A December to Remember in Dubai

Dubai has been one of the top destinations on my list of places to visit for the past few years. It seemed like everyone who visited Dubai came back with great stories of a grand and glamorous city. When the opportunity presented itself to explore Dubai after Istanbul, it seemed like a no-brainer. *Click here to read more about the Istanbul trip.

Dubai did not disappoint! The city is simply magnificent. It is modern, extravagant, spacious, and clean. Many of the tallest buildings in the world are in Dubai, making the city even more spectacular. Think New York City but fifty times better.

The city is filled with many attractions, making it is almost impossible to see them all in one visit. Arguably the most popular tourist attraction is the Dubai Mall. It is one of the world's largest malls, with over 4,000 stores and it is adjacent to the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. The luxury in Dubai is very apparent from luxury cars to luxury stores, opulence was dripping everywhere. Some of the stores were so expensive, it didn't feel right to even window shop.

Because Dubai is almost synonymous with desert and camels, the trip would have been incomplete without a desert safari. Approximately

an hour drive from downtown Dubai, we arrived at the desert for camel riding, quad biking, and dune bashing. It turns out the weather in Dubai between October and March is very tolerable and we were able to enjoy the desert comfortably.

I booked the desert safari through Ocean Air Travels and it was a very smooth process. Typically, I plan my own activities, but using a third-party company for this portion of the trip allowed us to maximize our time.

There were other parts of Dubai we were unable to explore. We did not have enough time to go to Jumeirah Beach, one of the white sand beaches near Dubai. We also did not get to experience the nightlife as majority of clubs and lounges are only open Sundays, Tuesdays - Thursdays.

Dubai is a place I absolutely recommend everyone visit at least once. Words simply cannot do it justice. Be prepared, Dubai is very expensive! Bring extra cash and get ready to burn through money faster than anticipated. For such a once in a lifetime experience, it is worth every penny.