Dubai Backpacking Guide – Travelling Dubai on a Budget
TL;DR
Tips on how to Dubai cheap.
We have (semi) successfully travelled Dubai on a budget. In our Dubai backpacking guide we explain how you can do the same.
All travel costs fit into 4 categories
- Accommodation
- Transportation
- Food
- Activities
Here’s our personal budget breakdown per person and day:
- 20€ for our accommodation
- 5€ for our transportation
- 15€ for our food and drinks
- 50€ for our activities
We paid around 90€ per person and day – 40€ if you exclude the main paid activities.
Backpacking in Dubai Guide
Getting into Dubai
DXB Airport
This is how we got out.
And this is also the obvious airport choice. You can easily take the red metro line into town.
Abu Dhabi Airport
This is how we came in:
When looking for flights, it might be cheaper to fly into Abu Dhabi airport.
Nowadays, there’s the convenient Abu Dhabi Airport Express from Abu Dhabi Airport to Dubai Ibn Battuta Mall or vice versa. It runs every hour and takes around 1.5 hours. This is a great option if you stay in the Dubai Marina area.
You can buy tickets online or at the airport.
DWC Airport
This is a lesser-known airport and it’s mostly served by charter flights. From my time as a travel agent, I can tell you that it’s worth looking into – especially if you come from European destinations where people go on a Dubai vacation.
Where to Stay in Dubai on a Budget
We stayed at Papaya backpacker's which was a regular backpacker hostel.
We paid around 20€ per night. Of course, the price depends on the season and the timing of the booking.
We have written a complete hostel review:
Travel Guides
We Stayed in a Hostel in Dubai – Our Review
We stayed in a cheap hostel in Dubai. This is our experience.
Carina
How to Get Around Dubai on a Budget
We have tried all forms of transportation in Dubai: From the bus to the Palm Monorail.
There’s a whole system of NOl Cards and zones in Dubai. NOL cards exist in red, silver and gold (for the gold class cabin so the last one is not a budget option).
Personally, we think it’s easiest to buy a red NOL card with a day pass. The card costs 2 AED and the day pass is 20 AED (you can recharge the card up to 5 times). It gives you worry-free access to unlimited rides on all trams, buses, water taxis, and the Dubai Metro. You also don’t have to worry about any zones.
For roughly 5€ we think that’s a no-brainer.
Dubai Metro
The Dubai Metro is the most efficient way to travel across Dubai. You will mostly use the red line which connects sights like the Dubai Marina, Burj Khalifa, and Deira.
The metro runs every few minutes during the day but stops running at night. It was surprisingly crowded most times we used it. You wait in line to get in and sometimes we had to wait a couple of trains to actually make it on the train.
There are women-only compartments.
Dubai Tram
The Dubai tram connects the metro to places like JBR Beach, Dubai Marina and The Palm. It runs every few minutes – not as often as the metro but still often enough.
There are also women-only compartments.
Dubai Buses
This is where Dubai surprised us. While we never had any issues with the metro or tram, the buses we used were notoriously unpunctual. They do not run very often – expect around every 30 minutes – and when they get stuck in traffic, things get nasty. At least some of the bus stops are air-conditioned.
Personally, we would avoid buses as much as possible.
Dubai Water Taxi
Perfect if you want to go from Dubai Creek Metro Station to the Creek Harbour Viewing Deck to watch the sunset.
Dubai Taxi
We only took a taxi once but the experience was rather pleasant. It was metered and we could even pay by credit card. While the price was fair, it was by no means cheap though.
Where to Find Cheap Food in Dubai
Honestly, we are not really experts in this regard. This is what we have done to bring our food budget down to around 15€ per day:
- Go to local Indian, Pakistani, or Middle Eastern places.
- Avoid Western places.
- Buy snacks in the supermarket.
- Try the food courts in the malls.
You’ll find most of the cheap Indian restaurants in Deira and Bur Dubai but there are also some places in other parts of town. We ate the cheapest meal of our stay at a hole-in-the-wall place close to our hostel in the Dubai Marina area (4€ for a decent burger and fries).
Free Things to Do in Dubai
1. Alserkal Avenue
This place is a bit of a hidden gem. It’s an area full of art galleries and artsy cafes. You can do yoga and on the day of our visit, there was a farmer’s market. We spent a couple of hours here.
