W9London

We'll be flying LHR-DXB-NRT and back this summer on EK with young children. Outbound connection is 3hrs from midnight to 3am, inbound connection is a bit longer 6.5hrs from 3:30am to 10am.

1. For outbound, I presume there's not much aside from hanging around at the airport? Are lounges/facilities open in the middle of night? We prefer to stay airside.

2. For inbound, is it worth venturing outside of airport? Or just book a hotel room inside the airport? I'm a bit loathe to schlepp the children, esp if they're tired and sleepy.

Oh and I recognised it will be in the middle of Ramadan--I presume business is as usual at the airport, or would I have difficulty finding a place to buy fruits or water?

beergut

1. Everything's open 24/7

2. You could book a taxi to take a tour and have a look at the sights, if you want a room then it'll be cheaper at one of the Hotels just outside the airport.

3. Biz as usual at the Airport during Ramadan.

W9London

Thanks very much. Much appreciated.

mecabq

The hotel in the terminal would be a good choice, although it's not cheap. I have used it (the one in T1 -- I am sure that the new branch in EK's T3 is nicer) on a couple of occasions to drop off my luggage and serve as a base to explore DXB's excellent restaurants (especially in T3) or other activities. Plus it has a swimming pool.

With 6.5 hours, I probably wouldn't leave the airport. By the time you make the long trek out and get a visa, it's after 4:00. Then you have to arrive back by 9:00 at the latest I would say (the airport shouldn't be too busy at that time). Also there won't be much to do in Dubai at that time. If it were a couple of hours earlier, you could enjoy a suhour experience at one of the hotels, but nothing much will be open at 4:00am.

schley

You are arriving in the middle of the night and checking into the airport hotel is a good move. I have stayed there once and the rooms are very nice for an airport hotel. As OP mentioned it is expensive for an airport hotel as well.