Dubai Trip Budget

Trying to figure out how much you should budget for Dubai trip?  The UAE is famed for its opulence and luxury because of the oil wealth there, but when considering your own personal budget for Dubai trip, you probably won’t have to spend as much as you think!  I bought a tour package from Dubai which covered airfare and hotel, but below I have listed my actual Dubai trip expenses to show you what to expect. I’m a mid-range traveler, so I don’t go super basic or super luxury.

Here is a chart with the percentages, but keep reading for a more detailed breakdown for each section.

Groupon Trip Cost to Dubai Price
Total: $1099

I use Groupon in Atlanta a lot to fund my fun activities at home to save money for travel, I had used a Groupon for Niagara Falls before which turned out super well, but I had never done a Groupon Getaways for a package deal.  Since I’m a teacher, it’s so hard to find a Groupon Getaway that fits my schedule, so I was super excited to find this one to Dubai!   We bought the upgraded package for $1099 instead of the $899 deal.   The rest of my Dubai budget is what I spent on what wasn’t included.

Accommodations in Dubai Trip Cost
Total: $64.48

Keep in Mind:  The Groupon price included 5 nights at the hotel, so this section is so low because it’s only the extra night we added.

Could you do it cheaper?  Absolutely. This was considered a 4 star, so obviously, a lower star would get a lower price. However, at $60 a night, that’s a really good price.  Something to balance that out with though is how far from some of the cool places it was.

We stayed at the Savoy Central hotel which is priced at roughly $60 a night.  We ended up booking another night at the hotel since our flight out was at 3 am, and the voucher had us checking out at 11 am the day before.

What’s frustrating, is that on the phone the agent said we would have that extra night included so we could rest before our flight, but that ended up not happening. Always get everything in writing! I digress…

The hotel was nice, but it was about $20 in uber to get to the main parts of the city like the Marina, Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa, etc.  If I were to book accommodations separately, I’d probably book at a hotel closer into the city such as the Double Tree. This hotel was close to the Souks, though.  You just want to make sure you book in the best area to stay in Dubai.

Transportation Budget for Dubai Trip
Total: $82.73

Keep in Mind:  The Groupon price included a lot of transportation.  These are the actual prices, but I did split them with my travel partner. These prices reflect if only 1 person was paying.

Could you do it cheaper?  Dubai seemed to have 4 forms of public transportation: Public transportation, taxis, super taxis, and Ubers.  However, my traveling companion didn’t want to take public transportation, so we took uber and taxis.

The round trip airport transfers were nice because we got picked up at the airport with my name on the sign!! That’s always fun.  We were then taken to our hotel after we dropped off some other folks. It didn’t take too long though.  The pickups for the Dubai and Abu Dhabi city tours (along with the transportation for the tour itself) were also included, although they were always late, lol.

The rest of the cost for this section was for Ubers basically getting us to and from the city at varying prices due probably to the time of day and distance.

Food ~ Cost of a Meal in Dubai
Total: $122.86

Keep in Mind:  The Groupon price included breakfast every day and lunch on the Abu Dhabi city tour.

Could you do it cheaper?  Well, our hotel room actually had a small kitchenette, so if we were cooking, that would have saved money.  We were on team #TreatYoSelf, so we did not do that haha.

My favorite thing to eat is always a doner whenever I leave the States if I can find one.  They’re usually all over Europe, and I became obsessed with them when I lived in Germany.  So, that was obviously my first official meal 

The most expensive meal wasn’t actually my own because I wasn’t too hungry, but it was a giant seafood platter that my friend got after our yacht cruise. She didn’t feel well on the boat, so she didn’t eat the included dinner.  We walked along the canal street, and she told the man she only wanted a little food, and he brought this out!!

Also along the “riverwalk” were all these food trucks and portable eateries. I just had to try these tiny pancakes covered in nutella, woooooooo boy were they good!

Most of the other food was just based on convenience and what was around when we were hungry (Note: mostly pizza apparently, lol).  But we did want to try Emirati food, so we found an Emirati restaurant just outside of Ferrari World.  It’s probably because it was so near to Ferrari World, but this felt like the Dubai eating out prices were higher than usual.

Alcohol ~ Beer Price in Dubai and Liquor Price in Dubai
Total: $76.65

Keep in Mind:  Alcohol is not readily available in the UAE.

The UAE has some strict policies for alcohol.  It seems you can really only purchase it in hotel bars.  Our Dubai tour guide made a joke (after a man on the tour kept asking how to get alcohol) that the man could round out his tour by also viewing the Dubai jail cell!  I think that’s just in reference to walking around with alcohol though.  We did find several places that sold it.

You can bring up to 4 L of alcohol with you into the country, so most people just bring stuff or buy Duty-Free at the airport. My friend and I just brought some individual bottles of wine to enjoy a glass at the end of the day.

We did check restaurants to see if they had any (just because I wanted to be able to give you some ideas of alcohol prices), but we never saw a restaurant serve any.

We did finally seek out what seemed to be a club/restaurant near the hotel.  We’d been hearing the music for several nights in a row, so we figured why not check it out.  We were able to buy drinks there, and it actually stayed open pretty late!

Activities for Sightseeing in Dubai with Prices
Total: $449.34

Keep in Mind:  The Groupon price included Dubai City Tour and the Abu Dhabi City Tour.

Could you do it cheaper?  I’m not sure since I did do a lot of comparison shopping to be sure, but you could skip some.

My friend bought a zultanite set which changes colors!  I would look into that if you’re into ambers and purples!

At the desert safari camp, they had a dress-up booth. I ended up liking the coin headdress, so I bought one!

Fees ~ Including Dubai Visit Visa Cost
Total: $16.34

As an America, I didn’t require a visa! The only fee was a tourist tax issued from the hotel. It was 10 AED or about $2.72 a night. Nothing major.

GRAND TOTAL: $1999.53

This total includes flights as well (where normally my budgets do not).  And some of these costs were split (fees and transportation).  But that’s what you can expect for Dubai travel expenses!

I hope you have a great time on your trip to Dubai!

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