Day 1: Lloret de Mar - Barcelona Airport - Flight to Dubai
With the flight to Dubai, with stopover in London, begins today and the trip to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Rub 'al Khali. Of course, on this occasion we started with some added nerves and that is that last night we received an email from British Airways, with whom we flew, announcing that they were canceling the flight from Barcelona to London that we had first thing in the morning and This happened to be at 6pm today, and then, to make the flight to Dubai at night, making us arrive tomorrow morning instead of tonight, as we had planned.
This initially would not have had a greater impact than the lost of a few hours of travel, but today is a different day. Yesterday the sentence of the process in Catalonia and after the incidents, among which highlighted the impossibility of arriving at the airport and many flight cancellations and without knowing how the situation would be today, we decided to leave for Barcelona early in the morning to avoid possible concentrations in the surroundings and ensure arriving on time.
But as things are not always as you expect, this time there is no incident and we meet at 10:30 in the morning at El Prat airport, with 8 hours of waiting to board our flight to London and then, Link with the flight to Dubai.
Seeing the situation, we opted to go to the Joan Miró VIP lounge where we paid 35 euros per person and spent the next few hours taking advantage of work and rest besides eating. The truth is that after the experience we have to say that this option is highly recommended if you have several hours of liaison, since for that price you have comfortable seats, tables to work and you also have several areas with drinks and food available for free. The problem today is that there are quite a lot of people and the facilities are not as clean as we would expect and the staff is insufficient to attend to all the travelers although from what they tell us this is not always the case and today they have been overwhelmed.
Flight to Dubai from Barcelona
At 6 pm on time we embark on our flight from Barcelona to London where we arrive at Terminal 3, after two and a quarter hours, at which point we have to put the batteries since we have a transit of only 75 minutes, a fairly fair time If you have to change like us terminal.
The first thing is to be part of the train journey and then pass a security check and take a bus that takes us directly to Terminal 5 from where our flight to Dubai leaves and where we have to pass another security check.
Keep in mind that if you buy any flight with transit with the same company, this will give you enough time for the connection, but in case you buy the flights separately, it is important that you have a minimum of 75 minutes, especially if the Flights depart from different terminals and carry hand luggage because if you have to leave to collect luggage and check again, the time must be much longer.
More practical information to prepare your trip to Dubai
- How to get from Dubai airport to downtown
- 10 essential places to see in Dubai
- The 5 best tours and excursions in Dubai
Flight to Dubai
At 9:45 p.m., the flight from London to Dubai takes off with 30 minutes of delay, which will take us in just over 7 hours to Dubai, where we landed at 8 in the morning, a city that is already beginning to impress us from the air In addition to its immensity, the number of buildings we see are already at full capacity at this time and we imagine, they are focused on the next 2020 Exhibition.
Here we want to make a small subsection and if your flight, especially if you are going to land in Dubai by day, the best option is to sit on the right side of the plane to have views of the famous The Palm, the World and the Burj Khalifa In case your flight from Dubai is on departure, it is best to get on the left side.
Arriving in Dubai
Upon leaving the plane we find an extremely modern airport, in which the first thing we have to do is take a train that takes us to the arrivals terminal, where we pass a small passport control very fast, that being a Spanish citizen you can go directly through the machines, much faster than police control.
Entry requirements in Dubai
If you are a Spanish citizen, from any country of the European Union (EU), United States, Canada and Australia, in addition to other countries, to enter the United Arab Emirates you will only need your passport (not DNI) with a minimum of 6 months of validity and You will have a tourist visa directly without paying anything, with a maximum duration of 90 days.
In case of belonging to any of the countries that are not included in the list, it is highly recommended to check the requirements for entering the country on the embassy page in your country, several months before your flight to Dubai, to carry out the procedures necessary with enough time.
Israel stamp in the passport to enter the United Arab Emirates
On the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is reported that in order to enter Dubai (United Arab Emirates), the passport must not have any visa from the State of Israel. In our case, having a stamp of the trip to Israel and Palestine for free, we called the embassy a month before and they told us that there is currently no problem and you can enter perfectly with the stamp.
