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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Would you go to the UAE?

227 replies

Sleepdeprivedbadger23 · 14/08/2025 16:57

I’ve always had zero interest in a holiday in Dubai because it’s not my scene - I am more a European villa or active holiday person and not into designer gear so politely nod along if friends tell me about their Dubai holidays.

I also know the human and women’s rights etc are generally very poor. I’ve heard from relatives who have lived there for periods and they also found migrant workers in the hotels they were working in were treated really badly.

My in laws have now moved there. I’m not keen on visiting, but obviously DP wants to see his family.

Would you go for a visit to family? There’s lots of places I would rather not spend loads of time in (the US at the moment to be honest!) but if someone bought me a trip to NYC I would probably go…!

OP posts:
OneCoralCat · 15/08/2025 10:46

Timeforabitofpeace · 15/08/2025 10:42

I doubt it. I think their politics are scary, and I’m not sure I’d feel safe. It seems it would be so easy to accidentally land in trouble.

Out of curiosity, which laws do you think would be tricky to follow? I’ve always found most of them are just common sense once you know them.

Simonjt · 15/08/2025 10:48

OneCoralCat · 15/08/2025 10:46

Out of curiosity, which laws do you think would be tricky to follow? I’ve always found most of them are just common sense once you know them.

Show quote history

I’m a man married to a man, we have two children. How do you suggest we would follow the laws? Or is being straight common sense?

Allthegoodnamesarechosen · 15/08/2025 10:49

I’d go for the UAE Tour, but only if Pogi was riding.

Cloudymonday · 15/08/2025 10:50

Charel2girl5 · 15/08/2025 09:00

I lived there and was happy but we had a good lifestyle because of my husbands job. Generally people who were employed by international companies were paid and treated well but I was also aware of those who worked fourteen hour days and slept in tents in the desert (freezing at night). They usually worked for other Asian countries and not necessarily emeraties.
I socialized a lot with Arab men from all over the ME due to the endless drinks and dinner culture there but I have to say I found most men that I met were very respectful and friendly. Sometimes I think we have a very narrow view of the culture there.
Go for it and enjoy and ensure you go Ras Al-Khaimah which is a short drive and utterly stunning.

Agreed. And I am always surprised when people talk about UAE being boring with just malls and beach.
Rak/fujairah mountain area is absolutely beautiful. Desert bbq in Al Qudra is a perfect evening. Grand Mosque in Abu dhabi, amazing. Lots of historical sites around north east. Great hiking.

Whatafustercluck · 15/08/2025 10:52

I'd visit family if we were close. But no, it has absolutely no appeal to me as a holiday destination for very many reasons.

OneNeatBlueOrca · 15/08/2025 10:52

God, no, it's a symbol of everything that's wrong with the entire world.

OneCoralCat · 15/08/2025 10:53

Simonjt · 15/08/2025 10:48

I’m a man married to a man, we have two children. How do you suggest we would follow the laws? Or is being straight common sense?

Show quote history

Nice try. I was replying to the poster who said she thought she would accidentally find herself in trouble. I'm not sure you'd accidentally end up being married to a man while on holiday in the UAE.

Plenty of gay people enjoy holidays in the UAE every year. If you would choose not to, that's fine, I probably wouldn't either if I was gay, but the attempt at sarcasm by applying what I said to someone else to you, wasn't necessary

CoughCoughLaugh · 15/08/2025 10:54

Locutus2000 · 15/08/2025 10:38

But you don't have to go too far back in most countries history to find much worse treatment of labourers.

This is the worst argument ever when it comes to the abuse of immigrants.

Laws and tolerance in the UAE are making much quicker progress than other countries ever did in 50 years from their inception.

Still illegal to be gay though.

Show quote history

This is the worst argument ever when it comes to the abuse of immigrants.

I actually don't think it is, it highlights that the UAE has learnt far quicker than other countries did that their laws needed updating and labourers needed more protection. Which they now have. So rather than condemning them, they should be applauded for progressing far quicker than other countries did.

Still illegal to be gay though.

As it is in 65 other countries. (https://www.lgbthero.org.uk/which-countries-criminalise-homosexuality) yet I don't see monotonously frequent posts from people picking on them.

Timeforabitofpeace · 15/08/2025 10:55

I’m not sure @OneCoralCat, that’s my point. There seems to be enough negative publicity. I think it’s not an uncommon view.

There’s no point in debating it, as the OP asked for people’s opinions. That is mine.

I see the UAE is on a massive publicity drive at the moment, including a radio 4 programme last week.

OneCoralCat · 15/08/2025 11:00

Timeforabitofpeace · 15/08/2025 10:55

I’m not sure @OneCoralCat, that’s my point. There seems to be enough negative publicity. I think it’s not an uncommon view.

There’s no point in debating it, as the OP asked for people’s opinions. That is mine.

I see the UAE is on a massive publicity drive at the moment, including a radio 4 programme last week.

It's fine if you don't want to debate it. I was just wondering what's made you think you wouldn't be able to fall foul of the law in the UAE as opposed to anywhere else.

CoughCoughLaugh · 15/08/2025 11:04

Simonjt · 15/08/2025 10:48

I’m a man married to a man, we have two children. How do you suggest we would follow the laws? Or is being straight common sense?

