Dubai, City & Beach

Our Highlights:

• Superior 1st class hotel, member of the 'Leading Hotels of the World'
• Shopping: the hotel provides a shuttle to gold soukh and shopping mall
• So much sightseeing, so many activities - it's different every day

How to begin to describe Dubai? This is simply one of the most amazing tourism success stories in the world. From perhaps a somewhat unpromising canvas, the Emirate's leaders had the vision to create a world like no other. Dubai is sophisticated, cosmopolitan and exciting. The shopping is dazzling, whether literally so, in the Gold Soukh, or simply in terms of the sheer range and choice in the many shopping malls around the city.

Yet not all of the old traditions have been swept away in the drive for the new: try crossing the creek in an 'abra', a small local water taxi, and wander through the old part of the town. Or drive out of the city and you will see camels grazing on the sparse desert.

And we recommend a visit to the museum: it really is fascinating to step back in time to Dubai - and the region's - distant past, and to see how the discovery of oil transformed the region.

Amongst our favourite activities here are the dhow dinner cruise by moonlight along Dubai Creek; horseracing, whether a day time or night meeting, is of course a special occasion: not surprising in the home of the world's richest race, the Dubai Cup - and it is possible to take a guided tour of the stables; camel racing - usually held around dawn but well worth attending - and a top racing camel is considered very much in the same league as a top racehorse (NB: horse and camel racing is seasonal); a trip into the desert, driving up and over the steep dunes, down the other side, and arriving at a desert camp for a dinner under the stars (or even sleep out in the desert overnight); go camel riding and sand skiing. Back in the city, you could ski ... at Ski Dubai, the world's 3rd largest indoor ski dome; play golf (many have minimum handicap requirements) or hire a car, fill it with cheap fuel and go exploring, perhaps driving to Abu Dhabi (2 hours), Al Ain (2 hours) or Ras al Khaimah (1 to 1.5 hours).

And when it is time to relax, the Al Bustan Rotana has a lovely rooftop swimming pool area or you can take the transport to the private Ajman Kempinski Beach Club for a day at the beach (at extra cost).

And, of course, when talking about Dubai we have to mention the stunning number and speed of building developments, whether dredging new land from ocean, creating new islands or building new hotels and residential complexes.

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