A Dubai Family Vacation

Kathleen Roberts, the manager of Christopherson Business Travel‘s sales team (the business travel division of Andavo Travel) had the opportunity to take a family vacation to Dubai over Thanksgiving and provides her report below: 

It was an amazing destination–certainly worth the 24 hours of travel time it took to get there.

Few cities in the world have undergone such rapid change as Dubai. Having started out as a fishing settlement, then becoming a pearl-diving center, and later transforming into a vibrant trading port, Dubai is today one of the fastest growing metropolises on earth. The city is positioned as the nucleus of the Arabian Gulf region and has become known as the “gateway between the east and west.”

Home to about 1.9 million people from nearly 200 nationalities, Dubai is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. It is safe, clean, politically stable, with a modern infrastructure, and the sun shines almost every day. While the official language is Arabic, English is equally used.

Emirates Airlines is the official airline of Dubai and maintains one of the newest fleets in the world. The aircraft and in-flight service were excellent, which made our 16-hour flight from Los Angeles to Dubai quite manageable.

Some of the highlights of our trip were visiting the following sites and attractions:

• Burj Kalifa – the tallest building in the world
• Burj Al Arab – the tallest, all-suite hotel in the world
• Dubai Mall – the largest mall in the world
• Ski Dubai – the only in-door ski resort in the world
• Dubai Fountains – the largest fountain show in the world

Are you seeing a trend here? Dubai is very ambitious in their efforts to be record-breaking and staggering in their statistics. Even if your bucket list does not include a trip to Dubai, it is a destination worth paying attention to as they continue to make their mark in the world.