The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the world’s fastest growing country in the world, situated on the eastern side of the Arabian peninsula, it’s home to ultra-modern Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as vast sand dunes and the beautiful beaches of the Gulf of Oman.
For such a young country, the UAE has quickly become one of the world’s most important, exciting and booming destination in the world to visit right now, thanks to his natural resources and the seventh largest oil reserve in the world. Also his strategic position between Europe and Asia, it’s the ideal connection for travellers heading from the West to the East and vice versa and with a tropical desert climate all year around you can visit it any time of the year (well summers area little too hot, so better avoid it).
When you think about the United Arab Emirates, the first thing that comes to mind is the city of Dubai, a futuristic metropolis famous for its record-breaking buildings such as the Burj Khalifa, the beautiful hotel Burj al Arab, world-class shopping malls such as Mall of the Emirates and Dubai Mall, and artificial islands such as The World (these 300 man-made islands together form a shape of a world map) and Palm Islands. Those are the largest artificial islands in the world and they are impressive. All of this sounds amazing, doesn’t it? And it is just a piece of what you can experience in this crazy, wonderful city that needs to be visit at least once in your life!

This trip was the last one before we moved to London in December 2013, and I think the only one that I didn’t plan in all my life, my aunt planned everything, I was travelling with my parents and my auntie’s family. We landed in Dubai with a direct flight from Rome, we stayed in beautiful luxury apartments (we spent around 100$ per night), 5 minutes walking from the Dubai Mall in Financial Center Street, the quality and standards of the apartments were really high like most of Dubai’s accommodations. We had an amazing seven relaxing days holiday discovering this fantastic country.
Dubai Mall, the world’s second largest, has the world’s biggest indoor aquarium, with more than 33,000 sea animals and is one of Dubai’s main tourist attraction, shopping lovers can spend hours inside the mall.
When you are done with your shopping you can visit Dubai Marina, you can sit in one of the many cafes and bars or simply have a long walk, here you will see huge yachts. Make sure to enjoy a refreshing swim as well in this area, if you will be here during the summer months from May to September temperatures could go over 45 degrees Celsius. The best way to go around the city is by taxi (they were very cheap) or by metro, there are 2 metro line but they don’t cover all the areas of Dubai.
For a “true” Arabian experience, take a day trip to the desert for a sightseeing of the golden dunes, sandboarding and camel ride. We had an amazing day, we were going up and down on the dunes of the desert with jeeps, we enjoyed a wonderful sunset with a nice local dinner inside Bedouin tents. This trip in the desert was the highlight of the week, really wonderful experience.
Another amazing experience not don’t miss is the daily fountain show at the Burji Khalifa Lake, it really is a beautiful show especially at night time or at the twilight. 

Imagine, only decades ago, before the discovery of oil in the late 1960s that brought the wealth in the area, Dubai was a modest fishing harbour renowned for its pearls, surrounded by an arid desert inhabited by Bedouins.
Dubai is also known for its local souks, or traditional markets, where you’ll be surrounded with stalls of vendors selling spices, tea, diamonds, precious stones and gold. We arrived in the spice souk in the Deira area floating along the Dubai Creek in a local wooden ferry, called abra.

Just over an hour driving from Dubai you will find another spot that cannot be missed, Abu Dhabi. It is the perfect combination of skyscrapers and historical sites. The city has plenty of attractions to entertain both locals and visitors like the Ferrari World (really nice park, with the world’s fastest rollercoaster with a speed of 0 to 240 km/h in 4.9 second) and the Warner Bros, gorgeous beaches and on the other hand, the stunning Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and the Al-Hosn Fort (the oldest building in the city) will be ideal for those who enjoy different styles.