UAE in January — 2024: weather, tourist reviews and prices

Dubai in January bursts with the number of tourists and shimmers with Christmas lights. But this is only at the beginning of the month, and then comes an excellent period for an inexpensive vacation by the sea.

From personal experience, I can say that Dubai is pleasant in winter both in terms of weather conditions, prices, and some other points. Therefore, if you are planning your upcoming winter vacation in the UAE, then this article will give you the green light.

So, next, I will tell you which Dubai is in January and what the weather and sea temperature are there, what entertainment to fill your New Year holidays with, which of the emirates, besides Dubai, to choose for the best vacation, and which hotel to stay in.

UAE weather in January — water and air temperature

Let’s start with the question — what is the expected weather in Dubai in January 2024 (focusing on last year). In short, usually the air temperature in the UAE in January varies from +18°C at night to +24°C during the day. From personal experience, I can say that it is quite comfortable for a beach and entertainment vacation. You can walk from DMCC metro station to Dubai Marina Beach and stay fresh, as if you just left the hotel))

The January weather here is characterized by mild fluctuations in night and daytime temperatures and a predominance of sunny days. This is not a high season at all, but it is clear and cloudless in the UAE on average 27 days out of 31.

The average air temperature in the UAE resorts in January:

Where is the best place in the UAE in January? In general, there is no fundamental difference between the five main resorts, but the air warms up the most in Dubai and Sharjah, which can be explained by denser urban development, and least of all in Fujairah, which, moreover, is located in the Gulf of Oman.

I visited Dubai in January 2023 and after the humid and hot Indonesian climate, I was very pleased with the pleasant morning coolness, daytime warmth and evening refreshing breeze. Therefore, I would return to the Emirates at this time of the year, but to another resort for new experiences.

Is it possible to swim in Dubai (UAE) in January?

The sea in the UAE in January, in my opinion, is well suited for swimming. But this is for me, who was seasoned by swimming in the May Volga.

Of course, the water here at this time of the year is in no way similar to the “fresh milk” loved by many, but refreshing yourself after the sun or a walk can be very useful. If you like to swim exclusively in the sea warmer than +25°C, then look at other January destinations or hotels with a heated pool.

The average water temperature in the UAE resorts in January:

Despite the coolness in the air, Fujairah has the warmest water in January. Abu Dhabi was the least fortunate with the weather benefits. Interestingly, the UAE has the highest sea temperature in early January, and by the end of the month it gets cooler everywhere. The thing is that water heats up and cools down slower than air.

How to dress in January in the UAE?

A logical question that may arise after the section about the weather is what kind of clothes to take with you in January in the UAE?

It will be enough to stock up:

✔️A swimsuit for the beach or pool,
✔️with shorts and skirts,
✔️T-shirts for daytime walks,
✔️light trousers and shirts for protection from the sun and for excursions to the desert,
✔️as well as a sweatshirt or hoodie for a possible cool evening or morning.

If you are a girl, a girl, a woman, thinking about the possible strict mores of an Arab country … then put aside doubts about the length above the knee: even bicycles and a tight top in Dubai no longer surprise anyone. Also, do not forget about sunglasses, hats and, of course, creams with spf — then your vacation will pass without unexpected ill health due to overheating, and the tan will be even.

Where is it better to go to the UAE in January?

Where is the best place to relax in the UAE in January? Brief information on each of the main resorts that Russians like to visit in winter (and detailed information is in our separate travel guide articles, I will leave links).

Dubai
The most coveted five letters in the UAE, the most developed city in terms of infrastructure and entertainment, literally the second Moscow, if you count the acquaintances and bloggers who have registered here over the past two years.

What is good about Dubai? Firstly, here you can choose a hotel for every taste and budget — from the luxurious and new Atlantis The Royal on Palma to the inexpensive Citymax network operator near the metro. Secondly, the areas can also be selected: there are classically beachy Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah; fresh Blue Waters, whose real estate is bought by our compatriots; luxury, where it “smells” of Porsche and Ferrari exhausts, Downtown and Business Bay; “historical” al Fahidi without skyscrapers; budget Deira and so on.

And of course, in no other emirate will you find such a large number of entertainment, beaches, shops and markets, walking areas, museums, restaurants and cafes.
Due to the endless variety of literally everything, a vacation in Dubai in January is suitable for everyone — young people and families with children, elderly and middle-aged travelers.

Abu Dhabi
The capital is primarily compared with Dubai and, I must admit, is not much inferior to it in hotels, but rather lags behind in the variety of tourist leisure.

