Scenes across the Emirates: Downtown Dubai, Liwa, the Empty Quarter, Wadi Wurayah, Fujairah, Heart of Sharjah
From iconic cities to untouched nature, every emirate has a story worth living — and all of it is within a day's drive.
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Destinations
From the dunes of Liwa to the oldest mosque in the country — and the road between all of it is shorter than you think.
View allAbu Dhabi to Fujairah — the longest line across the country — is 2 h 37 min and 254 km.
Select an emirate on the map to narrow it down.
The national calendar
One calendar assembled from seven authorities, from the grand prix to the camel festivals of Al Dhafra.
Full calendarSeptember to November
When visibility on the Gulf of Oman is at its best and the water is still warm. Turtles on almost every dive.
Dives and snorkelling trips are sold by licensed operators, and a certification card is checked before a dive.
December to January
The retail festival that reshaped the region's winter season: city-wide sales, nightly fireworks and open-air concerts.
Entry to the festival and the city-wide sales is free. The concerts and the ticketed attractions inside it are sold separately.
Early December
The closing round of the Formula 1 season at Yas Marina, run into the dusk, with concerts on the same tickets.
Grandstand and general-admission tickets are sold by the race promoter, and the concerts are included in the race ticket.
Drive south past Liwa to where the dunes stop being scenery and start being terrain. Moreeb rises more than 300 metres and the silence at the top is total.
Twelve chapters of human history under a dome that rains light. Two hours is the minimum; the sea-facing galleries are the ones people miss.
2.83 kilometres off the summit of Jebel Jais, face-down, at up to 150 km/h. Certified as the longest in the world.
The oldest mangrove stand in the UAE, on the emirate's east-coast enclave. Kingfishers, turtles, and water flat enough to hear them.
Stone and mud brick, built around 1446, four domes on a single central pillar — and still in use for prayer.
Steam, black soap, a scrub that removes a week, then mint tea and nowhere to be. The oldest wellness technology in the region.
Where to stay
Choose the dates and the party and the rate and the availability move with them — with the reason stated.
Search by datesHigh on the Hajar ridge, where winter nights need a fire and July needs a jumper after dark.
Non-refundable · 2 rooms left · 887 reviews
Ten minutes from Louvre Abu Dhabi, on a protected beach where hawksbill turtles nest between March and June.
Free cancellation · 4 rooms left · 2,841 reviews
A restored courtyard house in the coral-and-gypsum lanes, ninety seconds from the abra station.
Free cancellation · 3 rooms left · 1,288 reviews
Coral a hundred metres off the sand, tanks filled on site, and mountains directly behind the car park.
Free cancellation · 6 rooms left · 964 reviews
Twelve tents at the edge of the Empty Quarter. No generators after ten, which is the entire point of the place.
Non-refundable · 2 rooms left · 612 reviews
Between a protected mangrove reserve and an empty beach, forty minutes from Dubai airport.
Free cancellation · 7 rooms left · 1,104 reviews
Ras Al Khaimah
The country's highest point on a sealed road, free viewing platforms, and the world's longest zipline on the same mountain.
Quick planner
One country, all seven emirates, anticlockwise from the capital so the mountains and the east coast come last.
The mosque before the crowds, the Louvre in the afternoon light, and the falaj channels of Al Ain on day three.
Sand, then rock, then reef — the three landscapes of the country in the order that makes sense.
One pass, every federal and emirate-level museum, valid for a fortnight. Designed for the visitor who is here to read the country.
Turn a connection into two nights: hotel, transfers and one signature experience bundled with the fare.
June to September, when the country moves indoors and the rates follow. Museums, aquaria, ski slopes and long lunches.
People who were there
Posts tagged to real places. Add your own and it may appear on the national channels.
The community@dunes.after.rain
Moreeb at first light. Nobody else on the whole ridge for an hour.
Moreeb Dune, Liwa · #VisitUAE
@sevenemirates
Day 6 of 7. Drove to the top of the country before breakfast.
Jebel Jais · #JebelJais
@quietmuseums
Went for the dome, stayed four hours for the manuscripts.
Louvre Abu Dhabi · #LouvreAbuDhabi
@slowgulf
The abra still costs less than a coffee and it is the best ride in the city.
Dubai Creek · #DubaiCreek
@flamingo.hours
Kayaked out at 06:10. They were already feeding.
Al Zorah, Ajman · #AlZorah
@reefminutes
Three turtles in twenty minutes, straight off the beach. No boat.
Snoopy Island, Al Aqah · #Fujairah
@coralblocks
A whole pearling village, left where it stood. Go before the light drops.
Al Jazirah Al Hamra · #Pearling
@bookfairdiary
Eleven days, four halls, and I still did not finish the translation pavilion.
Sharjah Book Fair · #SIBF
It is genuinely possible, and the drive is the best part. A route that never doubles back.
Forty degrees outside, twenty-two inside, and half the visitors. The season locals quietly prefer.
Ajman and Umm Al Quwain hold the emptiest beaches and the most important birds. Almost nobody plans for them.
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