There is a memorable date waiting to happen for every couple when visiting Dubai. Here in this blog post, we cover date ideas in Dubai that range from luxury, culture, casual and adventure. There are few cities grander than Dubai, and a baecation there will undoubtedly bring you good times and memories.
Here are ten date ideas in Dubai:
- Dine at a Seven-Star Hotel
- Take a Walk in Miracle Garden
- Go All the Way Up at Burj Khalifa
- Go Sand Duning
- Animal Watch in a Desert Safari
- Beach Day
- Check out the Art Scene
- Skydiving
- Take a boat ride to Old Dubai
- Hang out in the Mall like a Local
Dine at a Seven Star Hotel
Sshhh…there’s no such thing as a 7 Star Hotel. But when a place is an opulent as the Burj Al Arab, the standard rating just would not due. Dubai’s iconic sail-shaped hotel features a fleet of Rolls Royce to take you around the city, Hermes toiletries, and enough attendants per room to ensure that your every desire is fulfilled. It will run you several thousand dollars a night to stay here. But no worries if this isn’t in your budget. You can dine here to get a taste of what a 7 Star Hotel feels like.
And there’s a lot to choose from! The seafood restaurant, Al Mahara, has a floor-to-ceiling aquarium, so it feels like you’re dining under the sea. You can have Mediterranean cuisine with a view of the Arabian Gulf at Scape Restaurant. You can have drinks under the skyline at Gold on 27. Go to Al Muntaha and enjoy fine French food on the 27th floor. Chow down on Japanese cuisine at Summerset or have Afternoon Tea at Sahn Eddar. Witness and treat your taste buds to eight different live cooking stations of Far East Asian Food at Junsui.
Enjoy summer vibes and European food at Bab Al Yam or partake in an Arabaian buffet at Al Iwa. See, I told you that you had a lot of options. Choose a place and don’t forget to make a reservation, otherwise, you won’t be able to enter the property.
- Category: Luxury/Fancy
- Website: Jumeirah
- Social: IG: @burjalarab
Take a Walk in Miracle Garden
To experience this treat, you must be in Dubai sometime between Mid-November and Mid-May. This beautiful garden has over 150 million flowers arranged in everything from arches, patterns, hearts, castles, hilltops, lake parks, Mickey Mouse, and Teddy Bears. The garden is so impressive and unique that it won two Guinness World Records. One for the largest vertical garden in 2013 and the other for being the world’s largest floral sculpture in the shape of an Airbus A380 in 2016.
When you have had your feel of flowers, walk over to the Dubai Butterfly Garden, the world’s largest butterfly garden. Here you can see and learn about butterflies from all over the world and count the ways your beau gives you butterflies.
- Category: Romantic
- Cost: $50 AED
- Website: Dubai Miracle Garden
- Social: IG: @dubaimiraclegarden
Go All the Way Up at Burj Khalifa
If you are in Dubai, you definitely will want to grab your honey dip (do people still say that?!) and visit the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. I went for my bday Pre-LJ, and I was geeked! I remember trying to quickly list things I was grateful for at each floor on the elevator on my way to the top. When I finally reached the observation deck, I couldn’t help but think, wow, I’m on top of the world on my bday! If you are anything like me, you will feel all the feels at the top, especially if you get to do it with your love.
Anyway, there are so many different ways to experience the Burj Khalifa. You can get a general admission ticket, which puts you on top of the world for a moment in time. Or, you can make the experience even more special by doing Tea in the Clouds, Bubbly Sundowner, or Bubbly Under the Stars.
- Category: Luxury
- Cost: Starting at $149 AED
- Website: Burj Khalifa
- Social: IG: @BurjKhalifa
Sand Duning
Of all the date ideas in Dubai, this is one of my personal faves. If you like roller coasters, you will love sand duning! You essentially ride up and down sand dunes in a 4X4 at outrageous speeds. This experience is sure to give you and your love an adrenaline rush. After your nerves have calmed down, you then have a BBQ in the desert! There are also activities such as shisha, henna, dancing, fire shows, and camel riding. This desert experience was one of my favorite parts of the trip! I can’t help but appreciate things that genuinely make you feel like you are in a different place verses just another major city.
