Best time to visit Dubai
United Arab Emirates · Middle East
All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.
The year in Dubai
Tap a month for its page
- JanJDubai in January: good, busy
- FebFDubai in February: good
- MarMDubai in March: sweet spot
- AprADubai in April: sweet spot
- MayMDubai in May: avoid
- JunJDubai in June: avoid
- JulJDubai in July: avoid
- AugADubai in August: avoid
- SepSDubai in September: avoid
- OctODubai in October: avoid
- NovNDubai in November: sweet spot
- DecDDubai in December: good, busy
- Sweet spot
- Good
- OK
- Avoid
- Busy
- Prices thereModerate, about 63% of the US
- MoneyUnited arab emirates dirham
- PlugsType C and G, 220 V
- DrivingOn the right
Book your trip to Dubai
Best in April 32°C · 0 rainy days quiet April in Dubai ›
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Flights from
Flights
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Where are you flying from? Choose your city for its flights.
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Where to stay
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Things to do
Driving is on the right here.
Car hire
Rent direct
Travel insurance
Check whether your bank card or home insurance already covers this trip.
If the trip needs a visa, the travel agent or visa centre usually sells the cover it asks for.
These are sites people in book with. Each opens in a new tab, on the site's own pages.
Things to do in Dubai
- Burj Khalifa At 828 m and 160 floors this is the world's tallest structure by a long shot, over 300 m taller than the previous contender in Taipei.
- Palm Islands The Palm islands are the best symbols of the boom and bust construction cycles in Dubai.
- Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo Giant aquarium, 51 m long and 11 m high.
- Museum of the Future Branded as a "technology museum" many visitors consider it more of an expensive art exhibition.
- Dubai Frame Architectural landmark in Dubai
- Dubai Marina The Dubai Marina is to be the popular nightlife area of Dubai in the future.
- Global Village Annual festival (usually during winter).
Tours and tickets in Dubai
Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too. Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you; most pay nothing, and what a site pays never decides whether it is listed or where. How we rank
Sights and their lines from Wikivoyage (Dubai/Jumeirah, Dubai/Suburbs and Hatta), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, and Wikidata; in order of how often each one's Wikipedia article was read on phones in the last 12 months.
Dubai in pictures
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Александр Сигачёв, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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A.Savin, Free Art License, via Wikimedia Commons
Month by month
| Month | Max °C | Rain days | Humidity | Sun h/day | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24° | 2d | 63% | 9.8h | goodbusy | busier than usual |
| Feb | 25° | 1d | 65% | 10.0h | good | 25C max, 1 rainy day |
| Mar | 28° | 1d | 61% | 10.1h | sweet spot | 28C max, 1 rainy day |
| Apr | 32° | 0d | 54% | 11.0h | sweet spot | 32C max, 0 rainy days |
| May | 36° | 0d | 54% | 12.1h | avoid | extreme heat: 21 days over 35C |
| Jun | 39° | 0d | 56% | 12.3h | avoid | extreme heat: 30 days over 35C |
| Jul | 41° | 0d | 54% | 11.4h | avoid | extreme heat: 31 days over 35C |
| Aug | 41° | 0d | 54% | 11.2h | avoid | extreme heat: 31 days over 35C |
| Sep | 39° | 0d | 59% | 11.3h | avoid | extreme heat: 30 days over 35C |
| Oct | 35° | 0d | 62% | 10.6h | avoid | extreme heat: 15 days over 35C |
| Nov | 30° | 0d | 59% | 9.9h | sweet spot | 30C max, 0 rainy days |
| Dec | 26° | 1d | 62% | 9.6h | goodbusy | busier than usual |
Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.
Weather read at Dubai airport, by Deira, 10 km from the city centre: ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.
A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.
How busy it gets
Then and now
Dubai's December days now average 26.3°C, 1.1°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 1 of 12 months are clearly warmer, 6 clearly cooler.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–90 | 23.6° | 24.2° | 28.2° | 33.2° | 38.7° | 40.4° | 42.3° | 41.9° | 39.7° | 35.6° | 30.4° | 25.2° |
| 2017–26 | 23.9° | 25.1° | 28.3° | 32.4° | 36.3° | 39.3° | 40.7° | 40.8° | 39.0° | 35.0° | 30.5° | 26.3° |
| Change | +0.3° | +0.9° | +0.2° | -0.8° | -2.4° | -1.1° | -1.6° | -1.1° | -0.7° | -0.6° | +0.1° | +1.1° |
The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.
Busy and quiet times in Dubai
Dubai experiences extremely high temperatures during the summer months, which can be uncomfortable for tourists. There is no available climate data, so it is advisable to check local forecasts before planning your trip.
| Busiest |
early Nov to late Mar — The weather is cooler and more pleasant, attracting many tourists.
|
|---|---|
| Quieter, still good |
early Apr to late May — Temperature starts to rise but it's not too hot yet.
early Oct to late Oct — The weather is gradually becoming pleasant after the extreme heat of summer.
|
| Watch out for | extreme heat |
Written by a language model from the climate figures above. The month-by-month table is measured — ten years of ERA5 readings and published holiday calendars — and where the two disagree, the table is the one to believe.
