AsiaEmirati Arabi UnitiEmirati Arabi Uniti
The UAE is seven emirates that are not interchangeable, and a bed, a drink and the pace of the street change at each border. The tallest building in the world, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, dunes in the Empty Quarter and a different sea at Fujairah, an hour or two apart. Most people come for a stopover and see two countries.
Per chi
È il viaggio che fa per te?
Quando visitare
November to March, 20 to 30°C
Festival
Da tenere in considerazione
Destinazioni
1 places
Guida gastronomica
Mangia come un local
Da non perdere
Esperienze imperdibili
Cultura
Da sapere prima di partire
Budget giornaliero
€55–120
Informazioni pratiche
Visto, SIM e altro
Emirati Arabi UnitiEmirati Arabi Uniti in breve
Where to go in Uae
Trasforma queste tappe in un itinerario attraverso Emirati Arabi Uniti
Scegli i tuoi preferiti e Stippl li mette in ordine, aggiunge i tempi di viaggio e costruisce il giorno per giorno.
Routes that work
Uae itineraries, one week to three
Emirati Arabi Uniti piace sia a chi cerca cultura sia a chi viaggia con lo zaino. Consigliamo diversi itinerari attraverso il paese: eccoli per intero.
3 nights3 days, the two cities
Dubai · Abu Dhabi
what most first visits are, and what our own data shows people plan. Day one is the Burj Khalifa, the Mall and the fountain; day two is Al Fahidi, the souks and the abra; day three is the Grand Mosque and the Corniche in the capital. The bus between them is two hours and AED 25.
3 nights4 days, the stopover that becomes a trip
Dubai · Hatta
the shape our own data actually shows, stretched by a day. Six trips in ten put Dubai first or last on a longer journey, and a fourth day buys the mountain exclave instead of a third mall.
5 nights5 days, Abu Dhabi and the interior
Abu Dhabi · Al Ain · Liwa Oasis
the half of the country nobody plans. Al Ain is a UNESCO oasis on the Omani border, Liwa is the edge of the Empty Quarter, and Sir Bani Yas is a wildlife island. All of it is Abu Dhabi emirate and all of it needs a car.
7 nights7 days, the two cities and the desert
Dubai · Abu Dhabi · Yas Island
adds the desert safari, Sharjah's museums and the Abu Dhabi islands to the three-day core. The islands are the reason to sleep in the capital rather than day-trip it.
10 nights10 days, all seven emirates
Dubai · Ras Al Khaimah · Fujairah
the only version that uses the federation rather than the two cities, and it needs a hire car throughout. The northern emirates are strung along one coast road; the crossing to Fujairah goes over the Hajar range.
Aggiornato August 2026 · 14 min di lettura · Scritto dalla redazione StipplSeven emirates, one federation, formed in 1971, and they are not interchangeable: the laws on alcohol, the price of a bed and the pace of the street all change when you cross an internal border.
Abu Dhabi is the capital and Dubai is the city. Abu Dhabi holds the federal government, the oil and roughly 85% of the land area; Dubai holds the skyline, the airport, in our own data, 68% of every Emirati stop record.
Roughly nine residents in ten are not Emirati, drawn from over 200 nationalities, which is why the street-level country feels international rather than Arab.
Per chi è Emirati Arabi Uniti
First-timers to the Gulf
nothing about arriving is hard, English works everywhere, and the headline sights are an hour apart.
Families
theme parks, waterparks, aquariums, beaches with lifeguards and air conditioning in all of it.
Luxury travellers
the whole accommodation and dining ladder is built for them and the top of it is world-class.
Stopover travellers
the reason most of our own travellers are here at all, and the airport is built for it.
Adventure travellers
dune driving in the Empty Quarter, the world's longest zip line on Jebel Jais, wadis in the Hajar mountains.
Divers
the east coast at Fujairah is a different sea from the Gulf, and winter visibility is the reason to go.
Art and architecture travellers
the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Museum of the Future, Sharjah's Islamic civilisation museum and Al Fahidi's wind towers.
