Why go
- Largest city in the United Arab Emirates.
- 1 curated must-see attraction on record, including Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR).
- 1 hand-picked place to stay.
- 3 recommended spots to eat and drink.
- Served by Al Minhad Air Base (NHD).
History
Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai. It is on a creek on the southeastern coast of the Persian Gulf. As of 2025, its population stands at 4 million, 92% of whom are expatriates. The wider urban area includes Sharjah and has a population of 5 million people as of 2023, while the Dubai–Sharjah–Ajman metropolitan area has a population of 6 million people.
Must-see attractions
Where to stay
Eat & drink
Airports
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 83 airlines, 188 direct destinations
- Emirates EK (777-300ER, A330-200, A380, 777-300, 777-200, 777-200LR…) · 120 routes: Accra, Addis Ababa, Adelaide, Ahmedabad, Algier, Amman, Amsterdam, Athens, Baghdad, Bahrain, Bangalore, Bangkok, Barcelona, Basrah, Beijing, Beirut, Birmingham, Boston, Brisbane, Cairo, Calicut, Cape Town, Casablanca, Colombo, Copenhagen, Dakar, Dallas-Fort Worth, Dammam, Dar Es Salaam, Delhi, Dhaka, Doha, Dublin, Duesseldorf, Durban, Entebbe, Erbil, Frankfurt, Geneva, Glasgow … +80 more
- Fly Dubai FZ (737-800) · 50 routes: Abha, Addis Ababa, Alexandria, Amman, Ashkhabad, Baghdad, Bahrain, Baku, Basrah, Belgrade, Bishkek, Bucharest, Dammam, Dhaka, Djibouti, Doha, Dushanbe, Erbil, Gassim, Hail, Hyderabad, Istanbul, Jeddah, Juba, Kabul, Karachi, Kathmandu, Kharkov, Khartoum, Krasnodar, Kuwait, Lucknow, Madinah, Mineralnye Vody, Multan, Muscat, Najaf, Port Sudan, Rostov, Salalah … +10 more
- Qantas QF (777-300ER, A380, A330-200, 777-200, 777-300, 777-200LR) · 33 routes: Adelaide*, Amman*, Bahrain*, Bangkok*, Birmingham*, Brisbane*, Copenhagen*, Dammam*, Dublin*, Duesseldorf*, Frankfurt*, Geneva*, Glasgow*, Hamburg*, Istanbul*, Jeddah*, Kuala Lumpur*, London*, London, Manchester*, Melbourne, Munich*, Muscat*, Nairobi*, Newcastle*, Perth*, Prague*, Riyadh*, Singapore*, Stockholm*, Sydney, Warsaw*, Zurich*
- Iran Aseman Airlines EP (Fokker 100, ATR 72, A340-300) · 11 routes: Bandar Abbas, Bandar Lengeh, Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Lamerd, Lar, Mashhad, Shiraz, Tabriz, Tehran, Zahedan
- JetBlue Airways B6 (777-300ER, A380, 777-200LR) · 9 routes: Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, Milano, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington
- IndiGo Airlines 6E (A320) · 6 routes: Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Madras, Mumbai, Trivandrum
- Shaheen Air International NL (A320, 734) · 5 routes: Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar
- Yemenia IY (330, 310, A320) · 5 routes: Aden, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Mukalla, Sanaa
- Air India Express IX (737-800) · 4 routes: Calicut, Kochi, Mangalore, Trivandrum
- Air India Limited AI (A321, A319, 787-8) · 4 routes: Calicut, Delhi, Goa, Mumbai
- Iran Air IR (A320, Fokker 100) · 4 routes: Ahwaz, Bandar Abbas, Esfahan, Tehran
- Saudi Arabian Airlines SV (A320, A321, A330-300, 777-300, 777) · 4 routes: Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah, Riyadh
- Ural Airlines U6 (A320) · 4 routes: Krasnodar, Mineralnye Vody, Samara, Yekaterinburg
- Japan Airlines Domestic JL (777-300, 777-200) · 3 routes: Osaka*, Tokyo*, Tokyo*
