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Air:
You can fly direct to Dubai from most of Europe and Asia. Flights from North America involve changing flights in Europe or Asia. Dubai's reputation as the travel hub of the Gulf, and increasingly as the major stopover between Europe and Asia was built on a combination of easy landing rights for aircraft in transit and a large, cheap duty-free centre at the airport.
The national carrier is Emirates Airlines, which flies to about 50 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, Australia, Africa and the subcontinent. The secondary carrier is the regional airline Gulf Air. It flies to many of the same destinations as Emirates, although all flights go via Bahrain. Emirates has a perfect safety record, whereas Gulf Air doesn't. There is also a new kid on the aviation block, Air Arabia, which is based in neighbouring Sharjah (with a bus link from Dubai); a return trip to Beirut.
Remember when buying air tickets that direct flight routes are generally more expensive than nondirect routes. This means that flying Emirates or British Airways between London and Dubai, for instance, is going to be more expensive than flying Gulf Air via Bahrain or Qatar Airways via Doha. Sometimes, however, connecting flights can be more trouble than they're worth and you should check how long you'll be stuck at an airport before you buy that cheaper ticket. For all the talk of free markets, air fares out of the UAE are just as strictly regulated as anywhere else. There are no bucket shops. High season for air travel varies from airline to airline. Generally, it is from late May or early June to the end of August, and from the beginning of December to the end of January. Low season is generally any other time. Regardless, special fares are offered throughout the year by different travel agents and airlines, so it pays to shop
around.
Airport:
Dubai International Airport is the
busiest airport in the Middle East, with over 18 million passengers passing through the ,airport in 2003. By 2010 this is expected lo rise to 30 million passengers a year. 2006. The new structures will be for the exclusive use
at Emirates Airlines, including a new underground third terminal and a doubling in size of the concourse. A third concourse will be built to accommodate the new super jumbo aircraft.
All the major international airlines, including Emirates, use Terminal 1, the main terminal. Smaller airlines, mostly en route to East Africa or the countries of the former Soviet Union, use the much smaller Terminal 2.
To get to/from the airport you can choose from Dubai municipality buses, airport buses or taxi. If you're staying at one of the beach hotels along the Jumeirah strip, remember to ask about transfers when booking your accommodation. All transport leaves outside the arrivals hall and the areas (bus, taxi, limo etc) are signposted. Unlike most other Middle Eastern destinations, there's virtually no spruiking.
Only the sand-coloured Dubai Transport Company taxis are allowed
to pick up passengers from the arrivals area. There's an extra
charge levied on these taxis for the run from the airport
(welcome to Dubai!), and while you could try to save money by
heading to the departures area and trying to flag down a taxi
after a drop-off, taxis are not allowed to pick up passengers
here.
BICYCLE
While you can now hire bicycles in Dubai we can't really
recommend cycling as a way of getting around the city. With
drivers more concerned with the mobile phone held in one hand,
the cigarette in the other and knee-steering across three lanes
in as many metres, you, dear cyclist (and pedestrian for that
matter), are way down the list of driver priorities. You will
see cyclists around and if you do want to ride remember
to monitor your fluid intake in the heat and humidity. And
always yield to cars.
Boat
Scores of abras (small motorboats) cross the
Creek from early morning until around midnight, taking two
routes. One route links Bur Dubai abra station, near the Bank of
Baroda Building, with the Deira Old Souq abra station at the
intersection of Old Baladiya St and Baniyas Rd. The other route,
further up the Creek, connects the Dubai Old Souq abra station
with the Sab-kha abra station (Map pp212-13) on the Deira side,
at the intersection of Al-Sabkha and Baniyas Rds.
Like shared taxis, abras leave when they are full, but it never
takes more than a few minutes for one to fill up. The fare is
just a measly 50 fils.
Note that it can be quite tricky getting on and off the abras -
not something to attempt wearing high heels.
Bus
Local buses operate out of the two main
stations in Deira and Bur Dubai. The Deira bus station is off
Al-Khor St, near the Deira Gold Souq. The Bur Dubai bus station,
Dubai's main bus station, is on Al-Ghubaiba Rd. In the official
timetables the two stations appear as Gold Souq Bus Station and
Al-Ghubaiba Bus Station, respectively. Numbers and the routes
are posted on the buses in English as well as Arabic. You pay
the driver, so keep some change handy. A free schedule and route
map can be picked up from either bus station, or from the
Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM) office on
Baniyas Sq.