In our experience, this has been the case and at no time have we been asked any questions about the seal or placed any impediment. In any case, we believe that it is important to review the information before traveling and it does not hurt to phone the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates (915701001) and thus have all the data updated.
Medicines banned in Dubai (United Arab Emirates)
Another issue to consider before taking a flight to Dubai or any area of the United Arab Emirates, is the problem that exists with the possession of some medications, which are very common in Spain or other countries of the world as certain anxiolytics and even the known paracetamol.
In principle, none of the drugs on this list can be introduced into the country without the corresponding prescription of a doctor, a detailed medical report and all certified by a notary public.
In our case we had to take one of the medications indicated on the list, not with the detailed name, but with one of the active ingredients, so if in doubt, we consulted with the embassy and they told us that if they were a few days and it was only as prevention and therefore we were carrying a very small dose, in principle there should be no problem. Of course, we were recommended to take the medication between the luggage and check that bag.
Once at the airport, they did not ask us for any type of registration or any question, so we believe that even carrying it in our hand luggage, we would not have had any problems. Anyway and as we discussed earlier with the issue of the stamp of Israel in the passport, if this is your case, we advise you to call to make sure before traveling.
In addition to this, people with infectious and contagious diseases such as hepatitis or tuberculosis or HIV carriers cannot travel or reside in the United Arab Emirates.
Dubai airport
After passing passport control and security, without any mishap, we access the baggage claim area where we collect our handbags and take the opportunity to get money from the cashier for this trip to the United Arab Emirates, with the Bnext card, with the that they return to us at the moment the 20AED that they charge us of commission in the cashier.
How to get money in Dubai and not pay commissions?
Based on our experience, in Dubai we recommend using the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.
With the money already taken out after the flight to Dubai and on the way to the exit doors, we are lucky to find a duty free store, which is just before the exit door, and in which we offer a SIM for the mobile of the Etisalad company, which will also serve us for Abu Dhabi and for all areas of the Arab Emirates, including the Rub Al Khali desert.
Although we had another company pointed out, out of curiosity we look and see that this option is much better for prices and amount of data, so we also do this process and leave the airport with everything managed and ready to start this incredible journey.
Internet in Dubai
If you want to have internet in Dubai and United Arab Emirates, you must buy a SIM card to put on your phone, provided it is free. Although there are some more companies, the best known and recommended are Du and Etisalat, the latter having the most coverage in the country.
- Du: Covers the city of Dubai, the coast to Abu Dhabi, the city of Abu Dhabi, Ajman and Ras al-Khaimah. In Al-Fujayrah coverage is quite poor.
- Etisalat: In addition to the areas covered by Du, this company also covers Umm al-Qaywayn and the coastal area of the emirate Al-Fujayrah.
In our case we opt for Etisalat, since it offers us more coverage, they have packages with more Gb of data and the prices are more adjusted in the latter. We opted for a 5Gb card for AED170 and another 8Gb card for AED220 that last 9 days of the trip making stories and using the mobile phone on many occasions.
You can check the packages offered by Du in this link.
Etisalat plans
Free Wifi in the city
Both the cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as most restaurants, shopping centers, hotels and even the subway, have free internet. The problem is that many of them, especially those of shopping centers, to be able to access the service force you to register with a local phone number, so if you have not bought a SIM card, you will not be able to take advantage of this service.
If you want to use it, we advise you to buy a SIM card with little data and thus pay the minimum and then take advantage of these networks that, as we told you, are in practically all parts of the cities.
In addition to this, we had read that WhatsApp, Messenger Video, Skype or FaceTime calls were banned in the United Arab Emirates. In our case we use Skype without problems but we did have problems with WhatsApp calls, although at no time with text messages.
Buy prepaid SIM card from your place of origin
Another option is to choose to buy one SIM card being in Spain, with which you will have internet from the moment you land, saving you all the time of the negotiations and making the whole process to have internet in Dubai much more comfortable, fast and easy.
