Dubai

Explore Old Dubai Small Group, Al Fahidi District, Museum, Market

Badge of ExcellenceDubai, United Arab Emirates

Dubai Al Kadima explore the real old town museums markets and foods

From $26.51

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

3 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Explore our promoted experiences

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi City Tour - Ferrari World

from $250.00

Price varies by group size

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

"Discover Abu Dhabi: A Captivating 6-Hour Guided Tour"

from $69.00

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Quad Biking Adventure in dubai desert

from $99.00

Viator earns higher commissions on experiences featured here

Overview

Dubai has traditions and history that are challenging to spot for newcomers, especially if they stick to the usual tourist circuit. On this small-group tour, see the “real” old Dubai starting from Al Fahidi historical neighborhood, which shows how the city appeared from about the mid-19th-century through the 1970s. Other highlights include visiting Al Seef, the Dubai Museum and Al Fahidi Fort, and the Coins Museum. Finish your tour with a traditional boat ride to gold and spice markets.

A small-group tour of Old Dubai
Visit historical neighborhoods, museums, and markets
Take a traditional boat ride to spice and spice markets
See how the city appeared from the 19th century through the 1970s

What's Included

Free wifi
Bottled water
Abra boat ride
Personal tour guide
Free explanation
Snacks
Camel milk chocolate “ tasting “
Coins museum free admission “ now is closed “
Drop off not included
Spice market
Old souq
Gold souq

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Al Fahidi Marine Transport Station - Information & Ticket Office
Bur Dubai Site - beside D84 - Dubai Creek Area - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
Our meeting point will be in Al Bastakiya district in front of Al fahidi marine transport station Bur Dubai by Metro The closest metro station is Sharaf DG Metro on the Green line By Taxi/Uber Tell your Driver in Al Bastakiya district in front of Al fahidi marine transport station Bur Dubai.

End point

Dubai Gold Souk
Dubai - Deira - Al Ras - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
the tour ends in the gold market. there is a taxi stop and a metro station.

What To Expect

Al Seef

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood

25 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Coins Museum (Pass By)

Textile Souk (Pass By)

Arabian Tea House Restaurant & Cafe - Al Fahidi (Pass By)

Old Souk

25 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Dubai Museum & Al Fahidi Fort

25 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Bur Dubai Abra Station (Pass By)

Dubai Spice Souk

25 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Dubai Gold Souk

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Dubai Creek (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps

No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

658 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 658 reviews

Great intro to Dubai

Claire_K, Apr 2024

Great tour, so interesting to find out more about local culture and traditions and see the local souks. Our guide was informative and funny.

Bad guide bad experience

Shanah_D, Apr 2024

The guide dressed as local ( originally from Egypt) didn’t explain much and we had stops all over. We didn’t get much information and we didn’t get tips about the local markets. The boat ride was just few minutes and in each market we were taken to a specific shop to buy. It’s more like a shopping tour unlike what’s promised.

Bad experience… would not recommend!

Tamara_M, Apr 2024

The tour was very rushed and the guide did a poor job of explaining the history behind the tour 👎🏽 Apparently, the guide himself is new to Dubai and a foreigner as well, so what he was able to explain seemed very basic. The snack was Indian food, which was not told to us prior. The best part of the tour was the local markets, which were very interesting and beautiful to explore, but unfortunately we were rushed and didn’t have time to do any shopping. Instead, we were brought to one shop in every market, which were very expensive. I’m sure we got ripped off as tourists! One star

Excellent!

Shivanee_G, Apr 2024

Excellent guided tour by Hichem! Loved the historical learning, food, boat ride and spice shop experience. Would highly recommend for even a layover in Dubai!

2h only, 19 people tour...

Jeff_B, Apr 2024

We cannot recommend this tour. We had booked the 9h30 tour, but got a message from the guide that the tour would be at 10am. When we arrived, they had put multiple tours together, so that we were 19 people. On the site they mention that there are 10 people maximum. Don't fall for that as we did. As they put the french tour together with our tour, the guide Moustapha from Paris took a lot of time explaining everything again in french, what made the tour boringly long and the waiting times to continue the tour were bad. His explanations were also pretty basic, so no deep knowledge or authentic stories. We were also surprised to finish the tour after just 2 hours. On the site they sell the tour as 3h tour. We have skipped the spice souk. So all in all, this tour was a flop for us and we would not do the tour with this company again.

A scam… not recommended at all.

Kelly_M, Apr 2024

The guide ( Mahmoud) from Egypt dresses like a local so what he explains during the tour is really superficial and not deep insights of the local culture. The ride of the boat was barely 5 minutes and we didn’t visit one museum!! We had other participants in the tour who didn’t pay anything for the tour and they were allowed to join !!! The food was okay but we were brought to certain shops in the local markets for buying which weren’t reasonable at all. Avoid this tour!