- Jet Airways 9W (737-800) · 3 routes: Delhi, Mangalore, Mumbai
- Pakistan International Airlines PK (737-800, 310, 737) · 3 routes: Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore
- South African Airways SA (777-300ER) · 3 routes: Cape Town*, Durban*, Johannesburg*
- Spicejet SG (737) · 3 routes: Ahmedabad, Delhi, Kochi
- Alitalia AZ (777, 777-300ER) · 2 routes: Amsterdam*, Paris*
- Ariana Afghan Airlines FG (734) · 2 routes: Kabul, Kandahar
- Biman Bangladesh Airlines BG (313) · 2 routes: Chittagong, Sylhet Osmani
- Egyptair MS (A330-300, 777-300) · 2 routes: Cairo, Singapore*
- Ethiopian Airlines ET (A330-300, 737-800, 767-300, 787-8, 777-200LR, 777-300ER) · 2 routes: Addis Ababa, Singapore*
- Kenya Airways KQ (A320, 767-300) · 2 routes: Moscow*, Nairobi
- Kish Air Y9 (F50, MD-80) · 2 routes: GSM, Kish Island
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL (767, 777) · 2 routes: Amsterdam, Nairobi*
- Lufthansa Cargo LH (A330-300, A340-300) · 2 routes: Frankfurt, Munich
- Nas Air XY (A320) · 2 routes: Jeddah, Riyadh
- Oman Air WY (Embraer 175, A330-200, A330-300, 737-800, 737-700) · 2 routes: Muscat, Salalah
- Rwandair Express WB (737-800) · 2 routes: Kigali, Mombasa
- Singapore Airlines Cargo SQ (A330-300, 777-300ER) · 2 routes: Cairo, Singapore
- United Airlines UA (777) · 2 routes: Doha, Washington
- VRG Linhas Aereas RG (ERJ) · 2 routes: Abu Dhabi, Sir Bani Yas Island
- Aeroflot Russian Airlines SU (A320) · 1 route: Moscow
- Afriqiyah Airways 8U (A330-200) · 1 route: Tripoli
- Air Algerie AH (330) · 1 route: Algier
- Air China CA (A330-300) · 1 route: Beijing
- Air France AF (777-300ER) · 1 route: Paris
- Air Mauritius MK (A380, 777-300ER) · 1 route: Plaisance*
- Air Serbia JU (737) · 1 route: Berbera
- American Airlines AA (747-400, 777) · 1 route: London*
- Austrian Airlines OS (767-300) · 1 route: Vienna*
- Azerbaijan Airlines J2 (A319, A320, 757) · 1 route: Baku
- British Airways BA (747-400, 777) · 1 route: London
- Cathay Pacific CX (A330-300) · 1 route: Hong Kong
- Cebu Pacific 5J (330) · 1 route: Manila
- China Eastern Airlines MU (A330-300) · 1 route: Kunming
- China Southern Airlines CZ (777-200) · 1 route: Guangzhou
- Daallo Airlines D3 (A321) · 1 route: Hargeisa
- Delta Air Lines DL (777-200LR) · 1 route: Atlanta
- Georgian National Airlines QB (F50) · 1 route: GSM
- Gulf Air Bahrain GF (A320, A321) · 1 route: Bahrain
- Jazeera Airways J9 (A320) · 1 route: Kuwait
- Kam Air RQ (A320) · 1 route: Kabul
- Korean Air KE (A330-200) · 1 route: Seoul
- Kuwait Airways KU (310, A320, AB6) · 1 route: Kuwait
- L MJ (A320, A330-200, A340-300) · 1 route: Colombo*
- Mahan Air W5 (AB6) · 1 route: Tehran
- Middle East Airlines ME (A320, A330-200) · 1 route: Beirut
- Nasair UE (A320) · 1 route: Aden
- NordStar Airlines Y7 (737-800) · 1 route: Krasnoyarsk
- Pegasus Airlines PC (737-800) · 1 route: Istanbul
- Philippine Airlines PR (777-300ER) · 1 route: Manila*
- Qatar Airways QR (A320, A321, A330-200, A330-300, 787-8, 777-300ER…) · 1 route: Doha
- Royal Brunei Airlines BI (787) · 1 route: Bandar Seri Begawan
- Royal Jordanian RJ (A320, A321, 330) · 1 route: Amman
- S7 Airlines S7 (A320) · 1 route: Novosibirsk
- Safi Airlines 4Q (A319) · 1 route: Kabul
- Salzburg arrows SZ (737) · 1 route: Dushanbe
- SriLankan Airlines UL (A320, A321, A330-200) · 1 route: Colombo
