Abu Dhabi Day Trip with Family
Planning family holidays is always exciting for me. Moreover, when it is about visiting the UAE, the homework has to be big to make it as a grand trip. I was thrilled to see Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE and the largest of the seven Emirates. Furthermore, I knew from my research that this city represents the real Arabian culture. This Arabian mega town holds the heritage of the evolution and rise of the UAE. The town narrates the tale of the nation’s advancement and progression from being a tribal state to a prosperous sovereign republic.
My first concern in our UAE tour was to look for a tour guide who has enough arrangements to consider the privacy of my family members. Instead of touring with any other group, we wanted to see the city with our family. Well, I had to do much homework before planning for our trip.
I contacted TravelPlanDubai for our day trip to Abu Dhabi. Additionally, they have customised plans for families touring with them. After a series of email correspondences and few video calls, eventually, we confirmed our tour with them for 8 hours full day Abu Dhabi City Tour.
The Trip Tale
Abu Dhabi, formed with many islands like Sir Bani Yas Island, Saadiyat Island, Yas Island and Delma Island. There are a lot of fun and entertainment activities at the Yas Island. The most notable amongst them are the Yas Water Park, du Forum, Gateway Park and Golf Course. The Marina car racing circuit is also a great attraction of the city. The Saadiyat Island has formed an excellent leisure and corporate center. As a matter of fact, it has almost become a global cultural hub for people visiting Abu Dhabi from all around the world.
Abu Dhabi, recognized amongst the wealthiest nations of the world. It is known for its modern layout and magnificent skyscrapers. The beautiful architecture and excellent construction of the country make it unique in the world as a whole. The city is a dome of most excellent shopping malls and luxurious international hotels. The extensive gardens and heritage centers of Abu Dhabi attracts many tourists throughout the year. The beautiful dunes and blue sea with white beaches are biggest natural attractions of this place.
Tour Arrangement of TravelPlanDubai
TravelPlanDubai.com arranged everything in details for us before our trip. In fact, they helped us booking in one of the most beautiful hotels in Abu Dhabi. They made sure we had a smooth check-in to the hotel as we reach Abu Dhabi. It was like having someone from the family at Abu Dhabi to coordinate things for us. We received a very gracious service from team TravelPlanDubai.
TravelPlanDubai arranged an English speaking, tour guide cum driver to be with us during the entire tour. We were glad to have a fluent, good-humored and knowledgeable person as our guide for the city tour. While talking to the travel guide, we came to know about the facility of particular language tour guide that they provide on individual bookings. As per my belief, the tour guide plays an essential role in conducting any trip. The person whom we received as our Abu Dhabi City Tour Guide for the day was evenly tempered and had much knowledge stored in him about the culture and evolution of Abu Dhabi.
Our vehicle was very comfortable, and the kids took the window seats to watch the beauty of this glorious city.
TravelPlanDubai provides 8 hours Abu Dhabi City Tour Service starting from Dubai as well as from Abu Dhabi.
Places covered in Abu Dhabi City Tour:
Our journey started with the beautiful car ride along the grand streets of Abu Dhabi. The beauty of the city lies in its clean roads; Our first stoppage was at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Since we started the tour from Abu Dhabi, we missed the drive through the Jebel Ali Port. Usually, this place covered if the Abu Dhabi City Tour beginning from Dubai.
- Visiting Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque: The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which happens to be the largest mosque of the world, the moment we entered we were amazed to see the milky white tomb and four minarets right in front of our eyes. Interesting fact about this mosque is that more than 40, 000 people can offer prayer here at the same time. There are three different prayer rooms in this mosque and one more solely for women to offer their prayers. The 35-ton Iranian carpet spread on the main prayer hall of this mosque is the world’s biggest carpet. We were fascinated to see the alluring chandeliers made with millions of crystals. They shine like crystal clear moonlight. The marble floors of the mosque were grand. To add on to that was the mirror shine on them, which is absolutely excellent. The gold works on the wall pillars catch your attention towards the skilled architectural work of the mosque. We dressed accordingly as per the instructions about the dress code of the mosque. Uniquely, the dress code is long trousers for men and long sleeve top and loose fit long skirts for women, along with scarves to cover their heads.
