Three days, three parts of Dubai: the old town on the Creek with its souks and an abra for a dirham, Downtown under the Burj Khalifa with the fountain after dark, then the coast from the Jumeirah Mosque to the Marina. The Metro does the long hops and taxis fill the gaps.
Got Waystop on this phone? The button drops the whole plan straight into the app. On a laptop, copy it now and paste it into Import later.
Checked October 10, 2026. That’s the day we last confirmed the hours, prices and closed days.
November to March is the season: 68 to 86°F (20 to 30°C), dry, and the beach is pleasant all day. April and October are hot but workable with early starts. June to September is 104°F (40°C) or more with humidity; plan the outdoors for before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m. and spend the middle of the day inside. Ramadan is expected to run from about February 8 to March 9, 2027: museums keep shorter hours, most restaurants now serve during the day, and the evenings after iftar are the liveliest of the year.
Downtown or Business Bay for the Burj and the fountain on foot and the Red Line to everything else. Bur Dubai or Deira for the old town, the Creek and the cheapest beds; both are on the Green Line. The Marina or JBR for the beach and the evenings, a 40-minute ride from the old town.
Buy a Nol Silver card at any Metro station (AED 25, with AED 19 of credit on it) and tap in and out; fares are AED 3, 5 or 7.50 by the number of zones. The Red Line runs from the airport through Downtown to the Marina; the Green Line loops through old Dubai on both banks of the Creek. The front carriage is Gold class at double the fare; the carriage marked in pink is for women and children only. The Metro runs from 5 a.m. to midnight, until 1 a.m. on Fridays, and from 8 a.m. on Sundays. The abra across the Creek is AED 1 in cash. Taxis are metered and cheap for the distance; the Careem app works like Uber.
Bur Dubai · 90 min
Wind towers and coral-stone lanes restored from the 1890s; the Coffee Museum and small galleries are free. Al Fahidi station on the Green Line is a ten-minute walk, and the fort museum has been shut for restoration since 2021, so check before you count on it.
Al Shindagha · 120 min
Twenty minutes on foot along the Creek to pavilions in the old ruling family's houses that tell the pearl, trade and perfume story. Start with the Perfume House; one ticket covers all the houses, and it is open daily 10 a.m. to 8 p.m..
AED 35
Bur Dubai · 75 min
Back in the lanes, under the bougainvillea in the courtyard. Order the Emirati platter of balaleet, chebab pancakes and date syrup, or chicken machboos, with a lemon and mint.
Bur Dubai · 45 min
Walk the covered lane of fabric and pashmina shops down to the water, past the Grand Mosque's minaret. The touts are persistent and harmless; a smile and a no is enough.
Dubai Creek · 15 min
Wooden boats leave Bur Dubai Abra Station for Deira Old Souk when the benches fill, every few minutes, and cross in five. Pay the driver AED 1 in cash; there is no Nol card, and the side facing the wind towers has the view.
AED 1
Deira · 45 min
Straight off the boat: sacks of saffron, dried limes, frankincense and rose buds. Many shops shut for the afternoon and reopen around 4 p.m., so this hour is right; ask the price before anything is weighed.
Deira · 60 min
Five minutes north through the lanes. Gold is sold by weight at the day's rate plus a making charge, which is the part you negotiate; the windows are the show if you are not buying, and it is brightest after dark.
Bur Dubai · 75 min
Take the abra back (AED 1 again) and walk ten minutes south along the Bur Dubai bank to a new waterfront built to look like the old one. Lanterns, cafés on the water and the dhows lit up opposite; free, and the shops stay open late.
Deira · 90 min
A ten-minute taxi back over the Creek, or the Green Line from Al Ghubaiba to Baniyas Square and a walk. Yemeni mandi eaten on the floor in a private tent, chicken or lamb on spiced rice, under AED 60 a head; Aroos Damascus on Al Muraqqabat Street does Syrian grills if you want chairs.
Downtown · 90 min
Levels 124 and 125, 452 meters up; book the earliest slot a few days ahead, when the light is clearest and the price lowest. The entrance is on the lower ground floor of Dubai Mall, a fifteen-minute walk through the air-conditioned link from Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall station.
AED 189
Downtown · 90 min
The mall opens at 10 a.m.. The ten-meter acrylic wall of the Dubai Aquarium on the ground floor is free to stand in front of, then the indoor waterfall with its divers, and the Souk wing for the one quiet corner.
Downtown · 90 min
Cross the bridge to Souk Al Bahar for a terrace on the fountain lake, with short afternoon shows at 1 and 1:30 p.m.. Al Hallab inside the mall does Lebanese: hummus, fattoush, mixed grill, and a knafeh to finish.
