Transiting in DXB- Is 5 hours Enough to Explore the City??
 

I am flying CX in F from HKG-DXB and then connecting a little over five hours later to a BA flight to London in F. Is 5 hours long enough to go into the city. The entry requirements say that you can only get a 96 hour Visa stamp if your transit is 8 hours or more.

Has anybody doen this. Is it better to use the 5 hours to take advantage of duty free and the lounges? Are there are sleep rooms at DXB?

There is a supposedly very nice transit hotel built into the airside of the Sheik Rasheed Terminal (the airside part of DXB). Not sure on prices, but you should be able to get information on the DXB website.

I did not find Dubai Duty Free to be all that exciting (or different from any other Duty Free facility). Definately not enough to keep you occupied for five hours. Also, the BA lounge is not all that special. Just a standard Terraces lounge with no First Class section. No showers, either.

Dubai is an interesting place and well worth a visit of more than five hours. With five hours, you shoudl be able to get a glimpse of the city. Immigration lines can be long. I would estimate an hour to get landside (a very conservative estimate, I'll add). You should plan to be back at DXB no later than 90 minutes prior to your flight (security is understandibly tight). That leaves you with about 2.5 hours to explore the city. With that time, I would take a taxi to the Spice Souk and walk around the Deira side of the Creek. You see the Spice and Gold Souks, the dhows unloading at Dubai Creek, the skyline (including the Burj al-Arab) and get a sense of life in Dubai.

Will you be doing this at night, connecting to the 2 AM BA flight?

Early lounge access can be a problem since BA doesn't keep their lounge open between flights, and if you happen to find yourself city-side you can't even check in until two or three hours before the flight.

I am assuming you will be coming arriving at 8pm on CX 731 and connect to the 2am flight to LHR on BA. The good thing about DXB is it is a night city. Lots of the attractions like the Gold Souk will be open until midnight. The airport is also not too far from the city, so transit time to and from the airport should only be 15 minutes each way at a maximum. So I think you will be fine albeit a bit rushed. The duty free is nice, but I would go to the city instead of staying at the airport.

Yes. I arrive at 9:45pm from HKG on the non-stop and then getting on the BA flight which now, due to a schedule change, leaves at 3am. So actually, I have 5:15 in DXB. After getting through customs and immmigration I should have about 2 and a half to 3 hours to see the sights. That gets me back in plenty of time to check-in and use the lounge.

BTW, the transit hotel is so outrageously overpriced that I am not even going to consider that as an option. Its $45 an hour. Nice rooms, but Id rather see the city than sleep :) .

Does customs and immigration go any faster for F pax??

Head down to the creek, take an Abra (watertaxi) across....eat some street food - Dubai and the rest of the Gulf really come alive at night. You probably won't be able to get out to Sheikh Zayed Road and the Emirates Towers, but who needs to see yet another office tower (especially when you've just come in from HKG!)

To the extent it gets you off the plane first, then yes. Formally, no. Nothing like Fast Track at LHR. It is a fairly long walk from the gates to Immigration (up and down several escalators), so if you don't move fast, you'll get passed by others from your flight. A separate line forms in front of each open immigration both, so you should pick the best one. As non-politically correct as it is to say, pick the line with the greatest concentration of Europeans, even if it is longer.

You'll have plenty of time to get a taste of Dubai. There really is no reason to plan on spending much, if any, time in the BA Lounge. It is nothing special.

When I went to DXB 2 years ago there was a fastrak line which was located on the far right hand side of the customs hall. It was for all passengers in F or J from any airline. You simply had to show your boarding stub to get use it. I am not sure if it has changed since then.

Definately wasn't there in January.

Although I have no recollection of any arrival fast-track lines, there will be a fast-track line (on the right) after the check-in desks once you return for your BA flight (before the second of three security clearances you must pass through before boarding your flight).

-FlyerBeek

There is a first and business class lane for immigration arriving and departing Dubai.. I use it very regularly.

On arrival, it is to the right (just next to the EK fast track), it is labelled above the desks, 'Other Airlines Fast Track' or wording very similar to that.

If you have no baggage, you can be out of the airport in 20 mins.

The BA lounge is nothing special, no F section and not worth dashing back to the airport to spend much time in, you'll be better off in town !

Just make sure that your bag is checked through and you should be ale to get the BA boarding pass from CX as well.

oh and you dont need a visa for Dubai, not even a landing card to fill in these days, just hand over your passport at the counter. Very easy, they may ask how long you are staying, but rarely ask to see ticket.

Thanks GK. I was wondering about the Visa situation. Ive talked to others who say they have been charged a certain fee in Dirhams but that may not be for transit.

One question...is there bag storage at Dubai? Im somewhat reluctant to check my bag.

i find the reluctance to check bags quite amusing... especially given how far in and out of dubai terminal you are going to have to walk. guess my risk/tolerance limits are different.

for example i once flew into dubai, had a long ish late night transit stop, on way to CAI from HKG, so checked bag through (CX->SQ) and checked into sheraton hotel with just my laptop bag, and yes bag did make it to cairo.

there is a website for dubai international airport.. a quick google will bring it up, and should show if left luggage is available.

due to security check and bag scan before check-in, i don't think you can check in and then exit the terminal.

oh and btw, am actually flying into dubai in about 9 hrs myself, so if there is no longer a fast track non EK line, i'll go back and edit my post above.

on the visa fee, maybe someone is confused with Bahrain.. which once cost me way too much cash in fees for a short overnight stopover.

BA will pay for you to use the generic F lounge at DXB (not that much nicer than the Terraces lounge, but with huge marble showers that will hold 20 of your favourite friends, or 2 camels -- they really are that big). Probably needs to be on a full-F fare for BA to do this (cost is something like USD 50 for this lounge so it is real money out of their pocket).

just to confirm the express F/J arrival immigration line is there, it has a blue sign and is called Fast Track Other Airlines, and is immediately to the right of the EK line, which itself has a red sign. have fun.