Tour 7

Dubai and Abu Dhabi Short Break

3 nights, 4 days

Length: 3 nights, 4 days
Shape: Late arrival, a full Abu Dhabi day, a full Dubai day, pre-dawn departure.
Overnights: Dubai 3, one hotel throughout

Every itinerary runs at two paces. Full: three or four stops a day, most meals booked, early starts. Relaxed keeps the same length, the same hotels and the same arrival and departure, and books less into each day: one anchor per half day, later starts, lunch mostly at leisure, and a free afternoon or evening every second day. Either pace can run from the same booking, because the rooms do not change. What changes is tickets, meals and guide hours.

The program at a glance

Day 1ArrivalDubai city hotel
Day 2Abu Dhabi in a dayDubai city hotel
Day 3Dubai, water and heightDubai city hotel
Day 4Departure

Where the nights are spent

Dubai and Abu Dhabi Short Break

Nights of days 1–3
Dubai city hotel
Hotel
See the hotels we book
Dubai
1. Day 1Dubai
  Arrival
  An evening flight lands and we transfer straight to the hotel. The first night is kept free.
  - Airport transfer with guide
    Transfer
    Every group program runs on a full-day or half-day coach with a licensed guide. Airport transfers begin with a meet-and-greet at the gate, with a lounge available on request, and a duty officer is on call for the entire program window.
  - Dubai city hotel
    Hotel
    See the hotels we book
2. Day 2Abu Dhabi – Dubai
  Abu Dhabi in a day
  South to Abu Dhabi after breakfast. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque late morning, then lunch inside the Emirates Palace. The afternoon is Heritage Village, Qasr Al Watan and the Founders Memorial, which together give the group the whole story of how the country was made. Back in Dubai for dinner.
  - Breakfast: hotel
    Meal
    Venues and menus are matched to each program at quote stage. See the restaurants we book
  - The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
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    Sight · Abu Dhabi
    The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi is the largest mosque in the Arab world and one of the most beautiful anywhere. Its clean white exterior is built from marble imported from Italy. In the main prayer hall you can see the world's largest carpet, designed by Iranian artists, and chandeliers imported from Germany. It is a remarkable sight.
  - Lunch: Emirates Palace
    Meal
    Where we book it
    Hakkasan Abu Dhabi
    Chinese · Abu Dhabi · Emirates Palace
    Emirates Palace.
    Talea by Antonio Guida
    Italian · Abu Dhabi · Emirates Palace
    Retained its star in the 2026 Abu Dhabi guide.
    Lebanese Terrace
    Lebanese · Abu Dhabi · Emirates Palace
    Lebanese mezze and grill at Emirates Palace.
    Vendôme
    International · Abu Dhabi · Emirates Palace
    Emirates Palace's breakfast room: Middle Eastern dishes alongside international favorites.
    Venues and menus are matched to each program at quote stage. See the restaurants we book
  - Heritage Village
    Sight · Abu Dhabi
  - Qasr Al Watan
    Sight · Abu Dhabi
    Qasr Al Watan, the Presidential Palace, has become one of the must-see stops in Abu Dhabi. It is where the UAE officially receives foreign dignitaries today and where state visits by heads of state take place. It uses the pointed arches and great domes of sixteenth to eighteenth century Mughal Islamic architecture, blended cleverly with the ornate building traditions of India, for a visual impact and a grandeur you will not have seen before. That includes the main halls and the rooms holding the treasures presented to the UAE president by countries around the world, where the interiors use white, yellow and blue to stand for the landscape of the region. The west wing explains how the country was formed and how it is governed, while the east wing displays a large collection of artifacts and precious manuscripts and explains what the Arab world has contributed to science, art, the humanities and literature. There is also a library holding more than fifty thousand books and resources.
  - The Founders Memorial
    Sight · Abu Dhabi
  - Dinner: Dubai
    Meal
    Where we book it
    Erth
    Emirati · Abu Dhabi
    Emirati cooking beside Qasr Al Hosn.
    3Fils Abu Dhabi
    Japanese · Al Bateen
    Opening of the Year, Abu Dhabi 2026.
    Bua Thai Café
    Thai · Abu Dhabi
    New to the Abu Dhabi 2026 selection.
    Al Dhafra
    Emirati · Abu Dhabi
