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Vacation Destinations from Dubai?

36K views 36 replies 26 participants last post by  rsinner 
#1 ·
My husband and I recently moved to Dubai for his job and are looking to take a 1-week holiday in mid-August.

Any suggestions on resort areas that are a direct flight away? Not wedded to staying in the middle east (would actually prefer to leave considering it will be Ramadan). But can't afford anything too expensive, looking in the 2,000USD - 3,000USD range.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,
Monica
 
#13 · (Edited)
I was in Goa last August. It is rainy season but there was still plenty of "dry" time to explore, and without too many tourists - I guess we got one downpour a day, and that's it. Also on the plus side, as it's off season, we got an incredibly cheap all-inclusive deal with the Taj Holiday Village which had great food, amenities and service. I'd definitely go back (to Goa and/or that hotel).

(I did notice however that most of the bars outside the hotel complex were closed or else empty - but a lot of shops and all tourist attractions were still going, I guess it depends on the type of holiday you are looking for).
 
#7 ·
If you wish to experience some amazing sea life by simply snorkelling and enjoy some 5 star creature comforts I would recommend 3 - 4 nights at Four Seasons, Sharm el Sheihk(Egypt) and 3 - 4 nights at Dahab at a boutique hotel called Dahab Paradise. The former is expensive and the latter is not. The Red Sea is truly amazing. You can fly direct to Sharm El Sheihk (3 hours) and Dahab is a 1 hour drive from there. Just got back. Had a wonderful and relaxing time.
 
#8 ·
The Red Sea is truly amazing. You can fly direct to Sharm El Sheihk (3 hours) and Dahab is a 1 hour drive from there. Just got back. Had a wonderful and relaxing time.
Which airline has a direct connection to Sharm El Sheik from Dubai? We are moving to Dubai next month and I'm looking forward to do some dive trips to near by destinations in the future. I couldn't find direct flights to any of the dive destinations in Egypt.
 
#12 ·
I'm also looking to take a 7 to 10 day break from Dubai during Ramadan, for the wife and myself.

As we are from Europe, heading south or east rather than back west appeals more. I believe most of the asian destinations are mid rainy-season in August, and I've also read somewhere that Goa is practically shut at that time. Sri-Lanka, though, could be a possibility.

However, I'm probably more focused on the Indian Ocean - Seychelles, Mauritius and/or Maldives. I see that Emirates fly direct to these locations, so I should be able to redeem some Skywards miles to get the flights at a reasonable price.

My principal question though is how to find the best deals with the resorts and/or hotels. Most of the agency and/or comparison sites I can find on the internet seem to be UK tour operators, and many don't have options for excluding the flights.

Does anyone have any advice as to how best to go about this from Dxb?!

Thanks, Lamp
 
#14 ·
Most of the agency and/or comparison sites I can find on the internet seem to be UK tour operators, and many don't have options for excluding the flights.
Try searching off of something else than Google.UK :rolleyes:

(all jokes aside, are you sure you are not, because I have looked for a couple of trips out of Dubai over the past couple of years, and I don't remember finding an overwhelming quantity of UK tour operators...)

Does anyone have any advice as to how best to go about this from Dxb?!
I know it's a weird advice in these days of internet, but hit the streets and go to actual travel agencies. You'll get a feel for what you can get from here.
 
#15 ·
Hear the greek islands is awesome in August. Never been but is high on my maybe list. Flights are not that expensive to fly into Turkey and take a boat over to some nearby islands, or go thru Athens and do the same.
 
#23 ·
One of the reason I didn't discard the offer for coming to work in Dubai is the fact that there are some decent place to do a 4-7 days break now and then: Thailand, Seychelles, etc, are quite near, but I have never considered Sri Lanka.

Since this is not the first suggestion for this country I am getting curious : I understand you are from there, so hopefully you are an expert, can you suggest something specific (city, place to stay, etc) ? :)
 
#17 ·
Emirates Holidays do 'package' style holidays (flights and resorts together) and you get points for the hotel bit as well. I booked with them for Thailand and it was very well organised. They are located next to Dnata building on SZR. Other than that plenty of travel agents in all the Malls.
 
G
#24 ·
Found this a bit old thread to now open a new thread with same title.

I am looking for a destination for 5-6 days in late May or beginning of June, my preference nature + history.

Maldives, great beach + nature. No history.
Istanbul, incredible history and city, my fav city in the world but still not a fit for this vacation.
Seychelles, no idea.
Sri Lanka, no idea.

Any suggestions?
 
#25 ·
If nature to you can just mean marine life, scuba and snorkeling all day and relaxing nights with very little to do but read or bit of socializing.... Maldives hand down. For history, take some history books :D
 
#31 ·
Has anyone done the Maldives with a young family?

Always strikes me as a bit of a relaxing, chillout, honeymoon sort of place.
What's it like with young kids? (3 & 8)
The 8 year old will be into all the snorkelling etc, but need to entertain them both for a week..
 
#34 ·
i guess that your holiday / vacation targets from Dubai vary depending on where you come from.
For me, from the UK, I will be headed East or South.
My hitlist for the family includes Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, Maldives, Kenya, Oman, Jordan, for starters..
If i was from Australia, i think i'd probably be headed to Europe, for example, as you're 2/3 of the way there!
 
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