Dubai was Shilpi’s work trip where she had to speak in one of the events of COP24. Father daughter tagged along and we had fun 🙂 . The Visa is on arrival if you already have a US Visa. We had avoided Dubai for a long time as modern cities don’t appeal to us that much. But with a kid, Dubai turned out to be a great travel destination. It has nice metro connectivity, great eating places and has great places for kid’s activities. While Shilpi was busy at work on most days, Aavya and I used the unlimited metro card that Shilpi got from the hosts and we explored Dubai. Below is an overview of what all we did and what all we recommend:

Things to Do:

• City Kids: This is located inside a big public park called Creek Park in Dubai. It has a lot of educational activities and different floors having different themes. It is a very engaging place for kids anywhere between 2 to 15 years old and amusing for adults as well. Aavya loved the human body, space and the culture centre. She also had her first planetarium experience. You can easily spend 4-5 hours inside this place and club it with Dolphin show and Creek park which are near by. The entry is very reasonable at 10 AED for this compared to all other super expensive places in Dubai.

• Dolphin Show: This was amazing. The dolphins and seals were very well trained and the host did a brilliant job of keeping it fun and interactive. This is on the expensive side but absolutely worth doing. This is also located inside Creek Park. Do grab a seat that is at the front and centre. That is the place where you get the best view.

• The Frame: This is a great engineering marvel. It stands out from many places in the city traffic and the garden surrounding it is also a nice place to unwind and relax.

• Amazon Forest: It is interesting how they have created an Amazon Forest ecosystem right in the middle of a desert. It is not very big but once you enter, you get that humid feeling with lot of trees. There are actual birds and animals from the Amazon who are surviving in that mini ecosystem.

• Burj Khalifa: Needless to say that this is a must do item if you are in Dubai. Best time to go there is evening when it is in its full glory with lights being projected on the building. The waterfront also has beautiful light and sound show every hour. We spent some time sitting near the water front and then had dinner in one of the restaurants overlooking the fountains.

• Museum of the Future: The building is very beautiful from inside and outside. The moment you enter it you will get the feeling that you have arrived in the future. The tickets are hard to get and are sold out in advance. They are a bit expensive compared to the other places in Dubai. There are local agents who will be willing to send you on the spot tickets but the building administration is constantly on the lookout to discourage such tactics. There are some exhibits that will be fascinating, but overall we got a feeling that this place is little overhyped. So keep your expectations in check and you might like it.

• Mall of Emirates: This is a very big mall and when you want to just explore some place indoors and do a bit of shopping, you can check this out. There are amazing restaurants offering cuisines from all over the world.

• Dubai Aquarium: If this is your first time exploring large aquariums then it is worth the visit. But if you have seen the ones in Sydney or Rotterdam then this one will look silly. And it is very expensive for what it has to offer.

• Oli Oli: This is a hidden gem for kids in Dubai. It has numerous activities like car washing, painting, science activities etc. Our daughter had a great time here exploring everything in a fun way. You can easily spend few hours here with your kids. Take a book and read while the kids are having fun.

• Glow Gardens: This is also another not so famous park in Dubai. It is beautiful at night with all sorts of lighting in place. If you have enough time in hand then definitely worth paying a visit.

• Dune Bashing: This is another item in the must do list in Dubai. Make sure that you book from a good agency which has good vehicles. The view during sunset is amazing. You wont feel that much of motion sickness. Post the dune bashing they will take you to one of the many cultural activity zones where there will be shows and you can have dinner. Please do check on which one your tour guy is taking to. Even though our Dune bashing was pretty good, the cultural evening was just ok.

• Gold Souk: In case you are planning to a bit of Gold Shopping, then do visit Gold Souk. There are lot of small and big shops here and the variety of gold jewelleries on display is unparalleled.

So if you want a 5-6 day getaway (especially with kids) then this is the perfect place for you.