Note that on Friday most buses begin and end their days a bit
later. You can count on there being no Friday service from about
11.30am until about 1.30pm while noon prayers, the most
important of the week are under way. From Saturday to Thurs-day,
buses run from approximately 5.45am to 11.15pm, at intervals of
about 15 to 20 minutes.
Car & Motorcycle
If you are planning on taking a day or over
night excursion from Dubai, hiring a car is the best and
cheapest way to do it. If you decide to hire a car to get around
the city, remember that traffic congestion in Dubai can be a
real problem at peak hours, which occur three times a day:
between 7am and 9am, 1pm and 2pm and most of the evening from
6pm onwards. The worst congestion is around the approaches to
Al-Maktouin and Al-Garhoud Bridges, and along Al Ittihad Rd
towards Sharjah.
It is compulsory to wear seatbelts when sitting in the front and
it is illegal to use a hand-held mobile phone while driving (not
that this stops anyone!).
As you would expect, Dubai is not shot on petrol stations.
Petrol is sold by the imperial gallon (an imperial gallon is
just over 4.5L).
Hire
Like most countries, a credit card makes
hiring a car much easier in Dubai. If you do find a car-hire
company that will take a cash deposit instead, not only will you
probably have to leave your passport with them, they may not
offer full insurance. Some agencies insist on a credit card de
posit as well as your passport. Find an other agency if this is
the case. You do not have to leave your passport with them. A
photocopy of it is sufficient. The reason for all this security
is to protect them selves against customers who run up traffic
violations and then leave town without paying them.
For tourists, most foreign driving licences are accepted in
Dubai so long you are either a citizen or a resident of country
that issued the licence. Some col panies insist on an
international liceiu however, so it's worth getting one of these
before you leave home.
Most agencies have free pick-up and delivery within Dubai,
either to/from a hotel or the airport. They also offer a
chauffeur service, but you'll pay for per eight hours for this
privilege. If you are just moving around Dubai for the day it is
much cheaper to use taxis.
Although smaller agencies are generally cheaper than the larger
chain companies, it's worth considering the convenience of being
able to contact the local office of a reliable company if you
are driving out of Dubai and something goes wrong. It's also
worth ensuring complete insurance cover (zero liability).
There are dozens of car-hire firms in Dubai, including all the
major international chains as well as plenty of local companies.
The highest concentrations of local hire companies are on Abu
Baker al-Siddiq Rd, just north of the Clock Tower Roundabout,
and on Omar ibn al-Khattab Rd. They are also found opposite the
minibus and taxi station on Omar ibn al-Khattab Rd in Deira, on
the Bur Dubai side of the Creek on Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Rd,
just north of Al-Adhid Rd, and on Kuwait St in Karama. The major
companies listed below will generally deliver the car to you.
Road Rules
Drive on the right in Dubai. The speed limit
is 60km/h on city streets and 80km/h on major city roads. On
Sheikh Zayed Rd and on other dual-lane highways around the UAE
the official speed limit is 100 km/h on some sections, but
otherwise it's 120km/h. If you are caught speeding, you will be
fined, but in some cases you will simply be sent a bill in the
mail by the police. For this reason, most car-hire companies
require customers to sign a statement acknowledging that they
are aware of this and authorising the hire company to charge
their credit card for any tickets that turn up after they have
left town, There are also speed cameras on the major highways.
Increasingly the busier city streets have a strictly enforced
four-hour limit on parking. Tickets must be purchased from one
of the numerous orange ticket-dispensing machines and displayed
on your dashboard. Parking rates apply from 8am to 1pm and from
4pm to 9pm Saturday to Thursday. Parking in the centre of
Dubai is free on Friday and holidays.
Taxi
Dubai has a large, modern fleet of taxis with
meters, and you can usually find one without too long a wait.
Drivers are sometimes very keen to round up to the nearest five
dirhams, so keep some smaller notes (fives and 10s) and coins
handy for taxi trips. There are still a few taxis without
meters, but these are slowly disappearing as their licences
expire and are not renewed. If you do happen to get in a taxi
that doesn't have a meter, save yourself the hassle and simply
get out and wait for another one.
Dubai Transport Company has women taxi drivers and if you book
in advance it can provide wheelchair-accessible taxis.
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