Downtown · 75 min
Walk Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard to Dubai Opera, the glass dhow with its hull pointing at the tower, and into Burj Park for the one photo that fits the whole building. If there is a ballet or a concert in the evening, it is a good swap for dinner.
Business Bay · 90 min
A ten-minute taxi across the canal to a dozen blocks of studios, murals, galleries and cafés. Free, and the galleries close around 6 p.m.; in summer swap it for the mall's ice rink.
Downtown · 45 min
Taxi back for the evening shows, every 30 minutes from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., each about five minutes and free from the waterfront promenade. The Souk Al Bahar bridge and the mall's lower promenade are the best free spots; the fountain was shut for most of 2025 for refurbishment, so check it is running.
DIFC · 90 min
One Red Line stop to Financial Centre, or a twenty-minute walk. Levantine street food open all hours: falafel, manakish from the oven, shawarma and fresh juices, well under AED 80 a head.
Jumeirah 1 · 90 min
The only mosque in Dubai that runs open tours: register from 9:30 a.m. for the 10 a.m. visit (also 2 p.m.), daily except Friday, no booking needed. Shoulders and knees covered, scarf for women's hair; abayas are lent at the door, and questions are welcome.
AED 25
Umm Suqeim · 90 min
A fifteen-minute taxi down Jumeirah Beach Road to a free public beach with showers, a running track, kite surfers and the Burj Al Arab in the frame. In summer the sand is too hot to cross by noon, so swap this for the souk and come back after 5 p.m..
Umm Suqeim · 60 min
A fifteen-minute walk along the beach to the fishing harbor. Choose fish or prawns from the tray, they fry it in masala and bring it with paratha and curry sauce, around AED 60 to 100 a head; no alcohol, and expect a line.
Umm Suqeim · 120 min
Ten minutes on foot or a short taxi to a resort built as an Arabian town, with canals, wind towers and a covered souk open 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.. The terraces have the best Burj Al Arab view; the abra tour of the waterways is around AED 50 for the short loop.
Dubai Marina · 120 min
A fifteen-minute taxi south. Walk the Marina loop among the yachts and towers as the lights come on, then cross under the bridge to The Walk at JBR and onto the sand for sunset.
Dubai Marina · 120 min
Pier 7 at Dubai Marina Mall stacks seven restaurants with a Marina view on each floor; Asia Asia has the terrace and dim sum, and is licensed. On The Walk, the shawarma stands and Al Mallah cost a fraction and serve no alcohol.
Loading the map…
Pins are approximate. Tap one for the stop; the directions links open Google Maps.
From Dubai International (DXB), the Red Line leaves from inside Terminals 1 and 3: about 35 minutes to Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall and a little over an hour to the Marina for AED 5 to 7.50, plus the AED 25 Nol card. A taxi to Downtown is 20 to 30 minutes and roughly AED 70 to 90 from the rank. Al Maktoum (DWC) is far to the south; allow 45 minutes by taxi to the Marina, longer to the old town.
About AED 350 to 550 a day per person for meals, tickets and transport. Day 2 is the expensive one with the Burj Khalifa at AED 189. A street or souk meal is AED 30 to 60, a mid-range dinner AED 120 to 200, and a drink in a licensed bar around AED 50 to 70. Metro days rarely pass AED 20.
Plans change. Ask Chat and it proposes a reshuffled day you can apply, or just answers the question.
Enough for the old town, Downtown and the coast at a real pace. A fourth day buys Abu Dhabi's Grand Mosque and the Louvre; a fifth, a desert night or Hatta in the mountains.
Day 2: the Burj, the mall, the aquarium wall and the fountain are all under one roof or a short walk from it. Rain is rare and brief; heat is the real risk, so keep the beach to early morning or after 5 p.m. from June to September.
No. The Red Line covers the airport, Downtown and the Marina, the Green Line covers old Dubai, and taxis fill the gaps for AED 15 to 40. Only Hatta or the desert need a driver, and the tours include one.
Yes. Museums shorten their hours and the souks are quiet until late afternoon, but most restaurants serve during the day now and the evenings after sunset are the best of the year. Be discreet about eating and drinking in the street.
Same country first, then the cities people tend to pair with Dubai. Want two or three in one go? String them together in the trip builder.
Add your dates, your hotel and who’s coming, then ask Chat to change anything: it proposes the edit and you tap Apply. Want a long lunch instead of a museum? Just ask. Every place is checked against Google Maps before it lands on your day, and Chat can tell you when to leave for the next stop. Going on to another city? Build a multi-city trip.