As the summer vacations approached in South India, we were utterly confused where to head. Now a days, I am not able to plan my vacations well in advance. Like I used to do earlier. Because Ishi is an expert in falling sick any moment. We considered a trip to Vietnam (required eVisa), and Phuket in Thailand. But the flights to south east Asia are mostly non-refundable. Then we considered the snow covered Manali and Goa Workation like how we did earlier. But one seemed too cold while the other was too hot.
I wanted to go somewhere neat, hygienic for kids and where they could have a lot to engage and enjoy. So, Dubai popped in mind. Although people don’t usually think of a Dubai trip in the summers. But, when I checked the temperature of Dubai in April, they were in the moderate range of 26-30 C in April second week. And thus, in just 2-3 days, our 6 days Dubai trip with kids got materialised.
You can find all the information about how to plan your trip to Dubai here in our Dubai trip guide.
With that, let’s dive straight in the itinerary of our 6 days Dubai trip with kids.
Table of Contents
Day 1: Arrival in Dubai for the 6 days Dubai trip with kids
Read : Dubai VISA process for Indians
Our e-Visa was done for Dubai 3 days before the trip. Honestly, I didn’t know the Dubai VISA process for Indians was so smooth and hassle free. You can check the details of Dubai Visa for Indians on the above link.
We booked an early morning indigo flight at 7:30am IST which reached Dubai at 10:30am Dubai time. The immigration process was swift. Post which, we met our travel agent and cab for hotel drop. And by 12:00pm, we were at our apart-hotel, Golden Sands Hotel Apartment 5. Before I forget, it was super helpful to pack some toys and crafts to engage Ishi on the 4 hours flight. If you want to know more about how I engage my kids on long road trips and long flights, read my tried and tested tips for engaging kids on long trips.
While our room was being allocated, we headed to an Indian restaurant right opposite the hotel for lunch. With a quick stroll in the area post lunch, we saw quiet a few Indian restaurants, supermarkets and everything of general use in the neighbourhood. Everything was walkable. But, not the metro. The nearest metro station was ~2km far. However, it was not a big problem for us as we had a super packed itinerary with all the pickups and drops pre-arranged.
Read : the best locality to stay in Dubai for Tourists
We spent the rest of the day relaxing and meeting some friends who are settled in Dubai. I didn’t plan any activities on my first day of the 6 days Dubai trip with kids. And I highly recommend keeping the first day of your itinerary free and relaxing when traveling with kids, particularly abroad. I learnt it the hard way on my trip to Europe. Where we had planned some activities right after reaching there. But, first our flight got delayed. And then Aashi was so jet lagged, she slept for 18 hrs straight!!
Day 2: Dubai City Tour , Dubai Mall & Burj Khalifa
The second day of our 6 days Dubai Trip with kids was perhaps the most action packed and the longest of our days in Dubai. The action started after a hearty breakfast at our apart-hotel, at 10:00am. We first went on a Dubai city tour. Admiring the impeccably clean surroundings, the well maintained infrastructure and the beautiful landscaping right in the middle of the desert.
Half day Dubai City Tour
As a part of this half day Dubai city tour, we visited several iconic places in Dubai including Heritage House Dubai, Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Beach, Dubai Marina Drive, and saw many more in the passing like the Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall, Atlantis Hotel, Dubai Frame and several other landmarks of the city of Dubai.
Exploring the Dubai Mall
Post the half day Dubai City tour, we reached Dubai Mall. Where we spent the rest of our day. Our cab driver cum guide dropped us right near the Burj Khalifa ticket counter at the lower ground floor of Dubai Mall . We had Burj Khalifa non peak hour entry tickets in the form of eticket. So, we first got it converted to physical ticket. And then headed straight to the foot court at the same floor. For Ishi, I had cooked a basic Indian meal at the kitchen of my apart-hotel and packed with me. So, I could conveniently feed the same to her.
Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo
After this, we explored Dubai Mall doing window shopping, visiting the waterfall at Dubai Mall, seeing the China Town etc. Before heading to the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo at the first floor of Dubai Mall. Again, as a part of our tour package, we already had this activity included. So, we had the e-tickets with us. Using which we entered inside.
