DUBAI – AN EXOTIC TWIST

Friday 1st December 2006

Frances Quinn

Lavish, luxurious and larger than life, Dubai is the place for a beach holiday with an exotic twist. Year-round sunshine is guaranteed (though, unless you like it really hot, avoid May to September), and clean, clear waters lap the soft, sandy beaches.

Most of the beach hotels are on Jumeirah Beach, a long stretch of well-kept sands where the sea is shallow, calm and warm. Dubai's elaborately decorated hotels (think gold, gold and more gold) specialise in making guests feel pampered, with spas, good restaurants and excellent service that you'd pay three times as much for in Europe.

If you can tear yourself away from the beach, inland Dubai provides a stunning contrast to the coast. Four-wheel-drive vehicles take you on “safari” into the desert, where you can visit Bedouin villages, sample a traditional meal and try your hand at camel riding or the rather newer sport of “sand skiing”. Some excursions leave at dusk, so you can experience the desert sunset.

You can also take trips up into the Hajar mountains, where you can cool off in natural rockpools, called wadis, and to the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, where you can see desert wildlife in its natural habitat.

SOUKS
The old part of Dubai City is a fascinating place to explore, with narrow little lanes and typically Arab architecture, and on both sides of the creek that splits the city, you'll find traditional souks where you can hunt for bargains.

The most famous souk is the gold souk, where the streets are lined with shops selling everything from 24-carat bars to rings and elaborate necklaces, all at low prices. The spice souk is full of scent and colour, with sacks of cinnamon, incense, spices, and dried fruit, while in the Bur Dubai souk lies Al Fahidi Street, selling the latest electronics, photographic equipment and home appliances at competitive prices. Other streets sell everything from fabrics and carpets to traditional coffee pots, loaves of unleavened bread and hubble-bubble pipes.
Go Dubai Ph 0800 316 0194, or visit Go Dubai