Smart Self-Managed Tours

Country guide

United Arab Emirates

A photograph of United Arab Emirates
Photograph · Tonenight · CC BY-SA 4.0

The United Arab Emirates has been one country since 2 December 1971, when seven emirates — Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah — federated. It covers 83,600 km² and held 11,027,129 people in 2024, of whom about 11 per cent are Emirati citizens; the rest came to work, and that shapes the food, the languages and the shape of a week more than any monument does. Abu Dhabi is the capital and Dubai the largest city, close enough to treat as one base. The northern emirates beyond them are quieter and far less built.

Cities

Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.

Practical information

Not recorded No country-level practical facts — language, currency, emergency number, plug type — are ingested yet. This section will populate once that data source is added.

Planning a visit

  1. January: no seasonality data recorded
  2. February: no seasonality data recorded
  3. March: no seasonality data recorded
  4. April: no seasonality data recorded
  5. May: no seasonality data recorded
  6. June: no seasonality data recorded
  7. July: no seasonality data recorded
  8. August: no seasonality data recorded — this month
  9. September: no seasonality data recorded
  10. October: no seasonality data recorded
  11. November: no seasonality data recorded
  12. December: no seasonality data recorded

Top things to see

Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.

  1. The Dubai Fountain
    03 30 min

    The Dubai Fountain

    The Dubai Fountain is a choreographed water and light show staged on the Burj Lake, the artificial lake that lies between the Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall and Souk Al Bahar in Downtown Dubai.

    • Must see
    • Historic monument
    • Dubai
  2. Ski Dubai
    04 45 min

    Ski Dubai

    • Must see
    • Historic monument
    • Dubai
  3. Ain Dubai
    05 45 min

    Ain Dubai

    • Must see
    • Historic monument
    • Dubai
  4. Hindu Temple
    08 45 min

    Hindu Temple

    • Must see
    • Historic monument
    • Dubai
  5. Mushrif Park
    11 45 min

    Mushrif Park

    • Must see
    • Historic monument
    • Dubai
  6. Al-Ashoosh
    34 45 min

    Al-Ashoosh

    • High
    • Historic monument
    • Dubai
  7. Alqasbah
    38 45 min

    Alqasbah

    • High
    • Historic monument
    • Dubai
  8. AYA
    50 45 min

    AYA

    • High
    • Historic monument
    • Dubai
  9. Balerinas
    52 45 min

    Balerinas

    • High
    • Historic monument
    • Dubai
  10. Boat Model
    59 45 min

    Boat Model

    • High
    • Historic monument
    • Dubai
  11. camel race
    62 45 min

    camel race

    • High
    • Historic monument
    • Dubai
  12. Diplodocus
    71 45 min

    Diplodocus

    • High
    • Historic monument
    • Dubai
  13. EXPO DUBAI
    84 45 min

    EXPO DUBAI

    • High
    • Historic monument
    • Dubai
  14. Hatta sign
    96 45 min

    Hatta sign

    • High
    • Historic monument
    • Dubai
  15. Horse head
    98 45 min

    Horse head

    • High
    • Historic monument
    • Dubai

Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·