All in all, a great evening.

Naive? Check. Narrow minded? Check.

Back at the hotel I Googled the restaurant to see what else I could learn about it, and was flabbergasted to read some of the nonsense that “reviewers” had posted after their own experiences there. Which got me to thinking: how often does a reviewer’s opinion have nothing to do with the establishment, and everything to do with the reviewer’s naivety, narrow-mindedness and lack of real-world experience?

Think before you complain (especially if you're American)

I started looking at reviews for some of the hotels and restaurants I’d enjoyed recently. And I got some pretty rude shocks. Hotels where I’d found everything to my liking were roundly derided as having poor service and lax standards, while my favoured restaurants were often seen as being second-rate.

Digging a little deeper, I found the problem was most evident in those cases where US-based reviewers had opined on international establishments. I found myself generally agreeing with the collective wisdom of Brits, Aussies and other domestic-market travellers, but was often sharply at odds with US reviews of my favourites in Europe and Asia.

Americans - stupid, ignorant and mean?

As I read more and more of these negative reviews I saw a pattern emerge. Now, you’d better brace yourself for some pretty outlandish statements coming up here; and none of them supported by any detailed research or opinion polling or any of that scientific stuff. But you decide. Here’s a summary of my thesis:

• Of all the major western, developed nations, America stands out as having a population that, in comparison to others, doesn’t really travel overseas that much
• Having said that, Americans love to share their travel experiences, filling sites like Viator, TripAdvisor, IgoUgo and others with literally millions of opinions about everything
• These two ingredients often combine into a potent mix that oozes stupidity, ignorance and, sad to say, mean-spiritedness

Here’s what I mean. A reviewer who says of a Moscow restaurant that “the servers were surly and unfriendly” clearly doesn’t realise that in Moscow the brusque manner of people in customer-facing roles is not seen as a negative by the locals; far from it, in fact. They would describe it as a “no nonsense, matter of fact” approach, and by comparison would have great disdain for the staff at your local TGIF, probably thinking them “transparently false.”

People, you hate too much

Sunday roast looks good to me, but not to everyone...

Examples like this abound. Suggesting that “activities are limited” on a Fijian island completely misses the point about Fiji — and many island destinations, where doing nothing is the whole idea!

Complaints about the size of bedrooms in London hotels fail completely to take into account the price of real estate in one of the world’s most crowded cities.

While negative statements about driving distances in Australia just demonstrate that a rudimentary knowledge of geography might be a good thing.

Read enough of these diatribes and you’ll suspect that many reviewers simply want domestic U.S. standards applied all over the world, so that no matter where they go they are greeted by a Gap-clad 20-something with a plastic smile and a menu… or a breakfast buffet that’s reminiscent of their favourite Sheraton. Sort of like the English tourists who stay in those little ‘British’ villages in Spain with ‘el Fish & Chips’ and ‘el Pub.’

Well, no. That’s not how it should be. Diversity is what makes the world an interesting place, and it’s the underlying reason why we travel. I want those Russian waiters to be off-hand; I want the French waiter to sneer at my wine order when he thinks it makes no sense; I want the Fijian check-in staff to hide out back when they see me coming; and I want the bell-hop in Las Vegas to treat me like the most important guest to check-in that day, even when I know I’m not.

The LAST thing I want is for the rest of the world to adopt false standards! Especially false American standards.

I think, therefore I complain

So please. Stop and think a little before posting that negative review. Was the service really bad, or just “different”? Was the food really too spicy, or is that just how it is in Northern India? If that beer was served warm, was there a reason why?

Travel’s an education. And from what I’ve been reading, there’s quite a few reviewers out there who could do with one of those.

-Rod Cuthbert

Editor’s note: Rod Cuthbert is the founder of Viator, Inc. You can read more of Rod’s musings here.

Dubai Shopping Tip: Bracelets are a good buy at Dubai's Gold Souq

When we arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), just over 10 years ago, the Indian guy from my company who collected us from the airport chatted the whole way to the hotel, giving us a detailed introduction to the country, culture, and society, while extolling the virtues of living in Dubai compared to Abu Dhabi, where we’d just moved.

“… and Dubai has a shopping festival!” he proclaimed rather proudly. In those days, Abu Dhabi didn’t even have a mall so we had to drive to Dubai to do any real shopping, like buy an espresso machine for the apartment. But a shopping festival was something else! Admittedly, we thought this a little weird… what kind of country has a festival dedicated to shopping?

Although Abu Dhabi now boasts a few big swanky shopping centres, Dubai, with its scores of malls and atmospheric bazaars is still the region’s King of Shopping. And according to Terry, I’m the Queen of Shopping. So, here’s my Ultimate Dubai Shopping Guide, or, 10 Reasons Why You Should Shop Dubai.

#1 - Dubai Shopping Festival

The Dubai Shopping Festival, or DSS as we call it locally, has become much more than a festival of shopping. Sure, it’s the huge discounts, crazy promotions, citywide sales, and raffles with Porsches as the prize, that get us excited. But there’s also entertainment for the kids, street fairs with food stalls, nightly fireworks, and at the Heritage and Diving Village, traditional performances and cultural activities. Held in January and February, the UAE winter, the weather is lovely. It’s still warm enough to swim and tan by day, but in the evenings you need to pop a pashmina around your shoulders. The big disadvantage is that this it’s high season (and conference season) so hotels are expensive and you need to book well ahead. Like, now.

#2 - Dubai Summer Surprises

Dubai Shopping Festival became so popular that they started a summer equivalent called Summer Surprises. Even more family-oriented, as the kids are on school holidays, there’s a festival mascot called Modhesh which looks like a yellow bicycle pump. A summer version of DSS, held annually from the end of June to the end of August, there are sales all over the city, but the major advantage of the summer festival – if you can drag yourself away from the Olympics – is that hotel rooms sell at rock-bottom prices. Keep in mind, though, it’s a sweltering 45C (113F) degrees outside, your glasses fog up each time you step out of the hotel or taxi, and the whole time you’re there you’ll feel like you’re in a giant sauna or God has placed a big blow heater above Dubai. It’s an experience.

#3 - Dubai’s Shopping Malls

Dubai's Ibn Battuta Mall: Seven malls with a mall, each themed on a country the Arab traveller Ibn Battuta visited

I’m not a fan of malls generally but in Dubai, the mall makes sense. Remember, this is a place where it’s too hot to stroll the city streets for half the year. In Dubai, the shopping mall is a relief. And here, malls are about so much more than shopping.

They’re a place for socializing, for meeting up with friends for coffee, a movie or bowling, for hanging out with the family at a fun fair or eatery, for slipping on the skies to swoosh down the slopes in preparation for winter, or heading to the gym, spa or beauty salon to get into shape for the summer.

Dubai’s malls also boast theatres, art galleries, child minding centres, and even mosques. Think of them as the equivalent of an old town square, piazza or plaza in Europe.

#4 - Mall of the Emirates

If I had to choose one mall out of the city’s scores of shopping centres, it would be the opulent Mall of the Emirates. This sumptuous shopping centre is one of the city’s largest, but also one of its most beautiful, with polished marble floors, spacious avenues, and a stunning skylight. It boasts the best selection of shops, with several swellegant department stores, including swish Harvey Nichols, dozens of chic boutiques, exclusive designer stores, fantastic shoe and accessory stores, cosmetics supermarkets, a massive Virgin Megastore and Borders bookshop, cinemas and theatre, art galleries, a theatre, Ski Dubai (yes, that huge indoor ski slope you’ve read so much about), and superb restaurants, including Emporio Armani Caffe and Almaz by Momo (by Mourad Mazouz of Momo London fame), bars (Apres), and a hotel, the swanky Kempinski Mall of the Emirates.

#5 - Dubai’s Souqs

Souq Madinat Jumeirah's wooden arcades

While Dubai boasts an abundance of sleek shopping malls, the bustling souqs (Middle Eastern-style bazaars) are actually what Dubai has historically been famous for. The Deira covered market was once the Arabian Gulf’s largest – remember, Dubai has been a trading port for several centuries.

The city’s souqs may not be the region’s most attractive – get images of Marrakesh or Istanbul out of your head – but they’re just as atmospheric and easily as fun.

The difference is Dubai’s souqs are real. Gritty and ramshackle, they’re not just for tourists, they’re where the real people shop for everyday things. In Deira and Bur Dubai’s souqs, Emirati girls shop for fake Yves Saint Laurent shaylahs (headscarfs), their mother’s haggle for stainless steel pot sets, their grandmothers buy oud (aromatic wood that’s lit like incense), while their brothers, husbands and dads bargain for the latest digital gadgets.

English expats take visiting guests to gawk at the glittering gold souq, Indian expats buy saris and textiles from home, while expat workers from Afghanistan and Bangladesh stock up on basic goods to take home, from woollen blankets to cheap kids clothes.

#6 - Because in Dubai Bargaining is a Fine Art

Part of the fun of shopping Dubai’s souqs is bargaining, or haggling. It’s not a requirement, as in Cairo, Istanbul or Marrakesh – if you don’t want to play simply ask the price, you’ll be told a price, and you can pay that price. And believe me, I’m an old hand at it, and it can be exhausting and it’s not always fun. But if you pay the first price you’re given, understand you’re probably paying double the value. It’s probably still a bargain compared to what you’d pay back home, but you can get it for a whole lot less, and have fun in the process if you bargain.