Show quote history

That is definitely one of the downsides of the UAE. As I said, the UAE is certainly NOT perfect in many ways, and it has never held itself up to be. However, when I lived there, we were good friends with a gay couple. They just lived their lives and had no bother. This was in the early days when non-married couple couldn't live together either. Now they can. The UAE will catch up in time. However, they are a Muslim country and rightly or wrongly, homosexuality is against their religion, and their religion sets the laws irrespective of what a lot of the population personally feel.

There are 195 countries in the world, and in almost a third (65), homosexuality is against the law, yet people don't use this as a reason not to visit.

Swiftie1878 · 15/08/2025 11:07

I would go to visit family but for no other reason.
If you aren’t married, but have a child together, and have different surnames, I wouldn’t go.

Simonjt · 15/08/2025 11:08

“There are 195 countries in the world, and in almost a third (65), homosexuality is against the law, yet people don't use this as a reason not to visit.”

People very much do.

kimbear87 · 15/08/2025 11:08

Charlthg · 15/08/2025 08:19

It’s always hilarious to see little islanders on an increasingly poor and irrelevant corner of the world taking the moral high ground over somewhere their own country folk are flocking to make new lives.

There is some kind of astonishing superiority complex in this country where people cannot afford heating in the winter, air con in the summer, pay taxes through the nose for almost nothing in return, get locked up for saying the wrong thing, forced to say that men can be women, and actual women’s safety being compromised in the name of diversity and ‘be kind’.

The UAE at least looks after its own. And doesn’t screw them over.

Look up “GDP of every country” and see where we stand.

User2346 · 15/08/2025 11:12

We could learn a lot from Dubai’s inclusivity to SEN and disability. They are referred to as “People of Determination” which says it all.

AcaciaGum · 15/08/2025 11:13

CoughCoughLaugh · 15/08/2025 10:54

This is the worst argument ever when it comes to the abuse of immigrants.

I actually don't think it is, it highlights that the UAE has learnt far quicker than other countries did that their laws needed updating and labourers needed more protection. Which they now have. So rather than condemning them, they should be applauded for progressing far quicker than other countries did.

Still illegal to be gay though.

As it is in 65 other countries. (https://www.lgbthero.org.uk/which-countries-criminalise-homosexuality) yet I don't see monotonously frequent posts from people picking on them.

Show quote history

There aren't many threads where people are asking about visiting/moving to Yemen or Afghanistan or Bangladesh. If there were it would doubtless come up.

Ddakji · 15/08/2025 11:27

Simonjt · 15/08/2025 11:08

“There are 195 countries in the world, and in almost a third (65), homosexuality is against the law, yet people don't use this as a reason not to visit.”

People very much do.

Really? Up until very recently various Caribbean islands had homosexuality as illegal. Don’t remember seeing threads about whether or not to go to Barbados on holiday.

Simonjt · 15/08/2025 11:28

Ddakji · 15/08/2025 11:27

Really? Up until very recently various Caribbean islands had homosexuality as illegal. Don’t remember seeing threads about whether or not to go to Barbados on holiday.

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So things only exist if there has been a thread about in on MN?

OneCoralCat · 15/08/2025 11:32

Simonjt · 15/08/2025 11:28

So things only exist if there has been a thread about in on MN?

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No, they're referring to the level of judgement on here specifically aren't they.

If someone posted 'oh I'm off to Barbados tomorrow', it wouldn't be met with endless people saying "god how awful, I'd NEVER go there, they don't support homosexuality"

Simonjt · 15/08/2025 11:35

OneCoralCat · 15/08/2025 11:32

No, they're referring to the level of judgement on here specifically aren't they.

If someone posted 'oh I'm off to Barbados tomorrow', it wouldn't be met with endless people saying "god how awful, I'd NEVER go there, they don't support homosexuality"

Show quote history

That is exactly what I would be doing in any country that made being LGBT illegal, or had any laws making women lesser people than men. A lot of people aren’t aware of the laws in countries they are thinking of visiting, so ita something i point out if I see the threads.

OneCoralCat · 15/08/2025 11:42

Simonjt · 15/08/2025 11:35

That is exactly what I would be doing in any country that made being LGBT illegal, or had any laws making women lesser people than men. A lot of people aren’t aware of the laws in countries they are thinking of visiting, so ita something i point out if I see the threads.

Show quote history

That might be true in your case, but that absolutely isn't the general experience across the holiday threads on here.

FatherFrosty · 15/08/2025 11:44

No. I had friends and family who lived out there. I saw them in the summer when they returned.

Sh291 · 15/08/2025 11:44

Well I probably would just be content to see them once a year when they came back, but I can understand why you might need to visit them occasionally for your husband. Such a shame they couldn't have picked somewhere else though. It's not somewhere I'd want to go to, and I wouldn't feel comfortable going.

justheretoread111 · 15/08/2025 11:45

OwlBeThere · 14/08/2025 17:21

No. I wouldn’t spend time in a place that thinks my child shouldn’t exist.
and I think less of anyone who chooses to live there.

What do you mean by ‘thinks my child shouldn’t exist’?

OtherS · 15/08/2025 13:07

No interest in going there for a holiday, but I have a small company and as it becomes harder to run in the UK, and it becomes harder and less safe to live in the UK, I do idly wander about where I could move. And Dubai does come up both as a great place for business, and very safe. It has occurred to me how odd it is that many women report feeling far safer in a country that arrests rape victims and sees no issue with dv than they do walking the streets of our capital. But that's obviously just indicative of how bad Britain has become rather than how good the UAE is. I doubt I will move there, but I can understand why people do.