On the first floor, there is a tunnel surrounded by the aquarium that has around 10000 varieties of fishes!!. After spending some half an hour here, we proceeded to the second floor. Where there are a lot of aquatic animals to see. And we easily spent around 2+ hours here. Although not as huge as the Singapore Aquarium, the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo still has a lot to do and see for little kids. And my Ishi was highly impressed as it was her first time. She actually commented upon seeing the penguins – “Now I know penguins are for real and not mythical creatures!!”
You can book these online tickets to Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo to avoid long queues at entry like we did.
Post this, we headed to the open terrace seating at the food court at second floor of Dubai Mall. And had an early dinner around 6:30pm in the evening. To gear up to scale the heights of Burj Khalifa as the evening approached.
Dubai Fountain
Post dinner, we headed to see the world famous Dubai Fountain show. The show starts at 7:30pm. Runs for 2-3 minutes. And thereafter, continues every 30 minutes everyday. Since we went for the first show, it was super crowded. So, I highly recommend securing your seat well in advance. Nevertheless, the fountains go so high that you can comfortably witness them even if you are standing a little farther.
If you have more time, you can also book this boating in the lake around Dubai Fountain. It is definitely a great experience to see the fountain so up close, right from inside the lake.
Burj Khalifa
After witnessing the Dubai Fountain show, we headed to the lower ground floor entry of Dubai Mall to Burj Khalifa. The queue was not very long. But ever since standing for hours in a queue to the Gulmarg Gondola on my Kashmir Trip, I have got a phobia for queues. However, this one moved constantly. And in 15-20 minutes time, we were standing in front of the massive lifts to Burj Khalifa. The capacity of each lift at this entrance is around 20-25 people. And there are 3 lifts. We were soon inside the lift. And within 1 minute, on top of the Burj Khalifa, at 124th floor.
I must say the 360 degree views of Dubai from Burj Khalifa, particularly at night, is spectacular. And totally worth it.
We spent around half an hour here, before heading down, getting into our cab back to the hotel and calling it a day.
This is the link to book online tickets to Burj Khalifa. And you can get these converted to physical tickets once in Dubai Mall lower ground floor.
Day 3: Beach & Desert Safari in Dubai
On the third day of our 6 days trip, we planned on this half day Desert Safari in Dubai across the Sahara Desert. It included dune bashing, camel ride, photography in the desert, desert camp visit, musical performances and belly dancing, heena art on hands along with a bbq dinner. All included in the package. It made me nostalgic about my trip to Jaisalmer long back wherein we had our first desert safari experience in the Thar Desert, Rajasthan.
The pickup for the safari was around 3:00pm. Which meant we had the first half of the day all to ourselves. So, we decided to enjoy a slice of heaven at one of the most pristine beaches of Dubai – Kite beach Dubai. As, this beach in Dubai is a family favourite. With lots of restaurants and eateries, a well appointed changing room, washrooms and all other basic facilities. Apart from this, the beach has pristine fine white sand, crystal clear water that turns shades of turquoise and aqua blue as the sun shines on it.
So, post breakfast, we spent the day on Kite Beach Dubai. And later in the day, headed to the Desert Safari in Dubai.
Day 4: A visit to Legoland Dubai
Perhaps the fourth day of our 6 days Dubai Trip with kids was the most awaited and most exciting day for our kids. As we headed to legoland today. Legoland Dubai might not be as large as other legolands in USA. But it surely is engaging. We started for legoland Dubai at around 10:00am in the morning. And reached there by 11:00am. As it is outside the main city. And is built as a part of the Dubai Parks & Resorts. There are many other theme parks in this area, including Motiongate, which is almost opposite to Legoland. If you have just one day at hand to spend here, choose the park based on your interests and your kids, if you are traveling with them.
And if you can, I will highly recommend spending 2-4 days in Dubai Parks & Resorts, staying in a resort on the premises. Which will give you early access to the parks. Save travel time. And give ample time to enjoy each one of them. Even for Legoland, one day didn’t prove enough for us. And we missed most of the waterpark rides. Because when with kids, we have to go on a slower pace.
Once again we booked these online tickets to Legoland to avoid any queues at the ticket counter. Although our kids thoroughly enjoyed exploring all the different rides, making different things with legos at several pit stops, doing photo shoots with their favourite characters made out of lego, enjoying the kids play area at the ship, and the snacks and refreshments across all the zones of Legoland. In fact, when we visited during the month of Ramadan, there were even special offers running on food and beverages for kids. For instance, the pizza and pasta buffet was completely free for kids at Legoland Dubai this month !!
