I stopped over in Dubai on my way to South Africa. I had never been to Dubai before and was amazed by how busy it was at 1:00 in the morning. I decided to write this post to give those that have a transfer in Dubai tips on what to do during your stop over.
1) Go to Duty Free
Try on your favourite perfumes in the duty free shop and stock up on chocolates and cigarettes. Due to the weak pound, the perfumes and chocolate are cheaper in the UK. However if you will get a good deal if you buy cigarettes in Dubai.
2) Have a takeaway
If you are on a budget, there are not that many cheap places to eat at Dubai airport. I had a Mc Donalds meal – chicken salad (trying to be good), water and chips (not that healthy) was $10 USD. I then found myself at Ben’s Cookies which was $4 USD. If you can pay in Dubai currency, everything is cheaper.
3) Walk a lot
Dubai airport is massive. Normally this means you arrive at one part of the terminal and have to walk to gave 116 which is the other side. Give yourself 45 minutes to walk from one end of the terminal 3 building to the other. I took loads of photos, have a look at them.
4) Book the Marhaba lounge
For those that do not want to walk around the airport or have take away (can’t imagine why) you can book yourself into the Marhaba lounge which is in Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. For 4 hours it is about 30 pounds but apparently you do get food and drink included. I didn’t go, so I cannot vouch for that.
Next time I have a stop over in Dubai, I think I will visit the city as well. I would like to check out the beaches and the shopping as well as the seven star Burj Al Arab.