Some of the galleries can look a bit dark and closed from the outside but you can just try the door 😉
2. Antique Museum
The Antique Museum is an easy walk from Alserkal Avenue so definitely make a pit stop when you’re in the area.
While it’s not technically a museum but more of a shop, it’s still worth a visit. It’s such a random place filled to the brim with stuff – from lanterns over statues to some pretty weird things.
The people there are super hospitable.
Bonus: This is the absolute perfect Instagram spot!
3. Marina Walk
While this is far from a hidden gem, it is still a lovely activity. The whole walk is 7 km long and will provide you with amazing water, skyscraper, and yacht views all the way!
4. Barasti Beach Club
Also in the Marina area is our favourite beach club – Barasti Beach Club. The entrance is free and the drinks are surprisingly well priced.
There’s a pool, sunbeds, hammocks, pool tables, a DJ and overall a lot of entertainment and lounge options.
We sat on a sunbed for hours and nobody pressured us to buy anything.
5. Beaches
These are some of the beaches we liked:
- JBR or Jumeirah Beach Residence is a 1.7 km long beach. It is lined with (surprisingly expensive) street food and dining options but you can enjoy the beach for free – day or night.
- Kite Beach is a bit of a hassle to get to because you can only reach it by bus but it rewards you with some great Burj Al Arab views.
- Palm West Beach on Palm Jumeirah is lined with sun beds – unfortunately, we didn’t find any free ones.
6. Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood
Moving over to Bur Dubai or the Old Dubai. It’s a lot of fun to walk through the Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, the oldest area in Dubai.
7. Souks in Deira
Also in Old Dubai on the other side of Dubai Creek in Deira, you can find plenty of souks or markets. You can buy everything from spices to gold here.
8. Free Museums in Old Dubai
Both Al Fahidi and Deira are littered with free museums, art galleries, and open houses. Just walking around you cannot miss them. Some of the ones we liked are
- Coffee Museum
- Museum of the Poet Al Oqaili
- XVA Gallery
9. Taxi Boat to Creek Harbour Public Viewing Deck
With your NOL card, you can hop on a taxi boat across Dubai Creek. Creek Harbour Public Viewing Deck is a nice spot for sunset as the sun goes down behind Burj Khalifa.
10. The Dubai Fountain
From the Dubai Fountain, you have some of the best Burj Khalifa views in town.
You can also snap a nice Instagramm pic at the Wings of Mexico Statue but we couldn’t be bothered to walk all the way there.
11. The Dubai Fountain Show
The Dubai Fountain is a free water, music and light show. It is the world's tallest performing fountain. The shows run every 30 minutes from 6 pm to 11 pm.
12. Dubai Mall
There are a ton of free things to do in the Dubai Mall – enough to be a blogpost in itself. Our favourite was the Aquarium. There’s also
- an ice rink
- a dinosaur skeleton
- a waterfall
and much more…
Affordable Things to Do in Dubai
13. Taking an Abra
Taking an abra boat from Bur Dubai to Deira costs 1 AED (0.25€) so it’s not completely free but almost. It was one of our favourite activities in Dubai.
14. The Palm Monorail
We had to include a ride on the Palm Monorail on our list. The cheapest return ticket costs 15 AED (under 4€). Personally, we loved the views.
You can stop at
- Atlantis Aquaventure – check out the hotel as well as Palm Jumeirah Boardwalk (warning: there is no shade here).
- Nakheel Mall – only good for the mall or if you want to pay for The View at the Palm
- Al Ittihad Park – the park is a bit underwhelming but you can walk to Palm West Beach from here.
15. Rooftop Bars
Every single viewing deck in Dubai costs a lot of money. That’s why we love a good rooftop bar. Observatory Bar & Grill boasts amazing views of the The Palm. And the happy hour cocktails are surprisingly affordable.
Tip: We have incorporated many of these things into our Dubai itinerary.
Cheap Dubai SIM Card
While this will not break your bank, we found out that buying an Airalo eSIM is a bit cheaper than buying a SIM card at the airport. We only paid 4.50€ for a week’s worth of data.
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