The Itinerary UAE itineraries
Day-by-day routes through UAE, from 1–10 days — with what every trip actually costs.
- 1–10
- days
- Middle East
- region
Planning a trip to UAE
Pulled from the 7 routes below — so it says what these itineraries actually do, not what a brochure would.
When to go
Nov–Mar — the months these routes agree on.
How long you need
1–10 days. The shortest is Abu Dhabi in a 24-hour stopover: the mosque and the Louvre; the longest is The UAE in 10 days: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah.
What it costs
≈ AED 300 to ≈ AED 600 per person per day, depending on the route. Beds, food, getting around and things to do — costed line by line in each guide, not estimated from a daily rate.
Entry on an Indian passport
Embassy or consulate in advance, 14 days. Issued at the border to holders of certain US, UK or EU residence or visit visas. Usually arranged by the airline or hotel. Checked 2026-11 against Wikipedia’s compilation of IATA Timatic entries. Entry rules depend on your passport and where you live, and they change with little notice — confirm with the embassy or your airline before you book. Check another country.
Where these routes go: Downtown · Old Dubai · Marina · AUH · Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque · Louvre · Corniche · Qasr Al Watan · Louvre Abu Dhabi · Yas Island · Abu Dhabi · Dubai · Al Ain · Ras Al Khaimah · Fujairah.
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Best for: A city where the heat decides the timetable, planned around that instead of against it
Dubai with kids in 5 days: parks, the aquarium and indoor afternoons
Downtown → Old Dubai → the parks → Marina
Five days built on one rule: outdoors before eleven and after five, indoors in between. The parks and aquarium that are worth the money, the ones that are not, the abra crossing that costs a dirham, and the desert safari question for a child who gets carsick.
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Best for: A free stopover hotel, one mosque at dusk and a museum under a dome
Abu Dhabi in a 24-hour stopover: the mosque and the Louvre
AUH → Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque → Louvre → Corniche → AUH
Etihad's stopover programme, whether you can leave the airport, and the two-stop loop that fits comfortably in a day — with the mosque timed for the hour it is actually worth seeing.
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Best for: Two days that are mostly indoors, which in this climate is the point
Abu Dhabi in 2 days: the mosque, the Louvre and Yas
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque → Qasr Al Watan → Louvre Abu Dhabi → Yas Island
The mosque at the hour it is worth being there, the palace most visitors skip, and the Louvre under Nouvel's dome — plus whether Yas is worth a day. Dress rules, free slots and the timings that keep you out of 45°C.
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Best for: A long layover or a weekend, with the old city included rather than skipped
Dubai in 3 days: a stopover itinerary
Downtown → Old Dubai → desert
Three days is a stopover, and it is enough for the tower, the creek and a desert evening if you plan the metro properly. What to book before you land, what is free, and the one thing worth cutting if your layover is shorter than you thought.
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Best for: The modern city, the old one most visitors never find, and a day in Abu Dhabi
Dubai in 5 days: Downtown, Old Dubai, the desert and Abu Dhabi
Downtown → Old Dubai → Marina → desert → Abu Dhabi
Five days is enough for Dubai properly — which means the creek and the souks as well as the tower, a night in the desert, and a day trip to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. The metro that makes it cheap, the free beaches, and when the desert safari is worth it.
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Best for: All seven emirates' worth of country, including the mountains and the east coast nobody visits
The UAE in 10 days: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah
Dubai → Abu Dhabi → Al Ain → Ras Al Khaimah → Fujairah → Dubai
Ten days is enough to leave the two big cities behind: the oasis at Al Ain, the highest mountain in the country at Jebel Jais, and the Gulf of Oman coast at Fujairah, where the diving is and the crowds are not. A hire car, five bases, and the week most UAE visitors never have.
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Best for: First-time visitors
UAE in 7 days: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Dubai → Abu Dhabi
The two-city UAE done properly — old Dubai's souks and the Burj at sunset, a night in the dunes, the Grand Mosque, and Saadiyat Island's brand-new museum district — with real prices and the tourist traps named.
Going somewhere near UAE?
Asia has plenty to choose from, or tell us the dates and we'll shape a plan around them.