Dubai is one of my favourite cities so when the opportunity came up for a 4-night trip with Emirates and Jumeriah Hotels I couldn’t turn it down.
It’s a very relaxed city and while food and drink can be expensive if you dine in some of the exclusive restaurants, there are many affordable options available. One of the things that does stand out
about Dubai is the level of service that you experience, and that’s whether you’re eating at your hotel’s restaurant or simply grabbing a coffee at the local Costa.
It was only a quick 4-day visit, however we packed in so much it was an incredible experience. We went on a night-time desert safari, took a seaplane flight over Dubai and got to view Dubai from the observation deck on the world tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.
There’s way more to Dubai than just shopping. From the cultural highlights of the Creek, to the glitzy Marina, there’s plenty on offer. We went Dune bashing in the desert, which was amazing, but you can also ride camels or go sand boarding. We got a great cultural insight with a Bedouin Camp experience where we enjoyed a full BBQ dinner in tents, we got fire dancers, and the sunset was magical.
Whilst on the Jumeirah Palm we made the most of the location. It’s got a boardwalk, tons of restaurants, beach clubs, and a pretty good nightlife. The whole area is quite high-end, but it has a relaxed feel with everyone walking around in shorts and flip-flops, although many of the restaurants in the evenings are more formal.
Anyone who’s an adrenaline junkie absolutely has to go up the Burj Khalifa. The lift up takes 60 seconds to cover 124 floors and the speed even makes your ears pop. Of course, a view always gets better with a cocktail and we got the chance to enjoy one at Gold on 27, the 27th-floor bar at the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah. You might have seen this hotel on the BBC documentary. It’s considered the most luxurious hotel in the world. Staying here may not be an option, but I’d recommend visiting the bar as taking in the Dubai sunset from Gold on 27 is impressive.
We were also lucky enough to take in the Dubai panoramas from a seaplane, which as well as being an exciting way to see the city, it gave me a real sense of how quickly the city is being transformed, with skyscrapers going up in every direction.
I get asked all the time where people should stay, but it totally depends on what you’re after from your holiday. If you’ve got your eye on Dubai for a relaxing beach holiday, I’d recommend Jumeirah Beach or The Palm. Jumeirah Beach is more of a long, white-sanded strip with things to do (water skiing, promenades, great swimming) and it’s a more central location. The Palm is more a cluster of beaches with resorts like the Atlantis. Both offer stunning horizons, plus endless drinking and dining opportunities. There’s also Kite Beach and the wide-open walkways at the fancy new La Mer beach.
If you want to explore the neighbourhoods, I’d suggest checking out both the Marina and the Creek. The Marina is pretty amazing as a setting in itself. Docked boats are surrounded by loads of curved skyscrapers and glass, and the waterside cafes and restaurants provide really relaxing settings. You’ve got Skydive Dubai, Dubai Marina Mall, cinemas, and the Dubai Marina Walk where you can shop, drink, dine, and even get your daily Starbucks by the waterfront.
For winding walkways and the smell of spices, head to the Old Souk. This covered market has a real old feel, there’s a Gold, Textile, and Spice Souk, the locals are really friendly, and you can pick up stuff you’d never find in the UK. My tip is to visit around 11am before it gets too crowded.
For the shopaholics, Dubai has everything from Gucci to cut-price Nike, with a mall for everything you could imagine. The Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates are the most famous. These places aren’t just a couple of floors with shops. They’ve got fountains, aquariums, human waterfalls, and even a 155 million-year-old dinosaur display at the Dubai Mall. If you’re in Dubai to shop, there are even hotels linked- you literally roll out of bed and shop. Cheaper shopping at the Dubai Outlet Mall is also great, and there’s endless food wherever you are.
Wherever you go (and whatever your budget), you’ll be impressed. Standards are high in Dubai. Rooms are large, dining is superb, and attention to detail is the reason why Dubai has earned it’s reputation as number 1 for luxury.
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Have used eshores for over 12 years for bespoke holidays and can honestly say every single holiday has been faultless.. we have had the pleasure of assistance from Emma since 2014 and will continue to use them for our holiday needs.. Emma has recently just booked us flights and a car to Florida as we…
Have used EShores on 6 major holiday trips since 2023 and wouldn’t dream of using anyone else. Our travel consultant (Emma) is amazing. Nothing is too much trouble to her and she is a pleasure to deal with.
I am so pleased I found this company. I was struggling to book a touring holiday myself. Rob has been very helpful and we have now planned and booked our holiday. Thoroughly recommend.
We have just booked a twin centre trip for 2027 with eShores, we had a quick response to all our planning queries, booking was professional and friendly. Thank you
Great service by Zack, listened to what we wanted, not pushy, accommodation suggestions were realistically priced, made any changes we wanted until we got the perfect package. Very pleased!
Helpful, flexible and not pre-packaged! Holidays arranged how they should be. Matt is always super sensible to do business with and is part of a well run team.
Dealing with Michelle, she was patient polite and nothing too much trouble. All question and adapting our holiday she never appeared phased . Mixhelle is the reason I booked with Eshores she isca star and is customer aware . Brilliant Service
Very iffcient and professional
Claire at eShores has been so helpful in researching for us to ba able to book a tailor made holiday to Thailand for Jan 2027. We were looking for a bit of everything from a few days in fast paced Bangkok,sightseeing for a few days in Chiang Mai followed by a week in Phuket for…
We have used Eshores for the past 15 months since we have started travelling again and booked several holidays with them. We feel that we have our own personal travel agent ie Chris who has got to know us snd our needs. I would highly recommend this company for their personal touch, advice and excellent…
So far so good excellent service on point and fast. Delivered what we needed. Prices climbed due to flight availability so no fault of the operator. We are happy we found eshores. Booking the holiday of a lifetime 3 weeks in Mexico and Matt understood exactly what we wanted and fixed it fast. Very pleased…
Megan is 100% patient and helpful but I can't write a proper review till after our trip.
Kelly, our trip advisor was very good in changing anything we suggested to make our trip special, replied to any questions in a very short time after requesting them and always polite with any queries.
Michelle at Eshores was incredibly patient with us while we went through different options. She was very informative with different suggestions and managed to find us a holiday within our price range.
This is the first time ive used eshores and Daves help was great. We gave him an idea of our itinerary and he pulled something together really quickly. The cost was considerably cheaper than a quote we received from another company so we were delighted. Roll on June 2027
We have recently booked our third trip with eShores having used them for the first time last year to organise a mini Greek Island hopping holiday - we had a wonderful time and things went very smoothly. The Travel Consultant we were fortunate enough to first contact is Kadie and she has assisted us with…
Over the last 3 years, Kadie has booked our Thailand and Australia trips and now our New Zealand trip for 2027. She has been absolutely amazing putting together our itinerary (for 4 people with different requirements) and booking all 3 trips. She has taken all the stress out of booking flights, accommodation, transfers, car hire…
We have dealt with dave felton on many occasions, he has always been extremey helpful, giving us several choices of hotels and destinations. He will always make sure you are happy with everthing. Would highly recomend him and his team.
Recently had to cancel a holiday I had booked with Eshores. The whole process was dealt with quickly and professionally. I had my refund within 2 days. I then booked another holiday which was very last minute. Michelle found me exactly what I wanted for a very good price and I had my ticket package…
Many thanks to Emma at eshores ,her knowledge and very helpful manner were a big part of us using them as our holiday consultants.
