UAE: 6 Emirates in a Day Tour Review, Finally Completed!!!
We paid a total of 1,000 Dirhams for our day long tour. I think similar guided tours charged less, much less but since we were pressed for time and we didn't have the luxury to look around, we went ahead and booked the tour with Rayna Tours through their representative at the lobby of our IBIS/Novotel hotel. Our guide, Ali, a tall chubby native of Pakistan but who has lived in Dubai for a long time, picked us up at the hotel. The Rayna Tours Rep was there too to introduce us to each other.
15 minutes late, Ali was apologetic for his tardiness and explained the traffic in Dubai was bad that day. Anyway, shortly after the meet and greet, off we went on our tour.
First stop was the Emirate of Sharjah.
The Blue Suok where plenty of gold was sold. We arrived here just when the stalls inside were just opening. Gold was indeed sold in abundance here but we weren't planning to buy any and so we didn't linger. There was a Hop On Hop Off bus that arrived here roughly around the same time we arrived. Many of the visitors were from China.
I certainly wished we had more time here. But with so many emirates to visit in a day, I figured going to one or two attractions in every emirate was tops and I was right. We passed by the beautiful site of the Sharjah Museum and we actually told Ali we didn't need to stop and visit. How I wish we did now. The building looked impressive and the collection inside was amazing from what I've read. Next time, when we return.
Our next stop was the Emirate of Ajman. I was so glad we stopped here to visit the premises. Well worth the extremely cheap admission we paid. Less than $5 per person!!!
It had vignettes of life in the past in Ajman. Very nice if you ask me. We stayed here a solid hour.
Me at the Ajman Museum
After our leisurely visit of the Ajman Museum, off we went to see the other emirates of the UAE. Next emirate we got to see was Umm Al Qaiwain. There wasn't really any attraction to see here and so we just drove through. We did stop once to take pictures of the camels and goats we saw along the way. There were quite a lot of them as I recall.
A camel by the highway in the Emirate of Umn Al Qaiwain
Climbing the hill to visit the Queen of Sheeba Palace and get an overview of the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. I looked forward to seeing the ruins of the so called palace, but, all I saw as I reached the top was rocks strewn all over. I hardly saw any trace of what was there once. Anyway, one does get a view of the emirate from up there.
The mountains that surrounded the area was amazing. We didn't stay here a long time. The heat of the sun was quite oppressive at noon. And since we were in the middle of the desert, you can just imagine how hot it was.
Right after our stop here, off we went to lunch in a mall. To be honest, we headed to the food court of a mall whose name I can no longer recall. It was quick and easy as we wanted to see more of the different emirates. Actually, you might even laugh at me, since I ordered KFC Fried chicken then. Yes, I had to have a bit of Colonel Sanders while on this tour. Marc, if I am not mistaken, had an A & W burger.
Musandamm
When Ali mentioned that Iran was on the other side of Musandamm, this body of water, we passed by and visited, I was so wishing I could go. I must confess, I have been mesmerized by the beauty of the country I have seen on many IG posts.
The Al Bidiyah Mosque
A rear view of the mosque
Right behind the historical mosque was this building on top of a hill. Quite a sight!
Next up, the seaside emirate of Fujeirah! Ali drove us through the waterfront of this seemingly rich emirate and it was a holiday. There were plenty of people by the beach watching an air exhibition similar to the Blue Angels we have back home every spring.
The last emirate we visited that day was Fujeirah. I liked the place a lot. It was around 4:30 pm when we arrived and the museum had an hour left before it closed. We went through the premises very quickly. What I liked the most in this emirate was the fortress up on a hill. At sunset it looked pretty spectacular.
The Museum of Fujairah
This was a huge floor to ceiling painting at the lobby of the Fujeiraj Museum.
I was so happy to know that this attraction was just right outside the museum compound.
I love this picture of the mosque I took right in the center of town. I'd love to visit Fujeirah once again and walk its streets and its waterfront.
Overall, I was very pleased with the tour we took. It was pricey but well worth it I believe. there were only my partner and I and we were pretty comfortable in the Hummer we traveled in. Many thanks to our guide, Ali, who loved to talk and tell stories.
I highly recommend this tour. Do check out the tour booths inside the Dubai Mall. The tour company, not Rayna, offered this tour for much less. It was a tour with more people on a van but read reviews about it if you can locate any. By the time we reached our hotel, we were exhausted but glad to have seen a lot.