Cultural Sensitivities when on holiday in Dubai

The media has sometimes painted an image of Dubai as being intolerant to normal western behaviours and culture. This often leads to questions about how safe it is to travel to Dubai. In reality however there are very seldom issues that lead to the prosecutions that sometimes surface in the media, and as long as you are aware of the do’s and don’ts before you go, your holiday in Dubai will be filled with memories that will last a life time.

Can I travel to Dubai with my girlfriend?

Strictly speaking, the United Arab Emirates law is based on the Islamic Sharia which does not allow pre-marital relationships. The law is of course enforceable, but in reality, the only way this would happen is if you were to do something considered to be obscene in a public place. There have been a few headlines about innocent tourists being sent to jail for adultery in Dubai, but in all these cases, there was an element of a public display of behaviour that led to the subsequent arrest and prosecution. If you are travelling with your girlfriend to Dubai, are booked in at one of the 5* hotels in Dubai and behave yourself in public, then you are not going to raise any unwanted attention.

As one senior hotel manager in Dubai acknowledged, if laws on unmarried couples were strictly enforced in Dubai, the hotels would be running at 20% occupancy, which would simply crash the economy. Given that members of the royal family own most of the hotels in Dubai, arresting their clients is a sure way to kill their income sources. This is of course is not something they would want to do. So the golden rule is be conservative in public, and save the fun for your hotel.

Wearing Bikinis on the beach on your Dubai Holiday

A bikini on he beach and by the pool is perfectly acceptable. Just don’t walk down the street or through the mall wearing a bikini and you will be fine. Of course, wearing skimpy swimwear on the beach should be limited to the private beach facilities offered by your resort and not public beaches. Men should also be sensitive to local customs in Dubai and wear shorts that cover their legs up to above the knee. Men walking around the streets or through the malls bare chested would be considered offensive.

Over the counter medicines that land you in jail in Dubai

Not all the headlines relate to extreme cases. There are many news stories which seem extreme but are in fact worthy of note. A man eating a bread roll at London Heathrow was sentenced to 4 years in jail for possession of drugs. Some poppy seeds from the bread roll had stuck to his clothing. Another man was arrested for the possession of Panadol Ultra because it contained codeine, and this was a drug that had not been prescribed to him. Some prescription medicines freely available in the UK are illegal in Dubai and the list includes:

• Alfentanil
• Amphetamine
• Buprenorphone
• Codeine
• Fentanyl
• Ketamine
• Methadone
• Methyphenidate
• Morphine
• Pentazocine
• Pethidine
• Remifentanil
• Sufentanil

If you are on any prescription medication, make sure you have a letter from your doctor explaining what drugs you have been prescribed and why you require them. Do not take any over the counter medicines from the UK to Dubai. You are better of talking to a pharmacist in Dubai and buying locally available medication. If you must have an over the counter drug, then you must have a letter from your doctor explaining why you require this medication.

Mind your language

There is one law in the UAE that we might all welcome. It is illegal to be abusive in Dubai, and in many ways, this should not be a difficult law to comply with. Being abusive never solves anything, and most of the time, there are plenty of alternative ways of solving a problem than shouting abuse. But you should be warned- abusive language in Dubai directed at anyone can land you in jail. Just stick to the mantra – sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me- bite your tongue and you will have a very pleasant holiday in Dubai.