Four nights in one Dubai hotel, so you unpack once. Old Dubai and the Burj on foot, a night in the red dunes, and a full day down the coast in Abu Dhabi. You pick the departure date and the hotel tier; everything else is already arranged.
FromUS$525per person, twin share — four nights' hotel with breakfast, the Burj Khalifa, the desert safari with dinner and the Abu Dhabi day trip. Budget about US$60 more for airport transfers and the attractions you choose, which are not included. Compare the three hotel tiers
Fly in and out of Dubai International (DXB) — it is the airport every carrier on this route uses, and it is minutes from the old city. Send us your flight numbers once they are ticketed and we time the airport transfer around them.
Confirmation
Book at least 14 days before departure. We confirm hotel and touring availability within 24 hours of your deposit, and refund in full if we cannot secure your dates.
Attraction tickets are deliberately excluded so the figure you see is the figure you pay us — we book them alongside your tour at the published gate price if you would rather not queue for them yourself.
The trip at a glance
Dubai
Days 1–3 · 4 nights
01
Arrival
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Arrival in Dubai AT LEISURE
Arrive at Dubai International Airport. Make your own way in — the transfer is not included. The airport is unusually central, so it is 20–35 minutes to most hotels rather than the hour you might expect.
Check in and rest. Nothing today is time-critical; the plan works with a morning or a late-night arrival, and most long-haul flights land in the small hours.
Late afternoon: the promenade at Dubai Marina, which is at its best once the heat comes off the day and the towers light up.
Evening: dinner along The Beach at JBR, a ten-minute walk from the Marina and open to the sea.
Your guide will confirm the next morning’s pickup time at check-in. Day 2 starts early to get the souks before the midday heat.
Add to this day — approximate gate prices
Dubai Marina boardwalkFreeA 7km waterfront walk past the yachts. Best in the hour before sunset.
The Beach at JBRFreePublic beach, showers and all. Bring a towel and nothing else.
We can book any of these with your tour. Tell us which you want when you confirm and the tickets travel with your documents.
02
Old & New
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The Creek, the Souks & the Burj TICKETS INCLUDED
Start in Al Fahidi — the old Bastakiya quarter of coral-block houses and wind towers, and the one part of the city that still looks like the pearling port it was.
Cross Dubai Creek by abra, the wooden ferries that have run the crossing for a century. One dirham, cash to the driver, about five minutes.
Into Deira on the far bank: the Spice Souk first, then the Gold Souk, where gold is sold at the day’s posted rate by weight and the workmanship is priced on top. Haggling is expected in both.
Afternoon: the Museum of the Future — entry is by timed slot and it sells out days ahead, so we book yours when you confirm.
Evening: Burj Khalifa, up to the deck at level 124, then down to the Dubai Fountain on the lake below — shows every half hour from 18:00, rebuilt end to end and reopened in October 2025.
Sunset slots at the Burj cost more and sell out first. If the view matters more than the hour, an 11:00 slot is half the price and the desert is visible on a clear day.
In your price today — go at your own pace
Burj Khalifa At the Top, levels 124/125
03
Desert
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Palm Jumeirah & the Red Dunes GUIDED
Morning on Palm Jumeirah — the monorail runs the length of the trunk out to the crescent, which is the only way to see the shape of the thing from ground level.
Back along the beach road for Burj Al Arab. The photograph is from the public beach at Umm Suqeim, not from the hotel gate.
Middle of the day free at the hotel. This is deliberate — the desert runs until late and it is hot work.
Pickup around 15:00 for the drive inland to the Al Lahbab red dunes: tyres down at the roadside, then a dune drive in a 4×4, sandboarding and camels, and sunset from the top of a ridge.
Dinner at a Bedouin camp — grilled to order, with falconry, henna and a tanoura dance, and the lights kept low enough to see stars. Back at the hotel around 21:30.
Dune driving is not for everyone. Tell us if anyone is pregnant, prone to motion sickness or has back or neck trouble, and we substitute a conservation-reserve drive at the same price — same desert, same dinner, no dune bashing.
In your price today — with your guide
Red Dunes desert safari, with camel ride and camp BBQ dinner
Abu Dhabi
Day 4 · day trip, back to Dubai
04
Abu Dhabi
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Down the Coast to the Capital GUIDED
Early start south on Sheikh Zayed Road — about 140 km, and 90 minutes if we are ahead of the traffic, which is why we leave when we do.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque first: eighty-two domes in white marble, the largest hand-knotted carpet in the world, and free to enter. Non-Muslim visitors are welcome and a free guided walk-in tour runs through the day.
The dress code is enforced at the door. Elbows and ankles covered for everyone, loose clothing, and a headscarf for women — bring your own rather than queue for a loaned abaya.
Qasr Al Watan after lunch — a working presidential palace, opened to visitors in 2019, and a far stranger building than a museum would be.
Late afternoon at Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island, for the dome and the light that falls through it, then a walk on the Corniche before the drive back.
Friday changes this day. The mosque closes for midday prayers and reopens at 15:00, so on a Friday we run the palace and the Louvre first and the mosque last, which is arguably the better light anyway.
