Dubai

What Dubai is actually like

Dubai is often booked purely for the skyline and the shopping, which misses most of what's actually good about it — the old creek-side souks, desert stays that don't feel like a theme park, and a food scene shaped by every part of the world that's moved there. Short flight time from most Indian cities makes it a genuinely easy long weekend.

Worth building the trip around

• An overnight desert camp, not a two-hour safari
• The old creek souks by abra boat
• At the Top, Burj Khalifa, at sunset
• A proper Friday brunch