United Arab Emirates
Seven emirates on the Gulf, three hours from India: Dubai's skyline and desert, Abu Dhabi's Grand Mosque and Louvre, Sharjah's museums and the mountains of Ras Al Khaimah — the easiest long weekend abroad an Indian passport can take.
The nearest far-away place
India has
The United Arab Emirates is seven emirates in a federation, and most travellers know one of them. Dubai is the reason the country is on every Indian family's list: the Burj Khalifa, the marina, the malls, the creek where the city began, and the desert that starts where the last tower ends. It is three to four hours from Delhi, Mumbai or Bengaluru, an hour and a half behind Indian time, and it has more non-stop flights from India than almost any other foreign city.
What Dubai does not show you is the rest. Abu Dhabi, the capital, an hour and a half down the coast, holds the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island, the theme parks of Yas Island and, since February 2024, the BAPS Hindu Mandir at Abu Mureikhah. Sharjah, twenty minutes from Dubai, is the emirate that kept its museums and its old souks. Ras Al Khaimah, in the north, is where the Hajar mountains rise to the UAE's highest point on Jebel Jais, and where the beach hotels are quieter and cheaper than Dubai's.
For Indian travellers it is the least demanding foreign trip there is. Indian food is everywhere and often excellent, English is the working language, a large share of the people you meet will be from the subcontinent, and the visa is arranged by the airline, the hotel or your travel agent rather than by an embassy. The one thing to take seriously is the calendar: from November to March the weather is close to perfect, and from June to September it is not.
Explore Japan
by Region
When is your UAE?
A desert coast with two seasons: a long, hot, humid summer and a winter that most of the world would call perfect. The trip should follow the winter.
How to Explore the World
Six ways to find your next journey — by map, by moment, or by the feeling you are chasing.
Explore the world continent by continent, country by country — every place mapped to the right season.
The landmarks that define a journey, from ancient sites to natural marvels worth crossing the world for.
Beyond the headline sights — the quiet streets and local secrets our specialists know first-hand.
Each destination timed to its finest moment, so you arrive when it is at its very best.
Direct routes, visa-on-arrival and e-Visa options that make the world more reachable than you think.
Use any destination as a starting point — every journey is shaped entirely to your taste.
UAE visa — what you need to know
Indian passport holders need a visa for the UAE, and for most travellers it is arranged for them rather than by them. The UAE government portal states that the country's embassies do not issue tourist visas: a UAE-based airline, a licensed travel agent or the hotel you are staying at applies on your behalf to the federal immigration authority (ICP) or to GDRFA in Dubai. The Embassy of the UAE in New Delhi says the same — it does not issue visit or tourist visas on ordinary passports. There is one exception, for Indians who already hold certain US, UK, EU or other permits.
The UAE Embassy in New Delhi states that Indian nationals with a valid US visa, with at least six months left on it, can obtain a visa on arrival at the UAE airport. The federal immigration authority's announcement of June 2026 describes the same scheme for Indian nationals holding a valid residence permit issued by the United States, an EU member state, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand or Canada — the last six were added from 13 February 2025. GDRFA Dubai's own service page names the US green card and UK or EU residence. Read carefully which document your source names: the embassy says a US visa, the federal authority says a residence permit. If you hold anything other than a green card or a residence permit, confirm with the UAE Embassy in New Delhi before you rely on it.
The federal authority publishes two products for this category: a 14-day visa that may be extended once during the stay, and a 60-day single-entry visa that cannot be extended. GDRFA Dubai's service page describes the 14-day version as applied for online in advance through smart.gdrfad.gov.ae, with a stated turnaround of 48 hours and approval sent by email — so treat it as a pre-approved entry rather than something to sort out at the immigration desk. Passport and the qualifying permit must both have at least six months of validity.
The federal authority states AED 100 for the 14-day visa and AED 250 for the 60-day visa. GDRFA Dubai's service page lists AED 253 for its 14-day online service. The UAE portal itself says visa charges are stated on each service card of the two authorities. The figure therefore depends on the channel, and both change — budget for the higher one and confirm on the channel you use. Overstaying is fined; the federal authority states AED 50 per day.
