Layover in Dubai

Dubai's airport is a major travel hub for plenty of connecting flights.  Layovers here will likely drag on for hours.  In my case, my layover to Nepal lasted 12 hours.  To make things more eventful, I had another one on my way back home from Nepal.  No way am I going to spend 12 hours at an airport on two separate occasions!


An extended layover provides an opportunity to discover another city or country or even continent.  However if you land in the middle of the night, public transportation may not operate, taxi fares tend to increase, and most businesses are closed. In my case, I arrived at 1 am in Dubai.

While waiting for my Emirates flight at LAX, I met a dental student who grew up in Dubai.  She informed me that there were plenty of places open 24 hours and that traveling as a solo female would be perfectly safe.  Another bonus she mentioned was that everyone speaks English in Dubai. She suggested to go Dubai's Marina area.  Her only warning was the expensive taxis and humid weather.  Unfortunately the metro in Dubai shuts down nightly and resumes operation at 5:55 am.  My only option to get into town was taxi, which cost a painful equivalent to 20 something US dollars.

As soon as I landed at terminal 3 in Dubai's international airport, I immediately exited customs, exchanged $80 USD into dirhams and sat at Costa Coffee.  I ordered a chai latte, did an online research on 24 hour dining, and left the terminal at 4:30 am.

Here's the breakdown of what I did during my first layover in Dubai:

From the airport, I took a taxi to Zaatar W Zeit  (open 24 hours) located by the Marina Mall.  Mistake #1 - I took one of those fancy black Lexus taxi with a driver dressed up in a nice suit. I found out that the regular cabs pick up people for multiple destinations were cheaper.  I think if I had to do it over again, I would have taken a nap at one of the many lounge style seats at the airport and waited until the metro opens at 6 am.

After eating a salad and manakeesh, I headed outside for a stroll along Dubai Marina. IT WAS FREAKIN' HOT! even without the sun out.  I couldn't tolerate the humidity and heat so I retreated to a nearby Tom Horton for coffee and air con.  Thanks to the guidance of the one of the workers, I found the tram and got an air-conditioned tour of the city.  I took photos of the tall impressive buildings through the tram windows.

To catch my flight to Kathmandu scheduled for 1 pm, I transferred over to the metro to get to the airport by 10 am.

Walking along Dubai Marina

The sun is coming out

It's getting hot already!

Retreat for air con

Looking for the tram

Public transportation offers the best city tours! 

Quirky buildings 

More quirky buildings

Burj Khalifa

Back to the airport

Second layover in Dubai:

This time I landed in Dubai at 4 am, ate some breakfast, and lounged around the airport until the metro opened. I took the metro and got off the Dubai Mall stop. The mall itself is open for people to walk around but the shops are closed.  There are few places open for breakfast and coffee around 7 am.  There's an aquarium in the Dubai Mall, but if you already been to an aquarium, I wouldn't recommend going. The entrance fee is horrendously high.  From the Dubai Mall, I walked to the ticket counter for a tour of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.

View from Burj Khalifa 

Inside the VIP lounge of the 145th floor

Dubai Mall

Dubai Malls Catwalk

THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE LEAVING THE AIRPORT:
-Know which terminal your connecting flight leaves.
-If you're taking the metro back to the airport, keep in mind that there is no stop for terminal 2.
-Consider buying a daily metro pass instead of single tickets if planning to on multiple rides; and don't throw your paper ticket away. Keep it so you can reload for more trips at a discounted rate.