Dubai in 5 days: a guide to the city so you don't miss a thing

Are you planning a 5-day trip to Dubai and don't know where to start? Don't worry, because in the following guide I'll help you organise your itinerary so that you don't miss out on anything there is to see and do in Dubai and discover hidden gems. With 5 days in Dubai you'll be able to do so much, including seeing the most iconic sights and enjoying magical adventures. Let's get started!

Welcome to your first day in the city of the future, Dubai. I'll guide you through the city centre to be dazzled by the luxury and modernity of the world's largest building, the Burj Khalifa, spend an afternoon shopping at the Dubai Mall and end the day with a light show at the Dubai Fountain. All in grand Dubai style.

Climb the world's tallest building: Burj Khalifa

Known as the tallest building in the world, the imposing Burj Khalifa stands at 828 metres and allows you to touch the sky with your hands from the various observation decks inside. There are several ticket options for the Burj Khalifa:

• On the one hand, you can enjoy 360º views of the city at At the Top with your ticket for the Burj Khalifa with access to the 124th and 125th floors, the price of which starts at €45.
• Alternatively, for those who love heights, a few floors up is the world's highest observation deck which you can access by purchasing tickets to the Burj Khalifa with access to the 148th floor for approximately €128.

Why climb the Burj Khalifa? Mainly for its unparalleled views of the city of Dubai, you will be able to see the man-made Palm Island from a privileged vantage point and observe the incredible transformation of Dubai, while experiencing the feeling of being literally above the clouds.

Shop at the Dubai Mall, the world's largest shopping mall.

After coming down from the sky you'll spend the afternoon at the world's largest shopping mall, the Dubai Mall, located at the foot of the Burj Khalifa. An air-conditioned paradise that will provide you with endless activities, shops and restaurants to keep you entertained.

Of all the malls in the city, the Dubai Mall is the most incredible thanks to its 1,200 luxury and not-so-luxury shops, an ice rink, the giant Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo with sharks and various marine species, theme parks and its own dinosaur fossil, the 155-million-year-old Dubai Dino.

Ideal for children and adults alike, don't hesitate to book your ticket for Dubai Aquarium.

Taste the delicious Arabian gastronomy

To keep up with the marathon activity, you can head to the various restaurants inside the Dubai Mall, where you can sample some of the best places to eat in Dubai. Among them I recommend the Al hallab restaurant where you can try typical Arabic dishes such as, for example:

• Hummus.
• Samboosa or samosas as we know these famous dumplings.
• Margoogat: a lamb or chicken dish with vegetables and stew.
• Manousheh or Arabic pizza which you can try with a variety of toppings such as meat, halloumi cheese and spices.
• Khuzi: roast lamb or goat with spiced rice accompanied by nuts and vegetables.

Other options to delve deeper into the country's culinary traditions are to book a Dubai food tour or book a Dubai street food tour.

Have a picnic or tour Burj Park

Spend the rest of the afternoon waiting for the sun to set in Burj Park, a park located on the small island of Burj Lake with green areas ideal for picnicking, renting a bike (from €4 for 30 minutes 24 hours a day) or simply lying down after a morning of shopping.

The park is best enjoyed from November to March, when the temperature is moderate and ideal.

To get to the Burj Park you won't have to move far from the downtown area, as it is located at the foot of the Burj Khalifa, you can access it from the Dubai Mall via the bridges that connect it as it is located just inside the Dubai Fountain, so you can reserve a spot for the evening show.

End the day with the ultimate light show

The best way to end your first day in Dubai is to book a boat trip with a fountain show. The world's largest dancing water fountain with its 275-metre-long, 150-metre-high jets of water.

Inspired by the fountain at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, the Dubai Fountain is characterised by 6,600 coloured lights, 50 video projectors and 13 shows a day, each one different from the next. I recommend you see two shows in a row to get the full experience.

• The first show of the day, the Sama Dubai, starts at 1pm in homage to Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum.
• The other shows run every 30 minutes from 6pm to 11pm with a wide variety of music, from Michael Jackson's Thriller to Andrea Bocelli and traditional Arabic music.

Here's a tip! If you're going to see the fountain show, go up the Burj Khalifa at night: if the views of the city of Dubai from the top of the Burj Khalifa are breathtaking, when it's all lit up it's even more special.

Now that you've toured and visited one of the most iconic parts of Dubai, I suggest a second day at the Atlantis Aquaventure water park and finish with a boat dinner on the Dubai Creek.

Enjoy a full day at Atlantis Aquaventure

Pack your swimming costume and enjoy a full day full of fun and adventure at the world's largest water park with family or friends by booking your Atlantis Aquaventure tickets for an unforgettable day out.

