My newbie story
For those who are in Dubai for the first time - take a sightseeing tour $ 25 per person (children $ 20) - you will see all the main attractions. Traveling everywhere by yourself will be much more troublesome and much more expensive! Obzorka of course "gallop across Europe" - it is not necessary for longer, but you will orient yourself in the city, you will understand what you want.
From excursions - I recommend immediately taking the Big Bas Tour (you can buy tickets in the malls on the ground floor at the entrance). This is a double-decker bus that will take you around the city - this will give you an idea of the city, plus a tour in 8 languages (Russian is available). Get off at any stop, walk as much as you want, take photos, get on the next bus, etc. You are not tied to one bus. They also have a combi tour Dubai + Abu Dhabi, day + night Dubai. The price of a day tour is 220 Dx - $ 60 (children 100 Dx - $ 27), family tour 540 Dx - $ 148 (2 adults + 2 children).
When you arrive at your hotel, then in the lobby of any hotel there is a stand with free small brochures (collect everything that is useful to you) - there must be a metro map, discounts in Water parks, in the aquarium in Dubai Mall, in the Dolphinarium in Creek Park, printouts of excursions...At the reception you can also take a map of the city. If you don't understand, ask your guide at the meeting. The metro map is very clear and convenient - for understanding where all the sights are located.
UNDERGROUND. Cards - Red (one-time) unprofitable;
Silver card card is valid for 5 years, just don't bend it, initially it costs 20 Dx (6 Dx - the card itself + 14 Dx is given to you for travel for the whole day, both in the subway and buses). Ride as much as you want and wherever you want, more than 14 Dx will not be removed (it will be “0”, but you still drive). It is quite possible to make yourself a tour of the entire emirate without a taxi. Metro stops are located at all key points in the emirate.
Gold card - initially it costs 20 Dx (6Dx - the card itself + 14 Dx is given to you for travel for the whole day, both in the subway and buses). Trips are 2 times more expensive than silver ones, but for the whole day more (14 Dx + commission) is not charged. A slightly more comfortable trip, but in the evening it is also full of people.
After the Gold car, there is a women's car (if you go from 11 stations on the way back, then these are the 1st and 2nd cars, in the opposite direction these are the last and penultimate cars). Try not to get on the subway during the evening rush hour - from 17-30 to 19-30 (end of the working day). The metro is served by 500 comfortable buses. routes are designed specifically for metro passengers. They also drive at high speed, no worse than a taxi. The women on the bus sit in the front of the bus, and the men in the back. That's etiquette. When boarding the bus, you will need those cards that you bought on the subway as tickets, so do not throw them away and keep them handy.
Taxis are metered with fixed rates. The cost of landing in a taxi is 3 Dx ($ 0.85) (from 22.00 to 6.00–3.50 Dx). The cost of landing in case of calling a taxi through the dispatcher is 6 dirhams (from 22.00 to 6.00–7 dirhams). The cost of one kilometer run is 1.60 Dx (0.45 $). The price of a taxi depends not only on the distance on the map, but also on the number of traffic jams (the meter works in traffic jams; at one traffic light, I clicked 3 Dx). You can also hire a taxi at a fixed price - for 300 x 6 hours, or 500 x 12 hours. The minimum fare in a taxi is 10 Dx. If you have run into 42 Dx, then they will count 45 Dx (do not expect small change, or let us calculate it, or demand it). Somehow I got 21Dx, and I gave 21, so while we got out of the taxi we listened to Arabic speech for a long time, I don’t know what, and only at the end in English: don’t slam the door. In the case of a trip from the Emirate of Dubai to the Emirate of Sharjah, an amount of 20 Dx (5.5 $) will be added to the total fare.
Taxis are on duty at hotels or a concierge calls a car, passing you they honk, asking if they need a car. Approximately Jumeirah hotels from the Deira area are 60 Dh. From Parus to Wafi pier - 50 Dx.
If you are stingy at the fish market, then the taxi driver may refuse you a trip because of the smell. They may not even let you on the subway. "Long-range" taxis depart from Al-Gubaiba bus stations in Bur Dubai (No. 24 green line).
Al Mamzar beach is paid (border with Sharjah), I liked it more than on Jumeirah. I recommend far #5, it is almost empty and much cleaner. You can get there yourself without a taxi: from the Union station there is a C-28 bus (from the bus station). On the beach, the girls from the agencies offer excursions. You can find the Arabian Knights phone number (this travel agency is more popular with tourists and cheaper) on the Internet, call reception, book a tour. At the appointed time, you will be picked up and paid on the spot.
Jumeirah Beach Park is paid - from it a view of the Sail from afar (entrance 5Dx, sunbed 10Dx, umbrella large 15Dx, towel 5Dx). Monday - only women with children. You can get there yourself: Al-Gubaiba metro station (No. 24 green line), 50 meters across the road from the bus station there is bus 8 (from the second platform from the station building, if you haven’t found it, then ask). Bus No. 8 travels from the creek of the bay to the Ibn Batuta pier, past all the beaches of Jumeirah, Wild Wadi Water Park, Wave and Sail hotels, Madinat Jumeirah, the base of the palm tree, along Dubai Marina.
Free beaches:
jumeirah beach 1 (by metro to station 22 or 23, then by taxi) near the mosque.
jumeirah beach 2 (to station 25 or 26, then by taxi) there is jumeirah park (8-22.00).
jumeirah beach 3 (by metro station 26 business bay, and then by taxi 15-20 Dx)
Jumeirah beach open free free beach with Parus and Volna hotel. You can get to the beach by bus number 8.88 (Maharba Mosque stop, next water park). This beach for a photo shoot against the backdrop of Sails on the sand.
It is not equipped with anything.
Marina Beach (free) We arrived at the station. 36 (Dubai Marina) boarded bus F37 (its stops are: 1- tower; 2 - mall; 3- jumeirah tower sea side; turn right; 4- tower; rides on the bridge, turn right; 5-Hilton (you can get off and go to the sea or next); 6-Oasis hotel (sea); 7-Ritz-Carlton 1.8-Royal Meridian 2.
Or better reached the station. 37, go a little towards the Marina, turn left onto the bridge, and there is quite a bit to the beach. There is a clean wild beach near the HILTON hotel. Jumeirah Beach Residents, which is located in the prestigious area of Dubai Marina. When you see the yachts, then there will be a local Arbat - Dubai Marina Walk. If you are with children, then they will be interested in the fountain in the area (the children will be wet, and maybe you, catching jets of water).
From the pier in Dubai Marina, a water taxi departs at 9.00 and 11.00 on the first route. It swims up to the palm island, passes close next to Atlantis.
A ticket costs 50Dx and 75Dx is a gold class, but it's not worth it, because the most interesting thing happens on the open deck, children under 10 years old for 50% of the cost. The boat is about one hour on the road. Another route from the AL Ghubaiba pier at 17.00 and 19.00 water taxi sails past the Mir archipelago, Burj Al Arab (Sail). The boat arrives at the same pier of Creek Bay, where, if you are interested, for 1 dirham you can ride in a boat to the other side of the bay. This is where the gold market begins.