Our last stop in the UAE before heading to South Africa was Abu Dhabi. While Dubai is known for its fast pace and world records, Abu Dhabi is more low-key, with less glitz and a stronger focus on business and culture.
The UAE is made up of seven emirates, and Abu Dhabi is the largest and the capital, home to most government ministries, embassies, and major museums.
As with Dubai, our time in Abu Dhabi was short. We arrived around 3:00 p.m. and left for the airport the following evening at about 9:00 p.m. to wait for our flight to Johannesburg at 2:05 the next morning.
We stayed at Bab Al Qasr Hotel which was right across from Emirates Palace Hotel and close to Etihad Towers, which made getting around easy. The rooms were spacious and the hotel, although modern, had Middle Eastern design touches.
Even with the limited time, we managed to fit in visits to several of the city’s tourist sites.
Emirates Palace Hotel
Emirates Palace, a Mandarin Oriental hotel, is located right by the Corniche, which is Abu Dhabi’s long waterfront promenade that runs along the coast of the Arabian Gulf.
The hotel itself is massive and looks more like a palace than a hotel. What really stands out is the scale of it all—the amount of marble, the huge open spaces, and the manicured gardens.
We were curious what the room rate would be at the Emirates Palace. In February, a standard room runs roughly $730–$790 CAD per night. For comparison, the Burj Al Arab in Dubai—an all-suites hotel often referred to as a “7-star” hotel — comes in at about $3,300–$3,500 CAD per night for a basic suite, or roughly four times the price. It’s hard to imagine paying that much for a single night in a hotel room.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is one of the largest mosques in the world. It was completed in 2007, and can accommodate more than 40,000 worshippers at once. The mosque is renowned for its white marble exterior, impressive domes, and one of the world’s largest hand-knotted carpets in the main prayer hall.
One surprising feature for us was the retail area below the mosque, which includes a fast food court.
While visitors may wear shoes in the mosque courtyard, women are required to cover their hair, wear long sleeves to the wrists, and long pants. These requirements do not apply to men.
Before we headed to the airport, we went to Etihad Towers hotel for a view of Abu Dhabi from the 74th Floor. Very different from Dubai, as there are far fewer high rise buildings.
As our time in the UAE came to an end, we were glad we’d managed to see the Liwa desert, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. Liwa desert was our favourite, and we’re looking forward to heading back into the desert again at the end of our trip.
Next stop Johannesburg for a few days and then off to our Safari in Sabi Sands.
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