The best trip in Dubai

Sasvri_G, Apr 2024

It was very interesting to know the history of country and life traditions of the populations. Our guide Hichem Mebarek Azzem was very polite and he answers for all our questions. We had got a lot of interesting and new knowledge.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Thanks you so much for your feedback that made me feel happy. It was a pleasure to be your guide! Best wishes

Great experience and good way to learn about the region

Olga_V, Mar 2024

We really enjoyed the tour. Hichem was really knowledgeable, had great sense of humor and shared everything he knew with us freely. Our family enjoyed tour allowing for rest spots so we didn’t have to be on our feet for entirety of the trip. The tour was great and we definitely left with a lot more knowledge about the culture, customs and history of Emirati people. Thank you.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Thanks you so much for your feedback that made me feel happy. It was a pleasure to be your guide! Best wishes

Great tour to know more about Dubai & UAE

Willy_T, Mar 2024

This tour provides. good grasp of Dubai history, culture and aspirations. Tour guide Hichem is very knowledgeable and friendly as he answers all questions very well. toured the souks and took the traditional water taxi. highly recommended to all who want to know more abt Dubai and UAE.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Thanks you so much for your feedback that made me feel happy. It was a pleasure to be your guide! Best wishes

Highly Recommended this tour

Carrie_L, Feb 2024

I enjoyed this tour so much, especially the cultural center where we learned all about the Emirati traditions and culture. Our guide, Abdalla was very knowledgeable and took great care of us. This is a must-do tour!

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Thanks you so much for your feedback that made me feel happy. It was a pleasure to be your guide! Best wishes

Salvaged rainy day with excellent tour

Shari_B, Feb 2024

We enjoyed Hicham’s tour. First, he was very flexible with the timing given the rain earlier in the morning. Second, Hicham did a nice job sharing elements of the culture with us. We enjoyed learning about the old neighborhood in Dubai.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Thanks you so much for your feedback that made me feel happy. It was a pleasure to be your guide! Best wishes

Informative and fun way to learn more about Dubai and the UAE

Adeline_T, Feb 2024

I had planned on seeing Old Dubai on my own, but was really glad I booked this tour! While parts of the district was constructed for tourism purposes, the introduction to the history and culture of the UAE helped me to make more sense of the country. For someone who believes that travelling should be about much more than just seeing the sights, this was really important. Hichem was a fantastic guide - informative and humorous - and we were a small group of six people which felt nice and cosy. The coffee, snacks, and sharwama we got to try along the way were a treat too. Definitely a useful way to spend three hours in the morning - you are dropped off at the Gold Souk so you can continue exploring the area on your own if you like, or head off elsewhere. Definitely do it if you’re having second thoughts!

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Thanks you so much for your feedback that made me feel happy. It was a pleasure to be your guide! Best wishes

Brilliant Tour of Old Dubai

Tilak_C, Jan 2024

This tour showed the ambience of old Dubai, which was really fascinating. The guide was very fluent in explaining all the details in a very intresting and captivating manner. We were picked up from the hotel on time. Well done.

Very nice tour

Renata_D, Jan 2024

It was a very nice experience to know more about Dubai history. Our tour guide Hitchem is a wonderful and very kind person which you can see he’s passionate for the Dubai history and can explain very well. I do recommend this tour.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thanks you so much for your feedback that made me feel happy. It was a pleasure to be your guide! Best wishes

Spend the day in Old Dubai!

Kristin_L, Jan 2024

Hicham was a great guide and the trip was a half day well spent!! Here on business and had the weekend free. Really enjoyed learning about Old Dubai, the history and seeing the less modern part of the city. Highly recommend this tour!!

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thanks you so much for your feedback that made me feel happy. It was a pleasure to be your guide! Best wishes

Walking Tour Old Town and Souks of Dubai

Michelle_R, Jan 2024

Great little walking tour as an introduction to the old town and souks of Dubai. Hichem our guide was very informative and accommodating.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thanks you so much for your feedback that made me feel happy. It was a pleasure to be your guide! Best wishes

Hichem guide Number one

Serena_B, Jan 2024

A very ggod tour Hichem our guide It was perfect, he did a good tour, very professional, very kind and nice

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thanks you so much for your feedback that made me feel happy. It was a pleasure to be your guide! Best wishes

Tour of historical neighborhood in Dubai , abras and souks

Michael_O, Jan 2024

Great tour! Our tour guide Hichem was excellent! He was knowledgeable and personable. . Although my husband and I have been to Dubai multiple times we learned so much from Hichem. Loved it! Having an expert guide you makes so much more of your time. The abras were fun and loved the spice souk too!

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Thanks you so much for your feedback that made me feel happy. It was a pleasure to be your guide! Best wishes

Great Tour

Maurizio_A, Jan 2024

Fantastic tour with so much variety, would highly recommend and great value for money. Thoroughly enjoyed the learning about the way of life, the boat trip, meeting the camels and the market place

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Thanks you so much for your feedback that made me feel happy. It was a pleasure to be your guide! Best wishes

The operator is a thief. Viator no help at all.

Adrian_W, Jan 2024

Nice tour BUT very dishonest operator who essentially STOLE the funds we paid to have a taxi pickup from our hotel in Sharjarh (20 mins from Dubai Creek). We had no idea they could not pickup in Sharjah (only Dubai hotels). That is OK, if they had refunded us. Do not trust them. Thieves. Viator did not help us. Book someone else via Get Your Guide instead.

...