So, where do you start? Ask how much then when offered a price, suggest 50% less. The salesman will probably laugh or feign horror and offer a higher price. Stick to your guns. He’ll then drop the price and once he does, you should raise yours a little. And so it goes…

Use your instinct to respond to his reactions and adjust your price accordingly. As the process draws to an end, ask for the final and best price. If the offer seems reasonable, pay up. Don’t go back to your initial offer – or worse, leave! – this is extremely rude. The sales guy won’t welcome you back when you later realise his offer was a good deal and he’ll probably spread the word around the market so you get ripped off elsewhere. While bargaining in the souqs is acceptable, it’s not in a mall, unless it’s at a carpet shop. At small independently owned electronics, computer or camera shops, you can ask for discounts, but offer 50% less and you’ll be laughed out of the store.

#7 - Dubai’s Best Buys

Dubai’s best boys are the things we associate with shopping the Middle East – carpets, textiles, perfume, spices, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Seriously. Dubai’s Spice Souq may be small and a lot more touristy now than it once was, but a stroll here is an aromatic assault on the senses – great buys include tiny boxes of saffron, frankincense (the sticky golden rocks of resin in the big sacks), incense burners, and do-it-yourself henna kits. Deira’s Covered Souqs are the place to shop for bellydancing outfits, traditional costumes, sheesha pipes, and at the Gold Souq, anything that glitters. Bur Dubai’s Textile Souq sells Indian saris, vibrant fabrics, spangly Aladdin slippers, Dubai t-shirts, and Arabian ‘antiques’. Karama Souq is not so much a souq but a rather shabby shopping centre, but it’s the best place for discounted souvenirs from the region: Arabian bronze and copper coffee pots, engraved trays and Aladdin lamps, Yemeni khanjars (daggers), Bedouin silver jewellery from Oman, colourful Moroccan lamps, sequinned and beaded cushion covers and bedspreads from India, and mother-of-pearl inlaid boxes and furniture from Syria.

#8 - Souq Madinat Jumeirah

This stunning, air-conditioned, contemporary incarnation of a souq is the place to head when you can’t face the chaos of the real souqs, the heat has got too much for you, you’re not in the mood for bargaining, or, when you decide to refuel, you want to have a cold beer or glass of wine with your lunch. At this beautiful “Old Arabian” styled shopping centre with wooden arcades, wind-towers, and lovely courtyards, you can shop in comfort for fine quality carpets, handicrafts, souvenirs and gifts, and the best stores for those are Lata’s, National Iranian Carpets, the Pride of Kashmir, and Al-Jaber Gallery. Prices are obviously higher than at the souqs, but the quality is better. You’ll also find fashion, jewellery, leather and accessories, and dozens of restaurants, cafés and bars where you relax and ponder your purchases, make new shopping lists, or assess the damage to the credit card.

#9 - Dubai’s Homegrown Fashion

Dubai may have made its fortunes on the import-export trade, but there’s actually some wonderful stuff produced in Dubai by Emiratis, and one of the standouts of interest to shoppers is its homegrown fashion. The biggest local name is quirky young Dubai-born designer Raghda Bukhash, who creates fabulous fashion under her Pink Sushi label, by playfully appropriating traditional Emirati culture and symbols. The black and white Palestinian keffayah or red and white gutra (Arab men’s headdresses) are all the rage in Europe right now, but Raghda was the first to use them to produce cute skirts, handbags and clutch purses. You can buy her hip fashion from chic fashion boutique, Amzaan, owned by local princess Sheikha Maisa al-Qassimi. Other independently owned boutiques stocking local Dubai fashion as well as interesting international labels include Five Green, Ginger&Lace, and S*uce.

#10 - Dubai’s Shopping Hours

Shopping malls in Dubai open from around 10am to 10pm daily (although a few don’t open until 2pm on Friday, the Muslim day of worship, like Sundays in the West), which is bliss for shopaholics on a stopover! Stores outside of malls, especially those in the souqs, close around noon for an afternoon meal and rest, opening around 5pm, which makes sense in this kind of heat. Shopping in Dubai is most fun at night when the locals go out to shop, so even if you don’t like shopping you can enjoy some people watching instead. This means you’ll end up eating late and hitting the pillow late, but what are days for if not dozing in the sun by the hotel swimming pool?

–Lara Dunston

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s complete list of Dubai tours & things to do, from Dubai desert safaris to Dubai city sightseeing tours.

Kerrie and the pyramids

Egypt Travel Tip: Money

Small notes (1, 5, 10) are like gold in Egypt! You pretty much tip everyone who looks at you so you will need a good supply of small notes handy. I believe there are coins as well, but I never saw them! Wages are criminally low so Egyptians rely on tips from foreigners and locals alike, so stock up on the small notes.

Also, it’s very, very difficult to get change so try and get as much as you can before arriving (even banks are reluctant to share). One of the happiest moments of my trip was finding an ATM in Aswan that gave out 10 pound notes! (opposite the Basma Hotel, next to the Nubia Museum).

Egypt Travel Tip: Water

No surprise here, avoid tap water and only drink bottled water. Clean your teeth with bottled or boiled water, and avoid unpeeled fruits and vegetables. The real tip though for water is to remember to take it with you everywhere. Each and every time you leave your hotel room or cruise ship, grab a bottle. Sure it’s available to buy at the temples and bazaars, but you will be charged exorbitant prices and have to run the bargaining gauntlet to get your hands on some.

Egypt Travel Tip: Private tours

Egypt is a cheap place to travel so use your pennies to get yourself a private guide. Instead of trudging around the famous sites with 50 other people while adhering to their timetable, with a private guide you determine how long you spend at each place. It also gives you the chance to spend time with an Egyptian and they are always happy to share details of their life with you. Ask every question you can come up with about the country and lifestyle, you might just learn something. Also make sure your tour has hotel pick up if you haven’t been to Egypt before, it can be difficult to get directions.

Egypt Travel Tip: Dress

Yes, Egypt is a predominantly Muslim country, however they are pretty relaxed and accepting of other cultures and religions. Relying heavily on tourism, Egypt values its visitors and does not expect everyone to do everything their way. As a female (and a blonde one at that, the worst kind for traveling in a Muslim country according to the guide books…), I was weary of how to dress, however it became clear very quickly I could just dress like I would at home.

Hello, my friend!

I would not recommend hitting the town in hot pants and a boob tube, some discretion please, but do not worry too much about exposed legs, arms and shoulders. Skirts, shorts, sleeveless tops and dresses are all acceptable within reason, just avoid anything too short or too low cut. And for your sightseeing and day trips - wear flat, comfortable, closed toe shoes - there’s alot of sand to walk on in Egypt!

Egypt Travel Tip: Beer

If you are a beer drinker - beware! Due to the heat, the beer in Egypt has loads of preservatives which can unfortunately have a laxative effect. There is one brand called Sakkara which is preservative free, so I suggest you stick to this one…

Egypt Travel Tip: Hassle

Forget the Curse of Tutankhamun and how the Pyramids were built, the biggest myth for travelers to Egypt is that there will be hassle, hassle, hassle. I hate to bargain when shopping and I hate being pressured so I was definitely dreading the alleged hassle that most guide books warn you about. In contrast, I experienced minimal hassle from local shop owners. Yes they call out to you “my friend”, “free for you”, “you English?”, but a firm and polite “la shu-kran” — no thank you, was enough for their eyes to wander to the next potential customer.

Also wearing a hat and dark glasses helps avoid the eye contact which the vendors are desperately trying to get from you. Luxor is a little more aggressive than the other big cities, but this is understandable when you consider tourism is 80% of the city’s income. Overall I was pleasantly surprised and ended up with more souvenirs of the trip than I had expected.

Plenty of tourist schwag on hand

Egypt Travel Tip: Shopping

There is plenty of plastic Tutankhamun’s and stuffed camels to buy in Egypt, everywhere in the world has their fair share of tacky souvenirs, but there is also some good quality items. The biggies to look out for are Papyrus, Alabaster/granite, gold and Egyptian cotton. Regardless of what tours you do, you will always be offered the chance to visit stores specializing in these products, often at set prices.

They may not be the cheapest but if you are like me and not into the whole haggling thing, its a great way to shop. Just remember, if you don’t want to go you can just say no thanks. Obviously guides get a commission from sales to supplement their income, but big deal, can you blame them for wanting to supplement their income? I went to an Alabaster Factory in Luxor, the one place where you feel a little more pressure, and I browsed and left without buying anything.

It was important to me to prove you are not obliged (and in fairness to my guides, they never made me feel obligated to buy anything) and I did. So take the chance to see how Papyrus paper is made and how Alabaster is carved, have a look at what’s on offer and buy if you want - your choice.

Egypt Travel Tip: Camera

No matter where you are, or who they are, do not ever give your camera to someone else to take a photo for you - it will cost you dearly to get it back. If you want your photo taken somewhere, ask your guide or a fellow traveler, not the tourist police, not the temple staff, not the friendly camel owner and definitely not the guy with the Pharaoh head-dress who appears out of nowhere ‘my friend’. This is the scam you need to be aware of, so exercise some common sense and don’t hand over any valuables to complete strangers.

Egypt Travel Tip: Egyptian Museum

The Egyptian Museum should be one of the last places you visit (and I recommend the private museum tour, as well). Treasures from around Egypt have ended up here and it makes for a more interesting visit once you have seen their original homes, heard their stories and understand their significance. When you gaze upon the treasures of King Tutankhamun you can imagine how amazed Howard Carter would have been to open the untouched tomb once you have seen the arid location it was discovered in. The Museum is so big that unless you have several weeks to explore it in depth, you need to know what you are looking for and want to see.

Egypt Travel Tip: Chill out!