- Drive through Al Bateen Presidential Palace: Al Bateen Presidential Palace is one of the most significant landmarks of the UAE. Sadly, neither any visitor is allowed inside the palace nor is permitted photography here. So the best way our tour guide showed us this remarkable mansion was by driving beside it. We could see the Heritage Palace from a distance and rejoice to its surrounding greenery. As told by our tour guide, this Palace has witnessed some of the significant political events of the UAE. The Palace is where the story of The United Arab Emirate’s success story laced by the former rulers of the country.
- Photo Stop at The Emirates Palace Hotel: The Emirates Palace Hotel is the most expensive hotel in the entire world. It is, in fact, another world in itself. They have private beaches, swimming pools, water sports, and lots of greenery in it. We were at a photo stop to this luxurious hotel. We clicked many pictures with the help of our tour guide. Our thirst for the beauty of this city could never have quenched if you have not visited this magnificent spot. The hotel started in the year 2006 by the Abu Dhabi government. This grand hotel built at the cost of over $6 million over an area of 850,000m². Our guide narrated us more about the hotel that it can accommodate over 2500 cars in its parking lot at a time. The deluxe suite of this hotel cost more than millions and is a dream for any person to spend a holiday.
- Visit Abu Dhabi Heritage Village (Sat-Thu 9AM-5PM, Fri 2PM-5PM): I was immensely interested and excited to visit the Heritage Village of Abu Dhabi. I read a lot about this place in various blogs and articles before. Not to mention, it is the representation of the entire Arabian cultural heritage of the city in itself. This cultural spot narrates the glorious history of the evolution of Abu Dhabi. In the same fashion this miniature was built to preserve the history of Abu Dhabi since the discovery of oil mines. We were looking forward to seeing this spot as we had a great interest in knowing how this tribe became so much rich in just a few decades.
As I was with my family, we decided to spend some time there. At this stage, I realized having a private tour guide as an advantage. There was no other family with us to have their different opinion in utilizing time at various spots. We could have decided for ourselves where we wanted to stay and where not. My kids loved the place. They have seen those big Arabic camels for the first time. They stood in front of the tents to look at the camels and Arabian horses in the stables. Moreover, we saw the most heard Arabian falconry show here. We never knew this thing could be so exciting to experience.
We spent some time at the beach. My kids were all excited to play on the seashore. They rarely get such opportunities back home. We relaxed over a cup of Arabian tea and enjoyed the music on the shores. The Arabian Gulf water touched our feet and filled us with divine serenity.
We went on to see the Abu Dhabi Heritage Museum. It has depicted the Arabian artistry and craftwork beautifully. The hall was completely air-conditioned. We came to know about the Arabian culture through the pottery and metalwork exhibition. Sections were showing the thread and lace-work of the city. Ladies from my family spent quite some time in these activities.
We spend some time at the heritage mosque. We explored various religious books and documents over there. Our guide told us about the restriction on women to enter the mosque as it was prayer time there.
We collected gift items for our friends and family back home. The shopping part of the heritage village was worth spending some time. We picked up unique collectibles to gift as souvenirs. Honestly, this was the most exciting attraction in our Abu Dhabi City Tour. Returning from this spot, I could feel myself full of knowledge about the growth and progression of this city.