In your price today — with your guide
Abu Dhabi full-day tour — Grand Mosque, Qasr Al Watan and the Corniche
Dubai → Home
Day 5 · departure
05
Departure
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The Frame & Departure AT LEISURE
Breakfast, check out, and leave your bags with the concierge.
Dubai Frame in Zabeel Park — 150 metres of gilded picture frame, sited so the old city fills one side of the glass and the new skyline the other. It is the whole trip in one view, which is why we leave it until last.
Or, if you would rather shop than climb, Souk Madinat Jumeirah for the last souvenirs — air-conditioned, fixed-price, and no haggling required.
Transfer to DXB. Allow 3 hours before an international departure: Terminal 3 is one of the largest buildings on earth, and check-in to gate can be a twenty-minute walk on its own.
Departing late? A day-use room or a late checkout is easy to arrange and worth every dirham in summer — just ask us before you travel.
Add to this day — approximate gate prices
Dubai FrameAED 50150 metres of gilded picture frame — old city on one side of the glass, new skyline on the other. The whole trip in one view.
Museum of the FutureAED 159Book aheadThe most photographed building in the city, and it sells out on weekends. Worth booking if you want it.
We can book any of these with your tour. Tell us which you want when you confirm and the tickets travel with your documents.
Your Hotels
Four nights — all four in the one Dubai hotel, so you unpack once and the Abu Dhabi day is a day trip rather than a move. Breakfast daily. Choose the tier that suits you; we hold the room and confirm the property in writing.
Comfort · 4★
Business Bay, Deira or Barsha — and always within walking distance of a Metro stationOutdoor pool, air conditioning, daily breakfast, 24-hour reception. We only use properties currently rated 8.5 or above by recent guests. In Dubai this tier is newer and larger than the same money buys almost anywhere else.
Deluxe · 5★ Downtown or Marina
In the part of the city you came to see, with a view worth the windowDowntown within walking distance of the Burj and the fountain, or the Marina a few minutes from the beach. Pool, spa, and a high floor requested as standard — ask for a Burj-facing room and we will put it on the booking.
Luxury · beachfront 5★
Private beach on Jumeirah or the Palm, with the resort facilities to matchFull spa, several pools, beach club and a proper breakfast. Worth it here in particular — the afternoons are hot enough that you come back to the hotel every day, so the hotel is half the holiday.
You will know exactly where you are staying before you pay a balance. We name the property in your confirmation, in writing, as soon as the room is held — and if it is ever unavailable for your dates we substitute at the same tier or better, never below it.
Restaurants worth trying
Breakfast is in the price, and so is dinner at the desert camp. Every other meal is yours to choose, so here is where we would eat. We do not arrange any of these and you would pay for them yourself. They are simply places we rate, near where the trip goes. Tick any you like and they appear on the map.
Suggested, not included. Opening hours and prices are theirs, not ours — and a place that is busy at eight will be busy whether or not you booked through us.
Tour Price
All prices are per person, twin share, in US dollars — the figure below is what you pay us. It covers four nights' hotel with breakfast, the Burj Khalifa ticket, the desert safari with dinner and the Abu Dhabi day trip. Hotel rates are quoted at low-season prices. The tiers differ by hotel only. Travelling alone is possible; the single supplement covers sole use of the room.
Hotel tier
Per person, twin share
Single supplement
Comfort — 4★ hotels, rated 8.0+ by recent guests
from US$525
+US$215
Deluxe — 5★ Downtown, Marina or the Palm
from US$590
+US$260
Luxury — beachfront 5★
from US$735
+US$370
Included
4 nights' accommodation with daily breakfast, in the hotel tier you choose · Burj Khalifa At the Top, levels 124/125 · the red-dunes desert safari with dune drive, camel ride and camp BBQ dinner · the Abu Dhabi full-day tour — Grand Mosque, Qasr Al Watan, Etihad Towers and the Corniche · all three include hotel pickup
Not included
Airport transfers — the Metro reaches Downtown in 30 minutes for a few dirhams, a taxi is about AED 60 · Museum of the Future AED 159 and Dubai Frame AED 50 if you want them · international flights · UAE visa if your passport needs one · lunches and dinners other than the desert camp · anything on your two free days · travel insurance · tips
How the flexi tour works. Choose any departure date and a hotel tier → we confirm availability and the exact price within 24 hours → pay a deposit to hold it → your final documents and vouchers arrive by email a week before you fly. There is no group to join and no fixed departure day.
Seasonal pricing. The figures above are summer and shoulder season, roughly May to September, when Dubai is cheapest and almost everything you do is indoors or after dark. High season, November to March, costs substantially more; the fortnight around Christmas and New Year is the dearest of the year, and hotel rates spike again around the larger trade fairs. Your quote will show the exact figure for your dates.
Budget separately for — about US$60 per person: airport transfers (Metro a few dirhams, taxi about AED 60) · Museum of the Future AED 159 and Dubai Frame AED 50 if you want them · the UAE visa if your nationality needs one · international flights, meals other than the desert camp, and travel insurance.
Start your booking
Tell us who you are and when you want to go.
We’ll reply within a business day with the price and what’s available.
A deposit holds it, and comes back in full if we can’t get your dates.
✓
That is with us
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info@dltravel.net and we will pick it up.