Relax! You do not need to take any more precautions in Egypt than you would traveling to most Western countries. People are very kind and respectful and I felt safer there than I often do in Sydney. It’s a different culture, no question there, but that doesn’t make it wrong, just different. Open your eyes and open your mind and Egypt will find a place in your heart.

If you are traveling to Egypt in the future, I hope these little tips help you feel more comfortable about the wonderful experience you are going to have, and for the record, I may have said no at the Alabaster Factory but there were so many nice things I had to ask my guide to take me to another one the next day — the things I do in the line of duty!

-Kerrie O’Mahony

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s tours & things to do in Egypt, Cairo tours, tours to the Giza pyramids, Luxor tours. Also have a look at traveler photos of Egypt over on the Viator Flickr site. If you need a place to stay, check out Hotels in Egypt on Planetware.com.

Abu Dhabi, the dazzling capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (no, the capital is not Dubai) has been getting a bit of media coverage lately. Dare I say it, but the city-emirate is even starting to steal some of the spotlight from Dubai. The attention is mainly due to the recent opening of a colossal mosque dedicated to the late President and founder of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed – a mosque that some writers have likened to the Taj Mahal!

Before that there was the launch of the $14.5 billion Saadiyat Island cultural precinct boasting a Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim art museum (set to become the world’s largest Guggenheim) and a branch of Paris’ Musée de Louvre by French architect Jean Nouvel, among other stunning museums. Then it was the city’s inclusion on the Formula One Grand Prix circuit, the first race being held in November.

The Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi - the 11th reason to love it!

How things change… When I first moved to Abu Dhabi in 1998 there weren’t too many people who could place it (or Dubai for that matter) on a map! But the funny thing is, despite all these exciting new attractions and events, the things that I still find most appealing about Abu Dhabi are the things I’ve always loved about the city. Here they are:

#1 Reason to love Abu Dhabi - It’s a stunner

Abu Dhabi is gorgeous. It’s a really attractive city and that’s the thing that surprises most visitors. There’s a soaring skyline of shiny towers that reflect the shimmering sea. And the city is skirted by sea (it’s an island after all) that is a crystal clear, aquamarine colour. The beaches boast the finest grains of white sand, and most are lined with date palm trees.

A seaside promenade, the Corniche, runs the length of the city, providing a great vantage point to enjoy the striking skyline. The best vistas are from a boat or from the enormous flag pole at the Breakwater at sunset, a favourite local viewing spot.

#2 Reason to love Abu Dhabi - The Corniche

My favourite part of the city, Abu Dhabi’s seaside promenade deserves its own entry. This is where residents come out to play in the cooler months – and even in the sweltering warmer months. But it’s winter when the temperatures hover around the low 20s Celsius (high 60Fs), and the spring and fall months when they’re in the high 20Cs (high 70Fs / low 80Fs), that the Corniche sees most of the action.

From early in the morning until late at night, locals and expats alike are out jogging, strolling, picnicking, snapping photos for their friends and family back home, rollerblading, skateboarding, cycling, and walking their dog along the Corniche. Come summer, when the temperatures are in the 40Cs (low 100Fs), you’ll only see locals here early morning or in the evening. One of the first things you should do when you get to the city is get down there too! But slap on the sunscreen first and bring coins for water, cold drinks, and even ice creams, which you can buy from the vending machines on route.

#3 Reason to love Abu Dhabi - It’s laid back

Sun-drenched Abu Dhabi’s easygoing lifestyle and low-key attitude has always been a big draw-card for expatriates. Expats were living here long before tourists started going to Dubai to gawk at its seven-star hotel, monumental malls, and throw snowballs at its indoor ski park. Dubai may have the big city appeal, but despite looking like a metropolis, Abu Dhabi has the small town vibe. What is so appealing about the city, apart from its endless sunshine, is the fact that there’s little to do but soak up the rays, bask on the white sand beaches, swim in the tepid waters, picnic and BBQ in the many parks, and drive out to the desert for some R&R when it all gets too much!

#4 Reason to love Abu Dhabi - The design

Women weaving at the Heritage Corner, Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi is a well-planned city with wide streets and traffic that flows freely. It’s easy to negotiate and a breeze to get around. While Dubai is a sprawling mess of a metropolis with a chaotic old centre and suburbs that have sprouted up spontaneously, sneakily creeping into the surrounding desert, Abu Dhabi was a city that was planned for growth from the start. The city has a grid-like urban design that was modelled on Manhattan, making it a place that’s easy to navigate and get to know. Sure you’ll have a little traffic during peak hour and on weekend evenings when everyone is heading out, but then it actually has a real buzz about it.

#5 Reason to love Abu Dhabi - Local tradition is alive

The locals in Abu Dhabi are deeply devoted to their traditions – and they’re clinging on tight – and that’s what we love to see. They have a rich culture of local customs rooted in their Bedouin heritage and Islamic religion, like their tradition of Arab hospitality, and they’re doing their best to maintain them.

Take their national dress: unlike Dubai where local kids are increasingly wearing Western clothes, in Abu Dhabi the guys all wear crisp white dishdashas and checked gutras and agals, and the girls all don their elegant black abayas (cloaks) and shaylahs (headdress). When they walk by you on the streets and in the shopping malls their heady perfumes and colognes also waft by. You’ll also see more ‘locals’, as we call the Emiratis, in the streets of Abu Dhabi than you do in Dubai. Head into the suburban neighbourhoods on a religious or national holiday and you’ll see Emiratis singing songs and doing traditional dances.

#6 Reason to love Abu Dhabi - Art & culture flourish, too

More intellectual and serious, Abu Dhabi has always been the more mature, arty, bookish sibling to Dubai. The city has always been eager to preserve its culture and heritage – they even have a Nabati Poetry Academy! – but it’s also been keen to see modern and contemporary arts flourish too, long before Saadiyat Island’s sleek new museums were planned.

Home to the UAE’s foreign embassies, the capital has always benefited more than Dubai from a lively international cultural exchange. It’s not unusual to see ambassadors and their spouses hobnobbing with Sheikhs over fruit juice and hors d’oeuvres in the foyer of Emirates Palace hotel or the Cultural Foundation as they wait for performances by the London Symphony Orchestra or the Bolshoi Ballet to begin.

The Cultural Foundation has always played host to the Arabian Peninsula’s biggest annual book fair and was responsible for starting the grassroots Emirates Film Competition, the country’s first local film festival, long before Dubai began its celebrity-driven International Film Festival. Coming up in April? The first WOMAD festival!

#7 Reason to love Abu Dhabi - The Cultural Foundation

Abu Dhabi's Heritage Village

This has always been one of my favourite places in the city. The Cultural Foundation has been Abu Dhabi’s artistic, intellectual and cultural centre for over three decades. An imposing building in the centre of the city, surrounded by shady parkland, it’s home to the national library and archives, an exhibition space, art workshops, and an enormous auditorium that has long hosted a vibrant nightly programme of classical music, theatre, ballet, traditional dance and song, and poetry performances.

Have a wander around and peek into the glass cabinets displaying Islamic art, calligraphy, traditional musical instruments, and fascinating old black and white photographs of the pre-oil capital. The Abu Dhabi depicted in the old images will astound – it was a sleepy village of barasti (palm frond) huts just fifty years ago. Upstairs is the cosy Delma Café, where you’ll be enjoying coffee in the company of Emirati poets, Jordanian theatre directors, Iraqi composers, and Indian filmmakers, who make up the Cultural Foundation’s multicultural staff.

#8 Reason to love Abu Dhabi - Heritage Village

Set on a soft white sand beach overlooking the azure sea and the striking city skyline, the delightful Heritage Village (tel. 9714 681 4455) offers an insight into life before the discovery of oil. While you can wander about and browse replicas of a barasti (palm frond) house, small souq and traditional mosque, ride a camel in a Bedouin encampment, and watch craftsmen at work beating brass trays, weaving on traditional looms, and blowing glass, the highlight is its intimate but engaging fort museum. Inside are fascinating old black and white photos, and exhibits of old Bedouin costumes and jewelery, khanjars (daggers), bronze coffee pots, cooking utensils, and old baskets – the very things the women at the Cultural Foundation’s Heritage Corner (see below) and the craftsmen at the Heritage Village make to this day.

#9 Reason to love Abu Dhabi - Qasr al Husn

In the lush grounds of the Cultural Foundation, the palm-filled courtyard gardens of the graceful white fort Qasr al Husn is a lovely place to stroll early in the morning or late afternoon. Enter via the impressive entrance decorated with pretty Portuguese tiles – if the majestic wooden doors aren’t open, climb through the small door spiked with iron nails.

The former palace-residence of the ruling Al Nahayan family who governed Abu Dhabi from here from the 18th century until 1966, the fort is the city’s oldest building, constructed in 1761. Within the fort is a maze of rooms decorated with painted reliefs of peacocks, flowers and Islamic calligraphy, and connected by long corridors with mashrabiya screens and carved doors. Home to the national archives until recently, the interior is currently being renovated with a view to turning it into a museum. It might still be possible to look inside if you ask at the Cultural Foundation. If not, simply enjoy the fort’s elegance and the leafy gardens.

#10 Reason to love Abu Dhabi - Heritage Corner

Heritage Corner, also known as Delma Corner (it’s outside Delma Café), is part of the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation. And while it’s small, I think it’s rather special. Featuring a traditionally decorated Bedouin tent strewn with camel bags, cushions and carpets, the Corner has wonderful local crafts for sale. The young Emirati hosts will pour you a tiny cup of the local cardamom spiced coffee from an engraved brass coffee pot – it’s polite to accept three cups and tilt the cup gently from side to side when you’re sated – and you can watch the local Emirati ladies, their faces covered in the delicate gold or black burqa (masks that were originally worn to protect the skin from the harsh sun) demonstrate traditional crafts.

