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Dubai, can we find anything cheap?

Here’s another short story from the archive in the pre-5DT travel days. Its christmas in Dubai!
Ok, I know what you are thinking, Dubai is a massive newly constructed tourist resort and is far from the realms of your regular budget traveller?
It has 5 star hotels, thats for sure, but there are budget options, and there are a lot of $free things to see and do.

NYE opposite the Burg Al Arab



Most importantly, if you want to get from Europe to the Far east on budget airlines, Dubai is one of the most obvious choices for a stopover… so if you are gonna be there anyway, you might as well find something cheap to do to pass the time!

Setting up for the gig

We’ve been employed by one of the hotels to come and rock the party for NYE 2007/08! We’ve got about 5 days accommodation included and we are trying to keep costs down for things to do either side of the main event.


Prior to the new metro system being built (Which is there now) getting around the city is mainly by taxi, or rent a car, but fortunately, they are economical, and the meter doesn’t seem to run whilst you are waiting in traffic… which is good because we were waiting in a lot of traffic!


Dubai was originally very small… The amazing amount of growth that has happened in the last 40 years is astonishing! What this means is that the historical center does not have a lot of historical going on. Still we head into the traditional covered “Souks” or markets and I bag myself a massive pot of saffron for only a few dollars, which makes you realise just how much profit the supermarkets back home are making selling you a few strands for the same price.

We walk down to the river, this was the major transportation route until recently, its still easy to get a cheap ferry across. River cruises are also available to areas further in-land. 


Dubai has an international persona of tolerance and tourism. On the ground it is still a Muslim country, women who are under dressed will get very dodgy looks, alcohol is only available at large hotels and stay away from drugs… I’m sure everyone watches the news enough to know you don’t want to end up in prison or worse! When we were there we had a lot of trouble accessing social websites like facebook, but that will likely change in the future.


Its been a few year since I was in Dubai, and with a city that is developing so fast its hard to get up to date information. If anything this story is just here for the sake of our timeline, but my parting thought is  that Dubai is a vibrant city, and budget is available if you look for it!

Looking for hotel options in Dubai? We recommend HotelsCombinedThey have a great selection and help you get the best possible price!

Sunset crossing the rive

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