While visiting Dubai last fall I took notes everyday which led to this post, Dubai Travel Guide for First Time Visitors! I don’t know about you but one of the most frustrating things to me when preparing for a trip is researching items all over the internet. I review so many articles to gather enough information to make sure I am prepared for that city or country. Because let’s face it, how many of us have time to read an entire Lonely Planet book? (Although I do still occasionally download them 🙂 Therefore, I will continue to write travel guides for my readers.

It’s also good for shopping

Dubai has a reputation for fine-dining excellence, and it certainly lives up to that, with plenty of celebrity chefs from around the world setting up outposts in hotels and resorts across the city. You’ll have to lay down some serious coin to enjoy meals by the likes of Nobu Matsuhisa, Gordon Ramsay, Gary Rhodes, Jamie Oliver, Marco Pierre White and Sanjeev Kapoor, but it will be worth the expense.

Hub of different drinks

Yes, there are laws against public inebriation, alcohol is extremely expensive, you have to be over 21 to drink it, and it’s only served in bars attached to hotels or clubs. But that doesn’t mean no one imbibes in Dubai. Any traveller expecting to have a dry holiday will be very surprised to find champagne brunches, happy hour drinks prices, and an expat culture of party-friendly boozing.

Divine Desert safari

It takes such a small amount of time – we’re talking minutes here – to go from the skyscrapers and tarmac of Dubai to proper, endless desert. As soon as the city ends, the sand dunes begin. There are plenty of companies offering varying experiences out there in the wilderness, from 4WD safaris to Bedouin-style dinners to sand-boarding trips to quad-biking. It certainly makes a change from the shopping malls and fancy restaurants.

Camel racing will make you insane

So much about one of Dubai’s favourite sports is completely bonkers. For starters, there are no actual jockeys on these camels, but rather small robots that sit on top of the animals and are controlled by someone nearby. How is there someone constantly nearby, you ask? Easy – a flotilla of luxury, air-conditioned 4WDs follows the camels around while they’re racing, allowing the passengers to control the robot. The camel-racing tracks are also so big that you’ll barely be able to see the participants most of the time from your grandstand perch. But still, this is a proper experience.