The best time to visit Uae
- November to March is the season. It is also peak pricing and the longest queues at every attraction, so the cost of the good weather is paid at the door and at the hotel desk.
- June to September is above 40°C every day and outdoor sightseeing stops entirely. Hotel rates fall sharply for exactly that reason, so the summer trip is an indoor one: malls, museums, aquariums and the hotel pool after dark.
- October to November and March to April are the shoulder: 30 to 35°C, materially cheaper than peak, and fine before noon and after four. The middle of the day is when you go indoors, not when you give up.
- Rain is rare and paralysing. There is little drainage, streets flood and schools close. The April 2024 floods were the heaviest rainfall on record and closed Dubai airport for days.
- The busiest planned month in our own data is also the hottest. Our own peak is July 10.4%, which is the transit population passing through the airport rather than a season anyone chose, so it should not be read as a recommendation.
- Most people book about ten weeks out. A typical UAE trip is created 71 days before it starts, and around 18.2% of them go up inside a fortnight of departure, so a shoulder-month trip is still bookable late.
Aggiungi le tue date per Emirati Arabi Uniti e ti segnaliamo il meteo per ogni tappa
Stippl mostra la stagione, l'affluenza e i prezzi per ogni tappa del tuo itinerario.
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Things to do in Uae
Photo by Aman Kumar via UnsplashThe Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Fountain
Go up the tallest building on earth on a timed slot booked online, about €40 for levels 124 and 125, then watch the free fountain show under it every half hour after dark. Sunset is the expensive slot and the right one.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Walk the white marble mosque in Abu Dhabi with its eighty-two domes and the largest hand-knotted carpet in the world, free with modest dress or the abaya lent at the door. Late afternoon for the light, and closed to visitors on Friday mornings.
A desert safari
Take the dune driving, the camel ride and dinner under the stars, sold from every hotel in the country, about €60 for the evening. The overnight versions add the stars and the sunrise; the morning versions skip the crowd.
Al Fahidi and the Creek abra
Walk the wind-tower houses and the textile souk in old Dubai, then cross the Creek on the wooden abra for one dirham. Early morning, before the heat and the coaches.
The Gold and Spice Souks
Walk the old commercial city in Deira, the one part of Dubai that is a street rather than a plot, free. Evenings, and bargain from half.
Louvre Abu Dhabi
Spend two hours under Jean Nouvel's perforated dome on Saadiyat Island with a collection that reads as a single world history, about €16. The rain of light in the dome is the afternoon.
Cosa mangiare in Emirati Arabi Uniti
Spiced rice with meat or fish and dried black lime, the Gulf staple
Wheat and meat beaten to a porridge, a Ramadan dish above all
Sweet saffron vermicelli under a thin omelette, eaten at breakfast
Fried dough balls in date syrup
The late-night standard, and the cheapest hot meal in the country
A genuine local product rather than a souvenir gimmick
Scopri posti dove mangiare in Stippl
Trova ristoranti e mercati sulla mappa, salvali nel tuo itinerario, funziona anche offline.
Uae customs and what not to do
Cover shoulders and knees
in malls, souks, public buildings and mosques. Swimwear belongs at beaches, pools and waterparks. No headscarf is needed except inside a mosque, where one is lent to you.
Alcohol needs a licensed room
hotels, bars, clubs and licensed restaurants, from age 21. Not in public, and being visibly drunk in public is itself an offence.
Sharjah is dry.
No alcohol is sold or served in the emirate and none may be consumed there, which catches people driving between Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah.
Public affection is an offence
and so is sex outside marriage in law, though enforcement against tourists is rare. Know the position before booking one room.
Ask before you photograph
people, and never photograph government, military or airport buildings.
Ramadan changes the day
no eating, drinking or smoking in public during daylight, including in a car. Attractions and malls stay open, and hotels serve food behind screens.
Swearing is an obscene act
in law, rude gestures too, including in traffic and online.
Bargain in the souks only
start near half the asking price; malls and supermarkets are fixed.
The weekend is Sat and Sun
since January 2022, with Friday a half day. Guides written before that describe a different week.
Sì
- Dress modestly away from the beach and the pool.
