Hey there everybody,

UAE and especially Dubai have always fascinated me and I've always wanted to visit it someday. Well, the time has come and I would really like to make it happen this/next year. But I need some advice from you guys.

I live near Amsterdam, in The Netherlands ofcourse! :p

So does anyone know if there are any travel agencies in Holland that offer trips to Dubai or are there some on the internet that operate for Dutch citizens as well? I ofcourse could also book a flight and a hotel on the internet. Any advice? And can somebody give me a hint of the price range?

What I was wondering as well is which thime of the year is the best to visit?

On the note of the customs there, is it acceptable for us(men and women) to lie on the beach in our swimming outfits? The women do not intend to cover themself up any more than they would here, would that be a problem?
So what I want to know are there customs that we Westerns need to consider?

Since we are pretty young folks, can you go out in Dubai?

One more question: can you get along by walking in Dubai or do you need a car? What about public transport?

i will answer whatever i can and the other will hopefully help you with the other stuff

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1-can you get along by walking in Dubai or do you need a car? What about public transport?

Well Dubai has Buses and taxis only for transport in the city and you will need a taxi to get from one area to another , but as soon as you get to a certain area you can do lots of walking.

It is adviseable to rent a car from sharjah or dubai because taxis are quite expensive

they charge about 3 dollars for every 4-5 kilometers !! so if thats not too bad for u you can consider taking taxis everywhere , we have thousands of them and they are all extremly modern camry 2003 cars / air conditioned

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2-Since we are pretty young folks, can you go out in Dubai?

There are plenty of Bars , night clubs and places your used to going to back in EU here in Dubai , live concerts are always happening with pretty big names too !
Alcohol will be easy to find in hotels and bars and some of the supermarkets but not in public places

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3- So what I want to know are there customs that we Westerns need to consider?

Well we are extremly tolerant , but kissing and touching in a sexual manner in public isnt acceptable , other than that its fine to dress as you want , but the women dont have to walk about naked right : !!

Men dont look at women that are covered right in the face or shake hands with them , women can ofcourse but not men
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4-
is it acceptable for us(men and women) to lie on the beach in our swimming outfits?

Yes Yes its fine , you wont face any trouble doing that . But i dont think we have nude beaches !! yet :\

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5-What I was wondering as well is which thime of the year is the best to visit?

October to ----------------- March :) maybe even april but it begins to get real hot by then

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the part obout travel agencies and of the sort i will leave to the other guys :P

3- So what I want to know are there customs that we Westerns need to consider?

Well we are extremly tolerant , but kissing and touching in a sexual manner in public isnt acceptable , other than that its fine to dress as you want , but the women dont have to walk about naked right : !!

Men dont look at women that are covered right in the face or shake hands with them , women can ofcourse but not men

Well, walking naked isn't found normal here either! ;)

So I guess if you just behave 'normal' and respect the people you'll be fine.


is it acceptable for us(men and women) to lie on the beach in our swimming outfits?

Yes Yes its fine , you wont face any trouble doing that . But i dont think we have nude beaches !! yet :\

We don't have any either here in The Netherlands as far as I know. It is accpetable to be topless on the beach, however you don't see it THAT much and those women are mostly considerd skanky. ;)

spotlessmind , i`m extremly sorry if i have offended you in any way shape or form !!

i am well aware that people dont walk naked everywhere in Europe :) there are decent people all around the world :)

well i guess you guys are going to have a BLAST :) coz your even more decent than some fellow arabs that visit Dubai ;)

sorry bout anything i might of said

Owh not at all Dubai-boy!! You're too nice! :)



Anyway, I guess that for some Arabs Dubai seems like heaven on erath! ;)

in my opinion, i like abu dhabi better then dubai, abu dhabi is much more beautiful then dubai, because it has so many parks and i just love the corniche. but dubai is the best place for the night life

But i wouldnt reccomend going to abu dhabi at all at the moment because there simply is no corniche at the moment!! Eveything has been dredged and dug up!!!! :) DUbai scores!!!
Cheers
:cheers:

damn thats too bad, when i went their last year i had so much fun, we stayed at the beautiful sheraton hotel and i just loved the beach

If you want to do serious shopping Dubai is the place. They have everything from electronics to clothes to gold. Bring alot of cash cause everything is probably cheaper than it is in europe.

Ppl in Dubai, the local included, are pretty tolerent, but everyone has their limits. As long as you dont pick fights, run around drunk, or try to do anything stupid you'll be fine.

The best time for me is everytime. For someone from europe you probably won't be able to handle the heat. Humdity is over 100% and its get over 40 c in the summer. So winter time, from dec-march is the best time to visit. I would use a taxi to get around dubai, but i would rent a car to visit other emiritie.

Id advise you to go see fujarah, its a couple of hours drive but its beatiful, its traditional arabia at its best. Thats if you want to see true arabian culture first hand. Ras al khamia has beatiful mountains also.

I dunno about the night life, but i heard its pretty good and pretty much the bars and clubs are similiar to what ud find in europe but the drinks are kinda expansive.

Yep , i agree qatar4ever :P