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Hi

My friends and I (from lLondon) have just booked our holiday to Dubai during 18-23 of October. We have just being told it will be Ramadan at the time. Can anyone tell me what we can and cannot do.

We where hoping to do some trips during the day, hang out on the beach and go to restaurants and bars during the evening, we all drink alcohol. We are not drunken louts though.

Would it be best to reshedule our holiday till after Ramadan?

Thanks in advance

Ramadan will run from about the 22nd of September till the 20th odd of October this year. Depending on when it ends you may also be here for the fist part of Eid.

During Ramadan you cannot eat, drink or smoke during the day outdoors without getting a) shouted at b) arrested c) fined/ jailed. I see you mentioned trips - some places don't run any trips during the day due to the eating/ drinking/ smoking ban. Other emirates are much stricter with their enforcement of the rules than Dubai, and even the vending machines will be unplugged to deter anyone who is tempted...

Some hotel restaurants are open during the day (to cater to guests), and are basically the only place where you could get something to eat and drink - although they are normally cordoned off from public view.

The local police don't take "I am a tourist, I didn't know better" as an excuse, you may receive a polite warning firstly, but don't count on it.

After Iftar/ Evening Prayers (sunset), things get back to normal. Fast food outlets such as McDonalds only open after 6pm and will close at about 5am (or just before sunrise).

During the day, it's pretty quiet and not many shops are open – in case you came for the shopping. Larger shopping centres will stay closed until about 4pm, and then stay open well after midnight.

Bars are open in the evening, but there is no live music. Most local bands actually use this opportunity to take their annual vacations! By the way, all bars in Dubai close strictly at 3am, they will throw you out at 3.01 as they stand to loose their licences if they operate after this time.

However, if you are drunk in public or someone takes offence to any drunken behaviour such as loud music, shouting etc. (even in your apartment) during Ramadan then expect to spend the rest of your holiday in jail - on the up side you get a nice "number 3" haircut for free!

During Ramadan, they also tend to be more conservative with what is acceptable dress-wise for women, which can also result in problems...

Hi thanks for the info, we are now thinking or rescheduling our holiday as we want to make the most of our time there and dont want to get in trouble.

thanks again

r

rsitu wrote:Hi thanks for the info, we are now thinking or rescheduling our holiday as we want to make the most of our time there and dont want to get in trouble.

thanks again

r

Very good write up by DXB.

And good decision from you guys.

Yeah if you're party people then best to after Ramadan, as all the clubs will be back open again.

thanks for you help guys

I just heard back from my friends who booked, and i also did more looking on the net and found out the end of ramadan is around the 24th. But my friends have been told by people who they know work and live in Dubai as expats that 'its very liberal'.

So there are 2 views now and I am abit annoyed we are not changing it, as i want to be able to sit on th beach and have a drink or some food without offending the locals. I dont mind not going clubbing.

r

theres people who think they know people and people here, who are the actual people.

Please take note, everything said above is correct.

I would like to add a further note. Only and i mean only, certain hotels will serve you with food and drink by the pool. The Dept of Tourism grant very few licences for the no food/drink rule to be broken.

I can assure you if you smoke, drink or eat on any public beach you will not only be in serious trouble but you would be considered most disrespectfull

they probably got a good deal on the package since its during ramadan and thats why they dont wanna cancel .. on a serious note you have to factor in that November and onwards inflation hits the prices of hotels and flights big time ... so it might be cheaper to come in Ramadan. Not sure if this is an important factor to your friends but thought i would throw it out there.

hi, i do believe what i have been told here, I also went to the loney planet site and did search and someone said there son had to hide to drink water when they went out! and it will be hot too.

My friends dont seem as concerned as I. But seeing as we are going during Ramadan then we wont be doing anything to be disrespectfull, I just hope they get it too and i dont spend my time telling them what to do. epescially with dressing as most will wear shorts and vests. We talked about going on new years days, and finally we are but...

The hotel is on jumeria beach and they do not serve alcohol but they have a cafe and a swimming pool.

thanks again.

ETA money is not an issue.

told by people who they know work and live in Dubai as expats that 'its very liberal'

you are actually correct in this respect, BUT, now the BIG BUT, this does NOT apply during Ramadan. I stand by my submission - I've been through 6 Ramadan's in Dubai and think I know a little bit about how things work.

i hate to be a wet blanket, but this year Eid (another Muslim Holiday) happens to fall over New Years Eve and New Years day - the pubs will be closed ... although i'm sure there will be a few private parties (on the qt)around.

sorry i meant that we discussed this on new years day to go, I want to change it but there are 6 of us going and does not seem so easy to persuade them all!

