Let's get out of the city: the really best tips just outside Dubai
Our Emirati 'Bartje' Sabrina, strikes again and this time she hits the mark with Dubai tips that aren't actually Dubai tips. Huh-wablief?
Yes, you read that right. Because what happens during a trip to Dubai, it doesn't just take place in Dubai. Certainly not, there is a lot to experience around and around. You just need to know where to go and for that we call in Sabrina. She knows after all Best. If you want to go on a tour with your fancy rental car to see something other than that blindingly reflective high-rise, then drive north. The United Arab Emirates has seven Emirates. The other Emirates are Abu Dhabi (main emirate), Sharjah, Ajman, Ras al Khaimah and Fujairah. Of course, always enough to do in it sometimes almost futuristic Dubai, but hey there's more. A day out of the city can be nice… Yalla let's get out of the city!
Hit the gas pedal, cruise along the coastal road and you'll be there in about an hour. Suddenly, like a mirage, a kind of Balinese-looking beach bar appears there, called Kite Beach Center. Everywhere you look you see Pick-ups with surfboards and you understand: one instant laidback surfer vibe allover. As soon as you touch the sand of this beach with one toe, you will imagine yourself in Bali or on one of the countless Gilis or perhaps even Sri Lanka. This hidden gems on the beach of Umm Al Qaiwain is a super surprising contrast to the over-organized clean Dubai
The Kite Beach Center of Umm al Qaiwain is located on the Arabian Gulf. Plenty to do if you are active and love water, from kite surfing, hydrofoil (look it up) kayaking, SUPing and snorkeling; it's all possible. You can book a fishing trip or go sailing on a Ngalawa (an African sailing boat, which also looks amazing).
But there is also plenty to hang out and relax for the not so active among us. Nice and cool swinging in the surf on one of those instagrammable beach swings (too cliché, but secretly we are all guilty when the option is right in front of you. There is a beach cafe with healthy breakfasts and vegan lunches to fresh fish from the BBQ.
You can rent the awesome Balinese-style beach huts for a day (highly recommended!). And in case you noticed, that's right, everything there is non-alcoholic. Fortunately, the non-alcoholic mojitos & margaritas there in abundance (mocktails can also look really good), you still have to drive back, right!
The coffees are also a great tip! Emirati love it… So, yalla yalla a day of chilling with relaxed tunes in the background, grab a snack and a drink and take a splash in the azure blue sea with sparkling white waves and stick around until the sun sets. Because let's be honest, the golden hour here in Umm Al Qaiwain doesn't lie and is just a bit more intense the Sundown in the smog and haze from Dubai.
Insider tip; book in advance through them insta account or website. Then you are assured of your spot.
And while you are there, in Dubai, you can probably find a time to visit this exciting beautiful place. Also an hour's drive from Dubai. In the emirate Sharjah, towards the border of Oman, lies a deserted place in the desert that is said to be haunted... For the ghosthunters among us that is an intriguing place, namely a ghost town called Al Madam. Also known as 'the old town' or 'the buried ghosttown”. Yes, spooky! Al Madam is nothing more than a street of houses with a mosque at the end.
It seems as if the residents have left in a hurry to settle somewhere else... All the houses are empty, due to the ravages of time and especially the desert wind, the houses have been completely taken over by the sand. The latter is what makes things bizarre and quite surreal image (no ghost seen by the way).
You really don't have to rent a cool 4X4 for it - of course you can, because... cool– to enter this piece of desert. There is a road that runs close to the ghost town. Tip: It is best to go in the cooler period of the year and preferably at the end of the afternoon.
At sunset (you know, Golden Hour), the colors of the desert become more and more intense. The most beautiful color terra you have ever seen.
