Dubai’s towering skyline of audacious architecture emerges from the desert like a magical city of the future. Close-up, the City of Gold is just as spectacular. Its modern marvels include underwater zoos, indoor ski slopes, and massive shopping malls, while its bustling souks and dhow trips in its saltwater creek evoke its storied past. Over the next eight pages, Inzozi delves into the vibrant culture of the UAE’s most populous city and reveals what you need to know before beginning your Dubai adventure.

Dubai Hotels

From mega resorts to family-friendly beachside paradises, Inzozi has recommendations for the best Dubai hotels to suit your kind of stay.

Luxury: Atlantis Royal

The iconic man-made archipelago, Palm Jumeirah, named for its distinctive palm tree shape when viewed from above, is filled with luxury resorts, but still, Atlantis Royal outdoes them all for opulence. It even has its own signature fragrance, which scents its grand spaces, and a specially commissioned soundtrack piped through its speakers, a theme song written by Dutch superstar DJ Atlantis. Dutch superstar DJ Tiësto wrote the Atlantis theme song. The scale of the mega resort is mind-blowing: it has 43 floors, 795 rooms, 17 restaurants and bars, a 1.2-mile beach, and more than 90 pools. Guests’ eyes will be on stalks from the moment they arrive in the spectacular lobby with its walls of fire and water.

Boutique: One&Only One Za'abeel

This hotel knows how to make an entrance. Its launch party in February 2024 featured a live performance by Jennifer Lopez, and its eye-catching design of two parallel towers linked by the world’s longest cantilevered skybridge is a stylish addition to the spectacular Dubai cityscape. The striking glass-covered architecture means guests get spectacular views of city sights, such as Burj Khalifa, and guests are rewarded whether they are in their hotel bed or exploring the run of restaurants in the three-floor glass cantilever, ‘The Link’. There is much to focus on inside as well, with a top-notch spa, a stellar kids’ club, a private infinity pool, and a cosy cinema room.

Family: Jumeirah Al Naseem

Your children are going to love this multi-hotel resort. The all-inclusive kids club here, with 1,000 sq m of aquatic paradise full of immersive play areas and pools, is ideal for children aged three to 12. Teens will love the water park with slides that plunge up to 32 metres, and the hotel’s pristine private beach. The raft of activities will work up some healthy appetites in the youngsters, so be thankful there are more than 40 restaurants to choose from – and, best of all, children under four eat free.

Business: Manzil Downtown

This comfortable, cool hotel with its contemporary Arabesque design is located right in the heart of the city. Its central location is ideal for meetings in financial and commercial centres such as Emaar Square and the broader Business Bay district. Onsite, the 197-room hotel has rooms on its mezzanine floor for business gatherings. It also has a boardroom, four meeting rooms, a 24-hour business centre and conference facilities. When the work is over, guests can enjoy the swimming pool, gym, and spa as well as an excellent restaurant.

Dubai Stats

• Population habitants 3,900,000 million

• Average maximum temperatures:

September to November: 28°C-33°C. Beach days and blue skies. Autumn in Dubai feels like an extended summer, but with slightly more manageable temperatures.

Airport

Situated in the Al Garhoud district, approximately 5km east of the city centre, Dubai International Airport (DXB) is one of the busiest airports in the world by passenger traffic. RwandAir flights arrive at the airport’s Terminal 2.

Airport transport

There are options for car rentals at the airport. Securing your vehicle in advance will speed up the process.

Many hotels offer guests transfer services to and from the airport. DXB also offers private transfers and shared shuttle options.

Taxis are available at the airport 24 hours a day. Prices include a fixed airport surcharge of AED 25 and an additional charge of AED 2.43 per kilometre.

You can use apps like Uber and Lyft to request rides from the airport to your destination in the city.

Local transport:

The Nol smart card is accessible with the Dubai Metro, buses, and trams. The cards can be purchased at ticket offices and ticket vending machines at all Dubai Metro, tram, and bus stations, as well as at authorised sales agents like Zoom, Al Ansari Exchange, and various retail outlets.

Metro

The Red Line of the Dubai Metro – the world’s longest automated driverless metro system – offers connections from DXB Terminals 1 and 3 from 5 am to midnight on Mondays and Thursdays and from 5 am to 1 am (next day) on Fridays and the weekend. Terminal 2 passengers can use the airport’s Automated People Mover to connect to the metro.

Buses

Dubai has an extensive network of over 1,500 buses and 193 routes, connecting various parts of the city. All the buses are air-conditioned and operate from 4 a.m. to 1 a.m., and some routes offer 24-hour service.

Trams

The city’s tram network covers parts of Dubai Marina and Al Sufouh, integrating with the metro and buses.

