United Arab Emirates [2019-2024]

Jul 31, 2024
12 min read

A place we once called home.

What We Did

Abu Dhabi

A few key attractions covered in our first visit you can find here (Palaces, Grand Mosque, etc.)
Abu Dhabi Hash House Harriers (AUH4): We'd made a friend through climbing who invited us to check out a group that ran, did funny little stops, and had beer afterwards... We ended up meeting a lot of weirdos who ended up becoming some of our best friends <3
Abu Dhabi 4x4: We weren't able to make it out with this group nearly enough, but they're great for learning how to drive in the sand. For free, they'll teach you all the safety and know-how of traversing dunes. We went to a handful of events and really loved it.
Desert camping: Something we very much miss doing with our friends. There's nothing quite like those sunrises and sunsets.
Emirates National Auto Museum: Struggling to find things to do during the COVID pandemic, we visited this bonkers museum. Was interesting to see once lol.

Al Bateen

ADNOC 10k: A fine run, but we heard the marathon can sometimes run out of water at the stations so be prepared!

Al Maya

Al Maya Island & Resort: Again, you book the ferry with your reservations. Be sure to get there a bit early. We visited for a friend's birthday, which was a relaxing day by the pool.

Al Qana

The National Aquarium (TNA): One of our good friends is the curator, and it's honestly one of the best aquariums we've ever visited. Not only are long-term exhibits well taken care of and labeled, but they're always changing it up and adding new things. 10/10!
Fairmont Bab Al Bahr: COVID-era beach day - was something to do when everything else was closed. It was actually pretty good!
Pixoul Gaming: Something different to do with friends. A few of the VR games (part of an overall story experience) were a bit finicky/glitchy, but it was an entertaining afternoon.

Al Seef

Eastern Mangroves Kayaking: Unfortunately, many of the operators are closed now, but we ended up buying a kayak and wandered the mangroves ourselves. Definitely an activity highlight of living in the UAE. We'd usually launch from around here.
Wahat al Karama: Emirati war memorial to those lost in the line of duty. There is also a reflecting pool here that is great for pictures of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

Al Wathbah

Sheikh Zayed Festival: One of the more local things we visited. There are stalls and stalls of secondhand goods and materials, as well as foods from many different Middle Eastern countries. It's also gotten to be known for its fireworks and drone shows and only runs in the winter time, so check the dates before you go.
Al Wathba Fossil Dunes: We visited before it got cleaned up, so there was more garbage than we expected. It has since been cleaned up and designated as a protected area. Also, geologically very cool :)

Corniche

Qasr al Hosn: What was once the main meeting point for tribe leaders and members to share thoughts and sometimes poetry, as well as was the home of the royal family. It's now surrounded by skyscrapers, but they've done a good job keeping it maintained. The museum itself isn't very big, but it was a nice thing to visit to learn some history and escape the sun.

Hudayriyat:

Biking: We usually parked around here and jumped on the track for a lap or two. There's also really nice shops for coffee, ice cream, and other foods with nice views of the beach.

Jubail

Jubail Mangrove Park: We often took visitors here, because it's so nice. You get to walk amongst the green mangroves and bright blue, clear water and can see all kinds of little crabs and fish.

Liwa

Liwa Moreeb Dune Festival: THE most local thing we did while living in the UAE. We pointed the GPS towards the Moreeb dune and followed the flow of cars from there. It is NOT a walking-friendly festival, as everyone is generally motoring around in their cars. Had we known that, we wouldn't have brought Kimber lol. The coolest part was driving to the top of the Moreeb Dune (tallest in the region) to watch the event where people drove up the dune as far and fast as they could. The whole experience was wild.
Milky Way Spot: One of the best places for desert camping and star-gazing <3

Reem

Sorbonne (climbing gym): We took climbing classes here from one of the G.O.A.T. instructors. Also, they have some of the best route setting in the region! The registration process is a bit tedious, but just shoot them an email and they'll get you squared away.

