Friends will be arriving in Dubai (DXB) on a Monday in mid-April on Emirates 222 out of DFW at around noon. They are flying in Business Class and understand that upon deplaning the will be taken to the Emirates Business Class lounge. Their flight out is in Business Class on Emirates 658 to Maldives (MLE) at 4:20 am the next morning, some 16 hours later.

I've searched and found some scattered suggestions as to what to do. Most of the information was dated. I would appreciated your advice as to how best to pass those hours.

First question is where to leave their carry-ons. Can it be left securely in the lounge or is their a safer option.

Being that this is their first time in Dubai, their first thought was to hire a driver guide for a few hours. Question is do you have any suggestions for them as to names and costs. I read here that it is very easy to get around and that maybe they don't need a driver and guide. Thoughts?

I assume that it will be at least 1 pm, maybe later, before they are ready to leave the airport. How early do they need to be back to check-in and get to the gate? My guess is that they will want to return after touring, shopping and dinner no later than mid-night. Exhaustion might set in earlier as they will have had a long layover at DFW.

Anyhow, I need an idea as to what time key tourist sites close. If they close by 6 pm, my friends will have about four hours to take in a site or two. After that they could take in a shopping center (but they are not big shoppers) and catch dinner somewhere.

They are reasonably adventuresome, he's a sailor, she's into crafts. Considering the limited time, where would you suggest they go. Also, is there an artsy shopping area (shopping centers are mostly the same world over and they have seen plenty of "high end" shops) and a good ethnic restaurant (anything other than a steakhouse) you'd recommend? Also, is there a place for drinks and entertainment that opens early enough that they could enjoy it and not have to rush back to the airport?

Safety is always a concern. Any advice here?

Dress suggestions. They will be comfortably dressed on the plane. What does the wife need to wear while they tour, shop and eat. And the husband usually flies in shorts. Does he need long pants in town.

Back to the starting point, do they need a guide to get the most out of their time? Someone said there was a tour desk at DBX. Know where? Can you arrange a four to six hour tour there? Is there a tour of restaurants and night spots?

Finally if you were to recommend a website to them for information on things to do, which would you recommend.

Thanks.

[understand that upon deplaning the will be taken to the Emirates Business Class lounge]
I don't know about being "taken", but if they aleady have the Boarding Pass, they can go through Transit Control to go air side. Not sure how they'd then later exit the airport. I'm sure it can be done but usually they don't make it convenient.

[How early do they need to be back to check-in]
There is a dedicated Business/First Class wing of the Terminal. I've never had any queue through Immigration. No need to arrive at the airport more than 2 hours prior.

I don't understand the idea of roaming around for 16 hours. There are a couple of nice, inexpensive hotels a 5 minute shuttle bus ride away. $100 for a hotel is nothing compared to tickets and the Maldives. I've done the exact same itinerary, even with getting many hours of sleep on the plane, I've still had to catch some sleep between flights.

Is there a Business/first class arrival lounge? I think they said that Business/First class passengers deplane to an arrival lounge.

Etihad have that, not Emirates. There are no arrival lounges in DXB. Only the lounges airside.

They could back track out of airside, and it's a hassle not worth doing. But for such a long layover I highly recommend booking a room in a nearby hotel.

And no they can't leave their hand baggage in the lounge while they're out in town, they could take them with them, or store them landside for a fee.

For 16 hours you can definitely spend time at Dubai Mall and visit Burj Khalifa (advanced booking is preferred) or spend time shopping at the Mall of Emirates.

Shopping malls open at 10 AM and close at 10 PM.

For long layovers I book the airside Dubai International Hotel in T3 and use the Business or First lounge for F&B. If you book early enough a twin room is about $200

Ask them to check if their reservation shows that they are eligible for dubai connect. They could use it, get a complimentary visa (if the need it) and drop off their luggage at the Le Meridien Hotel, have a shower/freshen up and then go do their sightseeing. There are plenty of inexpensive hotels near the airport that they can go to. If they do Dubai Connect they will have to check out about 3 to 4 hours before their flight anyway and the shuttle to the airport takes about 7-10 min so it would be perfectly in the midnight time frame.

Burj Khalifa is best at sundown-ish, you get a great day into night view and you can watch the dubai fountain at a time where the light show is better.

I like the madinat as a place to hang out and have drinks/food and do a bit of shopping if they want. Better than a mall in my opinion as there is outdoor seating and in April it shouldn't be too bad (there's also the malls and the souk for shopping). It's also right by the Burj Al Arab and Atlantis if that's something they're interested in.

As for dress code, shorts are perfectly fine for men but I would be a little cautious with the length of shorts for women. My sisters usually go with knee length dresses or 3/4 just to be safe. I know a lot of people will say it's not necessary but why risk the bad mood of the morality police...

As for dress code, Dubai is very tolerant although officially a muslim country.
If you want to be a little bit respectful, long trousers & long sleeve for men, but shorts & polo are perfectly fine.
For ladies, the idea is to show as little skin as possible and to hide your silhouette, but, frankly, it's quite free.
As long as you are not visiting a religious place, wear anything that the morality of your country of origin tolerates.

Just keep in mind that inside malls can be very cold due to the combination of A/C and marble.

Avoid PDA : public displays of affection.

kq747 : I've never seen the morality police. I've seen something close in Iran and Saudi Arabia. But, AFAIK, it doesn't exist in Dubai. Otherwise, they would have plenty of work ...

They only turn up if you make a fool of yourself and are boorish in public. And also the actual police

Ah ! Then, I know what to do to be locked up in a Lamborghini

Sorry forgot to put "morality police" in quotation marks before...was being facetious and referring to the minority of locals who have reported people for such "offenses" not actual police. I do however encourage conservative dress especially among women and not being drunk in public especially for my self

Taken in that sense, Dubai is far more easier to live than Switzerland

I'd definitely recommend getting a room at a hotel near DXB. There are loads of them. If you book early enough, you can get the Le Meridien/Al Bustan for $100.

Dump the bags. Rest & shower if required, and then spend the evening in Dubai. A few drinks and a meal, and then back to hotel. Head to the airport around 2am.

OP:advise your friends to just not irritate people in public by being obnoxious and they'll be fine. Also no hand-holding or public kissing. But that's about it.

As to ideas about what to recommend your friends - they will arrive at around 1200. This is perfect as immigration will be deserted. I would recommend leaving the airport and booking a hotel - as DYWKIA states, they are plentiful with all sorts of budget ranges.

If this is a revenue J ticket, not an AS award, then they may be able to avail of chauffeur drive at DXB - but if not, taxis are plentiful (and Uber works in Dubai). Would not recommend hiring a driver.

Go for lunch then sightseeing, or sightseeing then dinner. Or napping. Pretty much everything will be indoors or close to indoors - by which I mean, air conditioning. Long pants only if you want to go somewhere relatively nice - but since they should have a hotel room, this should be no inconvenience!

They will have boarding passes issued in DFW for the onward connection, so they only have to be at the airport 1 hour before departure and pass straight through a dedicated part of the terminal - the formalities are extremely painless for J pax. I would recommend 90 minutes if they want to see what's in the airport etc.

Looking at the timings for a DFW-MLE trip it should be eligible, but they haven't booked the shortest layover (14.5 hours) so that probably rules them out.