You’re probably wondering how you get there, well typically, a driver picks you up in a 4X4 and drives you to the desert. On the way there you stop at local shops for snacks and souvenirs. Well, it’s all done, you are taken back to your hotel.
- Category: Adventure
- Cost: $68 USD
- Website: Orient Tours
- Social: IG: @orienttoursdubai
Animal Watch in a Desert Safari
If you want to experience the desert, but sand duning isn’t your thing, consider a desert safari. With this experience, you’ll be picked up in a vintage Land Rover and driven to the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve. Along with seeing the wildlife safari, you’ll visit a bird sanctuary and see a falconry demonstration. Like the sand duning experience, there will also be opportunities for shisha, henna, and camel riding. Here instead of BBQ, you will be served a 6-course meal while watching a fire show!
- Category: Luxury/Fancy
- Cost: $143 USD per person and up
- Website: Platinum Heritage
- Social: IG: @platinumheritage
Beach Day
In my humble opinion, a beach day is always a good idea! LJ hates it, but I love laying out in the sun with him. In Dubai, you have several to choose from, so you can literally beach hop all day or stay at one. Suqeim Beach, aka the Sunset Beach, has a great view of the Buji Al Arab. The Beach by JBR is a great place to people watch and partake in watersports. At the Kite Beach, you can, of course, do kite surfing. There is also beach-volleyball, paddle-boarding, and kayaking at Kite Beach.
La Mer is Dubai’ s newest beachside destination and features boutique shopping, restaurants, cafes, and watersports like wakeboarding, flyboarding, and kayaking. For the most privacy, head to Black Palace Beach. This beach is beautiful and peaceful, but there are no facilities such as bathrooms or restaurants. So go, prepared! Al Mamzar Beach Park is another good option, but it tends to have a lot of families.
I know so many options! But regardless of where you choose to go, you’ll have your love and the sun. So you can’t go wrong!
- Category: Casual
- Cost: Free
- Website: Dubai Beach Guide
Check out the Art Scene
Of all the date ideas in Dubai, here is a free ninety-nine one for you! If you or your spouse is a creative or you all enjoy art, then a trip to Alserkal Avenue is an absolute must. It is one of the most sought after platforms for contemporary art in the region. There are art galleries, non-profit organizations, and homegrown businesses in the complex. There is no shortage of cultural experiences for both local and international audiences!
- Category: Cultural
- Cost: Free
- Website: Alserkal Avenue
- Social: IG: @alserkalavenue
Skydiving
Interested in soaring 13, 000 ft above ground?! Some of you just said, “nah,” and skipped to the next date idea. Lol. But for those adrenaline loving adventure couple, you may want to consider skydiving. For a view of the desert, head to desert DZ, which is about 35 km outside of the city. To see the iconic Palm Jumeirah, go to the Palm DZ, which is located within the city.
- Category: Adventure
- Cost: $1499 AED
- Website: Skydive Dubai
- Social: IG: @skyhubdubai
Take A Boat Ride To Old Dubai
For just 1 AED, you can take a boat ride across the Dubai Creek and land in Old Dubai. Here you get a resemblance of what Dubai was like before the skyscrapers and 7 Star Hotels. To learn more about the history, head to the Dubai Museum. Then go to the Gold Souk. This is pretty cool to see but also a good place to buy jewelry for reasonable price points. If you guys love coffee, then you want to check out the Coffee Museum. Finish your visit off by having a traditional Arabic lunch.
This date idea will inspire you all to dream big and vision set! It’s pretty astonishing how much changed within a few decades in Dubai.
- Category: Cultural, Budget
- Cost: $1 AED
- Website: Visit Dubai
Hang Out In The Mall Like A Local
65. That’s how many malls are in Dubai, and ten more are on the way! The malls in Dubai aren’t just for shopping. They are essentially community centers; families and couples go here for evening walks, dinners, and fun activities like skiing, ice skating, movie theaters, underwater zoos, and aquariums. Because the temperature gets so high in Dubai, the malls are an oasis away from the heat! Go check it out and have some fun like a true local.
- Category: Other
- Website: Best Malls in Dubai
We hope you enjoy these date ideas in Dubai! Let us know in the comments if Dubai is on your bucket list or if you’ve already been!