Marina Beach and Jumeirah Beach Residence (Jumeirah Beach Residence) is a relatively new area with a distinct western character of Dubai, the JBR is home to many Europeans who have settled in the city. The neighborhood offers a lively promenade, Dubai's busiest open beach with countless water sports activities, and access to hundreds of restaurants and bars within a few minutes' walk.

✅ Advantages:

A spacious public beach with all the associated services.

The most relaxed dress and alcohol code in Dubai.

A large variety of entertainment places within walking distance.

Quick access to the metro.

The marina beach is adjacent to the JBR neighborhood and from there you can admire the tallest skyscrapers in the city. The entire area is surrounded by a seawater channel one hundred meters wide and three kilometers long.

❌ Disadvantages:

Far from the center: the nearest central shopping area is the Mall of the Emirates, 7 km away, 25 km from the downtown area, and the other markets are significantly further away.

For those interested in a more traditional and authentic Dubai, the less modern parts of the city, including the old port and historic mosques, are 30 kilometers away.

Among the most expensive areas in the city.

Attractions in the area:

The Marina Mall (Dubai Marina Mall): quieter than the big malls with branded stores, a selection of restaurants and a cinema.

Ain Dubai: a giant wheel, with an emphasis on the giant, at a height of 250 meters.

Aquafun (Aquafun Dubai): an inflatable water park that floats in front of the JBR beach.

Water sports activities and beach clubs.

Skydive Dubai Club: in the northern part of the Marina Bay.

Omega Dubai Marina (Xline Dubai Marina): one kilometer long, 170 meters high and at a speed of over 80 km/h.

Bricks 4 Fun: Lego mini park adjacent to the boardwalk - building with Lego, creative challenges, Lego games on PlayStation consoles and a toy store.

The Palm is one of the most unusual buildings in Dubai and in the entire world: an artificial island in the shape of a palm tree with a radius of seven kilometers connected to the city by road and monorail (monorail). The outer side of the island, facing the expanses of the Persian Gulf, is home to luxury hotels with private beaches. The most famous of these hotels is Atlantis de Palm, which includes a huge aquarium with more than six hundred species of marine animals, a large water park and areas for meeting dolphins and sea lions. It also has suites and an underwater restaurant.

✅ Advantages:

A unique island, like no other in the world, man-made.

Beautiful views towards the city skyline and the sea.

Fine resorts.

❌ Disadvantages:

Among the most expensive areas to live in.

The departure from the island towards the central parts of the city adds between 3 and 5 kilometers to each journey compared to the departure from the JBR beaches or the marina - and we are talking about journeys of 20 kilometers and more even before this addition.

Attractions in the area:

Atlantis Aquaventure Waterpark - even those who are not staying at the Atlantis Hotel can, for a fee, spend time in the impressive waterpark on the hotel grounds, tickets to the park also include entry to the hotel's huge aquarium.

In the "tribe" of the island you will find Nakheel Mall ("Mall of Date Trees"), a luxury shopping center with about 300 shops and restaurants that offers a variety of culinary experiences on the roof of the building.

Jumeirah is a highly touristic coastal area, a row of hotels and resort areas with quality private beaches, behind which are villas and lower residential buildings, in contrast to the towers of the JBR. Also unlike JBR, here the separation between the tourist area and the residential areas is clear: in JBR you will be surrounded by locals (although many of them are western and not necessarily Middle Eastern) and in Jumeirah, as long as you stay on the beach and in the resort areas, you will be surrounded mainly by other tourists.

Jumeirah's clear advantage over JBR is its relative proximity to the rest of the city, including downtown and the historic city. On the other hand, the selection of restaurants and nightlife here is more modest.

✅ Advantages:

A full recreation area, including the Wild Wadi water park, which is included in the price of accommodation in some hotels.

A central location, which allows access in a reasonable time to most parts of the city: adjacent to the marina, 5 km to downtown, 8 km to Bur Dubai.

Excellent beaches, including the public Jumeirah Beach and Kite Beach, with a selection of water sports activities.

❌ Disadvantages:

Very touristy. The area is full of hotels.

The neighborhood itself, beyond the beach area, is not interesting. Both entertainment seekers and culture seekers will have to go to other areas of the city to find their satisfaction.

The central area offers the "shining Dubai" from the city's promotional videos, with wide boulevards with luxury shops, prestigious clubs and gourmet restaurants. Along with quick access to Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world which is almost 830 meters high, and the enormous Dubai Mall (1,200 stores on an area of half a million square meters) with attractions for children and adults for whole days.

The center is also the most expensive area to live in the city.

✅ Advantages:

Central, relatively close to many of the city's shopping areas and attractions, including the more traditional parts of Dubai: Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall within walking distance, 6 km to Bur Dubai and the Old City, 13 km to Deira and its open markets

A large selection of quality restaurants and places of entertainment.

