Dubai

Some of the comments on this thread are upsetting to me and make me think about leaving GN. Dubai is a modern destination for holidays. It’s not for everyone because it’s not peaceful or particularly scenic in the European sense. It’s a vibrant community built in a desert with some amazing contemporary architecture and it’s a busy place so not for everyone. The hotels are luxurious with many amenities and there’s a lot to do although it can be expensive. Of course it’s an Islamic country which welcomes all tourists and imposes very few restrictions. There are limitations on the sale and consumption of alcohol but it’s freely an available in the hotels. It’s respectful to dress in a conservative way when not at the beach or by the pool. Public demonstrations of affection aren’t favourably regarded. No different in many ways from how things used to be in the UK years ago. I have visited many times and have always felt welcome and safe there. It’s important to remember that you’re a visitor in someone else’s country. If you have any kind of prejudice against Islam then you shouldn’t visit but it’s beyond my comprehension that anyone would feel that way. Please live and let live and remember that we all enjoy different types of holidays.

I have a young friend who loves Dubai so much she goes every year.

aonk- it has nothing to do with prejudice against Islam.
If someone asks for opinions on a country or destination, why should it be wrong to reply.

Some of the Canary Islands have a lot to offer besides sun and sea. Just another suggestion.

I haven't been to Dubai but know a friend who has - she said she wouldn't go again. I wonder how these "manufactured" tourist experiences would really appeal to teenagers?

In your post anok you don't mention the migrant workers, I think their treatment is a major factor why some would not want to visit such a place, not because it's an Islamic country. I would love to visit for example, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Syria (if the world were a different place) However, one can't ignore what the migrant workers suffer working in Dubai, a while ago I read that young migrant men working in construction there suffered kidney failure from lack of water working in intense heat, long hours without breaks.

DD2 and I wanted a bit of sun in February’20 and chose Dubai as Emirates fly daily from Newcastle. DD2 is a wheelchair user and we found the locals couldn’t do enough to make our stay comfortable. We enjoyed evening trips by taxi to the Dubai Mall to eat and went up the Burj Khalifa. It was interesting to see groups of girls there flirting with groups of boys - just like here and we saw two Arab boys holding hands while shopping.
There isn’t a lot of culture, it’s brash and showy, but we knew what to expect and it suited what we wanted.

No it’s true that I didn’t mention the migrant workers. There are very many countries where these workers are employed and it certainly isn’t a life which any of us would envy. These people come from countries where they are often unable to obtain employment and have no choice but to earn a living elsewhere. Standards aren’t good but they are improving and the problems are exaggerated in the media. I know this to be true because my DH has spent several long spells working in Dubai for a construction company. The conditions are much better in Dubai and Abu Dhabi than in other areas. In an ideal world there wouldn’t be migrant workers but this situation will continue until people can earn a decent living without leaving their country. This is happening in many places and in many industries. If we stay at home we won’t be in a perfect place.

MayBee70

Austria? Clean, safe. My teens love to ski.

I mentioned to someone many years ago that I would love to visit India and they told me that I would hate it because I would be so upset by the poverty that I would see. I’d love to go on an African safari but there are people living in poverty in Africa too. My favourite podcast is The Rest is Politics with Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart and Rory ( I love Rory!) gets a lot of flak from people because he’s always on planes going somewhere ( some podcasts are conducted with him in an airport lounge). And yet most of us in our youth travelled extensively: it’s what shaped us. With covid and wars etc etc it’s very difficult trying to plan holidays with youngsters. I know of people that have been shot at in Egypt and would never go there. My favourite place in the world is Crete and yet they had terrible weather recently and people died. I used to have free rail travel so travelled round Europe by train in the 70’s. Looking back to those times I often shared a carriage with migrant workers that had been working far from home. What stuck in my mind was that everyone would share their food with everyone else, not something that us British travellers did. I never envisaged a time in the future when travel would involve so many things to consider and always felt safe.

It wouldn't appeal to me at all, for a host of reasons

Norah

MayBee70

Austria? Clean, safe. My teens love to ski.

Daren’t risk skiing with important exams coming up!

MayBee70

Norah

MayBee70

Austria? Clean, safe. My teens love to ski.

Daren’t risk skiing with important exams coming up!

Cheers MayBee70 another parent fail to add to my list 🤣🤣🤣

We always went skiing twice a year when the children were at home, half term and New Year, Christmas or Easter (if it was early) they revised for a couple of hours each day and on the journey.

