Abu Dhabi safety in January with girlfriend
Hello friends,
Me and my girlfriend will travel to Asia, but on the way we want to stop for a few days to visit Dubai & Abu Dhabi.
We want to be respectful and not to offend anyone, so no kissing or holding hands in public and we'll take care of proper clothing as well.
Our questions are:
Is there a problem if we're not married and would it be safe and ok for Abu Dhabi couchsurfers to host us?
Is it safer to whear a thawb and a niqāb/abaya/hijab and a wedding ring?
For Romanians, do we get the visa in the Dubai airport and does how much does it cost?
What is a cheap and safe way to travel from Dubai to Abu Dhabi and back?
Do we need to know any other rules?
Any budget activities and cheap food in Abu Dhabi? Because we'll be travelling on a budget
Are you interested in cultural exchange with us and host us?
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it may arise some problem if you book in a Hotel and you're not a married couple (so it's better if just one of you book, and the other join into the room), other than that I've never seen anybody minding anybody else's love life, try not to be too outgoing in public, so as you've said, no kissing in public and no public display of affections is better, police tend to be more forgiving to tourists than to locals on this kind of matters, if you hold hands or kiss they may just give a warning not to do that, only people that really had problems were drunkards having sex on the public beach by night... So, definitely, don't do that.
if you are not muslim and you don't want to use particular clothes it is perfectly fine, AD and Dubai are international cities, it's perfectly safe not to look like locals, actually very few look like locals, and I think it would be kinda weird seeing any European couple with thawb and niqab...
no idea, but for Italians the 30 days visa is free and can be prolonged for other additional 30 days without charge I think, maybe for Romanians is the same?
there's a public transport bus that is very cheap, but quite busy during the weekend (so direction Abu Dhabi to Dubai thursday evening/ friday morning, and Dubai to Abu Dhabi Friday evening), look on the rta website (http://www.rta.ae/), usually men and women have different compartments on public transports, so you won't do the trip (that doesn't take too long) together, otherwise taxi... but it's gonna be quite more expensive, like 50 euro if I'm not wrong.
no particular rule I can think of, use real cabs, not scam cabs, that tend to charge more and not to be as safe... Be respectful, do not mock other people or their religion, don't use overly revealing clothes unless you're on the beach, be respectful inside the mosques (if you visit them they'll usually give the woman some scarf to cover her head while inside if they don't have one already).
Budget activities: public beach, the Sheikh Zayed grand mosque, both free of charge, the mosque is quite impressive. Beyond that AD has a lot of malls around the city, maybe the most scenographic is Marina Mall. A walk on the Cornice (the water front of AD) is relaxing and you can see all the skyscrapers of the city, and from there you can visit the Emirates Palace. Public transport is quite good, and getting used to it, it is quite cheap and connects you to most parts of the city. Maybe also the Big Bus Tour can be fun as a way to get in touch with the city. There are several cheap restaurants around, I've been to Al Ibrahimi Restaurant (a pakistani restaurant) near Madinat Zayed and I enjoyed it, it's not fancy, but much better than eating fast food. In general the food is not very expensive, even if most restaurant are quite international and not very typical. There's an app, talabat that lets you order delivery food from all over AD, and has most of the restaurants, it's really fun, but maybe a bit complex because most of the time they call you to have directions to the place you are living in, so since the roaming is really expensive it can be tricky...
I'm not going to be there in January but I hope you'll find someone interesting to show you around and to host you, so, best of luck to you.
Ehy Jacopo, grazie mille! Thank you for your detailed answer. Let me host you when you come to Bucharest!
Best of luck in your trips as well!
On 4 I would just add that you can actually travel together on the bus - the front rows are reserved to women only, however the rows behind that are for everyone, including women. Bus Abu Dhabi <> Dubai are 25 AED and run from the central bus station in Abu Dhabi (which is next to Al Wahda mall) to Ibn Battuta (Bus E101, which runs roughly every 30 minutes) - Ibn Battuta serves south Dubai (including Dubai Marina), and the other bus (E1 or E100) goes to Al Ghubaiba which is in the Northern part of Dubai (Bur Dubai) - this bus runs every 10-15 minutes. Both buses run until quite last (last bus around midnight typically, but check the exact schedule on www.rta.ae)
I agree with what the prev post says. Don't worry too much about your girlfriend. I know a lot of girls who moved to AD and they said didn't have to change any aspect of their behaviour other than avoid to show affection publicly. I would like to add one more thing to do: try the ratchet refreshment store and get a smoothie. Theyre awesome! For Hungarians the visa is free and it's on arrival but you should search for the specific rules that apply to Romanians.
It's save whenever u come and take ur freedom nobody can bother u it's Arabic country with European rules the same like Europe and u can stay with ur girlfriend in the same hotel no problem. Enjoy it
(I'm female, from Los Angeles, & have lived here for 6 years.)
=== MODESTY ===
Holding hands in public is perfectly fine; it's only uncomfortable in front of police / royalty and you are unlikely to encounter them in your few days here. "Proper clothing" varies between emirates, even between neighborhoods in the same city. Dubai is more relaxed; women wear tank tops & shorts without a problem. In Abu Dhabi, we usually cover shoulders & knees.
=== PUBLIC TRANSIT ===
Intercity = Emirates Express bus; costs 25 Dhs. Abu Dhabi = taxis (silver within the city; black at the airport) Dubai = the metro. Timely and cost-efficient; you never have to wait more than 5 mins & fares range from 2 - 8.5 Dhs. However, the metro doesn't work after midnight (1AM on Thursday nights). The system card is known as the Nol card, which can also be used for trams, buses, & taxis within Dubai. Purchase a silver Nol at any metro station / major bus station for 25 Dhs, and it gives you 10% discount on metro & bus fares.
=== ALCOHOL / PORK ===
Alcohol is widely available in hotels & some malls, but it's not allowed to take drinks to-go. If you want to drink at home, purchase alcohol at Spinneys. Establishments serving pork are fewer in number, exclusively in hotels.
Don't worry. I just came home from living in Abu Dhabi and it's not as strict as you would think. Don't hold hands in public as you will offend the locals. They may not say anything but will give you a dirty look. Just be modest in your clothes. No short shorts and at least a tshirt or shirt that covers shoulders. They're not a fan of seeing super tight clothes and make sure the boobs are covered. At private beaches a bikini is fine. Public ones you gf can just wear a sarong on top to feel less stared at. But in January everyone will be walking around in cold weather gear as its 'really cold' then 😂
Hi Gabriel, First of all abu dhabi is a very safe country when u can have ur freedom regarding the emarati traditions. 1-of course it is ok, a lot of guys here live with their GFs and they r not married. I ld like to host u but i live at a studio wz one bed 😁 2-u dnt need to wear anythinf but ur normal clothes but try to avoid hot shorts at malls coz people may just look. Nobody as security will bother u. 3- i think for european , u can do that but u need to call the airport and ask. 4- cheap way there is a bus cost 25 dhs "5 €" from dubai to abu dhabi and ves versa. 5-the rules here is to no talk abt politics, no religions talk, no kissing in public and no drugs, no driving under alcohol effect. 6- u can check cobone.com and groupon.com uae, very good deals 7- i know some romanian , they may like to meet. Hope i helped here
Here in Abu Dhabi is very safe for everyone and try to visit all 7 emarats that will give you a complete view about the UAE ...