Notes on Dubai, from the people who run the homes
Area guides and practical notes, written by our team. We update them each season.
Holiday homes in Dubai: how renting one works
What a licensed holiday home is, what you pay beyond the nightly rate, which area suits which trip, and how booking and check-in work.
Read the guideMore guides
-
Dubai Marina or Downtown: where to stay
The two areas most visitors choose between, compared honestly: the beach against the Burj Khalifa, walking, noise, eating out, and which suits which trip.
Read the guide -
Dubai with children: where to stay and what a week looks like
Which area of Dubai works for a family, what to ask about the home before you book, and a seven-day plan with room for naps.
Read the guide -
A month in Dubai: long stays in a holiday home
How a month or more in a Dubai holiday home works: what changes in the price, which areas suit a working winter, and the questions to settle before you book.
Read the guide -
Holiday home or hotel in Dubai: the real cost, worked out
How to compare a Dubai holiday home with a hotel properly: the fees each side adds, a method for a family of four over a week, and when the hotel wins.
Read the guide -
How to check a Dubai holiday home is licensed
Every legal holiday home in Dubai has a permit number. How to ask for it, what a licensed operator can show you, and the signs a listing is not what it says.
Read the guide -
New Year's Eve in Dubai from a holiday home
Where Dubai's fireworks are, which homes see them from the balcony, how the Downtown road closures work, and when to book for New Year's Eve.
Read the guide -
The Views, the Greens and The Hills: the quiet side of new Dubai
An area guide to the green, low-rise neighbourhoods around the Emirates Golf Club: a day there, where to eat and walk, who it suits, and how to get around.
Read the guide -
Getting around Dubai without a car
How to move around Dubai without a car: the metro and Nol card, taxis and ride apps, the tram and abras, walking, and how long the common trips take.
Read the guide -
Visiting Dubai during Ramadan
What Ramadan changes for a visitor to Dubai and what it does not: eating and drinking, hours, the quiet days and long evenings, and why some choose it.
Read the guide -
Serviced apartment, hotel apartment or holiday home: what the words mean in Dubai
Three names for a furnished stay in Dubai, three different things. Who licenses each, what service you really get, and which one suits which stay.
Read the guide -
Palm Jumeirah, for a week by the water
The Palm is quieter than it looks from the air. How the fronds, the trunk and the crescent work, from the people who look after homes on it.
Read the guide -
Downtown and DIFC, on foot
The fountain, the Opera and Gate Village. Two districts that work best on foot, and how to see the Burj Khalifa at the right hour.
Read the guide -
Dubai Marina and Bluewaters, by the water
A seven-kilometre promenade, a public beach and an island across a footbridge. Which end of the Marina we choose, and why.
Read the guide -
Jumeirah, the low-rise beach road
Villas, gardens and free public beaches between La Mer and the Burj Al Arab. The part of Dubai that feels most like a neighbourhood.
Read the guide -
Dubai, month by month
When the weather is kind, when the city is busy and when prices drop, from the cool weeks of January to Ramadan and the summer.
Read the guide
Ask us about a stay.
Same-day reply, 8am to 11pm Dubai time.