Nightlife with crazy parties.

❌ Disadvantages:

Far from the best open beach in JBR, more than 20 km

Relatively expensive area.

The historic heart of the city with the Al-Fahidi Fort from the end of the 18th century, when Dubai was not much more than a village, and mosques from the 19th century. Along with the slightly later Deira area, which is on the other side of the Dubai Creek, this is the part where you will find the traditional past of the city, before oil wealth changed its face from the ground up, including several museums dedicated to this subject.

This is also the place to find the most authentic and cheapest Indian restaurants in Dubai.

✅ Advantages:

The cheapest area in Dubai.

For history buffs and those who want to feel the cultural roots of the Gulf.

❌ Disadvantages:

Limited options in the areas of catering and entertainment.

Far from most resorts: 14 km to Jumeirah Country, 25 km to JBR and Palm Jumeirah.

The area across the Dubai Creek, where the original city expanded in Bur Dubai, is almost as cheap as the old city, but with more modern construction and a larger selection of restaurants and bars - and at the end of it is the city's airport. Deira is also home to three large and lively traditional markets - the gold market (jewellery), the spice market and the perfume market, the city's old port, Port Said, named after the famous Egyptian port city, and a dolphinarium.

✅ Advantages:

Access to the metro and proximity to the airport (7 km) and the city center (Bur Dubai is across the creek and downtown 10-13 km away)

The largest open market in the city.

A cheap area in relation to the city.

❌ Disadvantage:

20-30 km away from the best vacation and bathing areas.

A relatively quiet neighborhood between Bur Dubai and Dubai Creek, Al Jadaf was once an area dedicated entirely to the craft of building the dhow, the sailing ship that is one of the symbols of the city, and is also today home to several shipyards and sailing clubs. You can find a selection of hotels at reasonable prices, and on its south side it borders the Ras Al-Khor reserve (Ras Al-Khor, "the head of the stream"), an excellent place to watch birds, including about five hundred flamingos that nest there. The Culture Village on the bank of the river is a relatively new development, a combination of a park, a tourist center and a museum of the culture, architecture and history of the bay.

✅ Advantages:

Cheap and quiet area.

Adjacent to Nahal Dubai and the nature reserve.

Not far from the historic city (7 km), Festival City (5 km) and the modern center of Dubai (about 9 km).

❌ Disadvantage:

Far from the beaches and most tourist entertainment centers (17 km to Jumeirah Beach, 31 km to JBR Beach).

Dubai Festival City (Dubai Festival City)

Opposite Al-Jadaf, on the opposite bank of the Dubai Creek, a super modern neighborhood was established in the middle of the first decade of the millennium with an investment of more than three billion dollars. Festival City was planned from the beginning as an integrated neighborhood that would support long-term residence, commerce and hi-tech, as well as culture, sports and tourism.

Festival City is not cheap and far from most tourist areas, but on the other hand it offers a large selection of modern restaurants and bars, a shopping mall with 475 stores, 12 movie theaters and an amusement park, a golf club and a number of quality hotels with river views.

✅ Advantages:

A new and spacious neighborhood on the banks of the river.

A relatively expensive area to live in.

Close to the airport and not far from historic Dubai and downtown (about 12 km).

The large shopping and entertainment center Festival City Mall.

❌ Disadvantage: far from the good beaches: 18 km to Jumeirah beach, 30 km to the marina and the JBR area.

A neighborhood that is not far from the marina, the boardwalk and the beach (7 km from its western part), and is significantly cheaper than these areas. In addition to a selection of restaurants with Near and Far Eastern flavors, here you will also find the Mall of the Emirates, the second largest in the Emirates with 650 stores and its artificial indoor ski resort.

✅ Advantages:

Easy access to the metro.

A good place in the middle between the marina and JBR beach and downtown, about fifteen minutes drive each way.

Cheaper than any other option except Dubai Old City.

Mall of the Emirates.

❌ Disadvantages:

Far from the historical parts of the city (20 km).

Does not offer particularly fascinating views.

Attractions in the area:

In the huge Mall of the Emirates, you will enjoy a selection of shops and restaurants, an artificial indoor ski resort and skiing and snowboarding lessons, a 150 meter long omega and an area to meet penguins. Also in the mall is a climbing wall, a laser battle arena, a trampoline park, the luxurious Vox cinema, the Magic Planet amusement park and an official "Magnum" ice cream shop where you can put together your personal Magnum popsicle.

Al-Barsha Pond Park (Al-Barsha Pond Park). A calm park built around an artificial lake, a popular place for sports and families with children. Includes pedal or solar-powered boats, a 1,500-meter circular running track, and fitness equipment.

The Flower Garden (Miracle Garden): Bordering the southeastern side of Al-Barsha, there is a flower garden of amazing beauty, 150 million flowers arranged in giant figures and spectacular displays over an area of 72,000 square meters.