On my recent trip to the United Arab Emirates with my friend Vanessa, we stayed in Dubai but I really wanted to visit Abu Dhabi too, even though we were a bit short on time. Abu Dhabi is located 1-1.5 hours away from Dubai and one can easily just go there for the day. However we chose to stay in the city overnight to be able to see a little bit more, and not be in that much of a rush. In this article, I’ll share the top 5 things I recommend checking out while visiting this city!

1- Sheikh Zayed Mosque

First on the list is definitely the Grand Mosque. Sheikh Zayed’s Mosque is one of the world’s largest mosques and is so impressive. The place is open daily from 9am to 10pm (except on Fridays), although I would recommend going there early because it gets very crowded. It is completely free to visit, but you’ll have to enter your personal information in a machine in order to get your free entry ticket. Visitors are required to wear proper clothing, which means that most parts of the body should be covered (shoulders and knees for men) and women need to wear a headscarf. They lend traditional abayas to women onsite so don’t worry if you don’t have a suitable outfit at home.

Can you believe the construction of the mosque was completed in 2007?

2- Louvre Abu Dhabi

The newly built Louvre Museum was something I really wanted to visit. I love going to the museum, especially when I’m in other countries so when I heard that there was a Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi, I was really excited to go see what it was like. Tickets are sold 63AED and you can buy one online on the museum’s website in advance, that way you won’t have to wait when you get there! During your visit, don’t forget to check out the stunning architecture of the dome.

3- Emirates Palace

The Emirates Palace is a luxury 5-star hotel located in the heart of Abu Dhabi. It is conveniently located since from there, you can easily go to the Presidential Palace, the Marina Mall or the Heritage Village.

4- Shangri-La Hotel

We decided to book a night at the Shangri-La hotel for a few reasons: it is close to the highway to go back to Dubai, it faces the Grand Mosque, and it has its own private beach! It did not disappoint, we had an amazing experience and would go back in a heartbeat!

5- Al Khatim Desert

The next morning, we woke up before sunrise because we had booked a desert safari. Our driver picked us up at the hotel lobby, and we drove for about 45 minutes before we reached the desert. Then we drove another 10 minutes to get to a viewpoint where we watched the sunrise while drinking tea and eating dates. What a memorable experience, we had a blast! We were all by ourselves with no one else around. Our tour guide Razak was absolutely lovely and took hundreds of pictures of us.

After the sun was up, we went and did some dune riding in the jeep (which almost made me throw up! 🤷🏻‍♀️) and we also visited a camel farm, which I really liked! I had a very special bond with one of the camels.

We booked our experience with Emirates Tours & Safaris, and I would really recommend them!

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