United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates on the southeast corner of the Arabian Peninsula, and for Georgian travelers it has become one of the most popular winter and family destinations from Tbilisi. Dubai and Abu Dhabi dominate the itinerary, with daily nonstop flights, no inflight time-zone burden, and a large Russian-speaking service workforce that makes navigation easy for Georgians who do not speak Arabic.

Dubai is the main entry point for first visits. Downtown holds the 828-meter Burj Khalifa, the Dubai Mall, the Dubai Fountain and the new Museum of the Future. Old Dubai, around Deira and Bur Dubai across the Creek, has the gold and spice souks and the Al Fahidi historic district. Palm Jumeirah, the artificial palm-shaped island, holds Atlantis the Palm and several beach resorts. Abu Dhabi, ninety minutes south by car, is built around the white-marble Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Qasr Al Watan and the Yas Island theme parks including Ferrari World and Warner Bros World. Beyond the two big cities, the Hajar Mountains around Hatta and the Liwa desert dunes are common day or overnight trips.

The best window is November to March, when daytime highs sit around 25 to 30 degrees. April starts to heat up and June through September regularly exceeds 45 degrees with high humidity on the coast, so outdoor sightseeing becomes impractical between 10am and 5pm.

The currency is the UAE dirham (AED), pegged to the US dollar at around 3.67 per dollar. Arabic is official but English is the working language of business, signage and almost all customer service. Public transport in Dubai runs on the Nol card, which works on the Dubai Metro, tram and most buses, with Careem and Uber covering on-demand rides at low cost.

Flying from Georgia, flydubai, Wizz Air and FlyOne Armenia operate Tbilisi (TBS) to Dubai (DXB and DWC) and to Sharjah (SHJ), with Emirates serving the route via codeshare on the flydubai metal. Flight time Tbilisi to Dubai is about 3h 45m to 4h direct. Typical round-trip fares from Tbilisi range from 500 GEL on Wizz Air in low season up to 1,800 GEL during the December to early-January peak. Georgian citizens need an e-visa or visa on arrival to enter the UAE: the standard 30-day tourist e-visa can be arranged through any UAE airline at the time of ticketing for around 350 to 400 AED, and approval is usually confirmed within three to five working days, so book the visa as soon as the ticket is issued.