    Emirati set menus by the dhow harbor. A fixture on our Abu Dhabi cultural days.
    Venues and menus are matched to each program at quote stage. See the restaurants we book
  - Dubai city hotel
    Hotel
    See the hotels we book
  The full day
  Included this day
  Full-day coach and guide
  Mosque and Qasr Al Watan admission included
3. Day 3Dubai
  Dubai, water and height
  An abra across the creek first thing, then up the Burj Khalifa to levels 124 and 125. Lunch, a photo stop at the Dubai Frame, and the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) ferry along the water in the late afternoon. Dinner, then The Dubai Mall and the fountain before the airport.
  - Breakfast: hotel
    Meal
    Venues and menus are matched to each program at quote stage. See the restaurants we book
  - An abra across Dubai Creek
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    Experience · Dubai
    The abra water taxi, the oldest and simplest form of transport local people use on Dubai Creek.
    More on the Experiences page
  - Burj Khalifa
    Sight · Dubai
    the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. At 828 meters it is the first structure in human history to pass 800 meters, and from the top the magnificent view over Dubai is all yours.
  - Lunch and dinner: named venues
    Meal
    Where we book it
    Trèsind Studio
    Indian · Palm Jumeirah
    Twenty-four seats, surprise tasting menu. The only three-star Indian restaurant in the world.
    FZN by Björn Frantzén
    European · Palm Jumeirah · Atlantis The Palm
    Nine courses, Scandinavian technique with Japanese precision. Atlantis The Palm.
    Il Ristorante — Niko Romito
    Italian · Jumeirah Bay Island · Bulgari Resort Dubai
    Contemporary Italian at Bulgari.
    Row on 45
    French-Japanese · Dubai Marina
    Seventeen courses, twenty-two seats. Grosvenor House.
    Venues and menus are matched to each program at quote stage. See the restaurants we book
  - The Dubai Frame
    Sight · Dubai
    The Dubai Frame. After the Burj Khalifa, this is another work built at great expense, a surrealist piece of architecture whose outer surface is covered in gold patterning. The frame stands about 50 stories high inside Zabeel Park and became Dubai's most eye-catching new landmark in 2018. It took four years to complete.
  - The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) ferry
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    Experience · Dubai
    More on the Experiences page
  - Lunch and dinner: named venues
    Meal
    Where we book it
    STAY by Yannick Alléno
    French · Palm Jumeirah
    Modern French at One&Only The Palm.
    11 Woodfire
    European · Jumeirah
    Wood-fired cooking around an open hearth.
    Al Muntaha
    French · Umm Suqeim · Burj Al Arab
    Top floor of Burj Al Arab.
    Avatāra
    Indian · Sheikh Zayed Road
    Vegetarian Indian tasting menu.
    Venues and menus are matched to each program at quote stage. See the restaurants we book
  - The Dubai Mall
    Client-supplied. SharePoint: BeneficialTravelFiles/02 BTI Sales/Brand Assets/Website/Excursion Images/The Dubai Mall/Dubai-Mall_GettyImages-167896655.webp
    Sight · Dubai
    The Dubai Mall is the largest shopping and entertainment complex in the world by floor area. It holds more than 1,200 retail stores, more than 150 places to eat and leisure facilities beyond counting. Inside is the world's largest indoor aquarium, so you can shop and look at the undersea world at the same time. There is also an indoor theme park, an ice rink, a cinema and the world's largest indoor gold market. It is the biggest and the most distinctive modern mall in the Middle East.
  - The Dubai Fountain
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    Sight · Dubai
    In Downtown Dubai you see the tallest performing fountain in the world. The Dubai Fountain gives you a rare chance to lose yourself in a captivating show of water, music and light. Then we have arranged for you to go up
  - Dubai city hotel
    Hotel
    See the hotels we book
  The full day
  Included this day
  Full-day coach and guide
  Burj Khalifa and ferry included
1. Day 4Dubai
  Departure
  A pre-dawn flight. The coach and guide see the group through check-in.
  - Airport transfer with guide
    Transfer
    Every group program runs on a full-day or half-day coach with a licensed guide. Airport transfers begin with a meet-and-greet at the gate, with a lounge available on request, and a duty officer is on call for the entire program window.