Dubai

November–March is the only sensible window for most visitors: temperatures of 22–28°C, low humidity, and comfortable for outdoor activity. April and October are transition months — warm but manageable. May–September is brutal: 40–48°C with high humidity, outdoor activity is genuinely dangerous, and the city moves entirely indoors. If you go in summer, hotel prices fall by 60–70% and indoor attractions (malls, aquariums, ski slopes) are actually better value than in winter.

Dubai's metro covers the main tourist corridor — Red Line from the airport through Downtown, Marina, and JBR. The metro is air-conditioned, punctual, and cheap. Women-only carriages exist (Gold Class at front). Uber and Careem (the local equivalent) are ubiquitous and cheap. Taxis are metered and honest. The city is not walkable outside of specific areas (JBR Walk, Downtown Fountain area) — distances are large and heat is real.

Dubai's most interesting experiences are often the ones tourists skip. The Deira Gold Souk and Spice Souk are genuinely photogenic and fascinating. An abra (traditional wooden boat) ride across Dubai Creek costs $0.30 and feels completely unchanged from the 1960s. Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood is the best-preserved pre-oil architecture in the UAE. Desert safari (evening dune-bashing, camel rides, dinner under the stars) is a cliché for good reason — find an operator that goes to the Liwa Oasis rather than the crowded red dunes near the city.