Emirates of the UAE. What is the difference between the emirates in the UAE? Pros and cons of each emirate in the UAE. Where to go for a beach holiday in the UAE?
Emirates of the UAE: how to choose your own?
Our experts have traveled all 7 emirates of the UAE, which are different from each other, like children of different parents. We will try to tell you how to choose your emirate for a holiday. What are the pros and cons of each of them.
Dubai
The most famous of all the Arab Emirates. Actually, this is what you imagine when you mention the UAE: skyscrapers, a sail hotel, an artificial Palm Island and the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa.
If you are traveling to the Emirates for the first time, you cannot miss Dubai, otherwise the trip to this country becomes completely pointless. In fact, Dubai is the UAE in our view.
From the point of view of a tourist, Dubai is one solid plus. Of the minuses – high prices and not very high-quality beach holidays.
Sharjah
Sharjah is the second most popular emirate in the UAE. It is the cultural capital of the country, with theatres, museums and mosques. It’s as clean and beautiful as Dubai, with lots of skyscrapers and upscale hotels, but on a smaller scale.
The advantages of Sharjah are proximity to Dubai (15 minutes by taxi, but be careful: there are specific traffic jams during peak hours) and much lower prices than in Dubai. The main disadvantage is the very strict observance of Islam. They do not sell alcohol here at all, and if you wear shorts, in a crowded place they may look askance at you or even not let you inside.
Sharjah has its own malls (very good ones) and its own water park.
Ajman
A small emirate, located just outside Sharjah. It makes sense to stay there for two reasons: it is much cheaper than in Dubai and several hotels offer a Turkish holiday format – a large beach and a lot of food and drinks (I recommend Fairmont and Kempinski).
In addition, alcohol is allowed here, and the local shop that sells it is known to the whole world, and to our tourists in the first place.
At the same time, the surroundings in Ajman are not very good. A typical Arab town, dirty and completely uncomfortable. It is worth choosing if you are going to spend most of the time on the territory of the hotel, but want to leave yourself the opportunity to spontaneously get out to Dubai (30-45 minutes drive)
fujairah
The only emirate located on the coast of the Indian Ocean, not the Persian Gulf. Therefore, of course, a beach holiday in Fujairah is the best. Here you will find wide beaches and a boundless sea. The ocean is really fantastic.
The main disadvantage is that it takes about 2 hours to get to Dubai, so if you are going to the Emirates for the first time, I advise you to take a combined tour, for example, 2 + 5 (2 days in Dubai, and then 5 days in Fujairah on the ocean).
The hotels here have large territories, but behind them is wilderness and emptiness. So, when buying a tour, do not forget to calculate the cost of food in the hotel restaurants: there will be no other alternatives. From entertainment, tune in only to “mattress” and water sports.
Another disadvantage is very weak internet in all hotels. I hope that this situation will be corrected soon, but apparently due to the remoteness of the emirates, the channel width is not enough and the Internet speed is enough, at best, for correspondence in WhatsApp.
Ras Al Khaimah
Ras al-Khaimah is the youngest tourist emirate, it began to develop just a few years ago.
Most hotels in Ras Al Khaimah are All Inclusive. So Ras Al Khaimah is such an alternative to Turkey and Egypt with long private beaches, in-house entertainment and free alcohol. Dubai is about 1.5 hours drive from Ras Al Khaimah.
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi is the capital of the country. Until the last moment, there was no tourism here, despite the presence of the sea. But in order to keep up with the brothers, they also began to build hotels here. I can’t say anything about them, we didn’t stay in them – until Abu Dhabi looks attractive to our tourist. The main attractions of the emirate – Sheikh Zayed Mosque and Ferrari Park – can be reached from Dubai in a comparable period of time.