I would say that Abu Dhabi is primarily a family resort. The capital is ahead of Dubai in terms of pedestrian amenities, so Abu Dhabi looks more interesting for those who like walking and jogging. Plus, there are so many amusement parks here that any child, or even an adult, will squeal with delight — the adrenaline Ferrari World, the “cartoon” Warner Brothers (where, according to rumors, they will open a zone with Harry Potter!), the cool Yas Waterworld water park. In addition, all this is located on one island — you do not have to spend money on a taxi, getting from one fun center to another, as in Dubai.

The disadvantages of the emirate can be quite mediocre beaches (the exception is the island of Saadiyat with an appropriate price tag). Many reviews point to the contrast between the manicured beaches of Dubai and the faded beaches of Abu Dhabi.

Sharjah
Which resort should I choose if the prices in Dubai in January are unpleasantly surprising? Dubai flows smoothly into Sharjah — the border between the emirates runs literally through the Sahara Center shopping center. But the difference feels decent: in Sharjah, buildings are lower, cafes and restaurants are simpler, beaches are more spacious and mores are harsher — there is a total ban on alcohol.

But what do we need alcohol for, when in a beach hotel on the first line and with an all-inclusive (non-alcoholic) you can relax twice as cheap as in Dubai? We actively go on excursions, visit the neighboring metropolis on a free transfer from the hotel — and we do not know the grief. And we save money at the same time.

Ajman
Sharjah, in turn, moves to Ajman. This is a completely untwisted resort, where much fewer tourists come, and perhaps I would not have mentioned it at all if it hadn’t been for a brief lecture from a compatriot whom I met in Thailand. For him, there is no place in the United Arab Emirates sweeter than Ajman, because here you can get an entire beach almost at your own disposal, stay in a decent hotel without worrying about the price, and — unlike Sharjah — complement vacation vibes with a large selection of alcohol in liquore stores, which are allowed in Ajman.

Lovers of exclusively beach holidays should look here, as the resort does not provide other entertainment, except for several shopping malls, a mosque and a museum. Therefore, Ajman is the emirate where it is more than realistic to fly for 80-85 thousand rubles for two in January.

Fujairah
Fujairah is located on the other side of the conditional Emirati peninsula, and this is the Gulf of Oman, not the Persian Gulf. Therefore, the resort boasts the most heated water throughout the year.

Fujairah has an unusual terrain (you can even go hiking), the purest water in the sea and all conditions for snorkeling and diving. So, if you’ve been traveling to Egypt in winter all your life and are looking for somewhere else to relax, then consider Fujairah in the UAE as an alternative.

Ras Al Khaimah
This resort can confidently be called the most atypical — they have not even heard about the ban on the sale of alcohol, whereas in other resorts it is either impossible to buy it, or it is possible only in special stores. One of the advantages of the emirate is its budget, especially compared to luxury Dubai. So if you want to save some money on your winter vacation, then here is our guide to Ras al Khaimah. The bonus is the sparsely populated beaches (few people get so far from the main airports of the country) and, in general, the absence of overcrowded hotels.

Which emirate is warmer in January?

As already mentioned, due to the short distances between the resorts, the difference in air and water temperature from city to city is minimal.

• Dubai, Sharjah and Fujairah are well suited for lovers of warmth and pleasant water.
• Whereas in Abu Dhabi, Ajman and Ras al Khaimah it will be a little cool to swim and walk in the evenings.

Prices for tours to the UAE in January — 2024

Which resort in the UAE is different, we found out. Let’s see how this affects the prices of tours. In this matter, I always focus on tour aggregators:

• Travelogue
• Level.Travel
• or Online Tours

All the largest tour operators and destinations where you can now fly on a tour from Russia are represented there. I enter the dates, the departure city and see what fits into my budget.

How much do tours to the UAE cost in January 2024? Let’s have a standard 7-night package for two with departure from Moscow:

✔️Dubai — from 95,000 rubles
✔️Sharjah — from 80,000 rubles
✔️Ajman — from 80,000 rubles
✔️Ras al Khaimah — from 85,000 rubles
✔️Fujairah — from 75,000 rubles
✔️Abu Dhabi — from 100,000 rubles

All this is the cost of tours in mid-January with accommodation in a 3-star hotel. If you raise the bar to 5 stars, then the same Dubai will rise in price to 120,000 rubles, and Fujairah — up to 100,000 rubles for two.

Well, if you succumb to the festive euphoria and decide on a tour with departure on January 1, then such New Year’s holidays under the sun will cost at least 140,000 rubles for two.

