4 Amazing Places to Visit in the UAE and Oman With Itinerary

We spent 14 days in the United Arab Emirates and Oman in fall 2018: 2 nights in Abu Dhabi, 5 in Dubai, 3 in Muscat, and 2 more in Al Ain before flying home from Abu Dhabi. It cost our family of four 6,575 AED (about 1,790 USD), and we fell in love with Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Al Ain and Muscat. Here is our itinerary, our budget, and what we loved most.

The United Arab Emirates, and Dubai in particular, leave no one indifferent: wealth and opulence are everywhere, and you either love it or you don’t. We chose to explore both countries without prejudice, and we loved what we found.

Highlights: The Best Places to Visit in the UAE and Oman

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Its main attraction is the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, named after the country’s first president, who died before construction finished in 2007. It is the largest marble structure built by man to date, and it also holds the largest chandelier (12 tons) and the largest handmade rug in the world (5,627 square meters). Curious, we also stopped by Ferrari World, next to the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 circuit, whose building is the largest space frame structure ever built.

Dubai

At the risk of shocking a few people, let’s talk about Dubai, the Middle Eastern city with a now-legendary reputation as a sumptuous, opulent destination. You know the description: a city “of disproportion,” “built of concrete,” “soulless,” “not authentic,” grown out of the desert “with oil money” and “by the strength of the arms of poor slaves,” continuing to do so today under the disbelieving gaze of the international community — France, England and the United States included.

We’d rather push back on that narrative than pile onto it. Much of the harsher criticism we see about Dubai online comes from people who have never set foot there, who judge it as though they had lived there, based on a single TV report. It’s easy to ask for more from a government you feel owes you everything while owing nothing to anyone; we wanted to see the reality for ourselves before forming an opinion, the same way we try to teach our kids to stay open to the world while keeping a critical, reasonable eye.

What we found, after visiting and talking to residents, was a different reality. Money is the common denominator here, as almost everywhere, but unlike Las Vegas, built around entertainment, Dubai was built out of necessity. The country is arid, has little natural vegetation, and struggles with its water supply; oil was long the engine of its development, but that is no longer the case. It has since taken a real green turn, becoming a leader in solar and wind energy, water desalination and wastewater recycling, and the government’s decisions in recent years have drawn massive foreign capital and industrial investment, producing a trade surplus most Western countries would envy.

With close to 90% of its population made up of foreign workers, the UAE (a democracy, in fact) has become a place people move to for a future they couldn’t find at home. Wages can be modest for some, but the people we met were neither slaves nor unhappy: they were working toward a better life, with the opportunities, security and standard of living Dubai offers. It’s a morally conservative, low-key society with a very low crime rate — one of the safest cities we’ve visited. Can the same be said of Paris, London or New York?

We also saw less extravagance than we expected. Outside Dubai Marina, “super cars” were rare, and while some neighborhoods are genuinely luxurious, none felt as outrageous as parts of Monaco, Geneva or even Toronto. The skyline isn’t denser than Hong Kong’s, the malls no more impressive than North America’s — and if the frantic pace of construction bothers you, imagine what people said about New York while its first skyscrapers were going up. We simply weren’t as impressed as we expected to be, in either direction.

And indeed, the city has real charm, with districts of modern architecture alongside older, more authentic neighborhoods and lively souks that reminded us of Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.

Despite the midday heat, we had a wonderful stay in Dubai. It’s not a destination for everyone, but we hope you’ll give it a fair chance and enjoy it as much as we did.

Oman

I’ll be honest: we had never even considered visiting Oman. I didn’t know where the country was until two months earlier, when a Canadian expat we met in Turkey told us we’d get bored spending 9 days in Dubai and suggested a detour to Oman instead. We went for a short 3-day stay, and we were very pleasantly surprised.

Just 200 years ago, Oman was the center of a colonial empire stretching from northern India to Zanzibar. It carries a strong Islamic flavor that contrasts with the UAE, where modernity has taken over from tradition. In downtown Muscat, the capital, people are friendly, relaxed and simply happy, and strolling the beach, the corniche and the old-town souk feels like stepping into another century.

