Dubai: UAE is considered a paramount tourist destination for families due to decent civil life and diverse socio-cultural background of the country.
The respectable atmosphere and the modest way of life here adds to the large number of activities which families can enjoy here.
People of all nationalities are welcome to visit the country and have fun here.
Those who wish to spend their holidays in the UAE need to obtain a tourist visa. While some nationalities can obtain the visa on their arrival at any of the country's international airports, others need to obtain a visa in advance before coming here.
Tourist visa
The tourist visa can be obtained through hotels and tour companies who will be your sponsor during your visit to the country. They can obtain for you a tourist visa which is valid for 30 days only.
One should remember that the tourist visa cannot be changed into resident's visa.
Before visiting UAE one should know that the country is sunny and warm in winter but the summer here is hot and humid.
The finest time to visit the UAE is from October till May.
While from June to September, the weather is humid and the temperature is high so it is difficult for people to do any outdoor activity. But still people can enjoy their time in UAE during summer as they will find a wide range of shopping malls, hotels, clubs and other leisure facilities.
Restrictions
If one wishes to visit UAE during Ramadan they should remember that Muslims do not eat or drink between sunrise and sunset.
Visitors are requested not to eat, drink or smoke in public places during fasting time. Restaurants are closed during the day while alcohol is served in hotels in some emirates after sunset.
On the other hand people can enjoy visiting UAE during Ramadan due to the large number of activities, celebrations, fairs, festivals and carnivals.
Visitors can also enjoy a number of events organised each year such as Dubai Shopping Festival, Al Ain Classical Music Festival, Abu Dhabi Film Festival, Dubai World Cup Horse Racing and many other interesting activities, including boat racing.
There are seven emirates in the UAE and one can chose a hotel, or an apartment in any of the emirates to stay. The distance between the emirates is not so much and there are different means of transportation.
So one can chose a taxi, public transport, abra (water taxi) in Dubai and in the near future there will be the Metro rail service in Dubai.
Useful information
Tourists will find it easy to change money at banks and at money exchange centres which are available throughout the country.
The currency in the UAE is dirham. The dirham notes are in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000.
One can travel to UAE via air, sea and land.
There are six international airports in the UAE; Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah.
There are three national airlines in the UAE — the first one is based in Abu Dhabi, called Etihad Airways: www.etihadairways.com. Emirates is the national airlines based in Dubai: www.emirates.com. Air Arabia is the national airlines based in Sharjah: www.airarabia.com
While Etihad and Emirates fly to many destinations all over the world, Air Arabia is limited to some Arab and Asian countries.
In addition to these airlines, there are many other airlines from different parts of the world.
Visitors can come here also by land through the borders of UAE from Saudi Arabia and Oman and people can even travel by land from countries like Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Visitors also have another option of travelling by sea as foreign vessels and liners dock at ports such as Port Rashid in Dubai.
