I had a 72-hour layover in the UAE. These were the best things I did.

I visited the United Arab Emirates on a trip home to Phoenix from India in November of 2023. My boyfriend Michael and I visited Hyderabad for my cousin’s wedding for 10 days.

Since we had to connect through DXB back to America anyway, we thought: “What the heck? Let’s see what Dubai is all about.”

I had never visited the UAE before, so I didn’t know what to expect. I knew Dubai was a wealthy city and that the climate was dry and hot. I’d heard of pet tigers in Maseratis and Tom Cruise scaling the tallest building in the world. That’s about it.

We arrived in the metropolis around 2 am from a very crowded flight from Hyderabad. We were still exhausted from the wedding events and jet lag, so we decided to plan our trip at the hotel late that night. (Our hotel was another story, though – read about it in my article on the importance of reading customer reviews)

We needed to have the energy to explore Dubai the next day!

Day One – Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa, & Dubai Fountain

Dubai Mall

I wish I could do the Dubai Mall justice with words, but I simply cannot describe the lavishness of this place. It was basically its own indoor city.

The mall boasted a three-story aquarium, three movie theaters, Chinatown, an ice skating rink, and every store and restaurant you could possibly imagine. In a word it was insane. I was blown away by the size of it. 

One day was not enough to cover the mall alone. A full scan of the place would seriously take a week.

Here were my favorite parts of the mall:

Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo

Michael and I bought tickets at the aquarium, which were about $60 each. You could pay extra to scuba dive (yeah, scuba diving in a mall) along with a few other add-ons, but we kept it simple with the basic fare.

We spent hours admiring tons of exotic sea life and came face to face with Gentoo penguins. They even had saltwater crocodiles, which were amazing to see up close. It felt like seeing a real-life dinosaur.

The Dubai Mall and Underwater Zoo has been granted several esteemed awards for ethics and reproductive responsibility. However, some critics argue that the level of species they house is unsustainable. I recommend reading visitor reviews and doing some research on the facility to determine if you want to support this attraction.

Chinatown

After spending hours in an underwater world, we ventured to Chinatown. I couldn’t believe they had an entire sector of the mall labeled as such. I’d only heard of massive cities like New York and San Francisco sporting different “towns.” This was a brand new realm of mall-dom.

Chinatown offered incredible stores with lavish imports and authentic cuisine. I loved the energy and neon lights. I really felt like I was in San Francisco’s Chinatown neighborhood!

Ice Rink

The ice rink was one of my favorite things about the Dubai Mall. Though I didn’t partake myself, I delighted in watching very skilled and not-so-skilled skaters take to the ice. I would have joined them, but my boyfriend recently had knee surgery and I didn’t want to flaunt my perfect knees in front of him (I am such a good girlfriend).

Some visitors were very serious about their craft. I saw borderline Olympic-level skaters twirling and whirling around the rink. It was wildly entertaining to watch as I ate my Dave’s Hot Chicken sandwich. I had only eaten Indian food the 10 days preceding, don’t judge me.

Burj Khalifa

The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. We debated paying the entrance fee over and over again. After all, it is the tallest building in the world. It’d be pretty cool to experience it from the top.

But it’s pricey to enter – nearly $150 per person. Since Michael and I were super low on money, we decided to save it. Plus I hate elevators. 148 floors to the observation deck? No, thank you. And that’s not even the top!

The “Crown Jewel” of Dubai is a whopping 163 floors high, though those very top floors are not accessible to the public. One day when I have more money, I would love to splurge on the Burj. However, it was still super cool to see from the ground.

Dubai Fountain

Just outside of the Dubai Mall is the famous Dubai Fountain. This is a can’t-miss attraction because it’s incredibly entertaining and free! 

Michael and I joined the crowd after nightfall. The Burj Khalifa glowed with a magnificent light show displayed on its facade. The energy in the crowd was electric as we waited for the show to start.

A hush fell over the crowd as the fountain dials breached the surface of the water. Then a surprise – I Will Always Love You began to play. I guess I expected them to play a popular song from Dubai, but I was blessed by the angelic notes of the one and only Whitney Houston instead. I couldn’t complain.

The fountainworks were stunning. I was frozen still by the sight of it all – the water spraying in shimmering arcs perfectly in sync with the music with the flashing Burj Khalifa in the background. It was so beautiful that I actually shed a tear. I’ll never forget the feeling I got at the Dubai Fountain.

Day Two – Abu Dhabi

Michael and I booked a last-minute Viator tour to Abu Dhabi the following morning. We rose early and hit the road to the capital city in a little van with our guide and two tourists from Uganda.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Our first stop in Abu Dhabi was the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. This stunning structure features traditional and modern Islamic architecture and intricate designs on display since 2007.

This was my favorite part of the trip because I felt like I got to experience a culture so different from my own. For someone not versed in the religion, the site did a great job of informing visitors about the significance of certain designs, the basis of worship, and the importance of Islam in the UAE. Plus, it was a gorgeous sight to see.

If you worship, you can attend a regularly scheduled service in the prayer hall. Learn more about the history of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque here.

Note: Females must wear full coverage at the mosque. I was reprimanded within seconds whenever the wind blew my scarf off my head. I recommend loose-fitting pants, a long-sleeve shirt, and a secure headwrap. Make sure you own appropriate clothing before planning a trip to the mosque.

Downtown Abu Dhabi

Next we strolled around downtown Abu Dhabi. We didn’t have much time to really explore, but we managed to grab lunch and take photos of the skyline. The unique skyscrapers really make Abu Dhabi stand out.

