Dubai: Old & New Dubai Private Half-Day Sightseeing Tour

Dubai's split personality is easiest to grasp with someone pointing things out along the way, and that's what this private half-day sightseeing tour is built around. A licensed guide and driver take you from the man-made Palm Jumeirah, where you can walk out to The Point and see the Atlantis hotels, to the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab, photographed from its own artificial island. In between there's Madinat Jumeirah, the gold-plated horse statues near Qasr Al Jumeirah, and a drive down Sheikh Zayed Road past the Museum of the Future, where you'll stop to see the ground floor and hear about the building's design.

The tour also swings through the Zabeel District for a photo stop at Zabeel Palace and the Dubai Frame, the 150-metre gold-plated structure that marks the line between old and new Dubai. From there, you head into the older part of the city for a water taxi ride across Dubai Creek to the spice and gold souks, where the guide points out what's worth buying and explains how different spices are traditionally used. Pickup and drop-off at your Dubai hotel are included, and the route can be adjusted along the way since it's a private tour with just you and your group.

Because it's private, the pace is flexible — ask the guide questions about local history, religion, or culture as you go, and spend more or less time at each stop depending on what interests you.

Your guide and driver collect you from your Dubai hotel in an air-conditioned vehicle to start the half-day route. First stop is Palm Jumeirah, where you walk out toward The Point for views over the palm-shaped island and its beachfront hotels, followed by a photo stop at the Burj Al Arab. From there the tour continues through Madinat Jumeirah to see the horse statues near Qasr Al Jumeirah, then along Sheikh Zayed Road past the marina's skyscrapers to the Museum of the Future, where you step inside the ground floor before moving on.

The second half of the tour shifts into the Zabeel District for photo stops at Zabeel Palace and the Dubai Frame, before heading into old Dubai. Here you take a water taxi abra across Dubai Creek to the spice and gold souks, with time set aside to walk through the markets, ask about spices and their uses, and pick up souvenirs before being driven back to your hotel.