Dubai Shopping Malls
When in Dubai you are bound to want to visit at least one of its many shopping malls. If you are visiting Dubai with the specific intention of going on a shopping spree consider beating the traffic by staying at a mall hotel. If your budget does not stretch quite that far plan your shopping trips to avoid hours of peak traffic.
It is best to visit a mall that is serviced by your hotel's courtesy coach service. Should you choose to visit another mall, or not use the courtesy coach, be aware that hailing a taxi at some of the malls during the evening rush hour can be next to impossible. Expect to queue for an hour or more at Deira City Center and even longer at some of the smaller malls.
General Mall Tips
- Emirates Mall & Deira City Centre have a hotel, a grocery store (Carrefour) and a multiscreen cinema
- Emirates Mall, Bur Juman & Deira City Centre have strollers & wheel chairs
- Plan on arriving early if you need to use a wheel chair.
- It is best to use your own stroller since very few tend to be available
- Child car safety equipment can usually be left in safe keeping at the mall information desks.
Many of the smaller malls - Al Mulla Plaza, Al-Bustan centre etc. - are frequented more by Emiratis than by tourists. You may be taken aback by the window displays in some of the womens' apparel stores there. It is not unusual to see mannequins dressed in outfits that are available in Europe only within the discreet confines of a sex-shop or online. Why? The women who shop there wear a veil and consequently have no inhibitions about being seen buying such articles.
The Mall of the Emirates
Popularly known simply as the "Emirates Mall" this is currently the biggest covered shopping space in the world. However, it is soon set to be usurped by the even bigger Mall of Arabia. The mall offers a complimentary shuttle bus service to/from some of the more upscale hotels on Jumeirah Beach road and Sheikh Zayed road. The only other means of reaching this mall is by taxi - currently around 40Dhs from Bur Dubai and 50 Dhs from Deira. While this is significantly more than the fare to one of the downtown malls the shopping experience it offers make the fare well worthwhile. An added benefit - you don't have to plan ahead to get back to your hotel since taxis at this mall are plentiful.
The sheer size of Emirates Mall means that you can be sure of finding something that fits your tastes - fine dining, quick snacks, grocery shopping, luxury boutiques, cinemas and even a ski slope!
Deira City Center
This mall has the benefit of being just a five minute drive away from Dubai Airport as well as downtown Deira. However, in recent times this advantage has been largely neutralized by the long and frustrating wait for a taxi that visitors to Deira City Center have to endure. Nevertheless it does have something to offer every visitor - be it grocery shopping at Carrefour, designer Italian and French boutiques on the second floor, a quick snack in the food court... .
Consider staying at the mall hotel if you are merely transiting through Dubai or are on a very short shopping trip. This mall has a twin in Sharjah - Sharjah City Centre - which offers the same range of stores. For the tourist staying at a hotel near the Dubai-Sharjah border it offers a practical, accessible and quieter alternative to the folly of the mainstream Dubai malls.
Bur Juman Centre
The centre of Dubai city is slowly moving across the creek from Deira to Bur Dubai. Should you find yourself staying in one of the many excellent hotels along Sheikh Zayed road or in Bur Dubai itself the Bur Juman centre offers a more practical shopping alternative. You will find virtually the same range of stores as in some of the more crowded malls. However, this mall does not have any cinemas or grocery stores.
Ibn Batuta Mall
This mall boasts a 21 screen multiplex cinema including one IMAX screen. It has a wide range of upscale stores so do not expect to find any bargain deals. However, the mall is well worth a visit even if you find that the shopping there is a bit too exclusive for your taste. Ibn Batuta was a legendary 14th century Tunisian traveller and the mall is themed to reflect the various destinations he visited. It is over a kilometer in length and consists of several courts or pavilions - Chinese, Indian, Persian, Tunisian, Egyptian... . The mall is located on Sheikh Zayed road and is within easy reach of the beach, Wild Wadi and Burj Al-Arab.
Al Mulla Plaza
At 25 years of age this is the grand old man of Dubai shopping malls. Despite a recent refit it still shows its age. Nevertheless it has a fairly good selection of stores and an easily accessible car park. It lies to the North East of Dubai - near the Sharjah border. If you happen to be staying at a hotel in that area or in Sharjah and want to avoid the worst of Dubai traffic Al Mulla is well worth visiting.
Al-Bustan Centre
Al-Bustan is more of a shopping centre attached to a hotel. For the most part the stores here are of little interest to the non-Arab tourist.