Sadiyaat

Louvre Abu Dhabi: Beautiful art museum both in exhibits and architecture. We also did the night kayak around the building, which was really nice.
NYU (climbing wall): Not really open to the public, but a friend worked there and got us in for a day. It's a single wall but was a great afternoon with friends and fun climbs.
Studio Coe: Lovely studio to get creative with ceramics.
Nurai Island: Again, during COVID, took a day trip to Nurai Island to swim and explore. It's the closest you'll get to visiting the Maldives without having to leave UAE. We booked the ferry as part of our day trip and had a great day.

Yas

Clymb: Where we learned to climb! While it's marketed as a tourist attraction, they have a wall that is ~140' tall and offer great climbing routes! We took the top rope and lead courses here and made quite a few friends along the way <3.
Ferrari World: Another COVID activity lol. We honestly wouldn't have visited had there been lines. But, since everyone was staying home, we went on as many rides as we could with our masks on. The highlight was the fastest rollercoaster in the world, which made Ash's neck clench and Nick's eyes pop :P
Yas Waterworld: A friend worked here and got us discounted tickets. It had been years since either of us had been to a water park, and it was actually pretty fun!
Kite Beach: One of our favorite places to take Kimber on the weekend for a morning walk on the beach. The Middle East is generally not keen on dogs, so it could be difficult sometimes to find fun places to take her, so this spot was a highlight to take her to splash around and get sandy. This location may not be around for long due to ongoing development.
Yas Marina Circuit: The Abu Dhabi Formula 1 track! We went to see the Grand Prix time trials one year, which was really cool to see. You can also run and bike on the track certain days of the week.

Yas Marina

Etihad Arena: We went to a few concerts here, and they were all really fun. And, the parking/overall flow of the arena is great (significantly better than the Coco-Cola Arena in Dubai). Here we saw: Abu Dhabi Comedy Season, Hamilton, Scorpions, and Imagine Dragons.

Zayed Port

Date Market: The place to get dates and produce for a good price.
421 Arts Campus/Studio: A great studio, and a friend would run his movie club out of the open space next door for free. It's such a great spot!

Zayed Sports City

Ice Rink: Nick loves to ice skate, so this was a convenient spot close to home. There isn't much of a website with up-to-date times, so best to check their Instagram account to get the latest.

Dubai

Similarly, you can find our first visit to Dubai here (Dubai Aquarium, Ski Dubai)
Burj Khalifa: The tallest building in the world. We opted to go to floor ~124, which was high enough, because at the time to go higher up than that, it was quite a bit more expensive and honestly not worth the money to us. Otherwise, on a clear day, the views are amazing.
Dubai Frame: We visited during COVID, so the line wasn't long at all. We tried again when family visited, and the line was 3 hours long. It was cool, but not 3 hour line cool. The view of the Burj is great, and the glass floor is also pretty neat.
AquaFun Dubai Water Park: We did this for a friend's birthday, and it was a great time.
Expo 2020: Some companies gave "Expo Days" as incentive to get residents and locals to visit the expo. We went with Hashers, but Ash also went a couple times to check out some of the pavilions during the week. It was really well done, and they still use the space for tourism and a hub for other industries.

Old Deira: Historical part of Dubai. They've obviously re-done much of it, but is still cool to walk around. We also visited the Museum of Illusions here.
Gold Souq: So much gold. This is a bit more authentic shopping experience. The vendors love to actively work to get you into their shops. Nick lost it at how much Ash dead-weighted her arms to avoid scarves being put on them.
DCS Half Marathon: While the bridges and tunnel were ROUGH, the route through the old town was really great. The race was well-run and the swag was top-notch.
Rock Republic: One of the OG gyms in Dubai. We only made it there a couple of times, but the routes are fun and you can even get your shoes resoled here.
Hatta: Located on the UAE side of the Oman Mountains. It is a really fun spot for hiking, biking, and more amongst the mountains.
Wadi Bih relay: They don't run this every year, so we were fortunate to have experienced it once. We did the team 70K with 5 of us on a team. The driving between handoff points was muddy and chaotic but an absolute core memory. Rocks, Cocks, and Teachers for life!
My Second Home: Arguably the best boarding in UAE and Kimber's home away from home. The staff are so friendly who took such good care of her while we were away. They also have cat boarding and a really nice indoor dog park.
Coco-Cola Arena: We saw Trevor Noah here. He was great, the venue was not. Traffic getting in added hours to our commute from Abu Dhabi. We swore to never go there again lol.

