Going to Dubai at Easter with kids any tips

[Nools]

Staying in Mother in laws appt so saving lots of money! Only going for ten days so any tips on how we can make best use of the time. We have four kids age from 4 to 10. They love water and out door stuff. I love shopping ( of course but I doubt I will get a look in!)

I'm glad you've started this thread. Can I piggyback a question onto yours?

My mum has been trying to talk me out of holidaying in Dubai - says a friend of hers got back from there recently and it is like a 'police state' with an atmosphere of fear. I don't know how seriously to take this... (my mum also didn't want me to go to Disneyland Paris this last Christmas because of the Paris riots - daft old bat! - needless to say I ignored her since the riots were in inner city Paris not DLP!!)

So has anybody recently returned from Dubai who can offer some insights into what it is like currently?

Police state? Fear? No no no. Dubai is very safe. However, with the excetion of the area around the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Madinat Jumeirah complex (you must visit the Madinat Souk) and the Burj al Arab (the 7 star hotel shaped like a sail) the whole of Dubai is like one big building site. There are cranes everywhere - particularly further up Jumeirah Beach where Palm Islands are being constructed. Having said that, we went twice last year and I would go again tomorrow if I could.
Nools take the kids to Wild Wadi Waterpark - check the website for a voucher to download. Also book a Dune Desert Safari with Arabian Adventures - the kids will love dune bashing and the meal at a Bedouin Camp with camel rides and henna tattoos.

I definitely recommend that you check out the Tripadvisor Dubai Discussion Forum and use the search facility if you want to research any particular subject; eg 'dune desert safari' or 'wild wadi' or 'safety' etc. It is a very informative, lively and humourous source of info on Dubai and there are hundreds of questions stored in the forum history/archives if you work your way though previous pages of posts.

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been there 6 times in last 18 months, love it. Certainly no atmosphere of fear at all. Enjoy!

Thanks Copycat for the tips. Have been told that
Dubai is fantastic and heard about the waterpark.. I think we will all love it!

Hi. Can I jump in and ask a question. What's the situation re tipping in Dubai? We're going en route from NZ in a month's time - very excited about it.

tipping in Dubai
Hope you have a lovely time Maggie

Nools, we also took the Big Bus Tour which is a hop on hop off, open top tourist bus that takes you for a tour of both the city and the beach resorts. OUr kids were reasonably content to do this and it was a great way to see the (building) sites