- Sudan Airways SD (AB6) · 1 route: Khartoum
- Swiss International Air Lines LX (A330-300) · 1 route: Zurich
- TAAG Angola Airlines DT (777-200) · 1 route: Luanda
- TAP Portugal TP (777-300ER) · 1 route: Lisbon*
- Tarom RO (737-700) · 1 route: Bucharest
- Thai Airways International TG (330) · 1 route: Bangkok
- Tunisair TU (A319) · 1 route: Tunis
- Turkish Airlines TK (A321, A330-200, A340-300, 777-300ER) · 1 route: Istanbul
- Turkmenistan Airlines T5 (737-300) · 1 route: Ashkhabad
- Ukraine International Airlines PS (737-800, 73J, 73N) · 1 route: Kiev
- United Airways 4H (313) · 1 route: Dhaka
- Uzbekistan Airways HY (767-300) · 1 route: Tashkent
- Virgin Atlantic Airways VS (A330-300) · 1 route: London
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 15 airlines, 78 direct destinations
- Air Arabia G9 (A320) · 65 routes: Abha, Ahmedabad, Al-ahsa, Alexandria, Alma-ata, Amman, Asyut, Baghdad, Bahrain, Bangalore, Basrah, Beirut, Cairo, Calicut, Chimkent, Chittagong, Coimbatore, Colombo, Dammam, Delhi, Dhaka, Doha, Donetsk, Erbil, Gassim, Goa, Hail, Hyderabad, Istanbul, Jaipur, Jeddah, Karachi, Kathmandu, Kazan, Kharkov, Khartoum, Kiev, Kochi, Kuwait, Lar … +25 more
- Pakistan International Airlines PK (737, 310, 737-800, A320, ATR) · 8 routes: Dera Ghazi Khan, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Turbat
- Air India Express IX (737-800) · 6 routes: Calicut, Jaipur, Kochi, Mangalore, Pune, Trivandrum
- Air India Limited AI (A321, A320) · 5 routes: Calicut, Hyderabad, Kochi, Madras, Trivandrum
- Shaheen Air International NL (734) · 2 routes: Peshawar, Sialkot
- Airlines Of Tasmania FO (CRJ-700) · 1 route: Aden
- Egyptair MS (A320, 737-800) · 1 route: Cairo
- Jet Airways 9W (737-800) · 1 route: Kochi
- L MJ (A321) · 1 route: Colombo
- Qatar Airways QR (A319, A320, A321) · 1 route: Doha
- Spicejet SG (737) · 1 route: Pune
- SriLankan Airlines UL (A320) · 1 route: Colombo
- Sudan Airways SD (AB6) · 1 route: Abu Dhabi
- Tajik Air 7J (735) · 1 route: Dushanbe
- Uzbekistan Airways HY (767-300) · 1 route: Tashkent
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 11 airlines, 40 direct destinations
- Fly Dubai FZ (737-800) · 24 routes: Ahmedabad, Amman, Bahrain, Beirut, Chisinau, Chittagong, Colombo, Dammam, Doha, Donetsk, Jeddah, Kabul, Kathmandu, Kazan, Khartoum, Kiev, Kuwait, Male, Muscat, Odessa, Riyadh, Samara, Ufa, Yekaterinburg
- Transaero Airlines UN (737-800, 767-300, 777-300, 777) · 8 routes: Moscow, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Samara, St. Petersburg, Tyumen, Yekaterinburg
- Ural Airlines U6 (A321, A320) · 6 routes: Chelyabinsk, Mineralnye Vody, Nizhniy Novgorod, Perm, Samara, Yekaterinburg
- Wizz Air W6 (A320) · 3 routes: Bucharest, Budapest, Sofia
- Air Philippines 2P (330) · 1 route: Manila
- Gulf Air Bahrain GF (A320, A321) · 1 route: Bahrain
- Jazeera Airways J9 (A320) · 1 route: Kuwait
- Malaysia Airlines MH (A330-300) · 1 route: Kuala Lumpur
- Philippine Airlines PR (330) · 1 route: Manila
- Qatar Airways QR (A319, A320, A321) · 1 route: Doha
- Royal Brunei Airlines BI (787) · 1 route: London
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
Regional airports
Further out, but often the cheapest way in — the airports the low-cost carriers use. Each links to its own town's guide for getting from there into the city.