My last resort is this link http://www.indigoguide.com/dubai/moon.htm . I also had a look at tripadvisor and most are saying the same but they where served food at the hotel, but we dont want to spend all day in the hotel!

hmmmm i should be saying this to them not on here you guys agree with me.

off i go to email them again

r

hi there, sorry i didn't mean to come across as condasending, i would just hate for you to waste your time and money (as well as run the risk of a fine or jail), when you could simply reschedule things.

one thing that i should also point out, is that the the CID, do inspect various premsises during Ramadan, if the establishement is found to be serving food or beverages (as per the guidelines that Arnie has stated above), they are also fined or closed for the duration of Ramadan - they therefore stick to the rules. During this time they are more aware and stricter on Muslims who may contravene the fast, but treat foriegners/ tourists in the same fasion. In the past they post large notices at the arrival section in the airport notifying you that it's is Ramadan and warning of the potential issues and consequinces.

no offence taken i am just glad to be getting advice. however it does not seem we are changing as they dont seem to understand! We will however just make it a more relaxing holiday rather than partying holiday.
I have a few books i want to finish reading.

I am trying to avoid arguing with my friends but I am going to try again. we only have to delay it a week.

thanks again

r

What dxb & Arnie are telling you is correct.

I have spent 14 ramadans in the UAE, mostly in Dubai.

You are absolutely forbiden to eat, drink (even water) or smoke in public, this means anywhere except where you cannot be seen, beach, street etc.
Your friends may have surfed a few websites and got some information, however what we are trying to advise you is simply the truth.
You don't want to believe it, then no problem for us, because when you are screaming from your prison cell about the injustice of what is happening to you, we will not be listening.

way to go SGO

thanks for all of your replys but as i said previously we wont do anything to offend or to get ourselves in trouble if we do go during ramadan.

r

Guys, chill out a little bit, you're making Ramadan sound like a hellish time to come when really it's not at all.

Many independent eateries are now open daytime, they just black out the windows so as not to offend anyone. Practically all the barts are open in the evenings, they just don't play 'live' music, many are now playing soft music in the background, certainly many I went to last year did.

When I went to Jumeirah Beach Park last year virtually every single person there was sneaking water and munchies, but being discreet about it.

So long as you're not seen doing things 'in public' during sun-up then you're fine.

THe Iftar buffets are fantastic and a great opportunity to get together with friends and enjoy a nice night out.

In my office we used to cordon off a room for those of us that don't fast to eat during the daytime, however a couple of years ago we stopped doing it as our Muslim friends said it really didn't bother them, and only strengthened their resolve during that time.

There are always two sides, personally I think Ramadan is a great time.

Rubbish us/ westerners live as normal in Ramadan

chevaliers-de-sion wrote:Rubbish us/ westerners live as normal in Ramadan

what is this troll doing here? if u love Isreal why dont u sit in ur hole and m**turbate.

Chocoholic wrote:Guys, chill out a little bit, you're making Ramadan sound like a hellish time to come when really it's not at all.

.

it is hellish for westerners

yeah you think its great i dont.

And yeah iftar buffets are amazing
it was there i tried my first shisha and and special cocktails

Actually it is not really hellish for Westerners / Non-Muslims, it is just a matter of firstly Respect and secondly preparation.

I'll second that. Please don't lump all westerners together, I and all my friends certainly don't have any problems during Ramadan at all.

It's fine, there's no big deal really so long as you are prepared for things that's all.

Best thing to do during Ramadan is take a vacation , preferable to somewhere like Rio

ok guys its decided we are still going as planned and not changing the date, i have taken all the advice into account and seeing as we are all over 30, i think we can behave ourselves and be respectful.

thanks and will let you know how it went.

rsitu wrote:ok guys its decided we are still going as planned and not changing the date, i have taken all the advice into account and seeing as we are all over 30, i think we can behave ourselves and be respectful.

thanks and will let you know how it went.

enjoy your time and be prepared for lots of buffets and shisha till the early hours of the morning !!!

Desert Scorpion wrote:Best thing to do during Ramadan is take a vacation , preferable to somewhere like Rio

oooh i would love to visit brasil anytime .... wow the music ,the jazz , the food , corcovado ...wow but i wish it wasnt this far from dubai

Well i got back on Monday, and we had a good time, we went sand bashing, malls, souks, out for drinks. Being ramadan did not restrict us too much, as we ate breakfast at the hotel and lunch in our rooms, and dinner we ate out. We did however see alot of tourists still eating drinking and smoking outside.

We went to the long bar on the first night and it was full of drunken expats all on the pull, we left after one drink. If i go again i would make sure to stay at one of the 5 start hotels near the madinat resort as there is more to do there.

rsitu