Here is the full schedule of the Dubai & Abu Dhabi (UAE) trip we took by attaching just one day of paid leave to a three-day weekend.
About Dubai
Dubai is one of the emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Is it a country or not? It can be confusing, right? (laughs)
What kind of image do you have of the UAE? Perhaps a wealthy Islamic country in the Middle East, rich with “oil money”? Interestingly, “oil money” is actually Japanese-English — in real English, the term is “petrodollar,” a blend of petroleum and dollar.
These days, Dubai actually depends very little on oil; instead, it has established itself as a major economic hub.
It’s said that “Arabs living in Dubai are either super rich or just regular rich,” and the average annual income easily exceeds 20 million yen (roughly 130,000 USD). And that’s the average!
On the other hand, most of the workers you see around town are foreign laborers — with Indians, Pakistanis, and Sri Lankans alone making up a large share (so many from South Asia — no wonder everyone’s features looked similar to me!) — and their income levels are not high.
Walking the streets with this context in mind makes the city even more interesting to explore.
One more thing about Dubai: summer temperatures can reach around 50°C (122°F), so if possible, choose winter for a much more comfortable trip.
(Update: After the American strikes on Iran, Dubai — once such an easy destination to visit — has become a more challenging place to travel. I hope peace returns soon.)
Our Itinerary
Now, let me introduce our plan for fully enjoying Dubai (UAE) with just four days off.
Day 1 - Thursday
20:30 Meet at Haneda Airport
We flew Emirates on a night departure, so on day one we could head to the airport with time to spare without taking the day off work. (Just don’t forget to quietly let your team know in advance that you “can’t do much overtime that day”!)
Emirates has newer aircraft with slightly larger screens and seats, so even a 10-hour flight in economy was not too exhausting.
Fun fact: “Emirates” means “emirate states” — as in UAE = United Arab Emirates. I had always thought of “Emirates” as just an airline name, but it made sense once I realized it truly is the national flag carrier.
On board, we changed into comfortable clothes and focused on recovering as much energy as possible!
Day 2 - Friday
7:30 Arrive in Dubai
After landing, we went through immigration and exchanged money.
8:30 Leave the airport
Since we arrived in the morning, we took the metro and a bus to our hotel.
If you arrive late at night, it may be safer to book a hotel transfer even if it costs a bit more.
It helps to look up the route to your hotel on Google Maps in advance so you know how much walking is involved.
10:30 Arrive at the hotel
We were a little behind schedule, but checked in without any trouble. We relaxed in the room and took a short stroll around the hotel while preparing for the afternoon’s sightseeing.
11:45 Lunch
It was Friday — the day of Islamic congregational prayer — so mosques and other sights were closed to visitors, and many shops were shut. Many hotels offer lavish buffet plans for tourists on Fridays.
So we enjoyed a slightly luxurious lunch buffet at the hotel, chatting about things like “no pork, as expected” and “the desserts are mostly on the sweet side.” My one small regret: having to hold back from eating too much to save room for the afternoon’s desert safari… (laughs)
15:00 Desert safari
We found a great-value optional tour through HIS (a Japanese travel agency) and joined a desert safari.
When you reach the desert, the first thing is dune bashing — driving up and down the bumpy sand! It feels like a mild roller coaster that goes on for a long time, so even if you don’t usually get carsick, I recommend taking motion sickness medicine beforehand so you can enjoy it to the end.
Afterwards, we rode camels and got henna tattoos, and in the evening we ate BBQ while watching belly dancing and other shows. Desert nights get cold, so bring a proper jacket or heat packs.
22:00 Back at the hotel
It was quite late, so we hurried to bed to be ready for day 3.
Day 3 - Saturday
On day 3 we explored central Dubai.
5:00 Briefly woken by the early morning adhan
I don’t remember the exact time, but the adhan — the call to prayer timed to sunrise — drifted over from a nearby mosque.
The moment I woke up I thought, “I’m exhausted, please let me sleep…” but looking back now, that too was one of those “only while traveling” moments.
10:30 Brunch at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre
At the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding, you can experience “Emirati” culture — eating traditional dishes inside a traditional house and trying on national dress.
They also explain the history, and being able to ask questions directly to Emirati people is a highlight I really recommend. (Shop staff and tour guides elsewhere are generally foreign workers.)
The explanations are in English, but you can enjoy it even without understanding everything, and since it combines breakfast & lunch with a cultural experience, I’d say the price is quite reasonable.
Depending on the day of the week, there are breakfast or lunch plans available.
12:30 Exploring the old town
The old town spreads out around the Sheikh Mohammed Centre, and we strolled through its traditional streets.