You’ll see talli, a form of embroidery for making the gold and silver ribbons that embellish kandorahs (the loose dresses worn at home), and saddu, a textile-weaving technique to produce the bold striped carpets and camel bags. The women also weave palm fronds to produce beautiful, brightly coloured baskets and each of those have a different name too: al jefeer is used to carry dates, the pyramid-shaped al makabba protects food from flies, and al goffa is essentially a traditional handbag. And that’s about as sophisticated as tourism attractions get in Abu Dhabi. And that’s what we love about it!

–Lara Dunston

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s complete list of things to do in the United Arab Emirates, including Dubai tours & things to do and Dubai desert safaris.

]]> http://travelblog.viator.com/10-things-we-love-about-abu-dhabi/feed/ http://travelblog.viator.com/top-50-travel-destinations/ http://travelblog.viator.com/top-50-travel-destinations/#comments Wed, 21 Jan 2009 08:45:31 +0000 SuzannM http://travelblog.viator.com/top-50-travel-destinations-in-2006/ Viator.com travelers. This is our third annual "Viator Top 50" list, and like last year, 2008 has been a great ride, full of surprises (good on ya Paris, Rome and Las Vegas) and some surprising absences (Mexico, we missed you).]]>

Thailand - Bangkok was voted #34 in 2008

Before we say farewell to 2008, let us take a moment to honor the Top 50 destinations of the year as determined by Viator.com travelers. This is our third annual “Viator Top 50″ list, and like last year, 2008 has been a great ride, full of surprises (good on ya Paris, Rome and Las Vegas) and some surprising absences (Mexico, we missed you).

If you’re not yet caught up on our end-of-year lists of top things to do around the world, these links will help: Europe, Asia, USA & Canada, Australia & New Zealand, Caribbean, Central & South America, Middle East & Africa.

Also have a look at our Top 10 Traveler Photos of the year - these photos will absolutely get you inspired to travel this year. Thanks again to the millions of travelers who visited us in 2008, we hope to see you again in 2009.

The Viator 50: Top Travel Destinations in 2008

50. Punta Cana. It’s the top resort in the Dominican Republic, with sandy white beaches, adventure safaris, snorkeling, speedboat rides, deep sea fishing, beautiful seaside golf course and a sunset cruise on the Caribbean. What more could you ask for?

49. Boston. Boston blends old-world beauty and modern convenience with grand architecture, renowned academic traditions, ghosts, harbour cruises, nearby seacoast and rolling New England countryside. Wicked cool, as they say in Harvard Yard.

48. Geneva. The most international city in Switzerland, Geneva is a peaceful place to explore museums, restaurants and cultural events, bask on the banks of Lake Geneva, hop across to the Alps, and eat plenty of chocolate!

47. Kyoto. The elegance and romance of Kyoto is found in its temples, shrines, palaces, gardens and museums. All this alongside famous artisans and cultural workshops, and a modern scene pulsing with life and activity. A definite must on your next trip to Japan.

46. Granada. Two words: simply breathtaking. Granada’s Alhambra is one of the greatest accomplishments of Islamic art and architecture, the next biggest attraction is the city itself, set against the backdrop of Spain’s Sierra Nevada mountains.

45. Montego Bay. Soak up the spirit of Jamaica with a walk in the canopy, trip to Kingston, horseback ride, jungle river tube safari, Jeep tour or just chill out to reggae.

44. Montreal. Montreal charms with a relaxed atmosphere, culinary excellence and lively nightlife, from the historic Old Port to Notre-Dame Basilica and Mont Royal Park, out to the magnificent surrounding countryside. Montreal puts a little oomph into any visit to Canada.

43. Auckland. Think: Waitomo Glowworm Caves, Harbour Bridge Climb, Wilderness Experience, Aquatic Encounter, Bungy Jumping, America’s Cup and nearby Rotorua’s bubbling mud pools. They all make Auckland a city to savour, and a must-see when visiting New Zealand.

42. Kuala Lumpur. The capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur (KL for short) is an Asian Tiger bustling with colonial history, markets and charm, enjoy panoramic views from the revolving restaurant, or get up close to the elephants and fireflies in the Malaysian countryside.

41. Nice. The capital of the Côte d’Azur is a sparkling, gritty, sexy city bursting with nightlife, fantastical belle époque architecture, modern art and a buzzing cultural scene. It also has glamorous day trips along the French Riviera to Monaco and Monte Carlo.

40. Christchurch. It’s a thoroughly modern Kiwi city, boasting art, fashion, food, the International Antarctic Centre, historic tram and gondola rides, culture and heritage, Wildlife including whale watching, and spectacular scenery along the Tranz-Alpine Railway and down to the glaciers.

#32 in 2008 - Cairo. Photo taken by Phillip D on a private tour to the Giza Pyramids from Cairo

39. Brisbane. Climb Story Bridge or take a dinner cruise on Brisbane River, discover the historic city centre and glitzy cafe scene and nightlight of Bris Vegas, getaway to Fraser or Moreton Island, double the thrills at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast, and spend the day at Australia Zoo. Brisbane? Oh yeah, it’s also the capital of Queensland.

38. Singapore. A foodies paradise, from Little India to Chinatown. Have a Singapore Sling at the famous Raffles Hotel, eat at a hawker market, have a trishaw ride through town, have breakfeast at th4e Singapore Zoo with an orangutan.

37. Chicago. Diverse characters, unrivalled jazz and blues legends, and skyscrapers make Chicago an astonishing blend of tradition and modern, from Lake Michigan to Musicals and the prohibition, the Windy City is hoppin’! And see - we didn’t even need to mention it’s also the hometown of President Obama.

36. Perth. The sunniest and most isolated city in Australia, Perth is a City of Lights on the Swan River, home to magical beaches and festivals, perfect to embark on a Desert Adventure, explore Rottnest Island, taste fine wines at Swan Valley and Margaret River wineries, or swim with dolphins in Monkey Mia.

35. Costa del Sol. Like wedding cakes strewn along the seaboard from Málaga to Gibraltar, Spain’s Costa del Sol is the perfect base for a visit exquisite Granada and the Alhambra Palace, day trips to Morocco, Seville or Cordoba, or soaking up the sunshine, sports and nightlife.

34. Bangkok. Absorb this vibrant city (it’s the capital of Thailand) through your senses, a morning at the floating markets, silk shopping, a temple visit, or Thai cooking class before dinner on Chao Praya River. Or mnaybe a day trip to the Bridge on the River Kwai and Khao Yai National Park for an elephant ride.

33. Phoenix. Time your trip to Phoenix for the Scottsdale Rodeo or Yaqui Indian Easter Ceremonies in Guadalupe, an urban trek on Camelback Mountain, and a timeless visit to the wonderous Grand Canyon, West Rim, Apache Trail and Sedona.

32. Cairo. Cruise the Nile, visit the Sphinx, promenade by the Pyramids, then explore modern Cairo, a city alive with an intensity of tastes and sounds from the souqs to the palace, the chaotic to the bazaar. Cairo is a must on any trip to Egypt.

31. Salzburg. The hills ARE alive with the Sound of Music, in this mecca of Mozart. This highlight of Austria oozed charm along with gold and salt in the mines, mysterious ice caves and - for culinary decadence - Sacher Torte.

#23 in 2008 - Ayers Rock & Uluru. Photo by Tomoko K on the Kata Tjuta (Olgas) sunset tour

30. Edinburgh. Look for Nessie in the Loch, escape to the Isle of Skye, have a Highland fling, learn the truth of the da Vinci Code, immerse yourself in culture at Festival time, or just sip a wee dram o’ wonderful whisky.

29. Naples. Pulsating, anarchic and crumbling, see Naples and live! Capri, Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius are nearby, taste Southern Italy along the Amalfi Coast, and head back into this colorful town to explore the Piazzas, Naples Bay or San Martino.

28. Oahu. Walk on the beach in Waikiki, hit the museums in Honolulu, or go underwater in a submarine. This magnificent Polynesian island paradise offers culture, nature and history in a sumptuous blend.

27. Hong Kong. The harbour, dim sum, a junk cruise at sunset, Hong Kong has plenty packed into a very small area - which makes it a fabulous place to visit for even a few days on your way to points east or west.

26. Vancouver. Cedar-scented rainforest to whale-watching cruise, shop, sail or ski, you’ll be back in the centre of this sophisticated and laid-back Canadian harbour city in time for a cocktail or three.

25. Dubai. Science-fiction skyscrapers stand alongside mosques and shopping centres in this lavish sun-drenched megalopolis. Desert adventure safari, vibrant cosmopolitan or lush oasis, all meet in Dubai.

24. Zurich. Creativity and innovation meet tradition and finance in Zurich, the chocolate box city blossoming into a unique cultural capital. Visit the City of Roses, admire the Alps, cruise on the lake and soak up the Swiss ambiance.

23. Ayers Rock. The geological ochre marvel at the heart of Australia, Uluru is an icon of magic and mystery. Dine under a million stars, ride a camel into the desert, learn about Aboriginal culture, or simply wonder at the sheer majestic beauty of this unique place.

22. Vienna. Echoes of grandiose empires abound in architectural wedding cakes, sumptuous theatres, lavish opera and grand churches, while low-brow pleasures are as simple as a walk in the forest, or splashing in the river.