Slide down over 79 slides at the Aquaventure Waterpark.

• Surf waves on the Surf's Up simulator.
• Snorkel with over 65,000 colourful fish in the Lost Chambers aquarium.
• Dive into the depths of the Ambassador Lagoon.
• Explore the marine life swimming among sharks and rays at Shark Lagoon.
• Swim with dolphins at Dolphin Bay and sea lions at Sea Lion Point.
• Soak up the sun on private beaches.

Atlantis Aquaventure Park is located within the grounds of the famous Atlantis hotel on the iconic man-made island Palma Jumeirah. To enjoy your tickets to the Atlantis Aquaventure you will have to cross the island from the coast on a monorail which runs every 23 minutes. This return trip costs approximately €2.40.

Finish the day with a boat trip on Dubai Creek

Your trip to Dubai won't be the same without seeing the spectacular views of the city from the sea. So, to end your day on a high note, you have several options:

• A dinner cruise from approximately €45.
• A sailing cruise with dinner from approximately €37.
• A mega yacht cruise with dinner from approximately €63.
• A sightseeing ferry ride.
• A ride on Dubai's traditional boats, called abras.

On your third day in Dubai I recommend a visit to Dubai's most important cultural and religious centre, the Jumeirah Mosque, a trip back in time through the old quarters to see what Dubai was like before its modernisation and a stroll through Dubai's famous traditional souks (markets).

Start the day with a visit to the Jumeirah Mosque

Mosques are the cultural and religious centres of Islamic culture that serve as places of worship but are also architectural gems. I recommend that you book a tour of old and modern Dubai where you will have the opportunity to enter one of them.

Of all the mosques in Dubai, the Jumeirah Mosque, located near the sea, is the only one that allows entry to non-Muslims with 1-hour guided tours, where children under 12 are free. If you want to visit the interior and you are not Muslim, you must follow the following dress code:

Clothing that covers the shoulders and legs, I recommend wearing long trousers. Women should cover their arms and legs completely and cover their hair with a headscarf.

Visit Heritage House

After your visit to the mosque, head to the old quarter of Deria and visit Heritage House, the perfect example of historic preservation that will give you an insight into the architectural tradition of Dubai before its modernisation.

Heritage House is a house restored in 1994 by the government of Dubai to give tourists a glimpse into family life, how rooms were laid out in traditional houses of the late 19th century.

Enjoy a meal next to the Khawr Dubayy

After you have spent the morning at the museum, there is a nearby restaurant where you can eat in a very comfortable space, the Al Khayma Heritage Restaurant.

This restaurant is open all day from 9am until 11pm, so you will have no problem eating late after spending the whole day at the museum

And remember, you can also book a food tour of Dubai or a Dubai street food tour.

Take a tour of the souks: Dubai's traditional markets.

Located north of Dubai Creek in the old quarter of Deira, the souks, or traditional Arab markets, are commercial spaces made up of different lanes full of stalls where you can discover a wide variety of items to buy and take home as souvenirs.

The most famous souks are known for selling a variety of incense, fragrances, shishas, typical objects such as carpets, vases, textiles, ceramics and gold.

Dinner at Dubai's most Instagrammable restaurant

Nusr-Et Steakhouse is a very famous restaurant specialising in meats such as wagyus and its renowned chef Salt Bae, who became famous on instagram for salting meat in a very peculiar way.

If you love meat and exclusivity, this is the perfect place to dine. This restaurant serves exquisite and high quality dishes, but you should know that it is quite expensive as a plate can cost around €70 on average.

Discover the magic of the desert in a 4x4 Jeep or surf the dunes with a sandboard on a life-changing excursion. Live a nomadic experience with a camel ride and enjoy a dinner of local delicacies to end the day.

Dune bashing in a 4WD

One of the best things to do if you visit Dubai is to book a desert safari tour and experience the adrenaline rush of Dune bashing. This is the only car that allows you to drive up and down the dunes at full speed.

My advice for visiting the Dubai desert is that if you tend to get very dizzy, suffer from vertigo or have back problems, Dune bashing is not the best activity for you.

Surf the desert dunes on a quad bike or go sandboarding.

If you're an extreme sports enthusiast looking for an adrenaline rush or an extreme experience, you definitely need to book a desert quad safari tour or sandboarding in the desert dunes, from around €80.

If you've snowboarded before, sandboarding in the Dubai desert won't be difficult, but if you don't know how to snowboard or don't feel confident you can sled down the dunes using the board as a sled, both are guaranteed to be fun.

Get your adrenaline pumping and take a camel ride at sunset

If extreme sports are not your thing and you prefer a more sedate activity, I recommend a camel ride and enjoy the nomadic life as you watch the sunset disappear behind the dunes of the Lahbab Desert.