Most Indian travellers use this route. Emirates, Etihad and flydubai arrange visas for passengers flying with them; licensed UAE travel agents and hotels arrange them when you book through them; and Indian tour operators do it in partnership with a UAE operator. The sponsor sets the length and the entry type and tells you the cost. The portal warns to verify that any agent is genuine before paying or sending passport copies, and suggests the UAE embassy in your country can help check. No processing time for this route is published at the sources we read, so apply through your sponsor as soon as flights are booked and carry a printed copy of the approved visa when you fly.
For frequent visitors the portal describes a self-sponsored five-year multiple-entry tourist visa for all nationalities: up to 90 days on each visit, extendable by a further 90, on proof of a bank balance of USD 4,000 or equivalent over the previous six months, UAE health insurance valid for 180 days and an onward or return ticket. Applied for online through ICP or GDRFA Dubai.
For all United Arab Emirates journeys we design, we prepare your complete visa documentation package — the forms, the supporting documents, the sequence of submission. Our visa specialists help travellers prepare complete applications with careful document guidance. Final visa decisions always remain with the relevant authorities.
Travel the UAE intelligently
The UAE is safe, orderly and easy. The things that catch visitors out are the heat, the calendar and the local rules, all of which are simple once you know them.
UAE travel FAQ
The questions Indian travellers ask most often before booking Dubai and the UAE.
One country,
several different trips
The emirates are close together and the roads are excellent, so a UAE trip is built by choosing which of these to give a day to. Dubai is the base for most of them.
The Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Fountain at its foot, the Dubai Mall, the marina and the palm, and the creek where abras still cross between the old souks of Deira and Bur Dubai.
Dune driving, a camel ride, sandboarding and dinner at a camp as the light goes — the single most-booked afternoon in the country, an hour from either city.
The capital, ninety minutes down the coast: the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat, the Corniche and Qasr Al Watan, the presidential palace opened to visitors.
Abu Dhabi's theme-park island: Ferrari World, Warner Bros. World, Yas Waterworld and SeaWorld, with hotels on the island so families are not driving back and forth.
Twenty minutes from Dubai and a different country in feel: the Heart of Sharjah heritage district, the Museum of Islamic Civilization, the Blue Souk and the Rain Room.
The northern emirate where the Hajar mountains rise straight out of the plain. Jebel Jais has the UAE's highest point, a mountain road, a zipline and a sledge run, and the coast below has the country's calmer beach resorts.
The malls are the reason many Indian travellers come, and winter is when the city organises itself around them: the Dubai Shopping Festival across December and January, and Global Village open through the cool months.
Beach resort mornings, a desert evening and a skyline dinner in one short trip — the UAE is the honeymoon that needs the least planning and the least travel.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the hubs half of India flies through on the way to Europe, Africa and the Americas. A night or two in the middle turns a connection into a second holiday.
Tell us how many days you have, who is travelling and what matters most — parks, beaches, shopping, the desert or the mountains — and our travel designers will shape the trip around it.
How far in advance
should you book the UAE?
The UAE books late better than almost anywhere, except at Christmas, New Year and the school holidays, when Dubai fills and rates climb. The visa is quick when a sponsor handles it, but it should still be in hand before non-refundable bookings.
Winter for everything; shoulder for value; summer only for malls and a stopover.
The airline or hotel that arranges the visa is decided by who you book with, so choose that first.
Burj Khalifa sunset slots, the Louvre, Yas Island multi-park passes and New Year's Eve dinners.
The desert safari, Sharjah, and a night in Ras Al Khaimah can all be added a few weeks out.
What to pack
for the UAE
Light clothes for the day, something warmer for the desert at night and the air-conditioning everywhere, and one outfit that covers you properly for the mosque.
A light scarf or stole is the most useful thing in the bag: it covers shoulders in a mall, a head at the Grand Mosque and cold arms on the desert safari after dark.