- Carry ID, and use the footbridges rather than crossing the big roads.
- Take your shoes off in prayer halls and keep your voice down.
- Use the metro in Dubai and a car for everywhere else.
- Check whether the emirate you are in serves alcohol before ordering one.
No
- Don't drink or be drunk outside a licensed venue, and never in Sharjah.
- Don't photograph people or official buildings.
- Don't bring controlled medication without prior approval, or any CBD product at all.
- Don't eat, drink or smoke in public during Ramadan daylight hours.
- Don't assume a VPN makes a blocked call legal; using one to get around the VoIP restriction is itself an offence.
What a Uae trip costs
Shoestring
€55
A Deira or Al Barsha bed, metro everywhere, supermarket and canteen food
Mid-range
€120 to €220
A four-star room, taxis when it suits, one paid attraction a day, restaurant dinners
Comfort
€400+
A beach resort, private transfers, the observation decks and a tasting menu
Tieni d'occhio quanto spendi davvero
Imposta un budget giornaliero per paese e registra le spese in qualsiasi valuta mentre viaggi.
Visas, SIM cards and getting around
Entry & visa
A free visa on arrival
Stamped for British citizens and for 90-odd other nationalities, valid 90 days within any 180, continuous or split across visits. No advance application.
Health
Healthcare is good and costly
Treatment in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is world-class and billed accordingly, so insurance with hospitalisation and repatriation cover is load-bearing rather than optional.
Money
The dirham is pegged at 3.67
To the US dollar, so dollar prices convert exactly and the euro runs near 4 dirhams.
Connectivity
Get a local SIM or eSIM
Roaming is punishing and a data connection is what makes the taxi apps usable in a country you cannot walk.
Water
Tap water is desalinated
Two travel publishers call it safe to drink in Dubai; our own data flags it unsafe and the country's own packing guidance says most people buy bottled.
Tipping
Service charge, then cash
Most restaurants add 10%, and 10 to 15% in cash on top is normal for good service. See #Money above.
Power & practicalities
Sockets are type G
The British three-pin, 220 to 240V at 50 Hz, so UK visitors need no adapter and everyone else does.
Language
Arabic, English everywhere
Arabic is the official language and no visitor needs it, but a little is warmly received.
Frasi utili
Nessuno si aspetta che tu parli la lingua, ed è proprio per questo che poche parole bastano.
As-salamu alaykum
Peace be upon you (greeting) · السلام عليكم
Wa alaykum as-salam
And upon you peace (the reply) · وعليكم السلام
Marhaba
Hello · مرحبا
Shukran
Thank you · شكراً
Afwan
You're welcome · عفواً
Min fadlak
Please (to a man) · من فضلك
Yalla
Let's go · يالله
Inshallah
God willing, and used constantly · إن شاء الله
Uae questions, answered
Three nights covers Dubai and a day in Abu Dhabi, seven adds the desert and the islands, and ten is what all seven emirates take. Most of our own travellers give Dubai 2 nights.
November to March, when days run 20 to 30°C. May to September is above 38°C every day and outdoor sightseeing effectively stops.
British and EU passport holders get a free stamp on arrival valid 90 days in any 180, with a passport valid six months. Around ninety other nationalities get the same or a 30-day version.
No. Abu Dhabi is, roughly 130 km down the coast, and three separate publishers get this wrong.
In licensed hotels, bars and restaurants, from age 21, and tourists have needed no personal permit since Dubai dropped the licence fee and the 30% tax in January 2023. Not in public. Sharjah is dry and serves none at all.
Crime is among the lowest anywhere. The real risks are legal rather than criminal, and the heat between June and September is a genuine physical danger. There is also an active regional conflict; see the safety section.
The intercity bus from Al Ghubaiba takes about two hours and costs AED 25. There is no passenger train. A taxi is roughly AED 300.
Abu Dhabi's Grand Mosque and Louvre, Sharjah's museums, Al Ain's oasis, Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah, the east-coast diving at Fujairah, and the Empty Quarter dunes at Liwa.
Sharjah. Alcohol is neither sold nor served there and possession is an offence, which catches drivers heading north from Dubai.
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