Over #FTUDC this past weekend, I met up with many of my readers, fellow bloggers, twitter followers, and made new friends along the way. #FTUDC was pretty much a DO in itself. I’m usually not a big fan of travelling in groups (2 or more people), but I recently traveled to South America with a friend on an amazing vacation mileage run. My lifelong dream is actually not to travel to the Maldives, but a visit to Dubai and the UAE (United Arab Emirates) is pretty much up there. Ever since I visited Israel for the very first time this year, I fell in love with the Middle East.
Let’s face it, summer fares in August are ridiculous to any destination, but that’s where miles and points come into play. I know it’s a bit far-fetched to plan something 15 months in advanced, but I think it’s good notice if you want a great turnout.
Disclaimer: The Summer 2014 DO is not affiliated or sponsored or endorsed by First2Board.
I am inviting you on a Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Oman Summer 2014 DO if you’re interested in coming along. The length of the DO will be 10 nights and 11 days from Friday August 8, 2014 – Monday August 18, 2014. I am very detailed oriented so I will give you a day-by-day breakdown of activities and hotels in a future post. Right now, this is just a rough draft and is all tentative. By all means, you do not need to follow the itinerary or stay at any of the mentioned hotels as you can venture off into your own since this is not a prepaid or sponsored group trip.
Flights: You will need to book your revenue or award ticket to Dubai (DXB airport code) and arrive on August 8, 2014. We will start our adventure the next day since we will all be jet-lagged from that long flight. Bear in mind that award tickets are not yet bookable for August 8, 2014 yet. You can begin to start seeing award availability starting on or around September 6, 2013.
Car Rental: I priced out a mock car rental for 11 days using this summer’s August dates and the rough estimate came out to 677 AED ~ $184 USD which is pretty cheap. Majority of our excursions includes driving around the UAE and Oman. Driving from Dubai to Abu Dhabi only takes an hour and a half so it’s like a short drive from Los Angeles to San Diego. I will be renting a car and will likely only fit 5 people (including myself). I will definitely need a few more drivers if there is a huge turnout. Please feel free to comment if you are willing and able to drive. Costs will be split up among-st the group including fuel and any extra insurance (if needed), GPS rental, etc. If there were 5 to a car, that would be $36.80 per person at a minimum excluding fuel & extras.
Hotels: It would be pretty difficult to travel together if we stayed at different hotel chains in the same area. I am Starwood loyal and will be booking 90% of the nights in reasonable priced hotels. Right now, we’re looking at ~$1200 for one person for the entire trip in terms of single occupancy. Costs can go down if people room together. Squeezing 3-4 people into a suite is do-able and can cut hotel costs tremendously. $600 per person for double occupancy and quadruple occupancy would yield $300 USD per person.
Food: Food is really cheap in the UAE. Food shouldn’t be an issue in terms of cost since we do have to eat every day. Budget in at least $30 daily for food so ~ $300 USD but I’m sure it will be way below that.
Itinerary:
August 8, 2014 – Dubai, UAE – Arrivals (spend a night at the Le Meridien Fairway Dubai for 300AED ~ $81.68 USD)
August 9, 2014 – Dubai, UAE – (spend a night at the Four Points by Sheraton Downtown Dubai for 400AED ~ $108.90 USD)
August 10, 2014 – Dubai, UAE – (spend a night at the Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai for 500AED ~ $136.13 USD)
August 11, 2014 – Abu Dhabi, UAE – (spend a night at the Aloft Abu Dhabi for 325AED ~ $88.48 USD )
August 12, 2014 – Abu Dhabi, UAE – (spend a night at the Le Meridien Abu Dhabi 359AED ~ $97.74 USD)
August 13, 2014 – Abu Dhabi, UAE – (spend a night at the Le Royal Meridien Abu Dhabi for 475AED ~ $129.32 USD)
August 14, 2014 – Al-Ain, UAE – (spend a night at the Al Ain Rotana Hotel for ~$104 USD a night)
August 15, 2014 – Suhar, Oman (spend a night at the Crowne Plaza Hotel for ~$140 USD a night)
August 16, 2014 – Fujairah, UAE (spend a night at the Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort for ~$204 USD)
August 17, 2014 – Dubai, UAE (spend a night at the Le Meridien Fairway Dubai for 300AED ~ $81.68 USD)
August 18, 2014 – Dubai, UAE – Departing flights
Summary:
Flights – You will need to find your way there. Personally, I would find Saver fares on United and you can travel one-way for 40,000 miles in coach and 60,000 miles in business. Don’t forget free one-ways! Taxes are only $10.40 on an award ticket which is extremely low.
