United Arab Emirates Travel Guide

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From the timeless tranquility of the desert to the lively bustle of the souks, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) offers a kaleidoscope of attractions.

Dubai has led the way with phenomenal investment in opulent hotels and infrastructure, opening the world's tallest sky scraper, the Burj Dubai, in January 2010. Dubai has firmly established itself as a tourism honeypot, where visitors can laze on a beautiful beach, flex their credit card at designer stores or dance the night away to the musical mastery of international DJs.

Abu Dhabi is hot in Dubai's heels with its modern and sleek city filled with skyscrapers, gourmet restaurants and five-star spas. The UAE's capital is set to become the country's cultural heart, with the Louvre Abu Dhabi expected to open in 2012, and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi contemporary art museum scheduled for completion in 2011.

Geography

The Emirates are bordered to the north by the Gulf and the Musandam Peninsula, to the east by Oman, to the south and west by Saudi Arabia and to the northwest by Qatar. They comprise a federation of seven small former sheikhdoms. Abu Dhabi is the largest emirate, and the remainder (Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Qaiwain) are known collectively as the Northern States. The land is mountainous and mostly desert.

Abu Dhabi is flat and sandy, and within its boundaries is the Buraimi Oasis. Dubai has a 16km (10-mile) deep-water creek, giving it the popular name of ‘Pearl of the Gulf'. Sharjah has a deep-water port on the Batinah coast at Khor Fakkan, facing the Indian Ocean. Ras al-Khaimah is the fourth emirate in size. Fujairah, one of the three smaller sheikhdoms on the Batinah coast, has agricultural potential, while Ajman and Umm al-Qaiwain were once small coastal fishing villages.