Ras al Khaimah

You can find our first visit to RAK here (Jebel Jais zip-lining, hiking, and camping).
Stairway to Heaven hike: So amazing. Definitely recommend going with someone who knows the way. Also, not for anyone who doesn't like heights!
Climbing crags:
- Stardust: The most popular crag in the region! Several great routes, and you can park at the base of most of the climbs. This is also where we went climbing outdoors for the first time. Some of the rock can be a bit dusty for the slopers, but overall it's an incredibly well-maintained crag with lots of variety. There is a proper topo out there, but rather than linking here to an outdated pdf, here's the Mountain Project link.
  - Routes we liked: Rising Potential, A Happy Land, Volare, Dancing Dust, It All Comes Down, Never Let Me Down (love), Candidate, Let's Dance, Life on Mars, Absolute Beginners, Fantastic Voyage, and The Unforgiven
- Greyskull: Parked in the village, but some have been able to park close to the wall with the entrance to the wadi being around here. Overall, great crag that's much less-trafficked than Stardust and is in the same area. Not sure if the topo has been updated in a while, but here's the 27 Crags link.
  - Route we liked: Catarrh
- Roadside: Not very many routes here, but cool to check out a different place! Not sure how updated the topo is, but you can find it here.
  - Route we liked: Sellsword and Queen of Thorns
- Dickinadozer: We went to the Far Right sector for a short day. Sketchy start on some but overall nice climbing, and topo is the same as the one for Roadside. For some of these small crags, we found it better to go with someone who'd already been.
  - Routes we liked: Sons of the Harpy, Blood Rider, and boulder traverse nearby

Sharjah

Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization: We're really glad we finally got a chance to check this place out. We learned so much and they've got beautiful examples of calligraphy.
Lucky Furniture: We got 3 pieces of furniture here. They're great quality and significantly cheaper than anything we'd buy in the US.

Food

Abu Dhabi (places with multiple locations)

Burro Blanco: The closest thing to "Tex Mex" we could find, and the burritos really scratched it itch. There are a few of them, with the closes to us being the one near the Corniche. We ordered delivery once, after which they confidently could not service our area lol. It looks like they may build one near where we lived, though!
Joud: Slick coffee shop with tasty small bites. A favorite amongst locals.
La Brioche: Chain with good, hearty breakfast food.
Irish Vickers: Solid pub. There are a couple of them now, but we went to the on on Raha most often.
Zahrat Lebnan: Cheap, fast, and great Lebanese dishes.
Belgian Café: One of the better beer spots in the city. The one on Yas was our fave.
Faasos: Ash dreams about the paratha wraps. Not sure if there is still one in Abu Dhabi, but it looks like they may still exist in Sharjah.

Al Bateen

Byblos Sur Mer: Delicious fine-dining Lebanese cuisine.

Al Maryah

Zuma: A bit pricey, but excellent sushi and killer old fashioned.
Coya: Amazing fine-dining Peruvian - civiche was incredible.
Brauhaus: Fun German-style beer house.
Craft by Side Hustle: The first brewery in the Middle East! Great food and really nice beers.
Dai Pai Dong Restaurant: We went here for NYE, and the food was super good.
Bentley Kitchen: Great food, especially if you eat meat!
La Cava: Delicious food and wine.
Hidden Bar: Great drinks with a view!
Koshari Factory: A Hasher regularly ordered this for his runs, and they were always one of our favorite meals <3