Helloooo my lovelies, hope everyone is doing well. I am back to my blog after a very very long time, and quite excited to be here. Since many of my followers already know that I have been away to Dubai for a month and so many of you asked me about the details regarding what to pack, expenses, best places to shop, best places to visit there. So I thought it would be best to put all of this in a blog post which can help many people if they are planning a visit to Dubai. As it was my second trip to Dubai so I consider myself fluent with their process now that's why I consider myself eligible to guide people who are planning to visit Dubai for the first time :)
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| Burj Khalifa - Dubai |
First Things First:
First step will be to decide your visit dates, because that will decide your visa type. Once you decide your dates, you can purchase the tickets. To purchase the tickets you can choose from different airlines, Emirates, PIA, FlyDubai and airblue are common ones. Prices of each can be checked on their website. The ticket price also depends on the season (e.g. at the time of new year, Dubai shopping festival and other such events, the tickets are priced higher). Being honest, I would suggest you to go with the cheapest airline if you are travelling alone or you don't have a very small child who requires special attention and care. I chose Emirates because I had my 2 year old with me and wanted to be hassle free after reaching because Emirates has its own terminal at the Dubai airport while rest of the airlines are dropped on the other two terminals. But if anyone wants a recommendation from me, I would suggest to go with the cheapest airline because you can save up the money to use for your experiences in Dubai. The price range for one adult's return ticket these days is about 45K PKR and above. Choosing the least expensive airline also leaves you with more money which you can spend on the actual experiences in Dubai so that is anyways a PLUS.
For the visa, you need to have your passport (Duh!) and a passport size picture with white background to apply for Dubai Visa. So you just tell any photographer that you need the photographs for Dubai visa and he will know what to do. So then you have to give your passport & picture to the travel agent to apply for visa. Visa fee is different depending on your duration of stay. Here is a link that can guide you on online visa application further: http://www.dubaivisa.net . If you book your tickets through emirates, you also get an option to apply for visa from their "Manage Booking" page. You will need to pay the visa fee to the agent either via Cheque, Cash or online bank transfer. Another useful link for applying and selecting for the appropriate visa type is: https://www.visitdubai.com/en/travel-planning/travel-tools/visa-and-entry-information
Visa fee these days ranges from 14K PKR to 16K PKR per person for a period of about 30 days. But for the latest and current rates I would advise you to check the above mentioned links. Secondly, on airlines other than Emirates, you will need to get an "OK to board" stamp on your visa without which you will not be able to board on your plane. The emirates visas already have this OK to board stamp and for this reason the emirates visa fee is a bit higher than the normal visa fee. The process of getting the OK to board stamp is to visit your airline office and show them your passport, ticket as well as visa. As per my current information, there is no fee to get the OK to board stamp. However, if you apply for emirates visa online the visa will be pre stamped with "OK to board" so this will save you the hassle of physically visiting the airline along with your documents. I travelled on Emirates both the times so I personally did not experience getting the OK to board stamp done from the airline office. Maybe someone from my audience can explain the process a bit better if they have actually experienced it themselves.
Follow this interesting link to guide you through your Dubai experience:
So, girls I hope the above mentioned information is useful for you if you are planning to visit Dubai. I will do more posts on what to pack, which places to visit, where to shop etc. Keep checking my blog for updates!!
