Dubai’s back – and it’s as bright as ever
EVERY week our Holiday Hero NEIL SIMPSON takes an in-depth look at a brilliant holiday topic, doing all the legwork so you don’t have to. This week: Bagging a sunshine break in Dubai.
DAILY flights to Dubai are back and, as an amber-list destination, fully jabbed Britons don’t have to quarantine at home after a holiday there. Better still, prices to United Arab Emirates are low as airlines and hotels try to drum up business.
Want to go soon? This month Trailfinders has flights plus seven nights’ half-board in the sleek, five-star Grand Hyatt Dubai from £799pp. The city-centre hotel is on the edge of the historic Dubai Creek and its large, green gardens contain one of the biggest swimming pools in town.
There’s a choice of 13 restaurants for breakfast and dinner and the price includes private transfers and rooms with a view on premium floors. Book online, by phone or in one of the company’s growing network of high street travel agencies (trailfinders.com).
Want to travel in style? Step through the velvet curtains into the Club cabin on British Airways and swap an economy seat for a business class suite, with full bar and meal service throughout the seven-hour flight.
From £1,939pp you can add three nights’ half-board in the grandeur of the waterside Fairmont The Palm hotel, where all rooms have private balconies or terraces with views across the Dubai marina and Arabian Gulf (ba.com/dubai).
Want to shop till you drop? The Mall Of The Emirates is hard to beat with some 600 shops and 100 places to eat and drink. Get flights plus three nights at the nearby Hilton Garden Inn Dubai Mall Of The Emirates from £389pp, also with British Airways Holidays.
Want a short city break? A trip arranged by luxury tour group Abercrombie Kent includes private transfers, a half-day tour with an expert guide and a concierge to arrange added extras from restaurant reservations to personal shopping. Other popular activities include dune buggy safaris in the desert and high-adrenaline races through the vast Valley of a Thousand Dunes.
Stay beside the beach in the One&Only Royal Mirage hotel set
in 65 acres of private grounds with a waterpark, hammam spa for adults and a private, white-sand beach for all. From £1,999pp plus flights (abercrombiekent.co.uk).
Want to go all-inclusive? Deals at Travel Counsellors include five nights at the JA Palm Tree Court, part of a huge complex of linked, family-friendly hotels. Try golf, tennis, horse-riding, beach volleyball and more, with 23 places to eat and drink, from £1,949pp (travelcounsellors.co.uk).
Want to fly from a regional airport? Staff in branches of Hays Travel can find Dubai breaks that depart from Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle as well as Heathrow and Gatwick.
A range of hotels are on offer, but a favourite is Aloft Palm Jumeirah, a new hotel promising ‘hip stays’ and a stylish vibe.
Stays are from £619pp for flights and five nights’ bed-and-breakfast (hays travel.co.uk).
Get Dubai’s latest entry rules at gov.uk. Travellers currently need to show a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours of departure.