Things to Do in United Arab Emirates

Towering skyscrapers, modern high rises and brilliant flashing lights greet travelers who dock at this urban port. Abu Dhabi, the largest and wealthiest of the emirates, is ripe with ornate royal palaces, high-end shopping and even a Ferrari World theme park, but travelers looking to experience old-world wonder can get it by going beyond city limits.

How to Get to Abu Dhabi
These streets aren’t made for walking and public buses, though readily available and inexpensive, can be somewhat uncomfortable. Visitors can hire taxis for cheap, including pink cars that signal to tourists they are for females only. It’s also possible to rent a car in the cruise terminal. Signs in English and Arabic make roads easy to navigate, although parking can be a headache.

One Day in Abu Dhabi
Get a taste of Abu Dhabi’s unmatched wealth with a trip to some of its most impressive architectural wonders.  Start with a visit to Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Grand Mosque—the largest of its kind in the U.A.E. Opened in 2007, this place of prayer can accommodate up to 40,000 people. Its interior is decorated with crystal chandeliers, Murano glass, polished marble and the world’s largest hand-woven carpet. Then continue on to the Emirates Palace—a five-story luxury hotel that cost approximately $3 billion to build. Enjoy afternoon tea before wandering the impressive halls lined with Persian carpets and more than one thousand chandeliers. The hotel even has an ATM that vends gold at the going rate.

The Abu Dhabi Corniche stretches along the northwestern shore of the island city, a popular spot for beachside recreation. The 5-mile (8-kilometer) stretch of attractive waterfront includes walking paths, cafes, playgrounds and bicycle rentals, and no matter what you decide to do along the coast, you’ll have an excellent view of Abu Dhabi’s skyline. In the evenings, the promenade is the perfect place for a stroll.

The Corniche’s crowning jewel is its public white sand beach. With numerous lifeguards on duty during swimming hours and floating fences keeping swimmers within 130 feet (40 meters), the Corniche Beach is great for families traveling with children. Come on a weekday, and you’ll usually find an umbrella.

Located on the Corniche Breakwater, the Emirates Heritage Club runs a reconstructed traditional village demonstrating the lifestyles and traditions of the cultures native to the Arabian Peninsula. If you’ve ever wondered what Abu Dhabi was like before the discovery of oil transformed it into a pocket of extreme wealth, you’ll get a glimpse here.

Come in the morning before it gets too hot to explore the open-air museum. Enter a traditional goats’ hair tent and learn about the ancient falaj irrigation system that allowed desert dwellers to begin cultivating crops. Local craftsworkers conduct workshops in traditional metalwork, pottery, spinning and weaving. The traditional mosque is a far cry from the palatial white marble Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, demonstrating just how far the United Arab Emirates have come.

Be sure to stop by the gift shop during your visit. You’ll be able to pick up local herbs and spices as well as items made by the local artisans working in the village.

In the heart of Al Ain, a garden-filled city located 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Abu Dhabi, you’ll find the Al Ain Oasis. The largest green space in the emirate of Abu Dhabi offers a welcome respite from the clamor and heat of the country’s fourth largest city. Locals and visitors alike come here to wander the shady, palm-lined paths past the water channels of the ancient irrigation system that once brought water to local farmers.

As you explore the 3,000-acre (1,200-hectare) space, you’ll be shaded by more than 100 varieties of date palms--nearly 150,000 of them. Rent a bike or throw on some walking shoes and give yourself a few hours to enjoy the winding brick-paved trails.

Usually, it’s bad news when your vacation includes a trip to the hospital, but that’s not always the case in Abu Dhabi. The Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital is one of the city’s more bizarre yet fascinating attractions. The world’s first and largest hospital dedicated to the predatory bird opened in 1999 under the direction of a prominent German veterinary surgeon.

About 6,000 birds pass through each year, occupying the 200 air-conditioned treatment rooms. This might seem strange until you understand that the sport of falconry has deep roots in the city. The sport is so popular that falcons are even issued passports and the prized animals can cost tens of thousands of dollars. If a falcon loses even one strand of feather, they can experience balance issues in flight so their owners bring them to the hospital for checkups, treatments and feather substitutions regularly.

Guided tours of the facility provide insight into the history of the sport and the physiology of this graceful bird. You’ll be able to see the birds swoop through a free-flight aviary, witness a falcon pedicure and feel the weight of one as it perches on your arm.

The sail-like silhouette of the Burj Al-Arab has become a symbol of Dubai's opulence and affluence, standing at 1,053 feet (321 meters) as the third-tallest hotel and one of the most luxurious hotels in the United Arab Emirates. Opened in 1999, the landmark boasts plenty of superlatives, including its five-star status.

The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building on the planet, soaring 2,717 feet (828 meters) high with more than 160 stories set in a stepped design that narrows as it climbs, syringe-like, to the sky. The design is patterned after the repetition of a single geometric shape, meant to echo Islamic art. Bringing a new meaning to the term skyscraper, the building is part of the massive downtown Dubai complex of offices, hotels, shopping malls, entertainment precincts, and apartment buildings.