Holiday with a baby in Dubai

Dubai was our first holiday destination in abroad as a family of three. My husband and I traveled with our 8-month old son in mid-December 2023. We took a direct flight from Budapest to Dubai. I would like to share our experiences from our first holiday with our baby.

Flight with a baby

We took a red-eye flight with FlyDubai and our son traveled in our laps. (Children can travel free in lap until 2 years old at most airlines - always check the policy at the your airline's website.) We assumed that our son will sleep during the whole flight since he usually sleeps through the nights and only wakes up for feeding once. However everything was so interesting and exciting for him, that he only slept 2 hours from the 5.5-hour length flight. At some point, he & my husband were only awake in the entire flight. We arrived to Dubai at 8 am local time (Dubai is 3 hours ahead of Budapest). As we didn't sleep too much on the plane, we slept through half of the day. This means our son was got over the time difference for the other day, as he didn't sleep too much during the night and day. Excluding the traveling day we kept his routine in Dubai too.

Where to stay

We booked an Airbnb apartment, but we weren't satisfied. The location was good at Dubai Marina, but the flat was quite worn-out. See the night view from our apartment. The apartment as a type of accommodation was a good choice with a baby: there was a washing machine, microwave and the fridge and we used these a lot.

How to get around

There were big distances in Dubai. Public transport was the cheapest way to get around, however it was more time consuming than taking a cab. For example 40 minutes car ride meant 1,5 hour with public transport. If you have time for public transport, it is a great option to commute and save some money. But if you are with a baby with 2,5 -3 hours between naps, it is not ideal. Taxi was cheaper in Dubai than in Hungary and you can also request taxi with baby seat too. I recommend to use Careem application and choose the Kids options. We used both way of commuting, but obviously the taxi was more convenient and fast.

What to pack with a baby

We didn't bring too many baby stuff with us. We took our travel stroller and the baby-carrying sling. Our son is not really falling asleep in a stroller, but he is sleeping in the sling fortunately. After falling asleep, it is possible to relocate him to the stroller, so that was our solution. We also brought our baby breathing monitor for the nights sleeps. We also packed some diaper and baby food with us to avoid rushing into the supermarket as soon as we arrived.

What to see

1. Burj Khalifa and the Aquarium & Underwater Zoo

Burj Khalifa is currently the tallest building in the world with its 828-meter height. It opened in 2010. We went up to the 124 & 125 floors. The view to the city was amazing.

After the Burj Khalifa we visited the Dubai Aquarium. It was also a great experience for us. Our son also loved the rays, jellyfishes and crocodiles too.

We bought a combo ticket to the Burj Khalifa and to the Aquarium for 245 AED /person. Entry tickets are free for babies. It was worth to buy combined ticket as the price was more favorable. The entry of these places was opened from the Dubai Mall. 1-1 hour was enough for us to see both amazing sights. We also strolled around and had a lunch in the Mall.

2. Abu Dhabi

I definitely recommend to visit Abu Dhabi for a day trip. Our favourite experiences were the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and the Presidential Palace. The mosque was built between 1996 and 2007. The name was taken from Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan, the founder of the United Arab Emirates. The entry was free, but you had to register. The dress code is strict. As a women I wore abaya and a scarf. My husband only had to wear pants covered his legs. There weren't any restrictions for a baby.

Qasr Al Watan, the Presidential Palace was also so beautiful. The construction of the palace was finished in 2017.

The palace provided insight into the Arab cultural heritage and history. The Great Hall was the most fascinating part of the palace with its rich Arabian artistry. Besides the hall it was an opportunity to see the Library, the Presidential gifts and souvenirs and the meeting rooms as well. The building of the palace was also remarkable.

Besides the Mosque and the Presidential Palace we had been in the Jubail Mangrove Park too. The park was full with mangroves, what are living in the turquoise water. We walked around half an hour in the park. The park was beautiful, but nothing special.

3. Miracle Garden

Miracle Garden is the world largest flower garden with more than 150 million flowers. The ticket was 95 AED for an adult. Children below 3 year was free. The garden is open from end-September to April from 9 am to 9 pm on weekdays and 9 am-11 pm on weekends. This sight was good to see once, but it wasn't too special for us.

4. Dubai Safari Park

The safari park is home to around 3000 animals. There were different areas based on the homelands of the animals like African Village, Arabian Desert Safari, Asian Village and the Explorer Village. The park was huge so I recommend to buy a ticket with unlimited train rides between the villages. The park was full with young children. There were baby stroller parking areas at the villages.

It was possible to feed different animals like giraffes, birds and goats. We ate a giraffe with carrot. It was such great experience for all of us!

We also participated on the Safari Journey. This was a drive-through adventure to spot the animals closely from a bus. We saw lions, cheetahs, gazelles from 2-3 meters. I definitely recommend to don't skip the Safari Park. It was such a great experience for children and the adults too.

5. The View at the Palm

The tower is 240-meter high. There is an observatory on the floor 52. The view was so amazing to the man-made peninsula, the Palm Jumeirah. The ticket was 100 AED/ person. Personally I liked this lookout point more than the Burj Khalifa.

6. Gold Souk (Deira)

It's one of the busiest jewelry market in Dubai with numerous shops and stalls are selling gold jewelries. You can find here the world's biggest golden ring too. The souk was located in the district of Deira.

7. Al Fahidi Historical District (Bur Dubai)

It was easy to go from Deira to Bur Dubai district with abras (traditional wooden boats). It took only 5-minute trip from Deira to Al Fahidi Historical District. This shopping area was built in a traditional style recently (so it was fake :) ).

Beach Clubs

Most of the hotels provide beach passes to enter their pool & beach areas. The tickets were more or less redeemable depending on hotels' terms. These beach clubs were quieter than the public beaches, which was a selling point for us due to the baby. Our son slept twice a day, but as he slept on the beach we could enjoy the beach all-day long.

1. Fairmont the Palm

Our favorite beach club was the Fairmont hotel at the Palm Jumeirah. The entry ticket was 200 AED, but fully redeemable for food and beverages. There was pool for children too. The view at the beach was also so amazing.

2. Kempinski Hotel & Residences Palm Jumeirah

The Kempinksi Hotel's beach was another fascinating place where we spent the day. The ticket is 250 AED, but only 150 AED redeemable. However there was Ladies Day on Tuesday. The ticket was 150 AED for me, not redeemable, but I got 5 voucher for beverages including alcohols and a 50%-discount at the beach bar. This was such a good deal.

3. Hilton Dubai Jumeirah

The entry ticket was 100 AED / person, but it wasn't redeemable. The food at the beach bar was disappointing and the sunbeds weren't so comfortable. At least the view was good to the Dubai Eye.

4. Kite Beach

We had been on the Kite Beach too. We rented sunbeds and an umbrella at Sole Mio beach club for 120 AED/ person. However this beach was more crowded and noisy. It wasn't really comfortable for our son due to the ever crying babies and noise. He couldn't really sleep so these hours weren't so easy for us either.

All in all we didn't regret to travel with a baby since we had many memorable moments together. We haven't seen everything in Dubai, but that was not our goal this time. We relaxed a lot on the beaches while we also went to see the main sights too. It was a good that our son slept everywhere during the day and we could keep his night time schedule. He went to bed around 7-8 pm, so we had the nights for ourselves in the flat. I think Dubai is great destination for family holidays. The city was full with families with young children. It was easy to stroll around in Dubai as the streets and the main sights are compatible with a stroller. We will definitely go back one day! Dubai was better experience than we expected.