And because the foreign friends we’ve met along the way like to stay in touch and ask us how to improve their destination let us share with you the question that has just come our way… why Dubai?
Many of us know the Emirate as a stop-off destination en route to Australia.
A shopping oasis in the desert, a skyscraper city and sporting hub.
Of course all of this is true but asked to expand on what springs to mind about Dubai I did, of course, some more probing journalism.
And, as usual, cribbed from those I’d sent out to the Gulf in my time as a travel editor.
Dubai high
Burj Khalifa: And the first place always to start in Dubai is the building that protrudes highest when you look down from your plane, the Burj Khalifa.
All 2,716.5ft and more than 160 stories, Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world.
And boasts the highest observation deck in the world.
Now like a certain something else you never forget your first one.
Mine’s was the World Trade Center in New York where the feeling of craning my neck upwards from the street and then looking at the dots from the deck is truly humbling.
To infinity and beyond
Aura skypool: And you wouldn’t think you’d find the highest infinity pool in the world in the desert but you will.
Now we all love the idea of going off the side of a high building without having to… no, they couldn’t get me to do that abseiling stuff.
The Aura is 50 floors up, or 200m up, the Palm Tower and is the planet’s highest 360-degree infinity pool.
It has sweeping views of The Palm, the Burj Al Arab and the gulf beyond.
Tickets cost from about $46 per person for one of three sessions, and are best pre-purchased.
Deep Dubai
Deep Dive Dubai: And in this ambitious emirate then it’s not just reaching for the sky, it’s also about going as deep as you can.
And this is deep, 60 meters deep.
There’s a sunken city for certified at Deep Dive Dubai diving enthusiasts amid 14 million liters of water.
If you’re ten or over, you can snorkel on the surface and scuba-dive up to 12 meters.
You can, because this land-lover gets short of breath and full of moustache when he dons a rubber pipe.
Water splash
Aquaventure Waterpark: You want the splashiest.
We do, it’s more our scene, whether it’s Majorca or Orlando… and spray it again Aquaventure Waterpark in Dubai is the world’s largest waterpark having expanded by a third.
Trident Tower features the largest kids-only waterparks in the Middle East—Splashers Lagoon and Splashers Cove.
Aquaventure has more than 30 slides and attractions, including the emirates’ longest lazy river and a private beach.
And record-breaking waterslides, with Splashers Park and the Lazy River for families.
And the locals come out to play with interactions with stingrays, dolphins, and sea lions.
Zipp-a-dee-doodah
XDubai XLine: And what about the zippiest and we love zipping along, whether in Las Vegas or on a cruise ship off Barcelona?
Well, Dubai boasts the world’s longest urban zipline.
Straddling the Dubai Marina, the 1km long XDubai XLine experience starts on a 170m high platform.
From Amwaj Towers to Dubai Marina Mall at an average speed of 80km/hr.
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