the 1960s to the 1990s, when the city started to diversify its economy. In 2018, oil production contributed less than 1% to the emirate's GDP.
Read the full history
The earliest written record of Dubai (Dibei) is accredited to Muhammad al-Idrisi, who mapped the coast of the UAE in the twelfth century AD. Around 1580, the state jeweler of Venice, Gasparo Balbi, documented the pearling industry of Dubai and other cities currently presiding in UAE territory. Though traditionally conservative, the UAE is one of the most liberal countries in the Gulf, with other cultures and beliefs generally tolerated. Politically it remains authoritarian, however, relations with neighbouring Iran have been tense because of an ongoing territorial dispute over Gulf islands. The UAE was one of only three countries to recognise Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
Before oil was discovered in the 1950s the UAE's economy was dependent on fishing and a declining pearl industry. But since oil exports began in 1962, the country's society and economy have been transformed. The UAE has diversified and has become a regional trading and tourism hub, with UAE firms having invested heavily abroad.
💬 What travellers say about Dubai
Tips, experiences and questions from people who've been there.