Car Rental – $36.80 minimum per person if there are 5 people to a car (excluding GPS rental, fuel, parking fees, extra insurance)
Hotels – $1200 for single occupancy, $600 for double occupancy, $400 for triple occupancy, and $300 for quadruple occupancy. Triple and quadruple occupancy is pretty farfetched, but if you want to sneak people into the room, it is doable.
Food – I would budget $30/day, so for 11 days = $330 which is pretty farfetched.
Activity Costs – This is the unknown as of this moment.
Total out of pocket costs at a bare minimum – 80,000 United miles for a round-trip saver United coach award + $20.80 in taxes, $36.80 car rental, $600 in hotels (2 people to a room), and $330 in food. In summary, 80,000 United miles and $987.60 would be a bare minimum when rooming for two.
Again, I just want to emphasize that this is just a rough draft and the dates, hotels, and activities are all tentative as of this moment. I want to get a rough idea of how many people are interested in coming along with me. Leave a comment if you’re interested along with suggestions.
Disclaimer: The Summer 2014 DO is not affiliated or sponsored or endorsed by First2Board.
count me in! i definitely don’t mind driving, but i don’t know how to drive a stickshift. i’m not really a nightlife person but would not mind sharing a room.
there are automatic cars available and thanks for volunteering to drive.
sure. count me in.
I would be definitely interested in at least a portion of this trip.
I’d be very interested. 🙂
Not to disappoint any one, if any one has not been there on summer, the heat is insane, i grew up there, before i moved to states, also been there in 2010 for 4the days in july, each time u get out pf car it feels like u opened a oven.
It looks good and the pricing is reasonable. I am interested! 😀
Jamison,
Put me down as a tentative. I’m really interested in this mattress run err Do 🙂
I’m interested in this mattress run err DO. Put me down as tentative.
I’m interested in any Middle East trip!
Anxious to hear more!
If I recall correctly, not all rental agencies are thrilled with taking an UAE car into Oman so make sure to double-check that. Musandam is more an issue than the main part of Oman.
Thanks for the heads up Stefan.. Ill have to do more research on this.
I am liking this trip!
I’m with Adnan, I hope you realize how hot it is during that time! The Dubai DO gets by fine with it because they basically stay indoors and the BBQ is at night when it’s (relatively) cool. I’m particularly concerned about Oman, which is best enjoyed outdoors. If the UAE/Oman are your dream destinations, I do encourage you to go during December-February.
Sounds like a ton of fun! I’m definitely going to try to make it work. If I make it I can definitely drive as well 🙂
A word of caution:
If your passport was stamped at Israel, you are not entitled to get access to the UAE, nor Oman. Check that before embarking in the trip. They may or may not notice the stamp, but I am pretty sure they will.
Option: dual passport anybody?
i don’t have a passport stamp from Israel… they issued passport cards when I went to Israel…
There are mixed stories from travelers about whether or not you can get access to the UAE (or other Muslim countries) with an Israeli stamp. Here is a good article on the topic.
http://www.theexpeditioner.com/2012/03/14/are-you-banned-from-certain-countries-if-you-have-an-israeli-stamp-in-your-passport/
No problem with an Israeli stamp in the UAE for me (nor is it a problem according to their own website):
Q: I am an American traveling to the UAE, will the UAE allow me entry if I have an Israeli stamp in my passport?
A: Yes.
http://www.uae-embassy.org/embassy/faqs/passports-visas
I am interested.
You may want to take this trip before or after Ramadan, which is the 30 days starting July 27, 2014. You’ll enjoy these destinations more without the eating and drinking restrictions.
We are doing a similar trip next week – 2 nites Dubai;4 nites Abu Dhabi but then we are flying to the Maldives all at Hyatts. We are with an FT group at Abu Dhabi and Maldives. If you will be at FTU Tampa I will share info.
Cheers Mary Anne
Hi Mary Anne! I’m planning to be at FTU Tampa! I’m excited for your trip!! Have a great time 🙂 can’t wait to hear from you soon