13:00 Crossing the creek to the souks by abra boat
The abra is exhilarating — you cut through the wind as you cross the creek — and it costs just 1-2 dirhams (about 30-60 yen, or under a dollar) each way! Not riding it simply isn’t an option (laughs).
In some cases you hand the money directly to the boatman; in others you buy a ticket in advance.
13:30 Shopping at the souks
The souks (markets) sell everything from small trinkets and spices to gold. Aladdin-style lamp ornaments, beautiful scarves, saffron and other premium spices — it’s fun shopping whether for yourself or for gifts.
The shopkeepers are extremely friendly and will chat you up constantly.
One thing to watch out for is the prices. There are basically no price tags, so you have to ask — and perhaps because Japanese tourists are seen as easy marks, they quote outrageously high prices.
I eventually bought a stole for 50 dirhams (about 1,500 yen / ~10 USD), but the first price they quoted was a whopping 450 dirhams (about 13,500 yen)!!!
I managed to haggle it down to 1/9 of the original price.
The key is to state clearly that you won’t buy unless it’s at or below your price. First, decide in your own mind what the item is really worth to you. If it’s something you searched everywhere for and finally found, you may be willing to pay a bit more; if it’s more like “I happened to pick it up, but I’d skip it if there’s something better,” you can hold out with an aggressive price.
Some shops may quote something close to a fair price from the start, but by firmly communicating what you believe the item is worth, you can shop for souvenirs without regrets.
16:30 To Palm Jumeirah
We took the metro and monorail to Palm Jumeirah.
Seeing Atlantis The Palm and the aquarium was fun, but if you really want to see Palm Jumeirah’s distinctive shape, I’d recommend a tour that lets you look down on it from a helicopter.
18:00 To Ibn Battuta Mall
We took the metro to Ibn Battuta Mall, famous for its golden Starbucks. We also had dinner at this mall.
20:00 Back to the hotel
Once again, we made sure to get a good night’s sleep for the next day. Good night!
Day 4 - Sunday
On day 4, we headed to Dubai’s neighbor, Abu Dhabi. We absolutely wanted to visit both the Grand Mosque and Qasr Al Watan, so we joined an optional tour from Veltra (a Japanese tour booking site) that covered both.
We considered going independently, but chose the tour because the bus connections looked difficult and the admission process for Qasr Al Watan is complicated.
8:00 Hotel pickup
After breakfast, we headed to the hotel lobby.
On the bus to Abu Dhabi, the guide explained the buildings along the road and told us about the situation of foreign workers in Dubai, which made the travel time pass comfortably.
10:30 Visiting Qasr Al Watan
Qasr Al Watan only opened to the public in 2019.
The overwhelming presence of its pure-white exterior and the lavish golden interior had us buzzing with excitement.
12:30 Lunch
The tour stopped at a shopping center, where we had lunch.
15:00 Visiting the Grand Mosque
At last, the main event of the trip: the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. The exterior is beautiful white Islamic architecture, and the interior is lavish yet somehow adorable!
Both to see and to photograph, it exceeded all expectations.
One thing women need to be careful about here is clothing. As this is a mosque, in keeping with Islamic teachings, women must wear clothing that fully covers wrists and ankles and must cover their hair to enter. Even a long skirt often doesn’t actually cover your ankles. If you’re lucky you may be able to rent clothing, but there’s a good chance you’ll end up buying an abaya at the pricey shop below the Grand Mosque.
While I can’t wholeheartedly agree with the teaching that “women must cover their skin,” I also strongly wanted to respect and experience the local culture — a dilemma I found genuinely difficult.
18:30 Back in Dubai → To the Dubai Mall
For our last night in Dubai, we went to the Dubai Mall to see the fountain show (The Dubai Fountain). The best viewing spots fill up quickly, but the show runs many times a day, so if you wait for the next round you can watch from the front row.
After the fountain, we had dinner, bought souvenirs, and returned to the hotel.
We got lucky on the way back, passing a spot with a beautiful view of the night skyline.
23:00 Bedtime
We wanted to stay up all night reliving the trip, but with work waiting the day after our return, we hurried to sleep.
Day 5 - Monday
5:00 Leave the hotel
We would have loved to squeeze in a little more sightseeing, but with a morning flight home, we got up early and headed to the airport.
Since we had to leave the hotel while it was still dark, we had booked an airport transfer in advance. We grabbed a quick breakfast at the airport and boarded the plane.
24:00 Arrive in Japan
We made it home just before the last train — and the next day, it was back to the office as usual.
Come to think of it, someday I’d love to buy a lottery ticket in Dubai. Dubai’s lottery is said to have far better odds than Japan’s, but a ticket costs around 30,000 yen (about 200 USD), so we passed this time (laughs).