Good hotels in Dubai according to tourist reviews

If you are planning an independent trip and have already found cheap tickets to Dubai on Airsales, then here are the housing search engines where hotels abroad can be paid with a Russian bank card:

• The island
• Yandex.Journeys

They can be used to “punch” any hotel from my selection below — nevertheless, in the recommendations I will focus on the cost of the hotel as part of the package tour “flight + accommodation + insurance + transfer.

According to tourist reviews and ratings on booking services, having combined this with personal experience and impressions of “wow, a hotel!”, I have prepared a small but diverse top hotels in Dubai:

• 4* Al Seef Heritage Hotel (al Fahidi district) is a hotel in case you are tired of Dubai’s glass skyscrapers and pathos. Or if you want to feel that you are in a truly Arab, not artificial, emirates (but without kinks). He will immerse you in the scenario of the life of a wealthy sheikh: stone walls, wood and oriental ornaments in the interior, and outside the window — a civilized oriental bazaar, where I was impressed for several hours, the embankment and traditional boats of abra, ready to take you for a couple of dirhams to less civilized spice and gold markets.
  Prices for a 7-night tour: from 150,000 rubles for two (without meals)
• 5* Atlantis The Palm (Palm Jumeirah district) — not every hotel eventually acquires the status of an attraction, and Atlantis, crowning the top of the artificial island of Palm Jumeirah, is just that rare beast. True, the recently opened Atlantis The Royal encroaches on its popularity, but it has not yet managed to get as many reviews and an impeccable rating as the first one. A gorgeous water park on site (good for relaxing with a child) and a great beach.
  Prices for a 7-night tour: from 350,000 rubles for two (without meals)
• 4* Centara Mirage Beach (Palma Deira area) — four main words: the beach is 100 meters away. Yes, bulk islands were created off the coast of the Deira region back in the 2010s, planning to build another “palm tree”, but something went wrong, and the project was suspended. This particular hotel is one of the first after the deconservation of a large—scale initiative in 2020. The place is promising, but so far there is no infrastructure other than the beach, hence the cute price tag for a cool — and new (!) — family hotel with an aquapark (!!) and a heated pool (!!!).
  Prices for a 7-night tour: from 150,000 rubles for two (with breakfast)
• 3* Premier Inn Dubai Investments Park (Dubai Investments Park district) is a small budget “three—piece” on the outskirts of EXPO 2020. I wouldn’t have noticed it if I hadn’t personally stopped in September and revealed its charms: the metro station is a minute’s walk away (and the car comes empty, which is nonsense for Dubai), six stops (or 15 minutes) to the Dubai Marina with a beach, and an outdoor warm rooftop pool in case the temperatures from the section “is it possible to swim in Dubai in January” do not suit you.
  Prices for a 7-night tour: from 100,000 rubles for two (without meals)
• 3* Citymax Al Barsha (al Barsha district) is another of my finds (I immodestly consider myself a specialist in inexpensive but comfortable hotels). The room is clean and completely standard, but there is a comfortable full-fledged table for solving business on a laptop. Around the corner is the second most popular mall of the Emirates with the metro station of the same name; you can shop until you lose consciousness and carry packages to the hotel on your own two feet. There is a free bus to the beach three times a day.
  Prices for a 7-night tour: from 100,000 rubles for two (with breakfast)
• 4* Aloft Palm Jumeirah (Palm Jumeirah district) is a 4—star hotel on the first beach line. Some distance from life (the hotel is located at the end of the “crown” of the Palm Tree) is compensated by shuttles to various Dubai malls, an assortment of entertainment from bowling to table football and clear sea.
  Prices for a 7-night tour: from 160,000 rubles for two (with breakfast)

What to do in Dubai (UAE) in January?

Will there be anything left of Dubai’s New Year’s luxury for the late January birds?

✔️Until January 7, 2024, the Christmas market in Souk Madinat Jumeirah pleases with lights
✔️A new fair is open at the Museum of the Future until January 4, 2024
The Winter Garden in Al Habtoor City is open until January 31, but considering that all other fairs close in early January, there will most likely be food stands, workshops for children and other entertainment, without a Christmas tree. We are waiting for tourist reviews about Dubai in January-2024!

I would divide my vacation in Dubai in January 2024 into several categories: active, beach, educational, gastronomic, walking and shopping. I will tell you a little about each of the directions that can and should be combined as part of a vacation.

