Travel
The Best Weekend Getaways From Dubai
The best one or two night escapes from Dubai are Ras Al Khaimah and Jebel Jais for mountains, Hatta for the dam and biking, Fujairah for the east coast beaches, Liwa for the deep desert, and Musandam in Oman for the fjords. All are within a two to three hour drive. In the heat of summer, swap the desert for an indoor beach resort staycation or a short flight to green Salalah.
The best weekend getaways from Dubai are the ones you can reach in a couple of hours and still feel like you have properly left the city. My go to list is Ras Al Khaimah and Jebel Jais for mountains, Hatta for the dam and trails, Fujairah for quiet beaches, Liwa for the deep desert, and Musandam in Oman for the fjords. Each works as a single overnight or a full two nights.
The catch is the season. From roughly October to April the mountains and desert are glorious. In peak summer heat you either move indoors to a beach resort or fly somewhere cooler.
Ras Al Khaimah and Jebel Jais for the mountains
Ras Al Khaimah, or RAK, is my favourite quick escape because it gives you two worlds in one short drive. It is around 60 to 90 minutes from Dubai on the E311, with beach resorts on one side and the highest mountains in the country on the other.
Jebel Jais is the showpiece. The road climbs to the highest point in the UAE, about 1,934 metres, on a set of switchbacks worth the drive on their own. At the top there is a viewing deck and the Jebel Jais Flight, billed as the world's longest zip line at nearly 2.83 kilometres. You can hike in the cool morning air and still be on a resort beach by the afternoon. Save this one for the cooler months.
Hatta for the dam and the trails
Hatta is technically part of Dubai but sits tucked in the Hajar Mountains, about a 90 minute to two hour drive southeast through the desert. It feels like a different country. The turquoise Hatta Dam is the star, and you can kayak or take a pedal boat across it, then mountain bike or hike the marked trails.
It is one of the easiest overnight trips, and a firm favourite if you already love my best day trips from Dubai and want to stretch one into two days. Go between October and March. In summer the exposed trails get punishing.
Fujairah and the east coast for the beach
Fujairah sits on the other coast, on the Gulf of Oman, roughly two hours from Dubai. The water tends to be calmer and clearer than our side, which makes it lovely for snorkelling and diving around Snoopy Island. Many of the properties here are proper resort stays, so it suits couples and families who just want to slow down. Al Bidyah Mosque, thought to be the oldest in the UAE, is close by. Because it is coastal, Fujairah works better than the desert in the shoulder season when you still want the sea.
Liwa and Qasr Al Sarab for the real desert
If you want the big, cinematic Empty Quarter dunes, Liwa is where you go. It sits deep in the Abu Dhabi emirate, and the well known Qasr Al Sarab resort is around a three to three and a half hour drive from Dubai, so this one earns its two nights. Liwa is for stargazing, dune drives and total quiet. The golden window is October to April, when days sit around a pleasant 20 to 30 degrees and the nights turn cool. I would not attempt it from June to September, when it can push toward 50 degrees.
Musandam, Oman for the fjords
Musandam is the one that surprises people. This Omani peninsula is famous for dramatic fjords, still turquoise water, dolphins and traditional dhow cruises. Khasab is roughly a two and a half to three hour drive, and you cross a border, so carry your passport and check the current visa and insurance rules before you set off. A dhow cruise through the fjords with a swim stop is the classic thing to do, and there are a handful of lovely places to stay on the coast. Cooler months are best here too.
Too hot to drive? Staycation or fly
In the peak of summer I usually keep it indoors and easy. A city staycation at a beach or mall resort is genuinely restful, and you skip the drive entirely. We did exactly this as a family, and I shared it on Instagram from our stay at the Sheraton Mall of the Emirates, where great location and warm hospitality made an ordinary weekend feel special. If you want more ideas, I keep a running list of things to do in Dubai in summer, and a good spa day is its own kind of getaway, which is why I love my favourite spas in Dubai for a reset.
When I do want to leave in summer, I fly to Salalah in southern Oman. It is a short hop of under two hours, and during Khareef, the summer monsoon from around late June to mid September, the hills turn green and misty and sit around 22 to 25 degrees while the Gulf bakes. The Maldives is the other classic weekend flight, a little over four hours direct, though it is more of a splurge and best booked well ahead for the December to February dry season.
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