- Drive through Abu Dhabi Corniche: We continued our trip and drove through the Abu Dhabi Corniche. To be honest, I enjoyed the car ride more than anything else. The grand luxurious car was uber-comfortable. The beautiful roads and the prompt traffic system made our drive more joyous. Of course, our guide was an excellent driver, and he engaged us with his humor and friendliness. We headed towards the Corniche which covers an area of 8 kilometers. The manicured waterfront has a lovely view from all the sides. My kids again went crazy to see the beautiful children’s park. We spent some time in the cafeteria there and went towards the Corniche Beach. The beach is quite extensive. It stretches from the Hilton Hotel to the Al Khaleej Al Arabi Street. Abu Dhabi’s Corniche beach is recognized to be of balanced eco-label and assures safe bathing water. There was no scope of enjoying the sea water as it was a weekday and they only allow entering the sea on weekends. I was assured of the kid’s safety as I saw the lifeguards around. The authorities have adequately maintained every rule and regulation in the city. The discipline of the city is worth a watch.
- Visit Date Market: We have had heard a lot about the Date Market of Abu Dhabi. Moreover, yes, this was a place where we wanted to visit. Apart from buying some of the best dates of the world, we wanted to experience the charm of this famous date market. Since we were there during winters, our tour guide told us about the variety of stock that we can explore at this time. We went to the Mina Date Market first and then visited the Central Market.
Before we started our journey from home, our near and dear ones had handed us over their date requirements. So, it was one of our priorities to visit the market. As we entered the busy date market, we could see souks displaying best samples of dates and date traders involved in negotiation with the customers. There were many tourists in the market other than us. They have all came to meet their fondness for this exotic dry fruit. The shopkeepers were very cordial with the tourists. Even if many choose not to buy them, the shop owners will greet them all with fare sentiments. We tasted the local dates like Lulu and Khlas. My kids were overwhelmed to eat the chocolate and caramel dates. It was the first time for them to feel the date syrups, and they thoroughly enjoyed it. Our tour guide briefed us about the date import-export market. Dates usually import from Saudi Arabia and Oman. The Abu Dhabi Dates exports to all parts of the world. The European countries have unique demands for Abu Dhabi dates like the Majdool, Khudri, Ajwa, Mabrum, Sugai, Shalabi, Khalas, Sheshi, Sukari, Safawi, and Kaneezi Dates. My wife collected few boxes for friends back home. She bought few for herself as she wanted to store some for her dessert preparation.
Apart from dates, we purchased some fresh exotic watermelons from the same market. They tasted great. We collected some Turkish potatoes for ourselves. We had heard about them a lot before and finally got an opportunity to receive them.
Seriously the date market walk was an experience for our entire family. I am glad that my kids came to know about such old cultures of this city. We are happy to witness such cores of Arabian life through this expedition. Yes, we captured these lovely moments in our camera. These moments are going to be with us forever.
- Photo Stop at Ferrari World Theme Park – Yas Island: The Ferrari World Theme Park, situated at Yas Island, is one of the most popular water parks in the entire world. This waterpark has everything that anyone can ever think. My kids were already excited to go to this waterpark. Since we had not much time with us, we choose to photo stop there and enjoy the beauty of it. We had to settle on enjoying clicking pictures of the thrilling and electrifying rides of this waterpark.
Our guide briefed us about this majestic waterpark. The exciting water-slides, rides, rapids and sheet waves were magnificent to see. Next time we will surely enjoy this waterpark. We will spend some more time here on our next visit to Abu Dhabi and experience the thrilling water rides.
Afterword
We got everything in Abu Dhabi what we came in search of here at the UAE. Our thirst for the knowledge about the Arabian culture quenched here. Credit goes to our Abu Dhabi City Tour planner who kept us amazed at his understanding of the city, its culture, and history. Before we visited the UAE, our query lied on the topic of its evolution as one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Thanks to TravelPlanDubai.com. They took us through wealthiest lanes of Abu Dhabi to help us understand the city better. Not to forget is their luxurious ride and the beautiful streets of the town. This drive is something to remember all our lives. We covered du Forum, Abu Dhabi golf course, Gateway Park and the beautiful skyscrapers in our car ride. Our guide dropped us back to the hotel. We wish to revisit the city with TravelPlanDubai.com and see the cultural heritage of the Arabian life.
