This is itinerary for 6 days for Dubai as per my experience (20-25 Oct 23)
I went with my wife, sister and 3 yr old son. Total pax -3+1
*Expdr* - 3.30 Lakhs incl flights and hotel and bookings for all attractions with private taxi. Around ₹60000 for food and tickets for kid at ski dubai and Miracle garden.
1. *Day 1*- Arrival in the afternoon
After Check in, went for Desert Safari. Its a good experience in totality. One thing to be aware of is the drivers tend to take you to a shop where he says that due to sand you will have to wear a scarf for head, which i felt was a waste of money. He took 100 dirham for 3 scarves which we can buy in india for a mere 100₹ for 3 pcs. You can keep cap if u want. No reqmt of buying this scarf otherwise. An experience apart from desert safari is ride on ATV/ buggy which can be explored (though these are costly). Its half an hour ride in an enclosed space in desert itself. Bargaining is done. We paid 400 dirham for 2 (2 seater ATVs) and were asked for 500 dirhams. Its a good experience otherwise for ladies or non fauji maybe. After this ATV ride, you go for desert safari. After the safari ride, you go to a camp for buffet dinner and dance shows. Dance show and fire show is ok ok. Food is generally bad. There are around 40 camps in the desert so food and dance might be depending upon which camp you go to and there is no way for us to choose the camp. Its the tour operator who will book the camp for you. The safari tour starts at around 4 pm and will finish by around 10 pm.
2. *Day 2* - Dolphin and seal show, Miracle Garden, Global Village.
Dolphin and seal show- Must do for kids. I did Morning show at 11 am. Total 3 shows in the day.
Miracle Garden- Good place but definitely to be done in either early morning or early evening. Not to be done during the middle of the day. Photography will be dependent on the time of the day you are visiting. Place is full of flowers. Good for photography. Eateries are everywhere at all attractions in dubai.
Global village- like Pragati Maidan Trade fair but at a greater level. Its international trade fair. Good for eating and shopping. You will have to walk a lot in this village. This can be done in the evening as it opens at 4 pm.
*Preferred sequence*- Miracle garden, dolphin and seal show, global village. Kids below 3 are free to enter miracle garden. No id being seen at gate. You can manage this entry for kids via strollers/ pram.
3. *Day 3* - Lost chambers and Aquaventure water park
Lost chambers is again a fantastic place for kids and adults- its an underground aquarium with unimaginable variety of fishes and sea animals.
Aquaventure- water park at the Atlantis Hotel. Must do. Its a huge waterpark. If with kids, can be done for 2 days as you will not be able to complete it in 1 day. Since my kid is small, 1 of the adults had to be with him at all times and few rides were there for kids of that age. So it took a lot of time. Day should be started early preferably 9 am you should reach lost chambers. Its a 30-45 min experience if you do not read about the fishes.
Lockers are available but if u want u can take your stuff inside since you will be requiring card/ cash and mobile inside. You have eating joints inside. The water park closes by 6 pm. So you need to reach here early if you want to enjoy it to the fullest.
Swimming costume to be taken from india itself. Its very costly there. Should be visited on weekday to avoid rush.
*Preferred sequence* - water park and then afterwards lost chamber
4. *Day 4*- Green Planet, IMG Theme Park
Green planet- Indoor rainforest, has varied and unseen species of birds and animals. Apart from entry ticket, you can have encounters with sloths, snakes and feeding fishes and all. They are to be purchased separately and definitely costly. Its 1 hr affair.
IMG theme park- An indoor adventure park based on 3 different themes. Fully air conditioned. People fan of cartoon network, marvel and dinosaurs will enjoy more. Good rides are available. All rides are based on these themes and are height dependent. Minimum ht reqd is 1.05 mtr so kids will enjoy accordingly. My kid was small so couldnt enjoy much here and i personally felt that instead of IMG, I should have done waterpark again this day. Eateries are there and after each ride, you will exit through a souvenir shop of that theme so beware of that for kids.
5. *Day 5* - Ski dubai, sky view observatory, burj khalifa and dubai mall and musical fountain.
Ski dubai- an indoor snow park inside mall of emirates. Good for kids but again has height restns. Entry below 2 yr is not allowed. Locker is must if u r carrying anything with you apart from ladies purse- so take the ticket/ package accordingly because it has a total of 7-8 slides/ activities. You should be wearing full clothes and if possible take your own gloves and cap especially for your kid. You will get a warm jacket, lower, socks, shoes and fleece gloves for free but quality is ok ok. They will ask you if you want a better version of gloves- at addl cost.
Not more than 4 hours it will take to complete it.
Sky view observatory - Good experience. Has a glass walk, glass slide, edge walk. Edge walk had addl charges. Glass slide is of 1 floor and very short. Good place to enjoy height and view.
Small kids are not allowed for slide but can be taken inside for free. If i am not wrong then min age reqd is 12 yrs. connected from dubai mall but you have to walk a lot although travelators are available enroute.
Burj khalifa- You go to 124-125 th floor within 70 secs. Good view from top. You can enjoy musical fountain from the top also. Morning and evening views are different and so you have to take the slot time accordingly as per your preference.
Dubai Mall- huge mall. The Cheesecake factory is must. There is an aquarium inside the mall also but we didnt do it.
Musical fountain- 5 min affair at interval of every 30 mind in the evening. Just outside dubai mall and astride burj khalifa. Free of cost.
6. *Day 6* - Shopping day and departure. Meena bazar has a nesto mall in which there is a wholesaler of perfumes by name of The Moments Perfumes just on right side as you enter. Was suggested by someone known from dubai.
Didnt have time to go to Gold Souk. Jumbo electronics was suggested to me for reliable electronics as you will get iphone seller at every 10 yards.
Departure to be preferred by evening flight to enjoy the day.
*General pts*
1. Photos at every place can be purchased. I felt them to be at high prices. I downloaded them online at burj khalifa of around 800 for 3 photos.
2. Souvenirs are avlb at every attraction.
3. Desert Safari- Buffet dinner and show is avoidable as per me. Just for saving time. Buffet is otherwise incl.
4. Dubai is costly so dont convert dirhams to inr at every purchase if you want to enjoy.
5. Good fruits are avlb there.
6. Didnt do Dubai frame and museum of future due to lack of time.
7. Scapia or niyo global credit cards are good for foreign transactions without any forex markup fee. Scapia is preferable as niyo will have to feeder with currency first for usage. Scapia is like a normal credit card.
8. Sim card will be avlb at airport for free at immigration for every passport. You can get a minimum recharge of 49 dirham and you get 2 gb data pack apart from 1 gb available free for 1st 24 hours. Data pack will be reqd there for your maps and whatsapp and you can activate every sim every day so har din ka 1 gb is free.
9. Botim app to be downloaded for voice or video call. Whatsapp voice and video calls not functional in dubai unless and until you have a vpn.
Apart from this, if any query is there pls feel free to contact.
Regards