10 Reasons to Visit Dubai

Flying to Dubai with RwandAir brings an opportunity to indulge in some Emirates excess. Everything here is supersized, from the sky-scraping buildings to the endless brunches to the gigantic shopping malls. Here are 10 reasons you should be spending some of your precious time in the City of Gold.

1. Amazing architecture

You’ll spend much of your visit looking up in Dubai. No city in the world has more skyscrapers, and at 828 metres high, the Burj Khalifa in downtown Dubai is the world’s tallest building. Take the ear-popping elevator ride up to the 124th floor for panoramic views of the city, the Arabian Gulf, and the surrounding desert. Two floors below, you can soak up the skyline while enjoying a gourmet breakfast at Atmosphere Restaurant. Khalifa isn’t the only famous Burj in town. The sail-shaped luxury hotel Burj Al Arab stands on an artificial island and can be reached from the mainland via a private curving bridge. Delights inside include the world’s tallest atrium – you could fit the Eiffel Tower inside it – and a glass elevator with panoramic ocean views.

2. Have your fill of food

Brunch is a Dubai institution, and many locals will happily give up three to four hours of their weekend to tuck into a supersized spread with friends. Expect the bill to land somewhere between US$82 and US$163 per person. You may have put on a few kilos by the time you have had your food, but your wallet will be considerably lighter. If you are just after a deep Dubai snack, try some Nouq camel milk ice cream. The low-fat and lactose-free treat is available all over the city with favourite flavours including date, honey-saffron, and pistachio.

3. Break for the beaches

With an all-year-round hot climate and 16km of beaches, Dubai is an ideal sun, sea, and sand destination. Many luxury beachside resorts have commandeered wide tranches of the coastline for the exclusive use of their guests, but there are still plenty of public beaches, such as ‘La Mer’ and JBR Open Beach, to enjoy.

4. Soak up the souks

Dubai’s towering skyline has become iconic of a modern metropolis, but the city has a rich history. Exploring its souks will transport you back centuries. These traditional markets are a sensory treat, with the spice souk (34 Street) and perfume souk (Sikkat al Khali) drawing you in with their heady scents. You’ll also find incredible jewellery, hand-woven textiles, and plenty of farm-fresh fruit and vegetables. Travelling between these waterfront bazaars on Dubai Creek can be an experience in itself. Jump aboard an abra, a traditional wooden ferry that stops by all the main souks. With rides costing under 50 cents, they are the cheapest sightseeing tours in Dubai.

5. Dubai after dark

Dubai puts on a spectacular and free light show once night falls. As you might have come to expect, Dubai has the world’s largest illuminated fountain show – located in the Burj Khalifah’s man-made lake – with the 275-metre-high jets of water dancing to the tunes of great symphonies every half-hour until 11 pm. Other after-sunset events include Zabeel Park’s Dubai Glow Garden.

6. Desert flowers

You wouldn’t think the arid climate would lend itself to fervent flower growth, but in Dubai, everything is possible. The Dubai Miracle Garden is the world’s largest man-made garden. Has anyone noticed a theme developing here? From late September to the end of April, this sprawling theme park features 150 million artfully arranged flowers somehow flourishing in the desert.

7. Shop ‘til you drop

You can lose yourself shopping in Dubai – literally. The Dubai Mall is, you guessed it, the largest shopping centre in the world. It has 1,200 retail outlets and is so big that its owners have even developed an app to help visitors navigate their shopping spree. The mall has an aquarium and an Olympic-sized ice rink. The Mall of the Emirates is a bijou boutique in comparison, with a mere 630 shops and more than 100 dining options. Another popular shopping option is The Walk at Jumeirah Beach Residence, which has close to two km of beachfront given to fashion stores and pop-up markets.

8. Ski the slopes

Daytime temperatures are rarely below 25°C here at any time of the year, but there is a part of Dubai that regularly reaches -1°C and has a population of penguins. Ski Dubai is a 4,500 sq m ski resort inside the Mall of the Emirates with falling artificial snow, a ski slope, a toboggan slide, its own ice cave, and, yes, three resident penguins.

9. Creative Community

If you want to experience the contemporary art scene in Dubai, head to the city’s Al Quoz industrial area and the arts district Alserkal Avenue arts district. Here, you’ll find galleries, museums, workshops, and cafés – many of which are open well into the evening during the regular Alserkal Lates events.

10. Museum of the future

It is no surprise that a city propelled by innovation and technological advancements should have a museum that looks at where the coming years might take us rather than delving into the past. The striking bagel-shaped Museum of the Future has three floors of immersive exhibitions focused on future generations' developments, such as space travel and bioengineering.