What Dubai is like
Dubai (Arabic: دبي Dubayy) is a cosmopolitan metropolis and global city on the Arabian Peninsula. The city is one of the ten most popular tourist destinations in the world. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth seeing
- Dubai is a mixture of old and new, traditional and modern. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth doing
- Abra ride. A boat ride is best done at night in the cool weather and to enjoy the city lights. Abras can be hired for a private tour (for a price negotiable with the driver, but usually very cheap). More on Wikivoyage
- Getting in
- Dubai is a five-hour flight from Europe and three hours from most parts of the Middle East, the Near East, and the Indian subcontinent. Dubai's main airport is the Dubai International Airport (DXB IATA). More on Wikivoyage
- Staying safe
- Dubai is one of the safest cities in the world with regard to street crime. Call 999 if you need police attention. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Dubai, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.
Getting there
By rail from the airport (DXB), by metro: Red1 Line, Red2 Line.
Lines that stop at the airport's terminals, as mapped by OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); the operators' own timetables have the times and fares.
How far Dubai is depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.
Open in Rome2rio for every way from to Dubai, flying or not.
Like a local in Dubai
On arrival
- Paying — Most shops, hotels and restaurants take major cards. When paying by foreign card, choose dirhams to avoid a poor conversion rate.
- UPI, for visitors from India — Works at participating shops, restaurants and attractions with NEOPAY, Network International or Magnati card machines, Dubai Duty Free among them: scan the QR on the machine with your UPI app.
- Tipping — Not expected but common; many restaurants add a 10% service charge, and where none is added 10-15% is a usual tip. Taxi drivers often keep small change.
Getting around Dubai
Buy a nol card or paper Red Ticket at any metro station and tap in and out on the metro, tram and buses; buses sell no tickets.
- Apps — Rides: Bolt, Careem, Uber. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: WhatsApp. WhatsApp messages work, but WhatsApp voice and video calls are blocked.
Dubai's public transport system is one of the best in the Middle East, especially after the launch of the metro, but most visitors end up taking taxis quite often. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Dubai, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Ferries from Dubai
- Al Jaddaf Marine Station - Dubai Festival City · about 6 min
Crossings within 60 km, as mapped by OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Times are typical where the map records them.
Help
- Emergency — police 999 · ambulance 998 · fire 997.
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.
Your embassy — : how to reach your embassy or consulate abroad. A guess from your city, : a city is not a passport.
Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 3 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.
Sources (23)
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/united-arab-emirates/getting-help
- rta.ae/wps/portal/rta/ae/public-transport/Nol-Home
- rta.ae/wps/portal/rta/ae/public-transport/nol/choose-nol
- admobility.gov.ae/en/pb-bus-service/hafilat-cards
- visitabudhabi.ae/en/plan-your-trip/essential-info/taxes-service-charges-and-tipping
- visitabudhabi.ae/en/plan-your-trip/essential-info
- visitabudhabi.ae/en/plan-your-trip/getting-around-abu-dhabi/taxis
- gulfnews.com/living-in-uae/transport/hafilat-smart-card-abu-dhabi-prices-passes-permits-and-how-to-use-it-1.500663751
- uber.com/global/en/cities/dubai
- uber.com/global/en/cities/abu-dhabi
- bolt.eu/en/cities/dubai
- careem.com/en-AE/ride
- roughguides.com/united-arab-emirates/travel-advice
- roughguides.com/united-arab-emirates/dubai/getting-around
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/United_Arab_Emirates
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Dubai
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Abu_Dhabi
- developers.google.com/maps/coverage
- apple.com/ios/feature-availability
- pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2286608
- mashreq.com/uae/news/2024/march/upi-powered-phonepe-mashreq
- nipl.com/uploads/NPCI_International_partners_with_Magnati_to_Expand_UPI_Acceptance_in_the_UAE_b97b5a2be8.pdf
- nipl.com/uploads/UPI_Acceptance_Enabled_for_Online_Bookings_at_At_the_Top_Burj_Khalifa_e21084e212.pdf
Before you go
| Cost of living | moderate — prices run about 63% of the United States' (World Bank, 2025) |
|---|---|
| Currency | United arab emirates dirham |
| Languages | Arabic |
| Plugs | Type C and G, 220 V |
| Driving | On the right |
| Calling code | +971 |
| Travel advice | No advice against travel — UK Foreign Office, updated 2026-10-27 Exercise a high degree of caution (with regional advisories) — Global Affairs Canada, updated 2026-10-14 Level 3: Reconsider Travel — US State Department, updated 2026-10-23 |
| Entry rules | UK Foreign Office, for British travellers Global Affairs Canada, for its own citizens US State Department, for its own citizens |
| Health | UK Foreign Office health advice |
Facts from Wikidata (CC0), the UK Foreign Office (Open Government Licence) and the World Bank, refreshed 2026-10-07. The advisory is written for British travellers; entry rules depend on your passport.Travel advice for American readers is the US State Department's (public domain), and for Canadian readers Global Affairs Canada's (Open Government Licence - Canada), each in its own words and written for its own citizens; entry rules depend on your passport.
A guide, not advice: entry rules change and depend on your passport and your trip, so check the official page before you book.
Around Dubai
Nearby
Kind of place
Dubai is in United Arab Emirates, Middle East. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.
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