We drove past the royal palace but only caught a glimpse of the splendid facade. I was bummed by the brevity of our visit to the city. I plan to spend way more time in the capital next time I visit the UAE so I can get a stronger feel for the city’s culture and captivating history.

Golden Tapestries

We stopped at a tapestry embroidery studio on our way home from Abu Dhabi. This is one of the most fascinating things we did in the UAE.

The artist explained how each royal family has their own design, and families will gift and trade these wall hangings laden with silk-like golden strands and precious jewels. The designs were remarkable. I truly have never seen anything like them.

I highly recommend visiting a gold embroiderer to anyone visiting Abu Dhabi. We unfortunately didn’t have thousands of dollars to drop on golden tapestries, so we went home empty-handed. I guess we’ll just have to add one to our wedding registry one day.

Day Three – Desert Tour

My main goal in Dubai was to ride a camel. I have always loved the crooked-toothed beasts, and what better place to see them than among the orange sand dunes of Dubai? We booked a cheap tour on Viator with our own private guide to the desert for our last day in the UAE.

First, we participated in dune bashing, a term I had never heard of before. The driver took us up and down the sandy slopes in his SUV. I was sure we were going to roll the car as the tires lost traction about 20 times. My stomach flew up into my throat like I was on a rollercoaster. I couldn’t stop laughing.

Next we drove ATVs in a patch of fairly mild terrain. I was a little hesitant from the PTSD of my Vespa accident in Italy, but I pushed on. The ATVs were a blast (when are they not?). And we got a great view of the sunset over the dunes.

Finally! Camel time! Michael and I mounted a two-person camel, which baffled me because I had no idea they were so strong. Apparently camels are very fast, too. There’s a multimillion-dollar market for racing camels in the UAE, and it’s a huge moneymaking industry. Maybe it’s time for me to make a career change…

We only rode the camels for about five minutes, which was a bit of a let-down for me, but it was still super fun. The camels were very sweet and enjoyed their pets after the ride. I spent lots of time with them throughout the night.

A quick round of sandboarding and we were in the homestretch of our tour. These were literally snowboards with broken bindings lying around in the sand. Michael and I thought we’d be zooming down the dunes on them. Turns out snowboards are quite slow-moving in sand. We cackled as we “raced” at a snail’s pace down the slopes.

Lastly we attended an authentic dinner accompanied by hookah, a belly dancer, and a fire dancer. The food was delicious, and probably the only real Emirati cuisine we had. The belly dancer was impressive. I genuinely have no idea how anyone can move their body like that. Lord knows I never could!

The fire dancer juggled flaming torches and spun wheels of fire over his head, spitting flames at children who squealed with fear and delight. Michael couldn’t handle the hookah, but we tried our best. All in all, it was a jam-packed evening of nonstop entertainment. We thoroughly enjoyed our desert tour and would recommend it to anyone visiting Dubai.

Burj Al Arab

We visited the most iconic hotel in Dubai on our last night. You’ve probably seen photos of the Burj Al Arab’s recognizable design before. This fabulous hotel hosts the wealthiest guests in the world. Its most expensive room goes for a nightly rate of $25,000. Pfft, that’s nothing, right?

We rode e-bikes to the site after our desert tour. Little did we know we had to pay a $75 fee just to enter the grounds. So we had the security guards take photos of us in front of the building and call it a night. It was cool to at least catch a glimpse of the place. Then it was off to the airport and bye-bye, Dubai!

What I Wish I Knew Before I Visited the UAE

There are a few things I wish I had known before visiting the UAE. I’ll share them with you so you can be more prepared than me when you visit.

What Women Can Wear

Women aren’t as conservative in the UAE as people outside the country make them seem. The only place I truly had to cover my head was at the mosque in Abu Dhabi, but that was expected. I never had to wear a headscarf in Dubai. I only wore one in the desert because our guide told us it would protect our faces and eyes from blowing sand.

I wore long pants and long-sleeved shirts just in case, but I saw plenty of women in shorts and T-shirts. The only thing I rarely saw was bare shoulders. Other than that, women seemed to have a fairly large range of fashion options. Share some fashion inspiration in the comments!

Download Careem

There is a rideshare service called Careem that is far more prevalent than Uber in Dubai. It’s kind of like Uber, Doordash, and InstaCart all in one. You can order rides, food, groceries, you name it. Everything you need to get around the UAE is in this app.

Careem had way more available drivers than Uber. We waited around 20 minutes for an Uber to show up on our first day. When we heard about Careem, it changed the game. It was cheaper than Uber by a few dollars, and faster by far. Download and get to know the Careem app before you arrive in the UAE.

Respectful Conversation

I had plenty of questions to ask my guides throughout my three days in Dubai. What do the people think of the royal family? How do middle-class citizens afford to live in the city? Where are all the tigers?

Though these questions didn’t seem out-of-pocket to me, I could tell my guides did not want to answer any in-depth queries about their society. One of my drivers simply answered “We do not talk about that here,” to all of my questions. Literally every single one.

It got to a point where I thought he was joking, but it turns out he just really did not think it appropriate to discuss these topics with me. I guess I’ll never know what happened to all the pet tigers.

***

72 hours definitely wasn’t enough time to do everything we wanted in the UAE. But it was enough to knock out some really awesome bucket-list items. If you ever have a long layover in Dubai, you can make the most of it with these unique attractions and activities.

As a flight attendant, I’m hoping I can get a DXB layover so I can try some more tasty food and revisit the Burj Khalifa. To be anywhere that Tom Cruise has been… that’s the ultimate goal in life.

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to share your UAE experiences with me in the comments!

Next, read Matthew’s article about why airline stopover programs are the ultimate travel hack.