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 58 airlines, 87 direct destinations
- Etihad Airways EY (A320, A330-200, 777-300ER, A330-300, A340-600, 345…) · 81 routes: Ahmedabad, Alma-ata, Amman, Amsterdam, Athens, Baghdad, Bahrain, Bangalore, Bangkok, Basrah, Beijing, Beirut, Belgrade, Berlin*, Brussels, Cairo, Calicut, Casablanca, Chengdu, Chicago, Colombo, Dammam, Delhi, Dhaka, Doha, Dublin, Duesseldorf, Erbil, Frankfurt, Geneva, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong*, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jaipur, Jakarta, Jeddah, Johannesburg, Karachi … +41 more
- Alitalia AZ (A320, A330-200, 777-300ER, A340-600, 330) · 25 routes: Bahrain, Bangalore, Bangkok, Beijing, Chengdu, Colombo*, Delhi, Jakarta, Johannesburg*, Karachi, Khartoum*, Kochi, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Lahore, Mahe*, Male*, Melbourne*, Milano*, Mumbai, Muscat, Nairobi*, Rome, Singapore*, Sydney*
- Jet Airways 9W (737-800, A320) · 11 routes: Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calicut, Dammam, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kuwait, Madras, Mumbai, Trivandrum*
- American Airlines AA (777, A320, A330-200, 330, 340, 777-300ER) · 9 routes: Chicago*, Colombo*, Duesseldorf*, Islamabad*, Lahore*, London*, Muscat*, New York*, Washington*
- Air Berlin AB (A330-200, A330-300, A340-600, A320, 345) · 8 routes: Bahrain*, Beijing*, Berlin, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt*, Munich*, Phuket, Singapore*
- Hainan Airlines HU (A330-200, A320, A330-300) · 7 routes: Beijing*, Chengdu*, Geneva, Johannesburg, Khartoum*, Nairobi, Shanghai*
- Virgin Australia VA (A320, A330-200, 777-300ER) · 6 routes: Islamabad*, Lahore*, Melbourne*, Peshawar*, Singapore*, Sydney
- Pakistan International Airlines PK (310, 737-800, 737) · 5 routes: Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Rahim Yar Khan
- Air Baltic BT (A330-200, A330-300, 345, A340-600) · 4 routes: Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, Munich
- Air India Express IX (737-800) · 4 routes: Calicut, Kochi, Muscat, Trivandrum
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL (A320, 330, A330-200, 777-300ER) · 4 routes: Amsterdam, Bahrain, Islamabad*, Lahore*
- Nas Air XY (A320, 777-300ER, A319, A330-200, A340-600) · 4 routes: Dammam*, Jeddah*, Madinah*, Riyadh*
- Air France AF (330, A340-600) · 3 routes: Amsterdam*, Bahrain*, Paris*
- Malaysia Airlines MH (A320, A330-300) · 3 routes: Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Muscat*
- Saudi Arabian Airlines SV (A320, A321) · 3 routes: Jeddah, Madinah, Riyadh
- Shaheen Air International NL (734, A320) · 3 routes: Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar
- TAP Portugal TP (A330-200, A330-300, A340-600) · 3 routes: Amsterdam, Casablanca*, London*
- Yemenia IY (A320, 310) · 3 routes: Aden, Mukalla, Sayun Intl
- Air Astana KC (A320, A321) · 2 routes: Alma-ata, Tselinograd
- Air India Limited AI (A319) · 2 routes: Delhi, Mumbai
- Air Seychelles HM (A330-200, A320) · 2 routes: Hong Kong*, Mahe*
- All Nippon Airways NH (A330-200) · 2 routes: Beijing*, Tokyo*
- Bangkok Airways PG (A320, 777-300ER) · 2 routes: Bangkok*, Muscat*
