Family holiday in Dubai with young children

Over the last decade Dubai has become one of the most favourite holiday places for the whole family. It is safe, clean and the weather is guaranteed. You can see things that you won’t find anywhere else. The number of children attractions is unlimited, you just need enough time to see them all. Our kids were 3 and 5 at the time so I can only speak about the things to do with such young kids.

Also, weather-wise, we are now at the perfect time of the year to think about this Gulf city. The unbearable summer heat is almost over and the temperatures start reaching more human-friendly levels. Of course, if you prefer cold climate, you can always visit one of the Christmas Markets in Europe.

Unfortunately, as it is Dubai nothing comes cheap. Packaged holidays can cost thousands of pounds, euro, dollar per person, which for a family with children quickly adds up.

However, here is some good news for you, there are ways in which you can cut down the cost of your visit to Dubai without compromising the quality of your family holiday.

We have visited Dubai last year in October and here are few things that we learned, enjoyed and like to share. Hope they might help you with planning your trip.

 

1. Flights and airports

Flights are probably the easiest area to sort out and save some money in the process. Dubai is extremely well connected to the world and Europe, in particular.

With the abundance of flight options, you are guaranteed to find a good deal for your family. And you don’t need to book much in advance either. 6-8 weeks in advance is enough.

We travelled on Gulf Air with 1-2h connection time in Bahrain but we paid only £250 per person (for a family of 4). Sometimes flights within Europe cost as much.

In recent years there has also been huge increase of low cost airlines operating to/from the Middle East. Some of the low costs also now operate between Central and Eastern Europe and Dubai – check FlyDubai or Wizzair.

Please note that Dubai is now serviced by two airports

• Dubai International Airport (DXB) – the main Dubai airport, hub for the Emirates and desitnation for most of international airlines
• Dubai World Central (DWC) – where some of the low cost airlines operate

We flew into Dubai International and if you are choosing your flights I would suggest using this airport. It is closer to Dubai and connected to the city by metro line.

 

2. Medicines and alcohol

Linked to the airports there is also the topic of customs. And as there is lots of myths we did our research thoroughly, so you don’t have to. Although, I would strongly recommend you check the most up to date travel advice as things do change.

Medicines

Dubai has some of the strictest policies on bringing medicines into the country. Don’t assume that simply because you can buy something in your country it will be allowed into the UAE. Even some cold medicines (why would you need them in Dubai?) are banned and bringing them over might land you in lots of trouble. You are best off checking the list on the website of the UAE Health Ministry.

We have not been stopped for any checks but to be on the safe side, we approached one of the customs officers to inform them about the allergy medicines we were bringing with us. This is where our insulated medicool bag was extremely helpful – keeping the epipens and other medicaments in cool, protective atmosphere.

Alcohol

Dubai is a Muslim country and you can only buy alcohol in hotel bars and few licensed places. You are not allowed to drink alcohol anywhere in public.

If you are dreaming of this cold glass of wine with your meal, you either must stay at a licensed hotel or forget about it.

As you can imagine – this also makes alcohol extremely expensive.

But what can you do to avoid completely dry holidays?

The customs rules allow every adult to bring in up to 4 litres of alcohol or 48 cans of beer (355ml each). The good news is, in Dubai airport arrivals you will find huge duty free stores that sell alcohol at European prices. Their staff know the most up to date regulations and will be happy to help you make the most of your allowance. Remember, what you get here is all the alcohol you will have for your holidays – the option to top up does not exists, so choose wisely.

In my opinion, there is no point in bringing your own alcohol to Dubai, just do your shopping before you leave the arrivals zone and enjoy it in your hotel or apartment.

We are not heavy drinkers so for us it worked perfectly. And believe me, after a day in the heat, nothing was more pleasant than chilled wine or cold beer on the balcony.

 

3. Accommodation

Dubai offers some of the most amazing hotels in the world with prices without the upper limits. If you are into luxury lifestyle this is a place for you. But if you are not a billionaire you can still enjoy your family holidays in Dubai. There is also a range of more budget type hotels dotted around the city.

