7 days in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

The route at a glance

Days 1–5: let each part of Dubai have its day

Follow the five-day Dubai plan: Old Dubai, Downtown, Marina/JBR, the Palm or a personal-interest day, then a desert outing. Put the more tiring activity before a lighter day if that suits your group.

A week does not require seven days of paid attractions. A slower beach morning or a repeat visit to a neighbourhood you enjoyed is often the most useful space in the plan.

Day 6: move to Abu Dhabi

Travel after breakfast, leave luggage at your accommodation where arranged, and use your booked visitor slot for Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Check its dress and visitor guidance before leaving. Our Abu Dhabi guide explains how the mosque fits with the other main sights.

Spend the later part of the day on the Corniche or over a meal. If you want Qasr Al Watan as well, check the actual journey and opening window; move it to tomorrow if the day is becoming a sequence of deadlines.

Day 7: a museum and island day, or Yas

For art and architecture, give Louvre Abu Dhabi a substantial part of the day and keep any Saadiyat beach visit optional. For a park trip, use the whole day on Yas Island instead. These are two different versions of the day.

This plan assumes you can travel the following day. If your return flight is on day 7, work backwards from the airport deadline and shorten the programme. For a Dubai departure, arrange the return transfer with enough margin rather than planning a park closing time immediately before the drive.

A week without changing hotels

Keep Dubai as your base and replace the Abu Dhabi portion with a Hatta day and a Sharjah city day. Both require planned transport, but neither requires a new hotel. Another option is one organised Abu Dhabi day trip and one free day.

For quieter desert scenery, swap a conventional safari for Mleiha. For a confirmed early camel race, use Al Marmoom as the morning’s main event. Do not promise yourself all these alternatives within the same week.

Summer and families

Choose indoor attractions for the middle of summer days and allow recovery time after an outdoor outing. Families can keep the same route with fewer stops, rather than needing a second, busier itinerary.

If the mountain, oasis and smaller-emirate visits are what interest you most, use the two-week UAE route and spend fewer days on Dubai’s headline attractions.