If you book a sunrise camel ride in Dubai's Al Marmoom Oasis with breakfast, the price starts at around €82 with pick-up and drop-off at your hotel in Dubai.

All in all, it's the most popular activity of the whole safari and certainly impressive, as while you're on the camel's humps you'll be able to take wonderful photos of the desert, get to an oasis and take a selfie with your travel companion. Camels love to be the centre of your camera's attention.

Dine on the best buffet of Arabian food and sweets

After a full day full of adrenaline, you'll want to rest and, above all, have dinner. Nothing better than booking a desert excursion with dune safari, camel ride, sandboarding, fire show and dinner to satisfy your appetite.

At the buffet you will find all kinds of sweet and savoury dishes, among them:

• The famous hummus and baba ghanoush with khubos (Arabic bread).
• Barbecue with different meats such as chicken, lamb or fish.
• Tabbbouleh or potatosalad.
• Fruit salad.
• Baklava the famous pistachio and honey dessert.
• Luqaimat or Arabic dumpling of fried dough with cardamom and saffron.

To finish the dinner, you will be given a taste of mint tea for digestion or the traditional Arabic coffee which is prepared with saffron or cardamom spices giving it a unique and intense flavour.

Having enjoyed all there is to see and do in Dubai, what better way to make the most of your last day than to visit the most important city in the United Arab Emirates, the capital Abu Dhabi.

The best way to visit is to book an organised tour to Abu Dhabi from Dubai with a journey time of about an hour; you can see the world's most beautiful mosque, view the skyline from the Etihad Towers, visit the Louvre Abu Dhabi or visit Ferrari World Abu Dhabi.

Visit the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, the Oasis of Dignity and be left speechless

A must-see if you visit Abu Dhabi is, without a doubt, the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, the third largest mosque in the world as well as being the most beautiful thanks to its incredible white colour that contrasts with the blue of the sky, quite a spectacle.

One option is to book a tour of Abu Dhabi with tickets to Sheikh Zayed. It is important to follow Dubai's dress code out of respect for its inhabitants and worshippers. Therefore:

• Women should wear loose-fitting clothing with long trousers and covered shoulders and arms, as well as wearing a tunic over their hair.
• Men should also cover their shoulders and wear long trousers.
• If you do not have such clothing, the mosque will lend it to you free of charge.

At the end of your tour of the mosque you can visit the Oasis of Dignity viewpoint whose pools reflect the mosque in the water and is only a 15-minute walk away. It is a hidden gem that offers a unique perspective of the mosque. The views at night ensure a spectacle like no other.

Climb the observation deck of the Etihad Towers and enter the Qasr Al Watan.

Located in Abu Dhabi's most iconic area is the Corniche, an 8-kilometre avenue where you'll find the Emirates Palace Hotel, the Qasr Al Watan and the Etihad Towers where you can climb to the 74th floor and enjoy unique views of the city from the Observation Deck at 300.

After you have seen the skyline from the Etihad Towers, you can enjoy a tour of Abu Dhabi with entrance to the Qasr Al Watan Palace and visit its incredible collection of historical pieces such as the Birmingham Quran, an impressive library, and tour its gardens, among others.

Visit the Louvre Abu Dhabi and experience an adventure at Ferrari World.

If you're an art lover you can't miss The Louvre Abu Dhabi, the museum with 600 priceless pieces that tell the story of human history. Built in collaboration with the Louvre in Paris and 16 French museums, it has an incredible 180-metre dome that naturally illuminates its interior rooms.

For this, you can book a tour to Abu Dhabi with tickets to the Louvre Museum.

Test your adrenaline at Ferrari World

If you're more of an adrenaline junkie, you can book a trip to Abu Dhabi with tickets to Ferrari World, the world's largest indoor amusement park featuring the world's fastest rollercoaster, the Formula Rossa.

Located on Yas Island, Ferrari World is undoubtedly an ode to lovers of Ferrari cars and their history. It has 19 attractions including 2 roller coasters and themed restaurants.

Finish your tour in Abu Dhabi with a visit to Yas Marina and the Formula 1 circuit.

After a day of sightseeing in Abu Dhabi, take a leisurely stroll around the Yas Marina promenade as you gaze at some of the world's largest and most luxurious yachts.

You can also visit, from around €30 per person, the inside of the Formula 1 - Yas Marina circuit located just a few metres from the Yas Marina promenade and discover behind the scenes of each team's pits and the race track, if there is no competition, to say goodbye to Abu Dhabi in style.

To help you plan your visit, remember that the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix takes place in November.