two Americans heading to Dubai

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gajeep94yj

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Location
Atlanta, GA
Hello All. My Wife and I are going to head to Dubai for our anniversary this year. we are going to be there from the end of June to the beginning of July. I have been browsing this side of the forum and so far I have seen two recommended sites: http://www.diversdown.tk/ and http://www.uaediver.com/

would any one care to give us some more info? like where to go, what to see, who to dive with? any useful information?

this is the first time either of us are going to go to the middle east. is there anything related to travel to the middle east we should know about?

we will be staying in the city center and for our non-diving days would also like to do other activities. I have seen info about about an indoor ski slope. that is a definite as well :14: Any other land side activities that would come recommended? would a camel tour of some type be too touristy? :confused:

Thanks in Advance,

Seth
 
you will have a great time in dubai. besides the in door ski, there is wild wadi, one of the best aqua parks i have ever seen. and yes, do the dessert type adventure tour. it is quite good for poeple not been to the dessert before. the dinner afterwards seams to be the high light for me. taxi is ceap in dubai but look into renting a car for your trips to other parts of the emirates/oman

diving: go to fujaihra, maku dive-center. very easy and relaxed. if you can, don't go over week end. at that time the place gets really busy with all the expads comming from dubai. also try the musandam (peninsula buildyng part of the strait of hormuz) you will enter oman, which is a very good and clean experiance. stay at the tulip hotel just outside of khasab but get in touch with dive shop before hand. they might close down in off season.
 
Hiya Seth,

Well, June and July is hot! you could well have temps up towards 47-55C (140F +) with a very high humidity as well (85%+). They give you 'official' temperatures but they aren't reliable (or wasn't in the past)...something to think about when planning outdoors activities... Skiing is cool (we froze our butts off - coldest temps we've had in over 6 years....) - we liked it...

Whether you are in a taxi or your own car, you need to plan - traffic jams are the rule in Dubai...and it can take hours to get around. Taxis are, like swiss said, cheap, however - often they don't stop at all because too much time is spent just waiting, if they stop, they might check where you are going and then decide whether to accept you...

Diving - definitely head over to the east coast of the peninsula - diving off Dubai is pretty bad, silted over wrecks, low viz etc... (dubai is considered the west coast) - most dive operators in dubai have buses going across the peninsula every day - might even plan to stay for a few days in a hotel there to get the diving over and done with and then stay in Dubai for skiing, camels, shopping and whatnot...

If you have questions, feel free to send a pm or reply in this thread...
Cheers
Ian
 
thanks for the info guys, I appriciate it. we are staying at the JW Marriot. is that centrally located? good location?

my wife is a travel agent so we got a great deal on that hotel.

so far I have got: dive on the east coast, do the desert tour, indoor skiing, the water park.

as far as the heat and the traffic, well that sounds just like home :( I am from Atlanta and I am sure the heat is nothing like it is over there but I know about 100% humidity. and traffic is no fun over here either.

are there any places for the desert tours that you could recommend? and what is the best dive shop over there?

thanks again,
Seth
 
the Marriott, have no idea where it is...(c8
I was going to say 'nothing is in the center in Dubai' - the town sprawls like nothing you've seen... Trying checking online - there are some maps that are updated, but maps older than 6 months would be inaccurate as to roads and buildings, the districts are correct but that's about it... lots and lots of construction going on...

for tour companies and dive shops...I have no clue, hopefully some of the Dubai'ans can answer that...haven't been to any of them for a long time...(and not really planning to in the future either...)

Ian
 
told you already maku dive shop. on musadam just google for tulip hotel. it's the only diveshop in khasab. if you wanna spend just more, al boom will do as well.
 
I've never dived the Gulf side of Musandam, we always go to the ocean side...good diving, sometimes a little tricky with waves, currents and what not..
If you go to Khasab, you pass the border into Oman which shouldn't be a problem (except that it can take some time), if you go to the east coast and dive out of Dibba, there's no border, but ..hmm..probably a longer drive...
 
@ ian t
both sides are interesting. out of dibba i dived with speed boats. very impressive coast line and diving can be quite good. as you mentioned with sometimes current or less vis due to plankton.

diving out of khasab, weather permitting you dive the point of musandam. also very special, with lots of soft coralls. and i have seen my first whale shark during lunch break. boat rides can take up to an hour.

also drive to kasab is impressiv. boarder crossing takes you maybe 15min. good road up to khasab
 
Great info guys. I'll be heading to Dubai in August. Yes, I know it's hotter than hell at that time of the year but I don't have any control on trip dates.

Appreciate the info.

Dwight
 
Yeah, that's what I've heard about the Gulf side...the drive is just too long though...and too many borders and you have to go through Dubai or Sharjah or Ras al Khaimah coming from Oman...

I used to live and work in Dubai and Man!, I don't need the stress anymore...(c8 There's a huge difference between visiting the Emirates and living there...
and yes, I'm very biased...
 
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