New Year's Eve in Dubai from a holiday home

Where the fireworks are

Dubai does not have one display; it has several at once, and where you stay decides which you see. The Burj Khalifa's is the famous one, fireworks from the tower itself with the light show on its face, watched from the fountain lake and the Boulevard. The Palm has fireworks from Atlantis at the top of the crescent, seen from the fronds and the trunk. The Marina and JBR see displays from Bluewaters and the beach. Burj Al Arab has its own, visible along the Jumeirah coast.

From a high balcony facing the right way you can see two or three of them at once, small and silent in the distance, with the near one loud. That is the case for a home rather than a hotel: your own balcony, your own kitchen, your own people, and no table booked at four times the price.

Which homes see what

• Burj Vista, DowntownThe Burj Khalifa and the fountain lake straight ahead from the balcony, the living room and two bedrooms. The fireworks fill the window. Our most asked-for week of the year; it goes first
• Sulafa Tower, Dubai MarinaA balcony between the towers. The Bluewaters and JBR displays to the west, and the Marina's boats lit up below
• Vida Residences, The HillsAway from the crowds. The Burj Al Arab and the Palm on the horizon from the pool deck, and a quiet drive home that does not exist anywhere else that night
• The Links East, The ViewsFor two people who want the city's quietest New Year and a lake to wake up to

See Burj Vista, Sulafa Tower, Vida Residences and The Links East.

How the night works in Downtown

From the afternoon of the 31st the roads into Downtown close in stages and the area becomes a controlled zone. Residents and registered guests get in with proof of their address; taxis are stopped at the edge. The metro runs late, and the Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall station is the way most people come and go. Phone networks slow at midnight. The fountain lake and the Boulevard fill by nine, and the lake side is barricaded into sections with entry points that close when full.

If you stay in Downtown, be inside by late afternoon with the food you need, and watch from the balcony or walk down to the lake early. We send our Downtown guests the year's closure map and the access arrangements as soon as the authorities publish them, usually in the last week of December, and we register your names with the building so you get in.

When to book, and what it costs

The week from Christmas to the 2nd of January is the most expensive of the year, with minimum stays of five to seven nights in most homes, including ours. Homes with a view of the Burj Khalifa are booked by October; the best go by September. The Marina and the Palm follow in November. Rates are typically two to three times a normal winter week, and the Tourism Dirham, VAT and cleaning are the same as always, which our guide to how renting a holiday home works sets out.

If the view is the point, book the home, not the area. A Downtown home that faces away from the tower sees nothing but the glow. Ask which way the windows face, and ask for a photograph taken from the balcony at night.

• Book bySeptember for a Burj Khalifa view; October for Downtown; November for the Marina and the Palm
• Minimum stayFive to seven nights over the week
• The 31stBe in Downtown by late afternoon; the metro runs late; networks are slow at midnight
• The 1stThe city sleeps until noon. The beach is empty at ten

Next in the journal

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.