One day in Dubai: Dubai Frame and Global village

One of the most memorable One day in Dubai experience was the day we spent discovering two major tourist attractions – the impressive Dubai Frame and the action-filled place called Global Village. These two attractions can be easily done in one day because Dubai Village only opens after 4 p.m.

One day in Dubai starts with Dubai Frame

The easiest and most convenient way is by taxi. However, as we are budget travelers, we decided to go with the metro option. This way is cheaper but requires some walking, which can be tough if the weather is hot. Luckily, on the day we were visiting at the beginning of January, it was still okay and manageable. I wouldn’t recommend doing this in the summer.

Anyway, if you decide to follow our route during your one day in Dubai, you would need to ride the red line until Al Jafiliya Station and walk around the park to the Gate 4 (that’s where the entrance to Dubai Frame is located). The tickets cost 50 AED (12,50€) and the line was not too long. Compared to Burj Khalifa, visiting Dubai Frame was easy and quick.

Dubai Frame

Once you get past security, the elevators will take you all the way up to the top floor of this building – the Frame. The view is quite nice and so is the glass floor, which is not dangerous to walk on, even though some people will find it nerve-wracking. The idea of building this kind of structure was to show the old and the new Dubai, as the location is perfectly dividing the two parts of town. Also, you can see the beaches and the desert, which can be better enjoyed on a desert safari.


Dubai Frame is a good way to see yet another city view, but if you have a limited amount of time, I would recommend spending it on Burj Khalifa. In our case, this was a perfect morning adventure before we could proceed to our next place of interest – Global Village.

Mall of Emirates

Before heading to Global Village, we had a couple of hours to spare and decided to hide from the heat in the Mall of Emirates. There was another reason to check it out – I was looking to see the famous indoor skiing slope. After some searching, we finally found it – and it was amazing! True winter wonderland!

We decided to stop for a coffee at Costa with a view of this magic place. I certainly had winter blues at that moment and the only reason I didn’t jump on the skis was the fact that it was winter in my homeland and snow was due any day.

Getting to Global Village

Global Village is located somewhat away from the downtown and therefore is not reachable by public transport. However, there is some sort of bus connection from Mall of Emirates, so we decided to give it a go. Mall of Emirates can be reached by the metro (red line). We had lunch at the food court and by 4 p.m. went to look for the bus options.

Needless to say, the line to get on a bus was much longer than the number of free seats. The buses depart twice per hour and in order to get on one, you would have to queue for about half an hour. Without further thought, we decided to try our luck with a taxi. The first one we stopped refused to drive to Global Village. After a few moments, we found a car that was willing to take us and invited two other people to share the ride. It looked like almost everyone catching the taxis in front of the Mall of Emirates was interested in heading to Global Village. The taxi ride cost us 45 AED (11€), which is nothing compared to the time spared and the comfort of riding in an AC cooled car.

Global Village

Global Village is a multicultural amusement park with various countries represented in separate halls. The entrance fee is 15 AED (4 €) and the park is only open from November until the end of March. The whole park is one huge shopping and entertainment zone. The area is huge and there is always something happening somewhere. We spent hours wandering through different country areas (our favorites were Africa, Turkey, and Japan), enjoying street shows, concerts, and local food and drinks.

I would also recommend checking out the stunt show, it’s impressive with crazy car driving, explosions, and flames! The ticket is 10 AED and must be purchased separately. The show is on 3-4 times daily, so make sure to arrive early and reserve the best seats!


Once the sun sets, Global Village is illuminated with millions of colors and neon lights. As if it wasn’t enough, there is also a full-sized FunFair park with thrill rides and circus shows.

Getting back from Global Village

Going back to the hotel was easier than arriving – different bus lines were available to ride to various parts of town. For us it was the bus going to Deira – the ride was 10 AED per person and took us around 45 min. Luckily, the number of people going back was much smaller, so we easily found places on the bus.

I can recommend Global Village to everybody, including families. This place is really unique and special – lots of fun things to do, even though the souvenirs are overpriced, you don’t have to buy them. We really enjoyed the shows and concerts as well as the stunt show.

For more cool things to do in Dubai at night, have a look at this guide

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