The architecture is rich in detail: the many castles, watchtowers and stone fortresses are evidence of Oman’s strategic value at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. The seaside and mountain landscapes we crossed were magnificent, dotted with oases in an otherwise arid climate — at times it felt like the Sahara with its orange dunes, at times like the African savanna with camels standing in for lions, elephants and giraffes. Several mountain formations even reminded us of Iceland.

Al Ain

Al Ain is nicknamed “the Garden City,” a great oasis in the middle of the desert. We spent 2 nights there, just enough time to explore the surroundings and its camel market, and to climb huge sand dunes on the way back to Abu Dhabi.

How to Plan a Trip to the UAE and Oman

Itinerary: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Muscat and Al Ain

We landed in Abu Dhabi, where we stayed for 2 days, then headed to Dubai for 5 days. With our rental car, we crossed the border into Oman for a short 3-day stay in Muscat. Back in the United Arab Emirates, we slept 2 nights in Al Ain, exploring the desert around it, before 2 last nights in Abu Dhabi to close the loop.

1. Burj Khalifa
2. Sheikh Zayed Mosque
3. Atlantis The Palm
4. Dubai Marina Beach
5. Burj Al Arab
6. Dubai Gold Souk
7. Al Ain Camel Souk
8. Al Jahili Fort
9. Al Jalali Fort, Muscat
10. Muttrah Souq, Muscat
11. Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
12. Royal Opera House Muscat
13. Nizwa Souq
14. Nizwa Fort
15. Bahla Fort
16. Dubai Aquarium at Dubai Mall
17. Mall of the Emirates
18. Emirates Palace

Accommodation

Our way of life in the United Arab Emirates was very similar to the one we had in Turkey. We slept in 5 different hotels of the Marriott chain during the 11 nights we stayed there. In Abu Dhabi, we treated ourselves to a night at the Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi Grand Canal. All these hotels were paid for with our points: aside from the Ritz Carlton, a category 5 hotel, all the others were category 1 and 2, meaning they required very few points to book.

In Muscat, we booked an apartment instead, for our three nights in the city.

Getting Around: Renting a Car in the UAE and Oman

The region is a real paradise for driving: we refueled for just 2.4 AED (0.65 USD) per liter of gasoline, and the roads in the Emirates and Oman are so well maintained that some highways allow 160 km/h. Crossing into Oman required extra insurance; Budget Rent a Car, our rental company, offered it for an additional fee, though not every company does.

2026 update: Budget’s UAE terms no longer allow cross-border travel at all — its rental cars can’t be taken into Oman anymore. If you’re planning a similar trip, check each company’s current policy and ask about a No Objection Certificate before booking (source).

We returned our Chevrolet Aveo with an extra 2,000 km on the odometer.

Food

We didn’t get to taste many traditional Emirati or Omani dishes, since the local population is a small minority in both countries, and most restaurants reflect that mix rather than local cuisine. We often ate at Lebanese, Turkish and American fast-food restaurants instead, and the Indian ready meals sold in grocery stores were also tasty and very inexpensive.

How Much Does a Trip to the UAE and Oman Cost?

Our expenses in the Emirates and Oman were quite reasonable, since we stayed on points. Our only “crazy” expense was the Burj Khalifa, at AED 490 (USD 133).

2026 update: At the Top Burj Khalifa now sells several ticket tiers (standard, sunset, SKY, VIP), priced well above what we paid in 2018 — check current rates before you go (source).

The total cost of our stay for our family of 4 was:

• 6,575 AED (1,790 USD);
• 470 AED (128 USD) per day;
• 117 AED (32 USD) per person and per day.

Amounts were paid in AED. US-dollar equivalents use the average exchange rate during our trip (October 18 – November 1, 2018): 1 USD = 3.67 AED.

In detail:

Expense Category	Amount Spent
Flight and Visa	2093 AED (570 USD)
Accomodation	766 AED (209 USD)
Transport (including gas)	1684 AED (459 USD)
Eating out	836 AED (228 USD)
Groceries	619 AED (169 USD)
Activities	578 AED (157 USD)
Total	6575 AED (1,790 USD)

Conclusion

In the end, the United Arab Emirates more than exceeded our expectations, and Oman absolutely charmed us. This short introduction to Oman left us wanting to come back and discover the country in greater depth, at a slower pace. But until then, it is India that awaits us!