7 Days in Dubai: What to Do, Where to Stay, and How to Experience the City Like a Local

Spending 7 days in Dubai, a seven-day itinerary designed to balance iconic landmarks, cultural depth, and local flavor. Also known as a Dubai week-long trip, it’s long enough to go beyond the postcard shots and truly feel the pulse of the city. You won’t just see skyscrapers—you’ll taste the spice markets, ride an abra at sunset, and sleep where the locals do.

Where you stay makes all the difference. Business Bay, a quiet, modern district with direct metro access and skyline views without the tourist crowds gives you more value than Downtown. But if you want beachfront luxury, Palm Jumeirah, a man-made island packed with high-end hotels, yacht charters, and water sports is where the wealthy unwind. And if you want culture, skip the malls—head to Dubai Creek, the historic heart of the city where traders once bartered gold and spices, and hop on an abra for less than a dollar.

Seven days isn’t enough to do everything, but it’s plenty to do it right. You’ll want to hit the Dubai attractions everyone talks about—Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall, and the Dubai Frame—but save time for the hidden stuff too. Visit Jumeirah Mosque for free guided tours, eat shawarma from a cart near Al Fahidi, and take a sustainable desert safari at dusk when the sand turns gold. Skip the overpriced dinner cruises—book a private yacht on Palm Jumeirah instead, and watch the city lights flicker as the sun goes down. You’ll find out why meat costs so much here, why Coke prices vary wildly between hotels and supermarkets, and which banks foreigners actually trust. And yes, you’ll learn who lives here—real celebrities, not just the ones you see on Instagram.

This isn’t a checklist. It’s a roadmap. Over the next seven days, you’ll move from the glitter of Burj Al Arab to the quiet calm of a local mosque, from the buzz of a food market to the silence of the desert under a million stars. The posts below cover every piece of this puzzle: where to sleep, what to eat, how to save money, and where to find the real Dubai beyond the billboards. No fluff. No filler. Just what works.