Day 2 - 30 Aug 25 Melbourne to Dubai and full day in Dubai

August 30, 2025

30 Aug 25 Melbourne to Dubai and full day in Dubai

We had a very smooth flight from Melbourne, unfortunately with not quite as much sleep as we had hoped, but nonetheless feeling much fresher that had been been sitting down the back of the aircraft. We arrived about 30 minutes ahead of schedule, greeted by an oppressive 34 Deg at 0630am. By the time we cleared customs, we were safely delivered us to our hotel - The Sofitel Downtown by 0730am. Surprisingly, staff tried to get us checked into our room, but it still hadn't been cleaned. So, conveniently located next to the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall, we left our luggage and walked to the Dubai Mall for a look around. We returned to the hotel at 11am and checked into our room on the 22nd floor with amazing views. We offloaded our luggage, got changed and headed out straight away again into the 43 Deg heat to explore some of the older parts of Dubai. We caught the Metro from the station just outside the hotel to the Gold Souk then walked back through the various other Souks (Markets) and old parts of the the city to the Dubai Creek. Here we caught a traditional Abra boat across the Dubai Creek to the Al Fahidi Historical district and walked by 3 pm had enough of the oppressive heat, returning to the hotel for a refreshing dip in the pool. A very expensive and underwhelming dinner in a hotel restaurant ended our day with and early night to bed.