21. Los Angeles. Fame and fortune’s siren call brings celebrities and stargazers alike to LA, land of the scrumptious power-brunch, Hollywood movie stars, shopping on Rodeo Drive, A-list nightlife and hidden enclaves.

#13 in 2008 - Amsterdam. Photo by Sari S on the Holland in One Day Tour

20. Cairns & the Tropical North. Adventures from rugged mountains to wild ocean, the biodiversity of World Heritage Rain Forests, snorkeling and diving in the Great Barrier Reef, riding Kuranda Scenic Railway, simply relaxing on lush island resorts or taking in local culture and cafes.

19. Washington DC. Histrionics and history meet in the Memorials and colorful pageantry of American politics, take a Trolley Tour, visit the Monuments by Moonlight, The White House and Gettysburg, and taste extraordinary eco-friendly cuisine.

18. Dublin. Decadent and down-to-earth, Dublin offers a warm welcome and a well-pulled pint, historic buildings, garrulous sociability, and trips to the natural beauty of the wild coastline.

17. Munich. Sophistication and kitsch mix into an intoxicating brew in Munich, experience Bavarian Folk Traditions and Oktoberfest, high-end auto adventures, glamorous castles, vibrant arts, culture and Black Forest Cake.

16. Madrid. Europe’s highest capital and Spain’s headiest city, the addictive ebullience of Madrid extends from El Prado and Museums, to Tapas, Flamenco, the Royal Palace and Toledo.

15. Barcelona. Barcelona sizzles with stylish cool, from the genius of Gaudi to Mediterranean beaches, it’s time for Fiesta and Flamenco, experience the nightlife or a pilgrimage to Montserrat and adventure in the Pyrenees.

14. Milan. Visit the Italian design capital for serious shopping, worldly pleasures, famous art, flourishing theatre and gourmet delights. Milan will have your senses reeling all the way to Lake Como.

13. Amsterdam. Cruise the canals, admire the tulips, or hitch your bicycle to a bridge, explore the culture and the beer, Amsterdam is the ultimate hangout, where big city exuberance mixes with small-town manageability.

12. Orlando. The Orange City, home of Mickey Mouse and Gatorland, also offers an out of this world experience at the Kennedy Space Center, sandy white beaches, fine dining or swimming with dolphins and manatees.

11. Melbourne. Marvellous Melbourne, where hedonism meets high art, a paradise for football and fashion lovers, foodies, wine snobs and outdoor adventurers alike.

#3 in 2008 - Paris. Photo by Nick C on a 2CV Citroen tour of Paris.

10. San Francisco. Offbeat and genteel, the gorgeous City by the Bay is a unique mix, from Golden Gate Bridge to Chinatown; Vampires to California Wine Country.

9. Sydney. Sun-drenched natural wonders, famous icons, world-class shopping, fabulous food - from the Harbour to the beaches, Sydney has it all!

8. Venice. Achingly beautiful Venice will seduce you equally with a Gondola Serenade along the Grand Canal, or a walking tour of hidden secrets in her labyrinthine lanes.

7. Tokyo. Dynamic Tokyo offers a dazzling mix of Zen-like calm, consumer culture, sushi and sumo.

6. Florence. Home of the Renaissance, Florence is blessed with art, culture and history; Pizzas and Piazzas; Fashion and Fishing Ports.

5. London. Cosmopolitan and traditional, take in the stellar sights of London from the London Eye to Portobello Rd, Buckingham Palace to a Musical or Theatre Show.

4. New York City. Go, go, go! to Gotham City for incomporable restaurants and nightlife, fashion-forward shopping, Broadway shows, or simply explore the fascinating streets and boroughs of this thriving metropolis.

3. Paris. Experience the magical lights, museums and monuments of Paris, taste mouth-watering French delicacies, listen to opera, jazz or sexy cabaret, and enjoy romance along the Seine.

2. Rome. Discover the wonders of the Eternal City in the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and Colosseum, or on a day trip to the beautiful Naples, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast.

1. Las Vegas. Fabulous Las Vegas! Experience the magic of a Casino Show on the Vegas Strip, getaway into the majestic landscapes of the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam by air or land.

#1 in 2008? Las Vegas. Photo by Duncan H on the All American Grand Canyon helicopter tour from Las Vegas

So how’s your wanderlust doing after reading this entire list? For us, the Viator 50 list of top travel destinations is all about getting inspired to take that next trip. We hope this year’s list of top travel destinations on viator.com has got you thinking about your next holiday, whether it’s across town or across the globe.

Do you have your own favorites? Share them with us. Simply leave us a comment and tell us about your favorite travel destinations.

Happy travels in 2009!

-The Viator Team

What's hot in Africa & the Middle East? Read on...

Fellow travelers, it’s time for another installment of Viator’s Top 25 Things to Do list. So far we’ve covered Central & South America,  Caribbean and Australia & New Zealand. That makes it three continents down, four more to go in our ‘top things to do in 2008′ series (based on the tours and activities most popular with actual travelers on Viator.com this year).

So now it’s time for us to shine a spotlight on Africa and the Middle East.

Last year we got serious about making Viator the one-stop-shop for tours and things to do in Egypt, from Cairo to Luxor and more. Our efforts paid off, as this year Egypt nearly dominated our list of top things to do.

That said, Dubai was a star performer again - it took the #1 spot two years in a row, which is no easy feat. Rounding out our list of top things to do are South Africa and Jordan. Now without further ado, the winners of our 2008 Top Things to Do polling…

Top 25 Things To Do in Africa & the Middle East: 2008

25. Private Tour: Luxor East Bank, Karnak and Luxor Temples, Luxor, Egypt

Explore the East Bank with your own guide, from the Temples of Karnak to the Great Court and Luxor Temple, which has survived thousands of years of floods, invasion and the elements.

#11 - The ruins of Petra, Jordan

24. Cairo Private Tour: Giza Pyramids and Sphinx, Cairo, Egypt

See the magnificent Pyramids and enigmatic Sphinx with your own private Egyptologist guide to these, last of the original Wonders of the World.

23. 3-Day Classic Kruger Breakaway Tour, Johannesburg, South Africa

A dream safari across the Highveld and Machadodorp, open-vehicle game drives in Kruger National Park, a paradise for wildlife enthusiasts.

22. Private Dubai City Sightseeing Tour - The Golden City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

A private tour from the famous landmark hotel Burj Al Arab, to Jumeirah palace and residential area, onto Al Bastakiya and the Al Fahidi Fort, and shop in the gold souk.

21. Private 4×4 Adventurer Safari including Sandboarding, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Leave the comfort of your hotel for some of the most beautiful sand dunes in Dubai, and experience the exhilaration of sandboarding.

20. Pyramids Sound and Light Show with Private Transport, Cairo, Egypt

Hear the story of Egypt as seen by the Spinx over the ages, dramatic and mysterious, with breathtaking lighting to illuminate the pyramids under the stars.

19. Private Air Tour: Abu Simbel, Aswan, Egypt

Speed into the ancient world, with your guide to the Temples of Ramses II and Nefertari.

18. Private Four Day Jordan Special Tour: Petra, Wadi Rum and The Dead Sea, Amman, Jordan

South to the ancient Nabataean rose city of Petra, the unique Wadi Rum mountain rising above the rosy red desert sand, and the incredible Dead Sea.

17. 8-day Nile River Cruise with Private Guide on M/Y Mirage, Luxor, Egypt

Relax on a leisurely cruise along the Nile with your private Egyptologist guide, to the Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Edfu and Aswan Temples, enjoying meals and entertainment on board.

16. Private Air Tour: Cairo, Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt

A private tour to visit the Great Pyramids and enigmatic Sphinx, Egyptian Museum and time to shop at Khan el Khalili bazaar.

15. Private Tour: Egyptian Museum, Alabaster Mosque, Khan el-Khalili, Cairo, Egypt

Immerse yourself in central Cairo’s most famous sites, from the Alabaster Mosque to the Citadel of Salah el-Din, with free time to stroll through the Khan el Khalili bazaar.

14. Dubai City Half-Day Sightseeing Tour, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Historic sites and vibrant cosmopolitan life from luxurious Burj Al Arab hotel, to Jumeirah Mosque and shopping in the famous gold souk.

13. Private Tour: Luxor West Bank, Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut Temple, Luxor, Egypt

Visit the necropolis of ancient Thebes, Valley of the Kings, Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, who posed as a man to gain the throne of Egypt and Colossi of Memnon.

#2 - Private Tour to Giza Pyramids near Cairo

12. Private Tour: Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, Egyptian Museum, Khan el-Khalili Bazaar, Cairo, Egypt

A fascinating introduction to Giza pyramids with your own Egyptologist, on to the Sphinx and King Tutanhkhamun’s treasures in the Egyptian Museum.

11. Private Full-Day Tour to Petra, Amman, Jordan

The beautiful rose-red city of Petra, carved from pink-hued stone will amaze you with the Siq, El-Khazneh treasury, Altar of Sacrifice and royal tombs.

10. Nile River Dinner Cruise on the Nile Maxim, Cairo, Egypt

Elegant dinner cruise with spectacular belly-dancing and folklore as you glide past Cairo’s illuminated skyline.

9. Private Tour: Alexandria Day Trip, Cairo, Egypt

Your personal Egyptologist will guide you through Alexandria, to Kom ash-Shuqqafa Roman burial site, Pompey’s Pillar and of course, the famous Library, home to every book in the world.

