I bet most of the travellers who plan a trip to Dubai wonder at some point if it will be worth visiting the tallest building of the world – Burj Khalifa in Dubai. And when you search online, most of the time you will get a negative answer to this. Many feel that it is not worth visiting the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
After my own trip to Dubai, wherein I did scale the heights of the tallest tower of the world – Burj Khalifa in Dubai – let me share my 2 cents. I hope it will make it easier for you to decide whether it’s worth visiting the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
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An introduction to Burj Khalifa Dubai
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the tallest tower of the world. It is 828 meters high. A team of highly skilled architectures worked on the design and construction of Burj Khalifa. And it took 6 complete years to construct Burj Khalifa – from 2004 to 2010. The Burj Khalifa was built in several stages over these years. Starting with the initial few floors and then slowly adding on top of them incrementally. Burj Khalifa features a unique Y-shaped floor plan, which maximizes usable space and minimizes wind force on the building, providing it additional stability.
There are several “observation decks” on different floors of the Burj Khalifa. Where you can step out to get a panoramic 360 degree view of Dubai from the top. The most popular “observation deck” is called “At the Top” and it is located on the 124th and 125th floor. While the one at the 148th floor is called “At the Top Sky“. In total there are 163 floors in the Burj Khalifa. And it is a mixed use building. As such, it houses office spaces and residential units, Armani Hotel Dubai, luxury apartments, restaurants, corporate suites, and entertainment venues as well.
Overall, Burj Khalifa holds several other records other than being the tallest building of the world. These include the tallest freestanding structure, the highest occupied floor, and the highest outdoor observation deck.
Is it worth visiting the Burj Khalifa Dubai?
If you are wondering is it worth visiting the Burj Khalifa Dubai, I will say yes, it is totally worth it.
When I was planning my own trip to Dubai even I wondered if it is worth visiting the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. And many of the online forums and websites had suggestions that it is not worth visiting the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Well, it really depends on what you seek from your trip to Dubai. If you view Burj Khalifa as just another tall building. And you had experience visiting such buildings in the past. Or walking on the observation decks. Then you might by all means want to give it a pass.
But, if it is your first time having such experience. Or, you want to scale the heights of Burj Khalifa because, after all, it is the tallest building in the world. And you simply don’t want to miss the opportunity to visit the tallest building of the world while you are here. Then, yes, it will be totally worth visiting the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The views of whole of Dubai that you get from the top of Burj Khalifa makes it totally worth it. And I am glad I opted for it.
In conclusion, is it worth visiting the Burj Khalifa Dubai? Think from your own perspective and take your decision.
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Tips to make it worth visiting the Burj Khalifa Dubai
- Opt for ticket to 124th and 125th floor instead of 148th floor. As the tickets to 124th and 125th floor are cheaper.
- You can opt to go in non-prime hours (7:30pm onwards). This is also proves to be economical
- In my view, night view is better than day view of the surroundings from Burj Khalifa. So, that gives you another reason to choose the evening hours to visit here.
- Also, you can first go to the top of Burj Khalifa. And upon returning, visit the Dubai Fountain. The Dubai Fountain show happens every 10 minutes. But most of the visitors are so excited to see it that the majority of the crowd aims to be near the fountain as the first show starts. This is a golden opportunity to instead head for the Burj Khalifa. And then later proceed to the Dubai Fountain. In fact, we saw one show of Dubai Fountain while we were up above at Burj Khalifa. And that was really spectacular!!
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How to reach the Burj Khalifa
Burj Khalifa is one of the most iconic buildings of Dubai. And as such, it is very centrally located and well connected from all parts of Dubai.
If you first visit the Dubai Mall adjacent to Burj Khalifa like we did, then, there is an entry to Burj Khalifa from inside Dubai Mall itself. It starts from near the Burj Khalifa ticket counter at lower ground floor of Dubai Mall.
However, if you directly go to the Burj Khalifa, then you can reach here by the following means –
- Using a Taxi : You can either book a taxi online using Uber or Careem. Or, you can hail a taxi anywhere on the streets of Dubai and ask them to take you to the Burj Khalifa.