- British Airways BA (777) · 2 routes: London, Muscat
- Delta Air Lines DL (330) · 2 routes: Amsterdam*, Bahrain*
- Garuda Indonesia GA (A330-200) · 2 routes: Amsterdam, Jakarta
- Iberia Airlines IB (777) · 2 routes: London*, Muscat*
- Kuwait Airways KU (A320) · 2 routes: Kuwait, Muscat
- Lufthansa Cargo LH (A330-300) · 2 routes: Frankfurt, Muscat
- Royal Air Maroc AT (A330-200, A330-300, A340-600) · 2 routes: Casablanca*, Singapore*
- SriLankan Airlines UL (A320) · 2 routes: Amman, Colombo
- United Airlines UA (A330-300) · 2 routes: Frankfurt*, Muscat*
- Vietnam Airlines VN (A330-200, 777-300ER) · 2 routes: Ho Chi Minh City*, Kuala Lumpur*
- Aegean Airlines A3 (A320, A321) · 1 route: Athens
- Aer Lingus EI (A330-200, 777-300ER) · 1 route: Dublin*
- Air Canada AC (777-300ER) · 1 route: Toronto
- Air New Zealand NZ (A330-200) · 1 route: Singapore*
- Air Serbia JU (A319, A320) · 1 route: Belgrade
- Asiana Airlines OZ (345) · 1 route: Seoul*
- Belavia Belarusian Airlines B2 (A319) · 1 route: Minsk 2
- Biman Bangladesh Airlines BG (313) · 1 route: Sylhet Osmani
- Brussels Airlines SN (A330-200) · 1 route: Brussels*
- Cathay Pacific CX (A330-300) · 1 route: Bahrain
- Cyprus Airways CY (A320) · 1 route: Larnaca*
- Egyptair MS (330, 737-800) · 1 route: Cairo
- Gulf Air Bahrain GF (A320) · 1 route: Bahrain
- Kish Air Y9 (F50) · 1 route: Kish Island
- Korean Air KE (345, A340-600) · 1 route: Seoul
- L MJ (A320) · 1 route: Colombo*
- Middle East Airlines ME (A320) · 1 route: Beirut
- Oman Air WY (737-800, ATR, Embraer 175, 737-700) · 1 route: Muscat
- Philippine Airlines PR (330) · 1 route: Manila
- Qatar Airways QR (A319, A320, A321) · 1 route: Doha
- Royal Jordanian RJ (A319, A320) · 1 route: Amman
- S7 Airlines S7 (330) · 1 route: Moscow*
- South African Airways SA (A330-200) · 1 route: Johannesburg
- Sudan Airways SD (AB6) · 1 route: Khartoum
- Turkish Airlines TK (A321, 737-800) · 1 route: Istanbul
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
Getting there by ferry
Where things are
Photographs
credit: Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons · See source page
When to go
The warmer, longer-day half of the year is the safest bet for a first visit.
Cooler and quieter, with fewer visitors and better value.
Short days and the coldest weather — check local conditions before travelling.
Getting there & around
Getting there. The nearest airport on record is Al Minhad Air Base (NHD); 6 other airports serve the wider area. Check rail and road links from the tourism sources below. By air: DXB has direct flights to 188 destinations on 83 airlines (incl. Delhi, Jeddah, Kabul, London, Singapore…). By water: 6 ferry terminals within 20 km (nearest: Al Seef Marine Transport Station, 2.5 km); routes include Baniyas - Al Seef (Water Bus), Al Sabkha - Baniyas (Water Bus), Al Jadaf - Dubai Festival City.
Getting around. Use the map above to orient yourself; nearby hotels, attractions and places to eat are listed from the live Ultimate data for Dubai, UAE. Local transit details will be added as the guide is expanded.
Local transit
Private aviation
On-demand charter, jet cards and the semi-private scheduled carriers that serve this city.