Teenagers do not need a snowboard or skis to injure themselves especially if they are sporty as all mine were.

GrannyGravy13

MayBee70

Norah

MayBee70

Austria? Clean, safe. My teens love to ski.

Daren’t risk skiing with important exams coming up!

Cheers MayBee70 another parent fail to add to my list 🤣🤣🤣

We always went skiing twice a year when the children were at home, half term and New Year, Christmas or Easter (if it was early) they revised for a couple of hours each day and on the journey.

Teenagers do not need a snowboard or skis to injure themselves especially if they are sporty as all mine were.

Thank you GG13.

But they’ve never skied. It would be different if they were experienced. I’m not criticising people for skiing with their children.

MayBee70

But they’ve never skied. It would be different if they were experienced. I’m not criticising people for skiing with their children.

I did put laughing emojis in my post.

If they are sporty, learning to ski/snowboard would probably be fun for teenagers. The instructors are of a high standard in Austria and very safety conscious.

There is lots to do in the evenings, many of which is family friendly.

Sorry GG13. I’m getting a bit touchy . It only seems like yesterday that mylot were in exam years and I was worrying that DD would fail her exams because she’d had a row with her boyfriend ( it was boyfriend from hell mark I at the time: mark II came when she was sitting her A levels: he was even worse). I remember her saying a few years later ‘ will there ever be a time when I’m not sitting exams’. They all need a bit or warmth as they’ve been plagued with viruses all winter. At my sons wedding his best man told everyone a story about the time when they all went skiing and my son ( a complete beginner) went shooting past them on the slopes wearing a bin bag. Thank goodness I never found out about half of what they used to get up to till years later. DD said they felt very unsafe in parts of San Francisco last year. And DH and I were freaked out on our pensioners coach trip of America when we went into WalMart and saw all the guns on display!

Aveline

Dubai is pretty soulless. A totally artificial place just constructed for and by money. Human rights situation is awful. I'd not want them to have a pound of mine.

This
This
And this

For the middle easy, I would also recommend Jordan, where staying in the desert, diving/snorkelling, historic sites (not just Petra), and a trip to the Dead Sea are all within easy travelling distance of each other.

Not sure why Morocco wouldn’t be considered safe, and I certainly would consider Finland to be so.

Finlands a bit close to Russia and cold. I’d love to go there though ( but I’m not going!). Jordan sounds interesting but I think it would be better to go there for a couple of weeks.

Jordan would be a great choice, camel rides, etc I think even two teenage boys would find it far more exciting than Dubai

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

M0nica if we limited our travels to places with excellent human rights, equality, safety and humanitarian issues we would never leave our homes.

Look at Florida and California the home of Disney and a favourite holiday destination to many from round the world. Two streets back from Hollywood Boulevard and see tent city.
Florida away from the tourist route abject poverty and trailer parks.

Egypt and Turkey cheap sun, appalling human rights, free speech etc.

Paris, the outskirts are not conducive to tourism (neither is London)

I could go on …

Dubai is an artificial, artificially constructed confection of expensive hotels and not much more. All that matters there is money. If that's fine by you then by all means go. If others think the worse of you then so be it.

GrannyGravy13

M0nica if we limited our travels to places with excellent human rights, equality, safety and humanitarian issues we would never leave our homes.

Look at Florida and California the home of Disney and a favourite holiday destination to many from round the world. Two streets back from Hollywood Boulevard and see tent city.
Florida away from the tourist route abject poverty and trailer parks.

Egypt and Turkey cheap sun, appalling human rights, free speech etc.

Paris, the outskirts are not conducive to tourism (neither is London)

I could go on …

Indeed.

I have difficulty leaving the safety of our home and grounds as it stands. Out of interest - where is Nirvana?

Aveline

Dubai is an artificial, artificially constructed confection of expensive hotels and not much more. All that matters there is money. If that's fine by you then by all means go. If others think the worse of you then so be it.

Have a look at other resorts, the majority are artificial.

The tourist industry caters to what the punters want.

We have travelled seen and experienced history, we have also enjoyed luxury resorts.

We really like the Maldives, it’s a juxtaposition of the country needing tourism and tourism destroying the natural environment.

Spain is neither example of using cheap labour (particularly from North Africa) for building and agriculture.