For us as a family of 4, what we need is space. And if going for summer holidays, we want to be close to the beach. Both of these we got by booking an apartment through Airbnb.

For just £1100 for 8 nights we had a massive 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartment in the Dubai Marina area, across the road from the famous Jumeirah Beach. It was part of the residential complex where a lot of expats live – so we were surrounded by great restaurants, supermarkets and shops along The Walk. For the kids there were playgrounds, ball games courts. We also had access to 7 swimming pools – and in many cases we were the only people there.

Staying in an apartment also gave us a chance to at least get some feel of the expat life in Dubai a lot of people talk about. We also had a chance to talk to people who live in Dubai rather than just the tourists.

If you fancy booking a hotel, rather than private accommodation you can search for some of the best deals on TripAdvisor

 

4. Safety

Safety must be one of the key reasons we consider Dubai to be great family holiday destination.

First, alcohol is expensive and not easily available. That means, even in the evenings you do not see drunk people hanging outside bars or restaurants. Secondly, Dubai police does not tolerate anti-social behaviour of any description.

This makes you feel safe in all the places that you could visit as a tourist.

Probably the biggest risk there is, involves manic traffic on the roads.

When using the metro or trams, please note that some train sections are “women and children only” adding additional level of safety. To this day I am not sure if the father can accompany children and wife in there or not.

 

5. Getting around

Getting around Dubai is relatively easy. Just think of Dubai and a core Old Town and then a long, thin noodle of buildings stretched north and south. On one side you have the sea and on the other there is the desert. Through the middle of the noodle runs a very efficient metro line connecting all the places you might want to visit as a tourist. It is completely automated and driverless.

The places located further away from the metro are connected to the stations by trams or buses. These are very easy to use and you this is where you find the world famous air-conditioned bus and tram stops.

Initially, we found the ticket system to be a little confusing with reloadable and not reloadable cards. But after a while we cracked it. It was interesting to realise that unlike in many other places, we were best off using single travel cards rather than multi-day passes.

The alternative to the very efficient public transport are taxis. They are quite cheap and modern. They are available everywhere and you can either take one from the taxi rank or just stop in the street. The rates are regulated so there are no price differences between operators. Also all of them are legally required to accept card payments. If the driver claims the card machine not to be working, you don’t have to pay for the ride.

We used taxis a lot whilst in Dubai as they were the quickest way to get everywhere, especially some of the more remote places.

One thing though, it is very difficult (without pre-ordering) to find a taxi with child car seat. So if you don’t have your own, you might need to accept some additional risk.

 

6. Food and allergies

When it comes to food, Dubai is an amazing place. Culinary, you might not find a better place for the family holiday than Dubai. You can find restaurants and cuisines from all over the world. I was told there is even a North Korean restaurant there but we never made any effort to locate it. I am sure you can find a place where your little ones will find something for them.

You will find here some of the most luxurious restaurants in the world as well as whole in the wall places serving shawarma and other local specialties.

As we always tend to go to local places we tried a few restaurants serving Middle Eastern/Arabic cuisine. It was delicious. We also enjoyed the seafood restaurants located by the beach.

Most of the restaurants offer children menus or would suggest which dishes would be large enough to share with children. Because of the variety of food establishments, Dubai is a great place to introduce your little ones to tastes that they might not be familiar with.

The other brilliant feature of many Dubai restaurants is the fact that they offer free takeaway and delivery service. So if you are staying in an apartment rather than a hotel you can enjoy a restaurant meal delivered to your door. As you are on holiday with family in Dubai, there is no need to spend any time cooking.

What is great about all the places we ate, is their juices and juice cocktails. In many Western countries, the non-alcoholic options are very often an afterthought and the choice is limited to fizzy drinks or a glass of juice. In Dubai, as you are not able to get an alcoholic drink it is quite the opposite. The restaurants and bars came up with some of the most amazing, freshly made fruit delights you could ever imagine. We loved them and our kids as well. I don’t think we ever had a fizzy drink with our meal in Dubai.

Food allergies:

Dubai is a relatively safe place to eat for people with food allergies. All the menus will include relevant allergen information and the staff is always happy to help.

