Actually, I totally forgot to ask about Ramadan! D'oh, I knew there was something!

We're planning to go Mid-Late September, so this would be during Ramadan. I realise that the locals will be fasting from sunrise to sunset each day, however are there any other restrictians? Will it be easy to get food in restaurants/hotels during the day? Will shops and markets be open or will they be shut down?

Does Ramadan have much of an effect on Dubai from a tourists point of view? Will there be activities/tours/shops shut down during Ramadan?

Thanks again for any advice!

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luci

Ramadan is from the 1st to 30th of September or as near to those dates that make no matter.Living in Qatar I would say wait untill October to travel.The weather will be still quite warm 40+. I will be on a Silver Budgie out of here 4th September untill 2nd October.

I'd agree and wait till October, it will still be hot in Sept. During Ramadam you can't eat or drink in public places though some hotels will serve non alcoholic beverages. There is no live music during Ramadam and some places will have restricted opening hours, the good point is it is usually cheaper to go during Ramadam.

Have you any children with you?

It depends on budget with dubai. we stayed at Ritz Carlton which is expensive. Le Royal Meridian beach and spa is a good hotel which is next door to Ritz. You'll not have any probs with taxis. Jumeriah beach hotels are not far from shopping areas.

Jo

We have been to dubai in september 3 times before and "yes" it is hot but not unbearable. if you are around the pool, then just make sure you keep going in to cool down. In Dubai, around the pools, there wll be guys who go around with iced water, fruit kebebs and ice cold cloths. All the sunloungers around the pool and beach area of Mina Salam have shades on them so you don't have to ever be in the sun if you don't want to. Out and about is not really a problem as everything is air conditioned. You cannot really walk around in Dubai, due to the roads and construction, but taxi's are dirt cheap and Mina Salam does run free shuttle buses to the shoppng malls etc. The Mina Salam, which is part of the Medinat Resort and consists of 3 hotels - Mina Salam, Al Qasr and Dar al masyaf. You are able to use the restaurants and facilities of all 3. We stayed at Dar al masyaf last year, but spent most of our time at Al Qasr pool. We have also been during Ramadan and it didn't really have much effect on our holiday. Out and about you are not allowed to eat and ddrink in public, but the resorts like Mina does alow soft drinks. water around the pool area. There is no live music so don't know if that would effect you or not. There are also Iftar tents on the grounds of the Medinat Resort which have fabulous buffets once the fasting is over and it is a good way to join in with the locals. Some hotels have areas cordoned off for eating in during the day and some don't bother. During Ramadan is considerably cheaper so it may be worth thinking about if you want to save some money. Also, the malls are all open much later, some until 02.00am. The good thing about the medinat Resort is that there is no building work there. we go back in 3 weeks time for our 6th visit to Dubai and I'm still as excited as I was on my first visit. You will love Dubai.
Hope that helps but if you have anymore questions then just ask. Alsojust to mention that a lot of hotels have offers on for free half board etc. so it is worth checking some out. I know Royal mirage are doing it. That is one of the hotels we will be staying at this visit. We stayed there 2 years ago and loved it, although the Palm building work is visible from the hotel, but had no impact at all on our stay.

..forgot to say....if you are on prescription medication, then there won't be a problem. just make sure you take your medication in it's original box and get a letter from your GP just to confirm you are prescribed it. The chances of you getting stopped are minimal, but if you do, there won't be a problem if you have a GP letter.
For excursions, there are just so many things you an do. if you go to mall of teh emirates you will also have the ski slope that you could visit if that is your thing. if you go on to "Arabian adventures" website, there you will see a huge selection of tours/excursions you can do in Dubai. One place you must visit is the Burj Al Arab. It is amazing and you will either love it or hate it, but you cannot go to Dubai without seeing it. Maybe you could book afternoon tea there on day. if you stay at Mina Salam, you can get a buggy to take you to it as it is the sister hotel of the Medinat resort. The gold souk is a must too and also the Gold and Diamond Park is highly recommended. You can also take a dinner cruise up the creek in the evening which is nice to do.