Dubai is the most populated city in The United Arab Emirates and is located on the South East coast of the Persian Gulf. It is a major city and a big business hub for the Middle East. The airport is one of the biggest travel hubs in the world. Dubai is known for its large and expensive construction projects, skyscrapers, sports events, and for having the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. They even have a vending machine that spits out gold! How cool is that? The city is so flashy and big and full of money. The weather is a hot desert climate, so the best time to visit Dubai would be between November and March. For this reason, tourism is very high for those people who like to get away from the winter months. Me included. I found a great deal to UAE, so my friend and brother joined me on a trip to Dubai and Abu Dabi in February 2014.
gold vending machine
Accessibility
Dubai has lots of new buildings and infrastructure so I found the city to be really wheelchair accessible. Since the city is full of new hotels, they are all wheelchair accessible. We stayed at The Holiday Inn Express in the Jumeirah district that had a room with a roll-in shower. Always check online or call/email the hotel directly to double check about accessibility and elevators.
our room at the Holiday Inn Express
Sidewalks varies depending which area you are in. There are some instances where there is a curb cut on one side of the street but not the other side. Downtown is the most accessible. I usually travel in my manual wheelchair with a friend pushing me so I never have a problem. The city is mostly flat so there isn’t really any steep hills or ramps to deal with.
our hotel was really close to Jumeirah Grand Mosque
We did not take the Metro even though it was wheelchair accessible and relied only on cabs, buses and strolling around. They do have accessible cabs at Dubai Taxi Corporation but that require advance notice. Lucky I travel with friends who can lift me into a regular cab and I just stick my wheelchair in the trunk.
at the top of the Burj Khalifa
Things To Do
Definitely visit the Burj Khalifa, which is the world’s tallest building. I suggest booking tickets online in advance as it is less than half the price of tickets at the door. The Dubai Fountain is also right next to the Burj Khalifa and is the world’s tallest performing fountain in the world. It combines water, music and light into a spectacular show. This is free to see! Both of these tourist attractions are part of The Dubai Mall. Again, this is the biggest mall in the world with over 1200 shops and services. Very wheelchair accessible and includes an aquarium, underwater zoo and ice rink. The other major mall in Dubai is The Mall Of The Emirates which is home to a ski resort and the world’s largest indoor snow park. I didn’t get to check out Ski Dubai but my brother did and loved it.
watching the spectacular water show at The Dubai Fountain
We also checked out The Big Bus, which is a bus tour of the city that stops at major tourist spots. Yes the bus has a ramp to get into the bus, but wheelchairs are restricted to the main level of the bus. With the hot weather it would have been nice to be on the upper deck looking at the city.
accessible Big Bus Tour
We went on a desert safari with Oasis Palm tourism company. Since I went with people who can transfer me to the SUV, I was able to go out into the desert to go off-roading. I brought an extra chest strap to use in addition to the vehicle seatbelt and was thrilled at how much fun this was.
strapped and buckled in for the desert safari
was a bit of a bumpy ride at some parts of the safari
It included a camel ride and a night show and dinner in the desert. The camel ride was a bit challenging since I do not have any upper body control. My friend sat with me on the camel and held me in place. The camel was instructed to stay kneeled in the sand because it would have been dangerous for me if the camel was to walk around. At least I got to say that I sat on a camel.
camel ride
dinner and a show out in the desert
Visiting the Spice Souk and the Gold Souk might be worth checking out too. You can literally have anything you want made out of gold and the prices are much cheaper than in North America. If you buy anything in the Gold Souk, you are guaranteed that it is real gold as they have strict laws and certificates of authenticity for every piece. Again, since I use my manual chair, it is a lot easier for me to get around because I can get someone to help me over curbs and steps.
my brother checking out the spices
so much gold
The Miracle Garden was a great place to visit and is located in Dubailand. It is the world’s largest natural garden with over 109 million flowers. It was a bit of a cab ride from our hotel but worth it. The Dubai Zoo was another great place to visit and surprisingly cheap. We expected prices to be high since most of Dubai was really expensive.
Dubai Miracle Garden
Overall, I really loved Dubai. Yes, it’s really flashy and everything here is big, but I enjoyed this magnificent city in the desert. Accessibility was great with a manual chair, the temperature was great. Just be prepared to spend a lot of money because it can be quite pricey. Have you been to Dubai? What were some of the things that you guys have done? Please leave your comments below.
at one of the flower garden pieces