8. Three Day Zimbabwe / Victoria Falls Fly-In Tour, Johannesburg, South Africa

See the majestic Victoria Falls by air and guided walking safari to one of the seven natural wonders of the world, and a relaxing sunset cruise on Zambezi River.

7. Private Tour: Abu Simbel by Minibus, Aswan, Egypt

Visit these awe-inspiring Temples in a personal tour with your Egyptologist guide to explain their mysteries, with plenty of time to explore at your own leisure.

6. Dubai Hop-On Hop-Off Tour, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

East meets West in Dubai, a city of fascinating contrasts. Sea, sand, sun and shopping, whatever you wish for in a holiday destination, here you can see it all!

5. 4-Day Nile River Cruise with Private Guide from Luxor to Aswan, Luxor, Egypt

Luxuriously relaxing cruise on the Nile with privately guided tours, evening entertainment and all meals, accommodation and sightseeing included.

4. 5-Day Nile River Cruise with Private Guide from Luxor to Aswan, Luxor, Egypt

A sumptuous cruise along the Nile to the West Bank, Luxor Temple, Esna, Edfu, Aswan, Unfinished Obelisk and felucca trip to Botanical Gardens, with evening entertainment on board.

3. Private Tour 4×4 Desert Adventure Safari, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Scenic desert drive, camel ride, sandboarding, BBQ dinner, belly dancer and optional dune buggy adventure, relax by the campfire under the stars.

2. Private Tour: Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, Memphis, Sakkara, Cairo, Egypt

Step back in time with your own private Egyptologist to visit the Great Pyramids, Sphinx, Necropolis and Memphis.

1. 4×4 Desert Safari, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

An extraordinary Arabian desert adventure, with camel ride, sandboarding, henna decorations, dinner, and a wonderful belly dancer, after the beautiful sunset.

#1 in 2008 - Dubai's Desert Adventure Safari

There you have it. Viator’s list of the Top 25 tours and things to do in the Middle East & Africa in 2008.

Stay tuned for more lists in the coming days, to help you plan your next trip across the globe. In the meantime, if your curious about the top things to do last year in Africa and the Middle East, in 2007, keep on reading…

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

Along with a healthy showing from South Africa, the big news on the 2007 list is Dubai. It tops our list and remains one of the most popular destinations we have in the Middle East & Africa. And it’s no wonder. How many places in the world can you take a 4×4 desert safari, go sandboarding (think: surfing on a sand dune), and have a BBQ under the desert stars with a bit of belly dancing thrown in, all in the same day? Answer: just one that we know of, and it’s the #1 thing to do on our list this year.

Top 25 Things to Do in Africa & the Middle East: 2007

25. Private Three Day Safari to Amboseli, Nairobi, Kenya

24. Private Dubai City Sightseeing Tour - The Golden City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

23. Private Tour: Abu Simbel by Minibus, Aswan, Egypt

22. Nile River Dinner Cruise on the Nile Maxim, Cairo, Egypt

21. Cape Peninsula Tour, Cape Town, South Africa

20. Sun City and Pilansberg Nature Reserve Safari, Johannesburg, South Africa

19. Scuba Dive or Snorkel with Great White Sharks, Cape Town, South Africa

18. 3-Day Classic Kruger Breakaway Tour, Johannesburg, South Africa

17. Private Full-Day Tour to Petra, Amman, Jordan

16. 4×4 Hatta Safari - Mountain Springs, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

15. Private Air Tour: Cairo, Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt

14. Private 4×4 Adventurer Safari including Sandboarding, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

#1 in 2007: Dubai 4x4 Desert Safari

13. Private Tour: Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, Egyptian Museum, Khan el-Khalili Bazaar, Cairo, Egypt

12. Private Tour: Alexandria Day Trip, Cairo, Egypt

11. Private Tour: Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, Memphis, Sakkara, Cairo, Egypt

10. Dubai City Half-Day Sightseeing Tour, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

9. Dubai Hop-On Hop-Off Tour, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

8. Aquila Game Reserve Wildlife Safari, Cape Town, South Africa

7. Private Abu Galum Tour: Jeep Safari, Snorkeling, Camel Ride and Bedouin Lunch, Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt

6. Private Air Tour: Abu Simbel, Aswan, Egypt

5. Private Tour 4×4 Desert Adventure Safari, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

4. 8-day Nile River Cruise with Private Guide on M/Y Mirage, Luxor, Egypt

3. Three Day “Zimbabwe” Victoria Falls Fly-In Tour, Johannesburg, South Africa

2. Private Three Day Safari to Maasai Mara National Reserve, Nairobi, Kenya

1. 4×4 Desert Wonder Safari - Sandboarding & BBQ Dinner, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

There you have it, Viator’s list of Top 25 Things to Do in Africa and the Middle East in 2007 and 2008. If you’re looking for more travel inspiration, check out our tours and activities throughout Africa and the Middle East: Dubai, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, South Africa and Zambia (including Victoria Falls). Happy travels in 2009!

-The Viator Team

Cairo: Coming Through

There are no lane markings on the roads – why bother when nobody is likely to take any notice? It’s more like a mass of angled, battered dodgem cars, ducking and weaving; no indicators, only waving hands and tooting horns which have a language of their own: one toot, three toots, a long blast. I couldn’t work out the translations apart from: ‘Coming through,’ which seemed to apply to most of them.

Motorbikes carrying three people – often one a baby in arms – wove through the heaving mess of cars; buses and vans full of people stopped and started as people jumped on and off through the wide open doors, Combi vans chugged along, suspension shot and their rear bonnets open to keep the engine cool. And in the middle of it all, donkeys pulled carts loaded with carrots, melons, furniture. Flocks of sheep huddled amongst the parked cars, tempting buyers looking to break the family’s Ramadan fast in style.

Not that I was actually behind the wheel. Are you kidding? I left that up to our Egyptian driver. Apart from the high probability of an accident if I were driving in that melee, I saw very few women in the driver’s seat: Egypt is a male-dominated culture.

Cairo is one of the most alive places I have ever been. The sheer mass of people, the noise, the heat, the traffic, the yelling in the market, the foul tempered camels, the squeezing through impossibly narrow streets by wheezing tour buses, insulating their nervous occupants from the reality of it all, the dust, the sweat, the swirling voices calling out: ‘How can I take your money?’

Yes, in the Khan el Khalili market stallholders really do say that. In fact it’s their opening line: “How can I take your money?” So honest; I loved it. Sometimes it was followed by: “I do not want anything from you, I am married. I just want your money.”

Cairo: How can I take your money?

Once it was replaced with an offer of six camels to Steve in exchange for me and Violet – his two wives. Travelling with two women gave him a lot of kudos and us some protection. Selling me some fabulous red pointy, curly toed leather shoes (”smell them: leather”, as they were thrust again and again into my face), I was asked whether Steve was really my husband. I felt it safest to say yes, to discover that my shoe man was heartbroken as “already I love you.”

I got the shoes for a bargain price.

We intended to go to the market for an hour or so; we were there for about three and only went down a few streets. What with the backgammon seller firing up a cigarette lighter to show us the counters were real camel bone not plastic, the shoe man sending his younger brother running all over the market to find my size, and our search for a place to have lunch (everything was closed for Ramadam, stupid Western tourists that we were), it all took some time. I haven’t laughed so much or felt so involved in street theatrics and hardcore commerce for a long time. Then, turning a corner, there would suddenly be a wonderful mosque, or a man carrying a hundred loaves of bread in a basket on his head, or a desperate man carrying a few footstools for sale in an effort to support his family.

Finally, we found our way out of the place, and relocated our patient driver. He was on the phone and explained politely he was calling the hotel to organise another driver because we were so long he had to return to his family to break the Ramadan fast at sundown; his wife had been on the phone. He drove us back to the hotel waving away our embarrassed apologies and explaining it was okay because driving is his business and business is important. We realised we should have been more aware of Ramadan, what it meant and how it worked.

Returning to the hotel well after sundown, we headed for our guidebook and the section on cultural sensitivities. I thought I’d been doing a good job by wearing long skirts, concealing tops – unlike many of the singleted and skimpy sun-frocked tourists I saw – but that was just the beginning.

We discovered that in Egypt it is rude to blow your nose at the dining table – oops, but I blame all that sand; that a woman should not sit next to a man not her husband – luckily they all thought Steve was; and that women should allow men to do the negotiating and arranging – oops again. In the three short days we were there – not nearly long enough but all the time we had – we really only went to tourist places: the Egyptian Museum, the Pyramids & the market (known to be the tourist market), and to our wonderful, ex-royal hunting palace but now very western hotel. I’m sure the people we encountered had endured less sensitive behaviour than ours, but it made me aware of how cloistered a lot of my travel has been, centered mainly in Europe, and the need to read up before going to places like Egypt. It’s not only for politeness, sometimes it can be for safety as well, especially as a woman. I am glad I had no preconceived visions of the market, or the driving – they surprised and delighted me - but I wish I had known more about the cultural etiquette.

Disrupting his life aside, we had a great time with our driver who has been driving visitors around for 25 years. He pointed out the major buildings, the zoo, the universities, the mosques. He took us past the Citadel and showed us where the stone for the pyramids was quarried – miles and miles and across the river from where they were built; it is hard to grasp the sheer work and ingenuity that went into creating them. He also took us past the City of the Dead, the huge cemetery, explaining that some living people actually reside in there, usually the homeless who are taken in by families and given a room to live in by the family crypt in exchange for watching over it.