- By Bus : Look for buses that stop at the Dubai Mall or the Burj Khalifa and alight at the nearest bus stop. There are multiple buses complying this route from all over Dubai
- By Metro : Take the Red Line and get off at the Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall station. From there, the Burj Khalifa is just a short walk away.
Last but not the least, you can always either self drive or walk upto the Burj Khalifa Dubai.
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The process of visiting the Burj Khalifa Dubai
If you have bought online ticket to the Burj Khalifa Dubai, then the first thing you should do is convert it into physical ticket. Since, we arrived at Dubai Mall in the afternoon. Our cab dropped us at the lower ground floor of Dubai Mall. And right next to the entrance is the ticket counter for the Burj Khalifa. The first thing we did was to collect our tickets from here. The physical ticket has the timing of your visit printed on it.
At the mentioned time, we once again came to the lower ground floor of Dubai Mall right next to the ticket counter. And from here, started the queue to visit the Burj Khalifa. As the two buildings are interconnected. The path from Dubai Mall to the Burj Khalifa lift is all air conditioned. So, that saves you the effort to walk in the sun or out in the heat. Also, along this path, you will see information displayed about the Burj Khalifa and the different stages of construction it has gone through over the years. To my relief, the queue was fast moving. And almost within 15-20 minutes, we were standing in front of the lift to Burj Khalifa.
There are 3 lifts here and each lift has a capacity to carry 15-20 people each. So, almost 60 people are able to climb up at one go. Soon were inside one of the world’s fastest elevators. I couldn’t marvel at it’s brilliance. As it almost took less than a minute to reach the 124th floor of Burj Khalifa. And yet it felt like the lift never moved – it was so super stable!!
Once at the 124th floor, we stepped out to greet the mesmerising night view of the Dubai Mall. Once here, all the debate and doubt in my mind about is it worth visiting Burj Khalifa Dubai disappeared.
Taking pictures, observing the surrounding views, marvelling at the manmade wonders of Dubai, trying to recognise the iconic buildings in the surroundings. We spent 15-20 minutes here. Before moving to the 125th floor via an escalator.
On the 125th floor, we observed the Dubai Fountain far below, dancing in it’s glory. As the fountain show was on. There are some souvenir shops on this floor as well.
After staying here for sometime, we decided to head back. There was a queue back to the lift. And we stood in it. The wait was not long. And once again, within 15 mins we reached down the Burj Khalifa. If you ask me, the experience of visiting Burj Khalifa was third on my list, preceded by our one day trip to Legoland Dubai which our kids enjoyed a lot, and my wandering through the lanes of Dubai Heritage Village. Which may not be as attracting to many others, but personally I enjoyed thoroughly.
What else can I do along with visiting Burj Khalifa
You can combine a trip to Burj Khalifa with a visit to Dubai Mall. And also catch a show of the Dubai Fountain right in between the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall. In the Dubai Mall, which is the largest mall of the world, you can do a plethora of things. Like, visit the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, skate in the ice skating ring, visit Chinta Town, kids can have a blast at kidzania, you can see the waterfall inside the Dubai Mall, try cuisines from around the world at the two food courts at Dubai Mall. Or, fine dine in some of the most luxurious restaurants of the world. All this, apart from shopping from the best and most popular brands from around the world.
On our own trip to Dubai, we first did a half day tour of Dubai covering the Heritage Village, Jumeirah Beach, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Marina etc. And then arrived at the Dubai Mall by afternoon. Post lunch, we did a lot of activities in Dubai Mall till late evening. Thereafter, we first witnessed the Dubai Fountain. And then proceeded to Burj Khalifa around 8:00pm. By 9:30pm, we were back on our way to our hotel.
What is the cost of ticket to Burj Khalifa
The ticket prices to Burj Khalifa vary depending on the time of day, the level (floor) you want to access and how much in advance you booked the tickets.
Typically, prices range from around 125 AED to 500 AED or more per person for standard admission.
You can book the tickets on the Burj Khalifa official website online. Or, from the lower ground floor of the Dubai Mall.
If you have booked online tickets you can redeem them for physical tickets at the same ticket counter in Dubai Mall.