If you are planning to visit motiongate as well, you can book these online tickets to Motiongate Dubai.
Day 5: Abu Dhabi day trip from Dubai
Our second last day in Dubai was once again an action packed day. Today we did a day trip to Abu Dhabi from Dubai. We started from our hotel around 10am. It was a 2 hr smooth ride to Abu Dhabi. Upon reaching there, we first visited the newly opened grand Hindu Temple, the BAPS Hindu Mandir. Followed by the grand Mosque, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. And then post lunch visited the Emirates Palace and Heritage Village in Abu Dhabi. We took this day slow and leisurely. Without worrying about rushing through the sites.
But, if you have more time, I will suggest start your day early, and cover few more places in Abu Dhabi. For instance, some of the stunning public beaches of Abu Dhabi. And the world famous “souks” or markets that make UAE – particularly Dubai and Abu Dhabi one of the best shopping destinations in the world!!
Day 6: Bye Dubai!!
On the final day of our 6 days trip to Dubai with kids, we had another free day at our disposal. There were no tours planned by our tour operator. And our flight was at night so we had full day to ourselves. There were multiple ways to spend the day today. As in, I was spoilt with choices. Alas, I had to choose only one or two. Some of the options we considered included –
- Visiting the local souks of Dubai for some shopping before we headed home
- Exploring yet another beautiful public beach of Dubai
- Visiting the Miracle Gardens which were still open
- Exploring one of the many malls of Dubai
- Going to a waterpark in Dubai since the waterparks of Dubai are world famous.
Although we were very tempted to go for the Miracle Gardens or the Water Park but that might have been exhausting for the kids. So, we decided to explore one of the malls in Dubai. Post checkout from hotel, we kept our luggage with the hotel. And headed to the mall. We spent ~3 hours there having our lunch, doing a bit of souvenir shopping, and enjoying the overall vibe of the cosmopolitan culture of Dubai. Before heading back to our hotel, picking our luggage and heading to the Dubai Airport.
Thus, this is how we spent our 6 days in Dubai with our kids. If you are interested to know all the details about the best time to go to Dubai, what to pack for a Dubai trip, what can you wear in Dubai, dos and don’ts in Dubai, VISA, flight, cost, spending or any other details, just head to my complete guide to plan a trip to Dubai. And you will be able to plan your own trip in the blink of an eye.
More things to do in Dubai
Definitely there is much more to do in Dubai than we did. So, if you have more time at hand, you can make upto 10 days trip plan to Dubai. And that will be idle time to spend in Dubai in my opinion. A few more things that you can do in Dubai which we missed due to time constraint include –
- If you are visiting Dubai between November to April, you must visit the Dubai Miracle Garden. It is no less than a wonder to see a blooming garden with all kind of vibrant flowers in the middle of the desert. You can also include a visit to the Dubai butterfly garden which is located in the same premises. It is really fun for kids to be able to play amongst the gliding butterflies – feels nothing less than being in a fairy land. You can easily spend a major part of your day here.
- When in Dubai, you must visit one of the many waterparks of Dubai. In fact, when we visited, the world’s largest water park was under construction!! You can book these tickets to Atlantis Adventure Waterpark, one of the most famous waterparks of Dubai. And spend a day there. Or, the Wild Wadi Waterpark.
- If you have one extra day to spare, you can also visit the Dubai Safari Park and Dubai Dolphinarium. Both of these provide options for kids to interact with the animals, play with them and feed them. And you can also add Museum of Future to your itinerary.
- Visit the old town of Dubai, explore the local souks and markets here in the day. Followed by this yatch cruise along with buffet dinner at Dubai Marina. Dubai is a major port in the centre of the world. And a destination for some of the best yatch cruise experiences in the world. So, I highly recommend not missing on it.
The best thing, if you are visiting in shoulder season like October or April, you can book most of the above activities even one day in advance. And even if you book them well in advance, they are cancellable till 24 hrs before. For pickup and drop to the destinations within the city premises you can always use bus or metro. And if you are ok to splurge a bit, you can hail a taxi from the roadside, or book one online through apps like Uber or Careem.