Making the most of one day in Dubai

[VeronicaCars]

Hi, apologies in advance if this is in the wrong topic, I was hoping someone with experience of Dubai might be able to help me.

Due to the way we booked tickets for a connecting flight via Dubai, my children (9 and 6) and I have ended up with a 24 hour transit in Dubai. Some old friends have kindly let us stay in their villa in Dubai Meadows whilst they are away.

ive tried searching all the travel websites but the advice is quite generic. I’m generally good at fabricating entertainment out of nothing for the kids (parks, museums etc) but I’m struggling a bit in the new environment.

The kids don’t tolerate heat too well and it’s absolutely baking here so ideally we’d like something indoors. The villa has a pool so they can use that, although they’ve spent most of today in and out of the pool. I’ve got a disorder which fatigues me after being on my feet for too long, so ideally no really long walks or nothing super active (Ski Dubai for example - do you have to ski with your children?) The youngest is terrified of roller coaster style rides, so I’m not sure if the theme parks would work for us? My eldest is quite aware of animal rights etc so wouldn’t enjoy animals in captivity. sorry, reading it back we sound so wet but honestly we’re all usually quite easy going. I would love to take them on a desert safari but not sure if that’s safe/ too hot?

the trip was to visit elderly family in Australia, so if I could manage to make it feel like a one day holiday, that would be great. Are there any good hotel day passes, for example, which could include indoor activities? Or would Dubai Marina be good in the heat?

I definitely wouldn’t go out into the desert in the middle of August if you don’t like the heat. It will be 50+ degrees

I would suggest just heading up the burj kalifta tower. Booking afternoon tea at one of the nice hotels.

24hrs is hardly any time tbh. It will take 3 hours off with arriving, luggage, taxi to accommodation and back, check in etc. so you have 18 hours. You presumably want to sleep and rest which is probably 9hrs, so max 8-9hrs free which you could fill just relaxing by the pool and eating

Wild Wadi water park for the kids and you can chill out?

I did a day trip around Dubai, but had a driver. I hated it. Might be a stretch but driver to Abu Dhabi to see the mangroves and kayaking, or Louvre (gorgeous and a nice place to chill).

You could go to Atlantis with day passes. It’s water park and aquarium. But skip aquarium. It will be hot though, but in water so not too bad

Hi @Caspianberg thank you for replying. I agree, I definitely wouldn’t have chosen a summer visit! We arrived this morning and fly out again Thursday morning, so we basically have tomorrow to fill.

I completely agree and honestly if it was just me, I would have LOVED to just lounge around this beautiful villa, swim, maybe eat out for one meal and that’s it. However, the kids have had a tough summer - we travelled to care for an elderly relative. They got on with it without complaining, but they haven’t had much excitement, so if I’m able to squeeze in something for them, I’d really love to.

should have mentioned, my youngest hates roller coasters and heights (fml)

You could get a private boat trip out. Usually leave from the marina. Some offer breakfast on board. Pretty reasonable prices for a family. About 2-3 hours long, but you can ask for shorter or longer I guess.

I've been on 2 stopovers and the highlights were the atlantis water park and the spice and gold souks

Get the river bus across the river, that's fun!

The rest I could take or leave, once you've seen one mall you've seen them all

Kidzania is worth a look if they haven't been to something similar. Also OliOli. Not particularly 'Dubai' but fun for the kids.

And you don't have to ski at SkiDubai - there are lots of non-ski options.

Definitely go to watch the fountain show at Dubai Mall on an evening. It's great to chill out there for a few hours too - plenty of people watching, cafes, restaurants, kids love the cheesecake factory for food! You could also go up the Burj Khalifa - there's often cheap tickets on groupon. During the day I would go to JBR beach again plenty of people watching opportunities and cafes etc.