Dubai with kids in 5 days

Visiting Dubai with kids in 5 days or Dubai with family for 5 days is perfectly balanced without being too rushed or too relaxed aka at the edge of boring. If you have more time at hand in this desert cosmopolitan, you can chill out and go shopping in the malls or just stay and enjoy this easy going city. There are enough and more hotel apartment options all over the city. Dubai also offers a bunch of one day or weekend trip options, in case one is intending to stay for a longish period.

For the ones hard pressed for time, here goes Dubai 4 nights 5 days itinerary:

1)    Day 1: Assuming one lands the previous night, one has the whole day.

Visit the world’s tallest building Burj Khalifa, followed by the Dubai aquarium, window shopping (or real shopping) in the alleys of one of the largest malls in Asia, the Dubai Mall, snacking on the cookies from Ben’s cookies, devour on hot chocolate and liquer chocolate at La Maison du Chocolat, and wrapping up the day with the fountain show and dinner. For those with a sweet tooth, cheesecake from the cheese cake factory are a must too. Children might also fancy customizing their own cupcakes at Project cupcake.

Lunch and Dinner can both be had in Dubai Mall which boasts of a slew of celebrated eateries across cuisines.

Burj Khalifa is the first thing on my Dubai 4 nights 5 days itinerary when you’re traveling to Dubai with family, as it is the most iconic thing to see and thus enjoy it in the very beginning to ensure some buffer time if anything goes wrong too.

2)    Day 2: Keeping this day a little light on the legs and focusing more on fun, visit to Palm Jumeirah and Atlantis waterpark would be appropriate. Adults can have a blast in Dubai with kids, as long as the itinerary is well balanced like this Dubai 4 nights 5 days itinerary .

You could include monorail to reach PalmJumeirah (and Atlantis) as that gives you a Swan’s view (if not a bird’s eye one) of the Palms. Although I wouldn’t recommend it highly. If you’re in Dubai with family, you could try one way monorail and cab the other side (cab will be cheaper).

If you are not too keen on Atlantis water park, you can just view it from afar or probably have a meal at one of the restaurants there on one of the other days and take a day tour of Abu Dhabi instead. If interested in rides, you could do Ferrari World followed by the famous Sheikh Zayad Mosque and return to Dubai.

3)    Day 3:

Gold Souk
Miracle Garden: Beautiful flower decorations including a world record. Open only in winters (Nov – Mar) and Butterfly park
Dubai Garden Glow in the evening
You could end the day with Dhow cruise (Dubai creek). There are various options of a boating trip: 30mins, 60mins, 2hrs and various kinds of boats too. Boats ply on both Dubai Creek and Marina. Pick either one as per your convenience and what schedule permits if you are really keen on it.  Dinner served on the cruise is not top notch (especially if you are vegetarian, it isn’t even average).
As for lunch, Al Karama is the gastronomic wonder with a whole lineup of Indian restaurants serving both regular North Indian fare and fast food delicacies from all over India. Hence in this Dubai 4 nights 5 days itinerary, I’ve made a point to include it.

4)    Day 4:

JBR and Dubai Marina walk in the morning
Lebanese lunch: I recommend Operation Falafel (at JBR) or Zaroob (at Marina) for vegetarians. Great food, generous portions and easy on the pocket. I have heard Reem Al Bawadi is great for non-vegetarian fare.
Post lunch head for Desert Safari (starts at around 3:30pm/4pm)

5)    Day 5: I recommend the following (you could choose 1 or more depending on how much time you have and your interests)

Global Village
Visit to Al Seef, in the evening. Its developed to reflect the Beduin culture and architecture with great options to eat and some fun things for kids to do like Museum of Illusions.
Box Mall (shops made of containers) and City Walk Mall
Dinner at Souk Medinat Jumeirah with views of Burj Al Arab
While you can easily cover the important parts of Dubai with kids in 5 days, but if you have few more days, you can do the following too:

• IMG: My reason for not including this in the first 5 days is I prefer those attractions and sightseeing which are more specific to the place (Middle east in this case). One can find amusement parks the world over, Legoland in London, Universal Studios in Singapore and likewise. If this is right on top of your Dubai must do list, you may want to skip the Gold Souk and Miracle Garden and spend time in IMG instead.
• If not covered on Day 5, I would visit these Dubai specials – Global Village, City Walk Mall and Souk Medinat Jumeirah including views of Burj Al Arab.
• If you like beaches, you may want to visit and explore the Jumeirah Beach (including Kite Beach) and LaMer Beach

A few things to note when traveling to Dubai:

• Everything in Dubai is large and sometimes there is a fair bit of walking involved. A stroller is almost a must with younger children
• Fri and Sat is weekends in Dubai. Plan for your week to start from Saturday or Sunday to enjoy without excessive rush
• Dressing sensibly always helps
• If you are here in summers, make sure to carry a sun hat, sunscreen and water bottle
• Winters are pleasant to slightly cool especially around the water bodies. Light jacket helps.

Need help with planning your visit to Dubai. Feel free to reach me on theglobetrotmom@gmail.com and you can expect a reply within 24hrs.