You Say Dubai and I say Hello

by Larry Berle

10 things for families to do in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Here is a very short list of family things to do in Dubai and Abu Dhabi (less than 1 hours drive apart) The activities are far to many to mention but here are some highlights.
First of all this is just a fascinating place to visit. If I blind folded you and dropped you in the center of Dubai, you would never guess you were in an Arab country.
The great football coach, Vince Lombardi is widely credited with the quote “Winning isn’t everything, Its the ONLY thing.” When the visionaries who created Dubal translated it into Arabic they must have thought he said “ The best and the biggest are not everything, they are the ONLY Thing.” After a few days here this seems to be the driving force of Dubai.

1.Visit Burj Khlafia the tallest building in the world with a fabulous view of Dubai from the Observation deck. Its over 150 floors and over 1/2 mile high http://www.burjkhalifa.ae/en

2. Go Skiing in the desert. Emirates Mall has the only indoor ski area in the world. Ski, Snowboard, Sled, Meet the Penguins. http://www.skidubai.com

3.In Abu Dhabi ride the fastest roller coaster in the world reaching an astonishing top speed of 149 mph. Formula Rossa accelerates from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2 seconds. http://www.ferrariworldabudhabi.com

4.Visit The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, one of the largest mosques in the world with the largest carpet in the world, all done in white marble. http://www.szgmc.ae/en/

5.Visit the largest shopping mall in the world, Dubai Mall, with over 1200 stores and a water fountain choreographed to music that is bigger than the one at the Belagio in Las Vegas http://thedubaimall.com/en/Index.aspx

6. See Hotel Burj Al Arab the only 7 star hotel in the world built on its own island and visit its kids club. You can look but you can’t visit unless you are staying there or eating in one of their restaurants.

7. Visit the Palm Island, which is man made and home to the Atlantis hotel

8. Take a Desert Safari, go “dune bashing” in a four wheel vehicle and have a barbecue buffet in a camp in the desert

9. Visit Old Dubai or the Bastakiya to experience the traditional roots of Dubai and visit the Gold Souk and the Spice Souk — it is unlike the remainder of the extravagant rest of Dubai

10. Jumeirah hotels and resorts has several properties in Dubai and several have kids clubs. The best we found for families was the Madinat Jumeirah. Its located on the beach with several swimming pools- a huge shopping area called the Souk, Two miles of water ways with water taxis and of course the Sinbad’s Kids Club https://www.jumeirah.com/en/hotels-resorts/dubai/madinat-jumeirah/