The last quarter of the year is finally here and the weeks are drawing Christmas near! The festive season is the time when most Kenyans pack up their suitcases and start traveling. 2018 is the year to do big things and a holiday travel to Dubai is how to do it this season. Planning is key to your international travel. Kenyan tours and travel companies have come up with great incentives to make travelling more achievable. The lipa pole pole plan is one of the means that has enabled Kenyans to travel across the globe. It takes away the pain of paying at the same time and when you start paying for your holiday now, that Dubai holiday is yours and your family for the picking.
With an abundance of outdoor activities and an endless array of festive occasions for all ages, Dubai’s winter season is the perfect time to visit the emirate and join in the fun and celebrations. This toolkit features the best festive experiences – from traditional feasts and family fun, to a not-so-traditional Christmas at the beach.
SEASON’S FESTIVITIES
Typical Festive Fare with Seasonal Menus
The festive season for Kenyans means food, family and fun. Dubai makes sure you still have this with restaurants set up to serve scrumptious spreads throughout the festive season – be it family-style festive feasts or decadent brunches with cuisine from all over the world. Special menus throughout the festive season will spoil diners for choice with classic favourites.
Festive Family Markets
Family festivities will come to life at several Festive Markets across the city – a key highlight of the December season. Kids and the young at heart will find everything they love about Christmas in one place. A much-loved local favourite is the annual Festive Market at Madinat Jumeirah, featuring a German-style Festive Market with rides on an abra boat with Santa, dozens of slides and games, a North Pole train for the little ones and a giant snow ball zone.
Tree Lightings
Just like in Kenya, richly decorated trees begin popping up across Dubai’s malls, hotels and top attractions in the lead up to the festivities, with several venues hosting grand ceremonies to celebrate the tree lightings. Some of the local favourites include the winter wonderland at Wafi Mall, the Parisian-ambience of Galeries Lafayette, the dazzling decor at Mall of the Emirates, and Jumeirah Zabeel Saray’s glowing centrepiece.
Shop for Unique Gifts at the Souk
Gold, frankincense and myrrh hold a special place in biblical traditions around the holiday season – and can be tracked in Dubai’s traditional souks in Old Dubai! A wander through Deira to one of the most bustling souks of the city is an essential experience – be it the Gold Souk, lined with bespoke pieces with prices that aren’t set in stone; the Textile Souk, a bustling and crowded space with rolls of fabric, fine silks, airy cottons, and dazzling sari fabrics; or the Spice Souk, which offers the greatest sensory overload with the vibrant colours and aromas of some of the world’s most prized spices. Visitors can also travel between the souq areas in Bur Dubai and Deira by Abra over the Dubai Creek.
Outdoor Activities
The city’s winter sun allows visitors to escape the rain and enjoy the great outdoors in breath-taking natural attractions for some al fresco family fun. In fact, Dubai’s endless desert, rugged mountains and sandy shores have something for everyone:
- Hatta Dam’s beautiful waters are set against the stunning backdrop of the Al Hajar Mountains, providing the ideal terrain for hiking. Water-lovers can also enjoy the dam’s beautifully calm waters and rent a kayak or pedal-boat, before whiling away the hours in the midst of some of Dubai’s most majestic scenery.
- For those looking to ride Arabian horses, the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club allows visitors to take a one-of-a-kind course in stable management and learn the intricacies of dressage, or simply ride across the open desert with fellow enthusiasts from the club.
- For a truly different experience this festive season, the Dubai Astronomy Group provides tourists with a unique Arabian desert tour to enjoy the same view of the night sky as those traversing the dunes thousands of years ago. For visitors, the group offers different packages that teaches visitors Arabian stories that helped Bedouins decipher the night sky, an in-depth look into astronomy through the lens of Greek mythology, as well as helping guests tell the time, month and year based on the stars as well as navigation techniques that help determine the location and way through the desert.
New Year, New Celebrations
The bubble of excitement gets bigger with every minute that inches closer to New Year’s Eve, where thousands of visitors throng popular destinations in Dubai to experience legendary celebrations like no other. Be it witnessing spectacular firework displays that illuminate the city’s night skies, dancing into the early hours at thrilling partying destinations or enjoying a gourmet meal with all the family – Dubai has something for everyone this New Year’s Eve. Head to Downtown Dubai to witness a stunning midnight spectacle as Burj Khalifa counts down to the New Year; spend the evening in luxury at one of Dubai’s many ‘brunches’ such as Bubbalicious at the Westin Hotel; or simply congregate on one of Dubai’s beautiful beaches (or desert dunes), for a beautiful and panoramic view of the emirates many celebratory firework displays.