However, you need to remember that products such as nuts and sesame are very common in the Arabic cuisine. That is why you need to be very careful with what you eat and check.

My son got a severe allergy reaction to nuts simply because of cross-contamination in the kitchen. On the other hand, when we mentioned nut allergy in one of the ice-cream places, the vendor disinfected all the equipment and preparation area before making one for our little one.

 

7. Attractions

Before going to Dubai we did a lot of research on what to do and see with young kids. There is a multitude of kid-friendly attractions. However, some of them are designed for the teens rather than toddlers and pre-schoolers. Given that we only spent a week there, we had to prioritise attractions to the most of our family holiday in Dubai. All the tickets needed we booked in advance online. The deals on the attraction websites worked out the best for us so we booked directly rather than using a middle man.

So here is a list of what we have done, visited and enjoyed:

Around Burj Khalifa

• Burj Khalifa – this is a must visit for anyone coming to Dubai. This world-famous, 828m tall building is an icon of this modern city. The actual observation deck is at 456m above the ground but still the views are unforgettable. You can see the whole of Dubai city but also get a good look at the desert and the beautiful sea.

TIP: Tickets for entry between 16:00 and 18:00 are almost twice the price so stay outside these hours. Kids under 4 enter FREE

• The Dubai Fountain – next to Burj Khalifa is the famous Dubai Fountain. The shows are taking place in regular intervals between 19:00 and 23:00. There is no need to book any tickets as this attraction is free of charge. If you don’t get the spot you liked for one show just come back for the next one.

TIP: Between Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Fountain is the Dubai Mall – huge shopping centre well worth a visit. It has a waterfall and an Ice Rink and many other attractions. Combine visit to the observation deck, with dinner and the mall and finish watching the fountains. This will make a perfect afternoon/evening during your family holiday in Dubai.

Favourite waterpark

• Legoland Waterpark – by far the best water park we have ever been to. Dubai has lots of amazing waterparks but this one is designed specifically for children under the age of 12. This means the slides are not wild and there is lots of places for the little ones to enjoy. Also, as the number of people coming here is much lower than in other water parks – there are no queues for the attractions. You spend all your time having fun and not waiting in lines.

TIP: On the water park website you will find a lot of very good deals, so make sure to check it before you make any booking. We travelled in October and the deals for that month were published on the 1st October so don’t worry if you don’t see any deals for your dates. Just wait.

Other places

• The Lost Chambers – Atlantis the Palm Hotel is another iconic place. The hotel is located at the end of the Palm and is photographed by every single person visiting Dubai. The good news is, you don’t have to stay at the hotel to access some of its attractions. We visited The Aquarium – The Lost Chambers. It has been wonderfully decorated in a made-up Atlantis style. It is not huge but definitely the right size for our little ones.

Getting to the hotel is an attraction itself. You get on the monorail that goes all the length of the palm providing some spectacular views.

TIP: On the Altantis the Palm website you can buy the entry to the Aquarium also packaged also with other attractions. Of course, you can also buy regular tickets as well.

 

• Jumeirah Beach – this is a free access, sandy beach for the whole family. The water is amazingly warm, sand fine and golden and there are playgrounds, restaurants and shops nearby. If you are staying in the Dubai Marina area this is the place to go to enjoy the seaside. Our apartment was located just across the road and we visited the place every single day. The kids absolutely loved it.

 

• Dubai Old Town and the Spice Souk – if you want to see a different, more traditional side of Dubai, take the metro to the Dubai Old Town. This is where you can see the narrow streets, little shops and markets and get a little feel of what Dubai was before it became the city it is today. Also the Spice Souk is here. It is worth seeing but it has an extremely touristy feel to it these days.

TIP: After the visit to the Old Town, take a boat across the Dubai Creek to see the place from a different perspective and visit the Dubai Museum on the other side.

Next family holiday in Dubai? In planning….

I have to say, that there were many other places we wanted to visit in Dubai. The list above is only a taster of what the city has to offer to families with young kids. We are already planning our next trip to Dubai so if you have any recommendations or questions please let us know in the comments.