worzel

I hope you don’t mind me popping in here to ask a question.

We are thinking of having a stopover in Dubai when we fly out to Australia in early October but I just noticed that Ramadan starts on 4th October for a month which, according to lonelyplanet.com, means no eating or drinking in public from 7am to 7pm.

Does anyone have experience of how much this will cramp our style if we want to go sightseeing or lie around a pool? Are the souks, museums, shops still open? Apparently hotels are much cheaper at this time but is it worth it?

Will we have similar issues in other countries (which)? Malaysia, Singapore and HK would be other likely stop offs.

Vimto

Ramadan in Dubai for tourists staying in hotels is not a great hardship, the hotels serve food all day and you can get drinks while sunning yourselves on the hotel beach, outside the hotel it is not allowed to eat, drink or smoke in public from dawn until after the sun sets. The norm for shopping etc. is that shops are open in the mornings and do not open again till late afternoon
Fast food restaurants will be closed till about sunset but they will be open till 4 am!!.
Also during Ramadan there is no live music allowed, so all the clubs have DJ’s only.
Ramadan being in October/November this year it is not a great hardship, I remember in the late 70’s and early 80’s when Ramadan was in the height of summer that was a killer, especially as I was working in Saudi.

worzel

Thanks.

Face81

Also it is worth noting that some restaurants outside hotels also remain open during ramadan as they have special licenses to operate in ramadan.

Generally, things are VERY quiet during the day, but things liven up after sunset and most restaurants are then open till the wee hours....

Also, if u come towrds the end of ramada, you may catch the eid festivities, which is when Dubai comes back to life and there is alot of hustle and bustle about the city and things are very festive in general.

Hope that helps.

Welivehere

Worzel,

One last point, don't take the dates for the start and end of Ramadan as gospel. The start and end of is declared depending on the sight / phases of the moon so it can alter by a couple of days each way....

It's an inconvenience but nothing more than that really, unless you happen to be on the roads about 10 minutes before Iftar (the breaking of the fast, normally about half five / six o'clock) in which case I would recommned renting a small amoured car.

And like Face if you can be here for Eid it is a public holiday and after a month of a slightly sedated way of life people do tend to want to party...