The pyramids of Giza

Driving out to Giza, where our hotel was, we passed miles upon mile of new apartment buildings, half finished, surrounded by the fertile green agricultural land next to the river and fringed by desert. He explained that many farming families have now built on their land, leaving the apartments without windows and doors to prevent paying taxes; these homes are their children’s inheritance.

Stopping at the side of the freeway to look at this landscape and, inevitably, photograph the distant pyramids, a woman walking on the road below called out to us in Spanish. We replied in English and she waved and called out ‘Welcome.’ Everywhere we went, the Egyptian people were this friendly.

Next day, one of our burning desires was to go down the Nile River on a felucca. But, trap for young players, not all these boats are the romantic sort with sails. We found ourselves offered only a large motor-powered boat. Disappointment seized us but with no other option we slouched on board, settling onto the deep red, quite hard cushions. But once on the water, our spirits lifted. It really is a mighty, mighty river, teeming with history and full of the famous, life-sustaining silt (although it no longer floods; if it did, most of the luxury hotels in Cairo would be in big trouble).

This is certainly a city built for use rather than aesthetics. It’s not pretty, but there are some startling buildings and the spires of the many mosques add beauty. In parts of the river, bulrushes and palm trees survive, taking you back to the Egypt of ancient history and mythology.

When we stepped off the boat at the dock (between a boat doubling as a fish market and another housing TGI Fridays), all was forgiven. We were smiling widely, much to the relief of our driver who had brought us there.

Driving back to our hotel – well before sunset this time - we passed through the area of Giza known as Pyramids. Full of carpet merchants, oil sellers and papyrus factories, it is a messy, dusty, chaotic area. The traffic ducked and weaved as usual and kids of about seven darted between cars to cross the road – clearly they knew what they were doing, had grown up with this traffic and were not so overprotected as to be in mortal danger when out of their parents’ sight. I got the sense of children being raised by a village.

We reached one particularly crazy intersection where battered cars sat at right angles to each other in gridlock. An old man stepped into the middle, waved his arms around, took control. We got moving. And then into the middle of it all rode a man on a donkey. Our driver told us no one walks in Pyramids: ‘if they don’t have a car, they ride - camel, horse, donkey.’

Back at our hotel, we collapsed in its calm oasis. Wrapped ourselves around cool drinks. Tried to process the city we’d just thrown ourselves into. Thanked any god we could for the protective presence of our driver guide.

Then I pulled out my new red shoes and sniffed them: ah, real leather.

-Philippa Burne

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s things to do in Egypt and Cairo tours. Also have a look at traveler photos of Egypt over on the Viator Flickr site. If you need a place to stay, check out Cairo Hotels on Planetware.com.

Our stay in Muscat was short, so we’d opted for a day trip: the private 4×4 Mountain of the Sun tour. This took in the town of Nizwa (Oman’s former capital) and Jebel Shams – Oman’s very own Grand Canyon.

Onward to Nizwa

We drove inland towards Nizwa and the region known as the Dakhiliyah (interior). The trip now takes under 2 hrs. On the previous road, it took 4 hrs. Before that (when there really wasn’t a road to speak of), the journey from Muscat to Nizwa was an expedition that lasted a month!

Nizwa's fort, Oman

Oman is undergoing huge developments, but don’t confuse it with its neighbours. “Not like Dubai” was a frequent refrain. There are no high-rise buildings, few shopping malls and no mega-hotels, but Munir pointed out the sites for the new airport and hospital. Tourism is expanding here, but it’s still pleasantly low-key.

The rocks changed from yellow to red as we left the coast. There were a few small shrubs, but this is the arid zone, where rain fall averages 100mm (4in) a year. Cultivation and vegetation occurs around the wadis: the rivers that only flow during times of rainfall.

We passed one such wadi – a dry stream of stones and pebbles. Acres of date palms stretched along both banks, with fields and homes visible in the distance. Date palms are an important cash crop here. “We need the 50°C temperatures in the summer” said Munir. “There are no good dates without the heat”

We stopped to walk in a small village, built close up against red hills. The smart white houses had shady courtyards, small windows and shutters to keep out the heat. These modern homes sat comfortably alongside the more ancient aspect of the area: mud buildings 1000 years old which merged into the hills. The village itself was almost eerily quiet, a reflection that it was Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting.

Markets & Souks

Friday is the big market day in Nizwa, when it’s the place to come if you’re in the market for some livestock. We were there on Monday, when there were only a few goats and cows on display.

Munir took us through the souk. Each section is devoted to a particular kind of produce: meat, fish, fruit & vegetables, dates and spices. A few old men were shopping for vegetables, a reminder of the time when Omani men preferred their wives not to be seen in public. (Judging by the number of women shopping in the Muscat souks, this is no longer the case!)

As for our shopping, the Iranian saffron and the range of cashew nuts seemed particularly desirable. We entered the souk’s spice section and Munir was soon chatting to one of the stall-holders:

“Good morning. You are well?”

“Yes, thank you. And you? And your family?”

“Very well, thank you. We shall see you again soon?”

“Inshallah”

Not for nothing are the Omanis called the Gentlemen of Arabia. We were addressed as “Sir” and “Madam” everywhere we went.

Nizwa: A Little History

A village near Nizwa, Oman

Nizwa’s main attraction is the 17th-century fort, dating back to the period when Nizwa was Oman’s capital and held a strategic position on the caravan routes. The fort is surprisingly large and has been extensively renovated. We admired the display cabinets downstairs, with their jewelery, traditional clothing and artefacts.

The fort was laden with traps for unwary invaders, which Munir pointed out as we climbed the tight staircases to the roof. Defending soldiers could pour vats of boiling date oil over their heads, or open trapdoors to send them plunging to the depths!

The roof of the fort is a circular terrace, with a ledge running around the rim. The view from the top is absolutely stunning. The mosque with its yellow and blue dome and minaret is next door, then the white buildings and green trees of Nizwa spread into the distance. Through the haze, we could just make out the red outlines of the mountains.

Lovely as this all was, we were relieved to leave the fort. Ramadan restrictions meant that we could only drink water in the car. This was probably the only downside of the day, as we missed the opportunity to indulge in Omani food and drink.

Shortly after leaving Nizwa, we stopped for fuel. The pump price was 17¢ (30p) a litre. Munir could not understand our amusement:

“Why are you laughing?”

“You just spent 2 Rials on fuel. We spent 5 Rials on saffron and cashew nuts” I explained.

Then it was time to head off into the hills. The road emptied out and grew steeper as we climbed higher. Munir stopped by the side of the road opposite a great chasm between two hills: “This is the start of the hike into the mountains. I leave people here and then meet them the next day”.

Hiking and camping are popular activities in Oman, but the climate means that they are mainly confined to the cooler months.

By the side of the entrance to the canyon, there are the abandoned remains of a village. The stone huts are now roofless and empty, crumbling remains of the village that has now moved across the way, closer to the water supply.

A bit further up the road, and it was time for the 4×4 to be put to good use. The road surface vanished completely and we were driving on rough stones and sand. It was hair-pin bends and low gears all the way until we reached the plateau. By now we were at a height of 3000m and the outside temperature was a mere 28°C!

Jebel Shams

Up at Jebel Shams, we had the plateau to ourselves. A hot breeze blew, and a few small birds flew about, but otherwise there was just rock and sand. I stood as close as I dared to the edge and peered down. Deep down at the bottom, I could just see a tiny village. “It’s 1km down,” said Munir. He pointed over at the stall-holders. “They walk up every day to work here”. We could just about make out the tiny path that wound its way down into the gorge.

Jebel Shams, Oman's 'Grand Canyon'

We ate a late picnic lunch in the car, and then it was time to start the drive back to Muscat. Back at the hotel, we jumped straight into the hotel pool for a very welcome swim! Did I mention that it was a hot day?

This was definitely our best day in Oman. Ramadan restrictions obviously affected us, but the upside was that the roads and sights were very quiet. It gave us a real taste for the country, and a tiny indication of how much more there is to see.

There’s no getting away from the fact that any travelling in Oman involves a lot of time spent on the road. A comfortable vehicle definitely made all the difference to us, as did our extremely friendly and knowledgeable guide.

We will be back – inshallah (as they say in Oman)!

-Louise Heal

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s Oman tours, from private tours of Muscat to day trips around Oman.

What is Viator’s Traveler of the Month?

Recently we started publishing photos over on the viator.com website. These are photos taken by actual Viator travelers, photos of themselves on elephant treks, helicopter tours, desert safaris, private tours of the Vatican — and on hundreds of the other 5,000+ tours and things to do available on Viator.

So we’ve started giving props each month to an individual Viator traveler who makes us laugh, makes us smile, or who inspires us to make that next trip. It might be the prettiest traveler photo, or the funniest, or most inspirational, or just most plain weird.

What do you win? A $100 gift certificate (or the equivalent in pounds or euros) to use on Viator.com! So get traveling, take photos and submit them to viator.com when you return. If you want to participate, simply submit your travel photos (see below for how this works) and you are eligible. Each month we will chose a new winner.

This month we’re pleased to honor Danielle and her family for their Tuscan Cooking Class and Dinner photos.

September’s Traveler of the Month - Danielle B, USA

While Danielle was traveling with her parents to Florence, they took the Tuscan Cooking Class and Dinner Tour. She submitted some enjoyable pictures of them making crepes and showing off their “flipping” skills during their Tuscan cooking class.

June’s Traveler of the Month - Theresa N, USA

Theresa traveled with her family to London and took her kids on the Harry Potter Black Taxi Private Tour. Theresa submitted some fun photos of her kids dressed up like Harry Potter and visiting the sites that were made famous by the series on the Harry Potter Black Taxi Private Tour. Yes, Theresa put a spell on us, so we’re crowning her the traveler of the month in June.

