Travel review of Abu Dhabi - desert oasis?

In January 2017 we travelled to the UAE to embark on a Celebrity Cruise through India on to Singapore (Check out how we evaluate what cruise to choose here!). We decided to spend a few days ahead of time in Abu Dhabi. Not exactly sure what drew us to Abu Dhabi. We had seen some shows on it, and understood the different cultural and social norms we would experience there. It was something else entirely that we experienced there that we are sharing in this travel review of Abu Dhabi.

Observations

Sky scrapers, open spaces, manicured lawns of green grass surrounded by desert. The city had sprung up out of the ground and seemed to grow the large towers. Yet, everywhere we looked there was no one walking around. No families in the parks, no pedestrians on the sidewalks; a periodic jogger running along with headphones on; everyone, in their cars. No one at bus stops. Large SUVs with tinted windows whizzing by.

Our travel review of Abu Dhabi would be incomplete without noting we took the HOHO around the city and went out to Ferrari World. There were people in and about the office towers. There were people at Ferrari World. After a few hours enjoying the rides and food at Ferrari World (it was AWESOME!!) there were a lot of people. We like Ferrari’s – here, a lot of people there LOVE them. Everywhere you look – SUVs or sports cars.

We spent some time one afternoon in one of the malls – Yas Mall . Very nice, excellent selection of stores, and a steady stream of business. We did get the sense that a lot of tourists don’t typically shop in the mall. It much more seemed to cater to the locals. Shopping around our hotel area on our last day, in contrast, seemed setup for more western tourists.

A concrete shell of a city which seemed to lack some soul. We didn’t not like it. We just couldn’t find some of the nuggets of personality we look for to better understand the people.

Recommendations

Eat & Accommodation:

To be fair, we did have a number of our meals at our hotel Southern Sun. Hytes Bar in the hotel served great happy hour drinks. The breakfasts were fantastic large, sumptuous, feasts of many types of food, all available made to order, and with wonderful coffee. Kept us full for much of the day!

Activities:

As noted, the hop-on hop-off is great for getting around and getting your bearings. Note it is a good 1-1.5 hours to go one way out to Ferrari World. This is with the bus going on the highway, at highway speeds. Makes for a different, windy experience if you are sitting up top of the double decker!

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is an amazing architectural attraction. It’s one of the stops along the HOHO; The Corniche is great to walk along just for the awe-inspiring juxtaposition of ocean-concrete-manicured lawn-skyscraper all in one glance; Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is simply beautiful. The hour long tour is well worth your time. It gives you a lot of in-depth information on the mosque, calls-to-prayer, and insights to their faith.

Arrival:

A note on flying in to UAE and specifically Abu Dhabi. We were given conflicting information which made our entrance into the country a nervous one. It was a breeze! The officials at the airport were helpful, English-speaking and keen to ensure our visit to Abu Dhabi was a great one. From ensuring we speedily got through passport control to finding our hired driver, we found the arrival experience excellent. Don’t be surprised by the number of people in the airport. It was PACKED with people, and we understand that this is normal. For more information: Airport