Family Travel in the Middle East
Dubai - UAE

What should I do with the Eid holidays in Dubai?

[This post has been updated for Eid-al Fitr 2020 but recommendations remain subject to change based on Covid-19 rules]

A wadi in Oman Eid Inspiration

The joyous occasion of Eid-al-Fitr is just around the corner and many Middle East countries will be marking the occasion with a whole week of holidays. The UAE will likely mark the occasion in 2020 with weekends and public holidays running from 22 May to 30 May 2020.

Questions is, should you stay or should you go?  This post is specifically for our readers in Dubai and the UAE but packed full of inspirational reads and information that all holidaymakers in the region can use (some links will open on our partner blogging site Our Globetrotters).

Staying in the UAE for Eid

The weather in May is starting to heat up, though water-based outdoor activities are still not out of the question in May.

Let’s first up though look at some indoor ideas where you can keep your cool with the kids;

Dubai parks and Resorts Legoland Water park

Try and beat the heat by heading to local attractions such as Legoland Water Park Dubai with some great resident discounts

Time to plan a getaway

Staycations! Where can you head to by road for a relaxing retreat? Here’s a selection of our favourite staycation guides and easy road trips from Dubai:

Please don’t forget to read our desert driving guide before heading anywhere in the heat.  Driving conditions can change vastly in the hottest summer months and your car needs to be ready to handle the conditions.

Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas

A glimpse inside Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas, a popular staycation resort on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island

Looking slightly further away here are some of our best short break destinations where flights are around 4 to 5 hours max from Dubai.

Beirut City Skyline | Family Travel in the Middle East

Beirut is an easy flight from Dubai with great weather and plenty of day trips possible to see more of Lebanon

You can check out all of our Middle East destination guides here. 

Search Tools we use and recommend

So how do you go about seeking the best last-minute travel deals in these situations?

Great Flight Finder Tool

The best place to start your search for possibilities is using Skyscanner to search for flights.  You can enter your start airport, then try searching “Everywhere” to see what is available:

Don’t forget you can search from more than just DXB! Why not also try starting with:

  • AUH for Abu Dhabi
  • DWC for Al Maktoum Airport
  • SHJ for Sharjah
  • AE for all UAE airports

Finding last-minute hotel deals

For hotels, we use a few different tools to make sure we’re getting the right price. We love Booking.Com as it has a super powerful search function and a great interactive map feature – you can test it here.



We also like to check that any accommodation we are booking is at the best price. For this we use HotelsCombined.com. Why not give it a try here – put in the hotel or location you are eyeing up and it will compare all the different search engines to try and find you the best price.

Don’t forget to jump over to our Family Travel Middle East chat group to discuss ideas with fellow parents.  We will update in the group and our Facebook Page as we become aware of any great last-minute deals.

 

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This post was written for Eid-al-Fitr 2019 and updated for Eid-al-Fitr 2020. This website contains affiliate links which may earn us a small commission at no additional cost to you. Our full website terms can be found here.

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