May’s Traveler of the Month - Alviera N, Australia

Alveira traveled with her family to Singapore and enjoyed the Imperial Cheng Ho Singapore Harbour Dinner Cruise during their travels. Alveira submitted some neat photos of them in front of the famous replica of the Imperior vessel of the Ming Dynasty on the Imperial Cheng Ho Singapore Harbour Dinner Cruise.

April’s Travelers of the Month - James & Michelle, United Kingdom

Michelle and James went on a trip to Cairo, Egypt and had a wonderful time exploring the different pyramids on their private tour to the Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, Memphis and Sakkara. James submitted some really fun photos of their trip to the Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, Memphis and Sakkara in Cairo. This is a great tour to get the full pyramid experience in Egypt.

James said, “This was a great day out. We had a few laughs along the way. The guide was brilliant.”

March’s Traveler of the Month - Alexandra S, Australia

Alexandra S and her family recently went on a trip to Fiji and based on her photos and captions, they had a blast. The photo above is from the South Sea Island Day Cruise where they snorkeled and relaxed by the pool. Alexandra submitted some great photos of the South Sea Island Day Cruise in Fiji. If you’re looking to relax and have a fun trip with the kids in Fiji, Alexandra recommends this tour.

Alexandra says: “Kris has given his thumbs up for this experience. This is definitely a trip to take especially if you have kids.”

February’s Traveler of the Month - James A, UK

Here’s a shot taken by James A in Rome, on the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Rome Walking Tour. James submitted some great photos of Rome and the inside of the Vatican. And, according to James’ review he’s glad he booked ahead because the line to get into the Vatican was over 2.5 hours long!

James says: “We were enjoying our tour within 15 minutes, and the guide brought the Vatican alive. There is so much to see you simply would not enjoy any other way as it would not mean much without being explained. The headsets you are given for the tour are fab, and you can hear loud and clear what your guide is saying. We normally do our own thing on holiday; however, this is one of the rare places which the tour works very well.”

January’s Traveler of the Month - Sumit B, USA

Sumit B seems to be having a good time at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in Las Vegas, which he visited after purchasing the Las Vegas Power Pass. Sumit, his wife and his two embarrassed children met Beyonce, the Terminator, Johnny Depp, George Bush and Jenna Jameson, among others. Hopefully his wife forgives him for all of the photos with other women.

–The Viator Travel Team

Editor’s Note: We’ve posted the photos submitted by our Travelers of the Month over on the Viator Flickr site. Hop on over for some inspiration for your next trip.

How can you submit photos to Viator’s Traveler of the Month contest? It’s simple: book a tour with Viator and, when you return, you will receive a “Welcome Back” email. This email will invite you to submit reviews and photos of the tours and things to do on your trip. Tell other travelers what you loved, what you hated and show them in a photo. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Things to Do in Dubai, Day 1: Bur Dubai

Top thing to do in Dubai? Soak up the atmosphere.

Need a place to sleep during your three-day tour? For a supremely ‘local’ experience check in to the boutique Orient House in the atmospheric pedestrian-only Bastakiya area. Or if you prefer a stylish update of the Arabian experience try the Qamardeen or Al Manzil hotels near the new Burj Dubai (currently the tallest building in the world). Of course for an all-out 1001 Arabian Nights experience, it’s hard to go past the plush and more-than-a-little sexy One&Only Royal Mirage.

Now in keeping with our Emirati /Arabian theme, start the day with a cultural breakfast at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding (SMCCU), a rare opportunity to try authentic Emirati food, learn about local culture and ask any questions you have about traditional and contemporary Gulf life – don’t be shy!

Wander around the Bastakiya area with its enigmatic, restored wind-tower houses. Once home to wealthy Persian traders, it’s now the centre of a flourishing art scene. Head to the Majlis Gallery for some souvenirs, XVA gallery for a snapshot of contemporary Middle East art, followed by a casual lunch at the nearby Basta Art Café where the fruit cocktails are sublime and relaxing under the shady trees is a treat.

Breakfast at Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding

To further escape the afternoon heat, make your next stop the compact and compelling Dubai Museum, housed in one of the city’s oldest buildings (a restored fort) and learn how this former fishing village evolved into the daring metropolis it is today.

After taking in the amusing dioramas of old souq (market) life at the museum, take a late afternoon meander through the Bur Dubai souq while the traders are shaking off their siesta and check out the tempting textiles, sparkling slippers, cheap kitsch t-shirts, and the fascinating ‘Hindi Lane’, where local Hindus head to worship, buying fragrant flowers and fruit offerings for their rituals.

As the suns sets, stroll along the Creek’s edge down to the Shindagha area, stopping in at Sheikh Saeed’s house to check out the wonderful historic photo collection in the beautifully restored residence, then head into the Heritage and Diving Village where recreations of coastal life of the local people are wonderfully realised. If you’re fortunate, you might catch locals performing traditional songs and dances as well as old Emirati women preparing tasty traditional bread.

With your taste buds tantalised, have an Arabic dinner at Kan Zaman overlooking the Creek or head back to the Bastakiya area to dine at the enchanting Bastakiyah Nights, completing your day of tasting local Emirati life. Or, if you’re up for more, head to one of the sheesha (water pipe or hookah) cafés that are dotted along the Creek to finish the night with a local ritual – try the aromatic apple sheesha.

Things to Do in Dubai, Day 2: Deira

Day 2 starts with another must-do Dubai experience – an abra (water taxi) ride across the Creek to the other side of the city (Deira). Everyone from South-East Asian expat traders, locals in their elegant flowing dishdashas (the blindingly-white local dress), and tourists use this form of transport, as much to soak up the Creek atmosphere as to beat the bridge and tunnel traffic – all for a measly 33 cents. You’ll get a glimpse of the restored wind-tower architecture on the waterfront, and pass dhows (traditional cargo-carrying wooden boats) making their way to a berth along the Creek. Once safely on terra firma, take a wander along the fascinating dhow wharves where everything from four-wheel-drives to the kitchen sink are loaded on these boats bound for Gulf and Asian destinations.

Stroll across to sample the aromas in the spice souq then follow the souq down to two of Dubai’s underrated historic gems. The Ahmadiya School (1912) was Dubai’s first private school and has been restored with exquisite attention to detail, while the adjacent Heritage House (1890) was once owned by the wealthy pearling merchant who started the school. Both are wonderful traditional houses of the pre-oil era and showcase the charm of and grace of local courtyard houses.

Back out on the streets, get lost in the covered souq (don’t panic, everyone does!) and mix up your own fragrance at one of the plentiful perfume houses. Size yourself up for a sparkly kitsch belly-dancing outfit (for her) or a dapper wooden cane (for him) or weigh up some simple or ornate jewelery at the legendary gold souq, where you can bargain for some of the cheapest gold in the world – shop around and enjoy the haggling ritual! One of our favourite breaks on this shopping excursion is to grab a cheap, filling shawarma (juicy, fragrant lamb or chicken rolled up in a pita bread) and a super-fresh mango juice at Ashwaq Cafeteria, a block from the gold souq.

If you want to shop until you drop, jump in a taxi and head to Deira City Centre (one of Dubai’s oldest and most popular shopping malls) where you can escape the heat, do some people-watching and buy some souvenirs – haggle for carpets, Aladdin’s lamps and beautiful hand-beaten brass coffee pots. Be prepared to shop for another suitcase to get your haul home! Take a coffee break and hang out with the locals who meet their friends here for a chat at one of the myriad cafés.

Freshen up back at the hotel, then if you can’t get enough of the Creek, take a dinner cruise on the Bateaux Dubai, or, if you’re craving more Middle-Eastern atmosphere, make a late booking for Awtar, the Lebanese restaurant at the Grand Hyatt where the classic Lebanese night out of mezze (starter snacks), fragrant grilled meats, sheesha, band and belly dancer melds into the early hours.

Things to Do in Dubai, Day 3: Jumeirah & the Desert

Dubai Desert Safari

Start the day with a tour of the handsome Jumeirah Mosque with the SMCCU people. On a visit to the mosque you learn about the Islamic prayer rituals, from how the five times daily call-to-prayer (signified by the melody of the mezzuin who leads the prayer) is calculated by the sun and moon, to the performing of ablutions (washing before prayer) and how the prayer ritual is carried out. It’s also a great opportunity to ask questions about Islam in general at the Q&A session afterwards.

Jump in a taxi or a local bus (they run frequently along Jumeirah Beach Rd) and head up to Madinat Jumeirah, a contemporary interpretation of an old Arabian souq. Here you can do some more shopping, take in the atmosphere, and watch the abras glide along the man-made canals. Have lunch at one of the excellent waterside restaurants (there’s everything from pasta to Moroccan) before heading back to the hotel to freshen up before your Dubai desert safari in one of the region’s desert conservation reserve.

After an exhilarating drive through the dunes, where you might spot the rare and reintroduced oryx (like a desert dwelling deer) but will see plenty of camels, prepare yourself for a sublime desert sunset. The safari provides a great opportunity to catch up on those must-do’s that you didn’t have time for over the last couple of days – you can take a camel ride, watch a belly dancer, get a henna tattoo, sample some local cuisine, and smoke some sheesha. And while the safari is definitely a touristy th’ng to do, you can drink a toast to having experienced the closest you’ll get to the ‘old’ Arabian Dubai.

-Terry Carter

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s complete list of tours in Dubai, from Dubai desert safaris to Dubai city sightseeing tours.