The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a modern state founded in 1971 when its seven emirates were united, but Dubai itself has been around for many centuries. A once modest fishing and pearling village is now a global commercial centre and popular tourist destination. You can visit Dubai and be in awe of its large, modern and cool buildings, but it feels more balanced to also seek out some of the older parts of the city, or elements which are less glitzy. Here are some ideas:
New Dubai vs Old Dubai is a question that is becoming more important as travelers look for culture & meaning behind the places they travel.
The article suggests balancing futuristic icons like Dubai Marina, the massive Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa, and Aquaventura Water Park with historic experiences such as abra rides on Dubai Creek, traditional souqs, Wild Wadi, and desert adventures.
This family-focused guide shows how exploring both sides creates a more authentic and rewarding trip beyond the city’s glitzy surface.
Ask most people to picture Dubai and they think of the new city – the Burj Khalifa, the Palm, the malls with the ski slope and the aquarium inside. That is the Dubai the adverts sell. But there is an older, quieter Dubai a short hop away, and after our time there we would argue you cannot really understand one without the other.
So rather than crown a winner, here is the honest version of how the two compare, a bit of the history that makes the old city so interesting, and how we would split your time.
It helps to know just how young modern Dubai really is. For most of its life this was a small fishing and pearling settlement on a saltwater creek, not a mega-city. Here is the short version, milestone by milestone.
A town behind a mud wall. Dubai is home to a few hundred people from the Bani Yas tribe, living behind a mud wall and answering to Abu Dhabi.
The Al Maktoum family arrives. Maktoum bin Butti leads around 800 of his people away from Abu Dhabi and settles by the Creek. That move founds the Al Maktoum family, who still rule Dubai today.
The town lives off the sea. Men go out for months at a time on pearling dhows, and the Creek fills with traders from India, Persia and East Africa.
The free port that changed everything. To pull in more business, Dubai’s rulers scrap taxes for foreign merchants and declare a free port. Persian traders from the town of Bastak sail across and settle on the Bur Dubai side, naming their neighbourhood Bastakiya, which you will know today as Al Fahidi.
The pearl trade collapses, hit by the global depression and by cheaper cultured pearls arriving from Japan. Dubai leans on trade and re-export to survive.
The Creek is dredged. The waterway is deepened so larger ships can dock, setting Dubai up as a serious trading port.
Oil is found. The discovery speeds everything up, though the wealth is used to build a city rather than simply banked.
The UAE is born. Dubai joins six neighbours to form the United Arab Emirates. Almost everything in the new city has gone up since.
One number sums up the whole journey - oil now makes up less than One per cent of Dubai’s income. The old trading town has travelled a very long way.
Honestly, neither, and that is rather the point of this whole trip. They do different jobs.
If you only see the new city, Dubai can feel a little like a very glossy shopping centre in the desert. Spend a morning in the old town first and the place makes far more sense. You see where it started, you get the human scale of it, and then the Burj Khalifa lands very differently in the afternoon.
From our experience, the old city is also the better value and often the bigger hit with children. A 20 pence boat ride across the Creek beat several of the paid attractions for our lot, and the souks cost nothing to walk through even if you buy nothing.
Our advice is simple. Do both, and do the old before the new. Give Old Dubai a half day, ideally late afternoon when it is cooler and the light on the Creek is at its best, then let the new city dazzle you after dark.
Dress modestly in the souks and old quarter, with covered shoulders and knees for everyone.
The souk traders are friendly but persistent, so a polite, firm “no thank you” is your friend.
Haggle gently in the Gold and Spice Souks; it is expected and half the fun.
Carry a few dirhams in coins for the abra, as the crossing is cash only - unless paid for via GetYourGuide.
The Dubai Frame is a nice way to see both sides at once, with the old town on one side of the glass and the skyline on the other
If this is your first time going to Dubai with your family, or even solo, we’ve created this helpful guide below:
Dubai Creek is the heart of the old city and effectively cuts the city of Dubai in two historic areas, with Deira (New Dubai) on one side and Bur Dubai (Old Dubai) on the other. Dubai has always used boats to move people around, the oldest boats are called Abra and today work as water taxis ferrying people from one side of Dubai Creek to the other.
As we were travelling with our children, we decided to explore Dubai Creek on an amphibious vehicle with Wonder Bus Tours. After driving along the roads for a short while, we eventually splashed into Dubai Creek and joined the boats which provided a completely different view of the city.
Dubai Creek was bustling with boats including abras and beautifully painted Dhow (traditional Arabian wooden boats) criss-crossing across the water. The buildings along the Dubai Creek were lower key than in other areas of Dubai, but with lots of charm and old-fashioned Arabian architecture – the area felt more ‘real and lived in’ than other areas of the city, such as Dubai Marina.
The Dubai Marina is a modern man-made canal development providing high-end accommodation around a beautiful blue waterway. The buildings of this affluent residential neighbourhood are modern and striking. As well as apartments there are smart hotels, restaurants and the 7 km Marina Walkway allowing you to stroll around both sides of the Marina and take in the sights.