In this case you should only buy it through this link and pick it up at the Book My Wifi counter (Terminal 1 or 3) of the Dubai International Airport that is open 24 hours a day.
There they will activate it and you can have internet from the first moment you arrive in the city.
Dubai
With all the procedures done, we leave the Departures Terminal, where we find a sign with our name, the transfer that we have contracted with Civitatis and that is the best option after the flight to Dubai to reach the city without any concern and in the shortest possible time.
How to get from the airport to Dubai
Dubai airport is the largest in the country and is also used to get to know the city, as a connection point between Europe and Asia. The distance between the city center (Burj Khalifa) and the airport is about 16 kilometers and approximately 20 minutes by car while the distance between this and the neighborhoods of Deira and Bur Dubai is 10 kilometers and about 15 minutes by car, depending on traffic.
The journey from Dubai airport to downtown The city can be done in different ways, depending on your needs, the metro being the most economical option, as long as your hotel is located very close to one of the stops and the taxi or the transfer the most expensive option but also more comfortable , since this will leave you at the door of your accommodation.
Meter
In Dubai International Airport there are two metro stations, both of the red line, one in Terminal 1 and one in Terminal 3. From this it will take just over 20 minutes to Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall station, which is one of The most central.
The metro schedule is from Saturday to Wednesday from 05:30 a.m. to 00 a.m., Thursday from 05:30 a.m. to 01 a.m. and Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m., with an approximate frequency of 5 minutes and destinations are divided into zones, which you can see on the maps and on the ticket buying machine.
Remember that as we said before, the subway option is recommended if you have your hotel near one of its stations since the mobility in Dubai is not precisely friendly, the distances are long and in the end it may be more comfortable to make this journey, after Your flight to Dubai by taxi or transfer.
To use the subway you can opt for the following options:
- Buy a Red Card (Red Nol Card) for 2AED that you can recharge for up to ten trips or five one-day bonuses, the latter having a price of 20AED that is valid for all areas. There are more cards, although this is the most recommended and used by tourists.
- Buy a simple ticket for 1, 2 or more areas. Prices are 4AED for 1 zone, 6AED for 2 zones and 8.50AED for 3 zones or more.
Do not forget that you must save the card since you must pass it through the machine when you leave.
Dubai Metro
Cab
Although it depends on traffic, the approximate price of a taxi from Dubai International Airport to the Bur Dubai neighborhood, usually has an approximate price of 60AED and lasts about 20 minutes. If your journey is to Burj Khalifa the price is usually about 70AED and about 25 minutes of travel.
Remember that if you take a taxi at the airport after your flight to Dubai, the taximeter will always have 25AED start, which will be added to the total cost of the race.
Although in most taxis you can pay by card, in some they will tell you that they only accept cash or that the POS terminal does not work for them. In case you only carry a card, it insists, since it is usually a trick Not to pay commissions. In addition to this, it is important to be aware when the change is returned to you and it is advisable to follow the route with a GPS so that you do not get much back, since unfortunately this group is not the most legal from the city.
Private transfer
This is the most comfortable option, especially if you travel several people or your flight arrives at night or outside more conventional hours. If you choose this option, a driver will be waiting for you at the Departures Terminal, with a cartel with your name, to take you directly to your accommodation.
You can book here private transportation in Dubai.
This last option is the one we chose to arrive at Damac de Vogue at 9:30 in the morning, which will be our accommodation in Dubai for the next 4 nights.
And although today would be the first day we spent in Dubai really, for the change of flight, we left it for this post and tomorrow we explain the first day of this trip that is incredible ...
* Keep in mind that this post should technically only include the flight information, which was the only thing we did on the first day of the trip. Due to the cancellation and the delay, on the second day, it should include the arrival in Dubai and the route we made through the city during the rest of the day, but due to the large amount of content, we preferred to talk in this post only about the flight to Dubai and the transfer to the city and in the next, explain the entire route we take.
Day 2: Dubai in one day