Walking and shopping holidays include promenades along all the main streets and squares of the city (fortunately, the weather in January allows), visits to three major shopping malls — Dubai Mall, Dubai Festival City and Mall of the Emirates (where, by the way, the world’s first cafe from Zara recently opened) — and gold markets, spices and perfumes.

• Remember the period: December 8, 2023-14 January 2024. On these dates, the grand Dubai Shopping Festival takes place in Dubai malls with real discounts and sales (maybe something from 12Storeez can be grabbed cheaper here than in Russia? :))

This also includes visits to such attractions as the Burj Khalifa observation decks, the Dubai Frame and The View at the Palm (on Sputnik8 entrance tickets can be paid with a Russian card), the modern Bluewaters district and the long promenade from Kite Beach, a free show of singing fountains at Burj Khalifa. Such a program is a minimum of what to do in Dubai in January.

Dubai’s educational must-see includes the historic Al Fahidi district with an abra boat trip, the Alserkal Avenue gallery and Los Angeles Vibes area and the famous Museum of the Future.

From active recreation, I always advise you to go on safari in the desert, visit camel races, go to Abu Dhabi to Ferrari Park or with a more relaxed program to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque. A variety of excursions in Dubai that can be pre—booked and paid for from the Russian Federation, look on the Tripster and Sputnik8 websites – here are examples (and how many reviews!):

Happy beach holidays in general, everything is clear — it is supposed to swim in the waters of the Persian Gulf or in the hotel pool, sunbathing and so on in a circle. Among the free and decent beaches in Dubai, I single out Dubai Marina Beach, La Mer Beach, Kite Beach and Al Mamzar Beach. As mentioned above, the low season is not a reason not to bring a swimsuit to the UAE.

The gastronomic point is my favorite. And according to calculations, absorbing the most money for a vacation! If you do not specifically look for inexpensive places, then on average in Dubai the price of the main course is located at an uncomfortable level of 50-70 dirhams (1200-1700 rubles).

Which points exactly should be marked on the map? My verified locations:

✔️Afghan Palace (almost Dubai Marina) — Afghan cuisine and inexpensive dinners (for their pilaf with chicken, I’m ready to fly to Dubai every season)
✔️Operation Falafel (Dubai Marina) — cheap shawarma
✔️The Byron Baths Club (Palm Jumeirah) is a good beach club
✔Wild & the Moon (a chain throughout the city) — brunches, avocados, smoothies, everything

Well, if homesickness does not let go even on vacation, then over the past year the branch in Dubai has not been opened, only, it seems, lazy. Now there is an ABC Coffee Roasters coffee shop, Angel Cakes pastry and breakfast shop, Drinkit coffee shop (by the way, in the same building as DoDo Pizza!) and Bubble tea Pims.

Is it worth going to Dubai (UAE) in January? Tourist reviews

Based on the studied reviews of tourists about Dubai in January and on my own experience of visiting this city last winter, I can responsibly state that the United Arab Emirates is 100% worthy that you plan your winter vacation there.

Imagine, it is already deep winter in Russia, it has been snowing since November or periodically, and suddenly you find yourself in a real summer in 5 hours by plane from Moscow! The bonus is the unusual celebration of the New Year in the southern country and the remains of magnificent urban decorations until the 10th of January (Dubai was once awarded the title of world record holder due to the variety and richness of Christmas and New Year decorations). All shopping malls attract visitors not only with discounts and sales, but also with colorful decorations.

The main activities that tourists devote most of their holidays to in the UAE are swimming, shopping in numerous malls, evening walks and daytime field trips.

Advantages and disadvantages

Let’s summarize the above material, highlighting the pros and cons of a trip to the UAE in January 2024.

Positive:

+ a quick and relatively inexpensive way to transfer from the Russian winter reality to a summer paradise
+ an unusual way to celebrate the New Year or spend the New Year holidays
+ lower prices in the second half of January than in the peak months of autumn/spring
+ the opportunity to see Christmas and New Year fairs and decorations, and discounts and sales continue in January
+ the absence of scorching heat and at the same time the opportunity to swim in the sea
+ the low season is pleasant because there are no crowds on the streets and in shopping malls, and queues on observation decks and in museums

Minuses:

— for travelers who are sensitive to coolness, it may not be very comfortable in the mornings and evenings in the UAE, but everything is solved by additional insulation
— not everyone will be able to swim in winter-warmed seawater for a long time, but almost all hotels have heated pools
— prices for tours may be inflated due to the mass arrival of tourists in Dubai in January during the New Year holidays

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