How to Beat the Crowds in Dubai

Booking ahead is key to dodging the crowds at Dubai’s top sights. Many hot spots, including the Burj Khalifa, offer timed arrival slots, so prebooking lets you pick your visit time to avoid the most popular sessions. Other attractions, like the city’s Aquaventure water park and theme parks offer full-day passes, giving you the flexibility to either pre-empt the crowds or wait till they’ve thinned out. It also makes sense to choose any skip-the-line tickets so you can bypass any crowded admission lines.

Most of Dubai’s desert safari tours are afternoon-and-evening affairs, and involve convoys of 4WDs storming over the dunes to big Bedouin-style camps. Avoid the crush by hitting the sands in the morning, when the desert is at its quietest and the rising sun gives it an ethereal glow. Options include sunrise hot air balloon flights, camel treks, and morning safari experiences that include dune bashing and sandboarding.

While Dubai’s blockbuster attractions hog the limelight, there are many less-crowded destinations in and around the city that deserve a look. Head for Al Qudra Lakes, a series of artificial out-of-town lagoons where you can watch water birds, follow tranquil paths and cycle trails, and gaze out over lakes shaped like interlinked hearts. Alternatively, venture east to Hatta, a mountain escape with a Heritage Village, wadis, rock pools, and an aquamarine lake where you can rent kayaks and pedal boats.

One way to circumvent Dubai’s crowds is to book a private excursion or experience. Consider a city tour that whisks you and your group around the must-sees in an air-conditioned chauffeured car or stretch limo. Many are customizable, so you can tailor the itinerary to visit sights before or after peak times. If your pockets are deep enough, meanwhile, you may go for a private helicopter flightseeing tour or desert balloon ride, or a cruise along Dubai’s coast aboard your own skippered yacht.

Most visitors focus on Dubai’s futuristic attractions, often overlooking the city’s smaller-scale museums celebrating its local culture. Delve into old Dubai and you’ll find several of these niche museums—all of them tiny pockets of peace amid the hubbub. Meander around Bur Dubai’s Al Fahidi Historical Neighborhood to find the charming Dubai Coffee Museum, which charts the UAE’s passion for coffee; or explore Deira’s Women’s Museum to uncover the role of women in local society. Not far away, across Dubai Creek, is the Al Shindagha Museum, where interactive displays shed light on the city’s 19th-century waterside communities.

Dubai is full of sophisticated wellness retreats that offer sanctuary from the noise and the sun. Soothe your senses with a private treatment in the 5-star Palazzo Versace hotel, or melt into a body wrap, Balinese-style massage, or beauty therapy at a dedicated spa. Whichever kind of pampering you choose, it’s a great way to find refuge from the hustle and bustle, even if only for a few hours.

While Dubai bakes in average temperatures of 98.6°F (37°c) from June through September, an off-season visit has its upsides—you’ll avoid peak crowds and peak prices. While many outdoor venues shut their doors for the summer, the city still offers a wealth of indoor attractions where you can relax in air-conditioned bliss. Go shopping in gleaming malls like Dubai Mall, view marine life at Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, embrace the fun at IMG Worlds of Adventure, learn to scuba dive at Deep Dive Dubai’s diving pool, and more. Plus, make the most of the cooler evenings by taking a dinner cruise or watching the nightly Dubai Fountain show.

Take a detour to see some of Dubai’s mosques, which boast some of the city’s most impressive architecture. Since most don’t permit non-Muslim visitors, they don’t figure on city tours, so they’re usually quiet—apart from during prayer times. And even if you can’t go inside, you can admire them from the outside. Al Safa’s Blue Mosque and the modernist cube-shaped City Walk Mosque are both worth checking out, as is Jumeirah Mosque. Built in the 1970s in the medieval Fatimid style, this pristine cream-stone landmark is included on some Dubai tours and offers guided visits to all.