The Dubai Marina neighbourhood deserves its own blog as there is so much to see and do here, including: high-end eateries, Dubai Marina Mall, urban zipline, SkyDive Dubai and Be Beach Club.
Unsurprisingly, it is also a great place to pick up a boat tour of Dubai, or even charter a boat. We caught the Dubai Ferry FR1 service from Dubai Marina Mall to Bluewaters Island and then out into the Persian Gulf, all the way to the end of the Palm Jumeriah (passing Atlantis The Palm), before returning back to the start.
The journey on the Dubai Ferry gave us an opportunity to admire the skyline of Dubai from the water, and watch jet skiers having a blast on the water, along with some leaping dolphins!
The Dubai souqs are effectively the old-style Dubai Mall and should not be missed on a trip to Dubai. There are many souqs throughout the city but many of the older ones are on either side of Dubai Creek in Deira or Bur Dubai. These include:
Dubai isn’t called the ‘City of Gold’ for nothing and its Gold Souq is one of the largest gold markets in the world. We didn’t try to buy anything, but rather just enjoyed admiring the very impressive jewellery pieces on offer in the windows.
This souq looks and smells amazing with herbs and spices set out in open baskets providing colourful displays on many of the stalls.
Just up the road from the Gold and Spice souqs, the Perfume soup is a real hidden gem, but one which can quite quickly overwhelm your nose. This souq deals in scented products from pure perfumes to essential oils, incense sticks and traditional Oud. You can even have your own perfume created by experienced perfumers.
The Textile souq offers a huge variety of fabrics from silk to cotton piled up in rows of brightly coloured fabric. It’s the place to pick up some material or to find tailoring services if you wish to get some clothes made.
Dubai Mall is the largest mall in the World, covering an area as large as 200 football pitches; you can get lost in Dubai Mall for hours, even if you are not a keen shopper, and so leave lots of time for your visit. It is the perfect place for some air-conditioned retail therapy when it gets too hot outside, for for an evening stroll after dinner.
Many of the shops are luxury brands, so you may end up just window shopping, however there are plenty of other reasons to visit Dubai Mall other than the shops.
Dubai Mall is host to numerous cafes and restaurants, the Dubai Aquarium and underwater zoo, cinema complex, Olympic sized Dubai Ice Rink, Instagrammable indoor waterfalls with fibreglass diver sculptures and lots more.
Dubai Mall is also the jumping off point for a visit to the Burj Khalifa (currently the World’s tallest building at 829.8 meters) and the Dubai Fountain with its light and sound show throughout the day which is directly outside Dubai Mall.
This option is really for those travelling with younger children, but the indoor world of KidZania in the Dubai Mall is incredible and worth consideration for an hour or so of modern entertainment.
KidZania is built as a town which the children run – they perform jobs (such as, artist, pilot, fireman, detectives, pizza makers, beautician) to earn money, which they can then choose to spend on fun things within the Kidzania World. It is such a good concept, and our children loved it. In fact, it was difficult to get them out.
Divide and conquer, so one parent stays with the children in KidZania, whilst the other one can enjoy some retail therapy in Dubai Mall!
It can get very hot in Dubai so what better way to cool off than visit one of Dubai’s amazing water parks:
Wild Wadi Water Park is similar to Aquaventura in that there are a range of options for family members of different ages – from the children’s playgrounds (this one centred around a Dhow boat) and lazy river, to more adrenalin fuelled options for older family members including a surf simulator, water slides with larger rubber rings taking up to 4 people, a steep drop plunge, and high speed twisting water slides (tornado ride).
Whilst Wild Wadi Water Park is an older park then Aquaventura, it still very much held its own and provided a fun day out.
After your adrenalin-fuelled day at the Wild Wadi Water Park, pop next door to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel for a restorative drink or something to eat, and take in the views of the famous neighbouring Burj Al Arab Hotel shaped like sails on the beach.
If you are not already staying at the Atlantis, The Palm Hotel then you might want to schedule a trip so that you can visit the Aquaventura Water Park on a Day Pass. This is a great day out for the family with a range of water-based activities for all ages.
With Day Admission you can relax on loungers by one of the numerous pools, entertain young children in one of the water playgrounds, float on the Lazy River on rubber rings or brave the Leap of Faith (a 27.5 m high, 61 m long water slide which exits through the shark tank)!
Before entering Aquaventura we were able to check out the enormous fish tank in the lobby of the Atlantis Hotel and had access to the Lost Chambers Aquarium as part of our ticket.
Yes, it is totally possible to visit both Old & New Dubai in one visit. Whilst it is the clean, modern and blingy version of Dubai which immediately hits you when you arrive, it is possible to get behind this shiny exterior and find a more authentic Emirati experiences if that is what you want to do.
There are many more options than those highlighted here if you are staying in Dubai for a longer time. Make sure to seek them out and you will be rewarded. If you would rather visit the Old & New landmarks in one day, here are some tours that allow you to do that:
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