Dubai?

[NotDonna]

Considering taking two of my teen daughters to Dubai over Easter. No clue where to begin regarding areas and best places to stay, so some pointers would be great. Is 10 days too long?

@NotDonna we are at the Intercontinental at Dubai Marina. It's just a weekend trip this time. As we are based in the Middle East. Pool is lovely and the rooms are great. 2 mins to the Marina and five to JBR. I'd be looking to stay at the Address if I come back for longer. Or if meeting family from the UK. The beach is quieter but still lots to do.

Being on the Palm is a PITA unless all you are going to do is stay there - getting on and off wastes 30 mins each time

Marina area or Jumeirah beach area better but it's a massive city so wherever you base yourself you will need to get taxis (which are actually pretty cheap!) or the metro

Food can be expensive but not always - just do your research and check menus out. We found drinks for £10-12 rather than the £30+ in some places

What kind of things do they want to do? Check out the Dubai pass to get them all included before you go

We did 11 nights, 4 in Abu Dhabi and 7 in Dubai (they are approx 1 hour apart) and every day was pretty busy

Consider:

Abu Dhabi
Ferrari land
Yas island water park
SeaWorld
Warner Bros world
Mosque
Beach day
F1 circuit
Etihad Arena - depending what's on

Some Yas Island hotels include park
Passes - Hilton is one

Dubai

So much! Check this site:

https://www.visitdubai.com/en/plan-your-trip/dubai-pass?DTCM-SN+%7C+UK+%7C+Search+%7C+EN+%7C+Brand&gclid=Cj0KCQiA-62tBhDSARIsAO7twbZ6fQm65M44-v2shtyyHJnDVy9lvd9RddUNH9J6tHhZVK7KvlSmkaAnwuEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Is the water park at JBR a bit rubbish/young?

Have a look at the Ritz Carlton on JBR - private beach, walk out the back of the hotel onto JBR with lots of restaurants and close to the marina. Don't stay on the palm unless you want to stay in the hotel resort (or spend all your time in taxis getting off the palm).

Unless I missed it, there's no water park at JBR. I think you may mean the water park at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel which is in a different area but still on a beach and a bit closer to the city than JBR/marina. We've stayed at one of the hotels in the Madinat complex which is next door to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. For me, I prefer the location of the hotels on JBR as you can go out and about to explore the local area without having to get transport - if you're in the Jumeirah Beach Hotel there's nothing really within the local vicinity unless your wanting to get taxis all the time.

Ahhh thank you for that @Hair2daygone2morrow as I thought that hotel was on JBR. My posts mentioning the hotel kept being deleted so I couldn’t discuss locale.
If we’re looking at JBR is Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort any good?

Le Royale Meridien is at the very top of JBR. I've never stayed there so can't really comment on the hotel itself but the Ritz Carlton is next to it so I did see where it was. Location wise it's at the very top of JBR so further to walk to restaurants than some of the other hotels in the area but the thing that would really put me off staying there over a weekend is that there's a beach club right next door with REALLY loud musiC - but that might just be me!

Don't get Le Royal Meridien confused with Le Meridien Seyahi which has the water park - just wanted to point this out as it's a mistake I made when looking at hotels.

Personally prefer the palm to JBR, it’s a quieter more relaxed vibe (although less to do as a result). I found JBR quite hectic, and busy.

On our latest trip we stayed at NH Collection, and we did half board as our youngest was 2 and eldest 15 so it seemed easier than trying to match everyone’s mealtimes for eating out. West Beach is nice to wander up and down, restaurants and cafes in walking distance, a small (by Dubai standards!) mall. I didn’t think taxis were expensive but they weren’t always easy to get - peak times etc. hotel could usually get us one immediately but were more expensive.

We are going back in half term and have chosen to do RAK as basically want nice weather and a pool! Plenty to do in Dubai if that is your thing, nothing we have felt bothered enough to go back for.

@DoThePropeller what’s RAK?

Ras al khaimah