Dubai is one of those places you just have to see to believe. Everything is big, overdone, and generally insane. The funny thing is that while I was there it didn’t feel very crowded, leading me to believe that all these super tall buildings were probably empty! Nevertheless, it’s someplace you should definitely see once.
Dubai Airport & Accessible Transportation
I arrived at the Dubai airport just after midnight. By that time the trains were no longer running and didn’t start up until early in the morning. As a result, I decided to hang out for a few hours until they started up. Call me a masochist, but after 20 hours of traveling, what is a few more?
As a result, I was treated to one of the coolest train rides ever. I missed the first train so the second one was empty except for me, in the very front of the car. So I got to stare out the front of the train at all the amazing lights and buildings on the track. It felt like a roller coaster.
I got a Dubai Metro Gold Pass for the trains and it was well worth the more expensive price for the entire trip. You can get into the special car at the front (or back) of the train and they are much less crowded.
The train was very easy to use, in fact, next to Singapore’s metro system, the train system in Dubai was one of the best and newest in the world. No gaps, no need for help. All the stations are practically new and accessible. I highly recommend using this as a primary mode of transit on the trip.
I was reading about Dubai’s recent focus on People of Determination (their term for people with disabilities which is charming). One part of this is a focus on accessible taxis there and rides were free when I was there for disabled riders. I didn’t need it because I stuck to places that were along the transit routes. I imagine they’d be helpful if you wanted to go further into the outer areas. I was able to get all the way to the coast using public transit on the trains and the tram. I also rolled a lot.
There is a hop-on-hop off bus or two, and I did use this to tour around one day. It was totally accessible and goes to many places you might not get to if you only took the train.
The only drawback to getting around was the curb cut situation. I found myself darting into the street many times when curbs were either not cut at all or had little steps I could get stuck on. It was doable however and not impossible. People were helpful if it looked like I needed it. This is something I would think the Dubai government could fix in a heartbeat if they wanted to. I hope they do!
Dubai Accessible Places to Stay (or not stay)
This was a frustrating aspect of this trip. It wasn’t always easy to get information on accessibility. I did end up staying at the Gevora Hotel which was very nice and not terribly expensive. Despite the amazing staff, I would not recommend staying there as the accessible room was awful. I was originally put in a regular room and the bathroom door was too small, but the view was amazing. They moved me way down to the accessible room but the view was horrible. The windows were not clean at all, despite the fact that the building’s window washing equipment was out on the terrace right outside my window.
In addition the bathroom flooded whenever I took a shower. I’ve never had the experience where the water actually escaped the bathroom and ran out into the main part of the room. It’s clear that a lot of this construction was rushed and no detail was put into the accessible room, unfortunately.
It did have a nice location right near one of the metro stops and I highly recommend finding lodging near a stop. If you like to be by the water, however, you’ll have quite a trek to get to any of the tourist spots if you rely on the tram or train as the metro is mostly inland.
Accessible things to do in Dubai
If it’s hot out (so always) you can have fun at the malls for sure. Any of the big malls are worth the trip. Huge doesn’t even begin to describe them. The Mall of the Emirates and Dubai Malls are so big they have multiple food courts. I got lost in both of them and it was fantastic!
One day I spent at the Dubai Mall and also went to the top of Burj Khalifa. The building is so big you don’t even feel like it’s real. The staff was very helpful in getting me in the proper line and I had no problems at all. At the top it was a little crowded but again the staff was helpful in moving people out of my way if necessary. From there I saw the sunset and the fountain show. If you time it right you can see both, so I definitely recommend going before sunset so you’re there in time.
I wasn’t in Dubai long enough to do a lot, but I also took the metro and tram over to the Dubai Marina which had lots of cool tall buildings, but not much else. There were beaches and resorts along there as well and I ended up having brunch at the Westin (the only place I saw bacon on the entire trip, lol). I tried to take the tram to the Palm Jumeirah but I didn’t have cash on me and they didn’t take a card. I wasn’t going to roll all the way out there.
Instead I ended up taking the hop-on, hop off bus from the Marina area around the Palm and back to the mall.
The one thing I didn’t get to that I wanted to do was go to the Miracle Garden but I was so tired and my battery was running low so I couldn’t. Check it out though because it looked cool!
Dubai Summary
The experience of Dubai was incredible. It’s unlike any place on Earth, in a very man-made way. It’s Vegas times ten without the casinos (they even bleeped out the word “poker” on the movie I watched in my hotel). If I were to go back, I’d head straight to Abu Dhabi instead of spending much time in Dubai because I didn’t have a chance. But don’t get me wrong, if you haven’t been there, Dubai should be on your list!
You Should Go Anyway 
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