Nestled on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf and the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai is renowned as a playground for the rich and famous. But it also has plenty to offer those who are not blessed with unlimited funds. Beautiful beaches, great shopping opportunities and a lively nightlife scene are just some of the attractions that lure tens of thousands of visitors here each year from around the world.
The sun sets over Dubai Marina (Photo: Robin Jaffray via Flickr)
Dubai’s growing popularity as a holiday destination has been driven in part by the increasing number of affordable options for visiting the city. We’ve done some research and picked out three of the best places to book family holidays, package holidays and other cheap holiday deals to Dubai – and you’ll find our selection below.
The tour operator of the internationally renowned Emirates airline, Emirates Holidays specialise in package holidays to Dubai and other destinations across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. A major perk of booking with them is that, thanks to their strong connections in the region, they are able to offer great hotel deals, and claim to save customers an average of £900 per holiday. On the website you can view these offers, research your holiday by destination and make bookings. You’ll also be allocated your own personal travel consultant to share their wealth of knowledge and create personalised itineraries to meet your requirements, Additionally, when you book a holiday with Emirates Holidays, you’ll earn bonus Emirates Skywards miles, in addition to the Miles earned from your Emirates flight. As for security, the company is a member of ABTA and provide financial protection for your money.
One of the world’s biggest online travel agencies, Expedia may lack the personal service of a smaller company, but it makes up for this with an easy-to-use booking system and a global scope of destinations. The site lets you can book flights, vacation packages, hotels, cars, cruises and activities to destinations across the world, including Dubai. The website’s search function prompts you for the most important information first (destination, dates, number of people travelling), then you can filter the results for the best hotels, flights and rental cars based on your preferences. The search format also features additional details about flights that you can expand to learn more about things like transfers and layover times, allowing you to book with confidence. While cancellations and itinerary changes can be a pain to submit on the website, it does let you can cancel most flights within 24 hours, although after this period you may be subject to charges.
A travel industry giant, Thomas Cook offer a wide variety of holiday options, including to Dubai. When we conducted our searches, we found that the website has plenty of affordable prices for Dubai holiday packages and all inclusive deals. Their hotel selection is linked directly with TripAdvisor so you can review the accommodation before picking your favoured option. As for travel, the company have their own fleet of charter flights, allowing for a simple, centralised booking process. You also have the choice of adding extras directly onto your booking, such as luggage allowance and celebrity chef-curated in-flight meals. On the downside, flexibility can sometimes be tricy, because Thomas Cook have fixed scheduled dates, so you may need to manage your holidays around their 2018 summer schedule.
