SHOULD I SEE DUBAI DURING A STOPOVER?
Have a question? Ask our expert Simon Calder
Q I am travelling to Bali and have an eight-hour wait in Dubai. Is it advisable to do a short sightseeing tour? If so, would I need a visa, and what do I do with my luggage?
Name supplied
A For British passport holders with long waits before onward connections at Dubai, taking a break is easy and fun.
When you check in at the UK airport, your baggage will be checked through to Bali. There are no
significant formalities to leaving the airport: just show your passport and you’ll be through.
You could join a sightseeing tour, but personally I recommend you head for the Dubai Metro, the over/underground railway that runs through the city. Take the cheap and easy trip to Baniyas Square (just change from the Red to the Green Line at Union Station). You’ll be well placed to wander around the historic core of the city, visiting the souks, then taking an abra (a cheap and cheerful ferry) across Dubai Creek. You can visit the city’s museum and, further upstream, the historic and enticing Bastakiya quarter – rich in cafes and galleries. Then just hop in a cab back to the airport: if you are travelling to it, not from it, you avoid the swingeing airport surcharge.
Every day, our travel correspondent, Simon Calder, tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder