Dubai is known as the land of luxury, but with enough planning you can keep the cost down similar to a trip to Mexico.
Do not fly direct into Dubai airport. Save money by finding a cheap ticket to destinations served by flydubai (the country’s low-cost carrier). For example, you could find a cheap roundtrip flight into Istanbul, Turkey and then connect with flydubai for $100 roundtrip (just keep an eye out for their seat sales).
Some of the most cost-effective hotels are Ibis Hotels (Accor Hotels group). I have stayed at these hotels for as low as $79 dollars per night, breakfast included. Many are located in neighborhoods or just off the beach, but are easily accessible and most of them have Big Bus stops (see next bullet below for details).
Buy a 24- or 48-Hour Big Bus hop-on hop-off ticket. Not only does it take you to all the sites you want to see, but it also informally serves as your transportation around town. Dubai suffers from urban sprawl similar to Houston and the Taxi bills can quickly add up. The 48-hour pass for $70 bucks usually also includes a Dhow Cruise, Sharjah Tour and Marina Cruise.
If you don’t purchase a ticket or make a reservation in advance, you will end up in massive lines to get to the top – or worse get suckered into buying the $300 VIP ticket that bypasses you. It’s best to plan these visits in advance. Our travel experts are happy to help you figure things out.
Unlike American malls where its all fast food grub, restaurants in the large malls of Dubai are quite good and inexpensive compared to what the hotels will charge you. Another trick is to ask some of the locals for suggestions outside of the hotel. Since most locals are not paid that well, they will know decent and cheap places – in particular good Indian food – since most workers hail from India.
Let our Certified Travel Experts solve the hassle of finding the best hotels, scheduling your flights, cars and all the other tedious travel tasks. Our trips will always be efficiently priced and tailor-made, with no hidden catches and no surprise charges. You get flights that work for you, hotels that are comfy and of the highest quality that you are looking for, with prices that meet your budget.