Excellent tour learning origins of Dubai, with time for shopping at bazaar and a delicious authentic lunch! - We did many tours while visiting the UAE (staying in Dubai) - including a desert safari, day tour of Abu Dhabi (the grand mosque), cruise on the creek - but this walking tour was by far my favorite. To start, Tahir was excellent communicating our meet-up time. He was punctual and very polite. Immediately upon getting picked up at our hotel (by the way, pick up and drop off is included - and the vehicle is super clean, comfortable, and stocked with water), Tahir began setting up our morning: what to expect, what we would see, and taking us through the planned itinerary. As we drove (note, we had a driver so Tahir could focus his attention on us) to the old part of town, he answered all of our questions - whether we were asking about cultural customs or what building we were driving by. Tahir is exceptionally knowledgeable and knows his stuff! He is a certified tour guide and a true Emirati! Tahir walked us around old town letting us explore authentic old homes, poke around museums, and sit with some of the locals to have coffee. We learned about the ruling families, certain traditions, and current modern day culture. We even took a short boat ride (abra) across the creek to visit the markets (where I did get some lovely souvenirs, spices, and teas!). Our morning ended with an authentic lunch at a wonderful restaurant - it felt like we were guests in someone’s home. There was an entertainer walking around beating a drum and a lady sat on one side of the dining area making rigag bread for the customers. The food was delicious and the experience was very special! If you do nothing else but chill at the resort while visiting Dubai, take a morning and let Tahir show you around town. He’s kind, patient, lovely sense of humor, and very proud of his heritage (which makes him the best kind of tour guide!). Oh! Also a valuable for layovers! Tahir informed us that his afternoon group was being picked up and dropped off at the airport - they had a half day layover and were taking advantage to go explore! So, keep that in mind during your travels, too!

Ones in a lifetime experience - One of the things I liked the most was the coffee I had with the locals in the old town of Dubai, for the simple reason that I could listen and learn their habits, the way they treat their guests (things about good manners which everyone should know). And also in addition to what I saw and heard from the locals there, I also had explanations from the Dubai guide, Walid (with him I recommend you take a trip to Dubai, not someone else :), explanations related to habits and of all the places we visited during the trip, he also told us a lot about religion (it made us Europeans, to understand better the moral and religious laws by which they live with each other)