Abu Dhabi Things to Do Tips by chizz Top 5 Page for this destination

Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Review

The Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque is a spectacular place to visit in Abu Dhabi due its lavish decoration and things you can learn by taking a guided tour (Sunday to Thursday at 10am). The recently built mosque can hold 40,960 worshippers and has the biggest hand woven Persian carpet in the world in it's main prayer hall. The rich decoration can be seen all around the mosque and semi-precious stones such as lapis lazuli, red agate, amethyst, abalone shell and mother of pearl are used throughout, as well as gold and Swarovski crystals in the chandeliers.
You can visit the main prayer hall and the separate ladies prayer hall. There is also the spectacular courtyard decorated with floral tiles and the ablution areas down on the lower floor.
The mosque is open for visitors every day (apart from Fridays) from 9am - 12 noon. Tours, as mentioned before are at 10am from Sunday to Thursday. No bookings required for groups under 10 people. Entrance is free. Visitors should be moderately dressed with long sleeves and legs covered for women. Men should not wear shorts. Abayas are free to rent for ladies as well as head coverings - available at the entrance. Shoes should be removed in certain areas such as the prayer halls.

Address: On the way into Abu Dhabi

Phone: 800 555

The beautiful sand dunes of LIWA

Liwa is located around 150kms SSW of Abu Dhabi on the edge of the Rub' al Khali desert. There are many date farms here and some of the highest dunes in the region - the Moreeb Dune reaching 300m in height. Every year the region is host to the Liwa Festival where visitors can enjoy off road driving events and camel racing.
My husband and I visited Liwa in April, 2010 and stayed at the 4 star (very generous rating!) Liwa Hotel. We drove to see the famous Moreeb Dune and took lots of photos of the other dunes and of the sunset. There is very little else to do in the region, other than see the dunes and relax by the pool but it's nice to leave the city and escape to the tranquility of this region.
There are only a handful of hotels in the area, such as the Liwa Hotel, Liwa Rest House and Tilal Liwa Hotel (at Zayed City, before reaching Liwa) - this being the best of the bunch as it is brand new and a lovely little place to stay.

Address: 150 Kms SSW of Abu Dhabi

Directions: From Dubai: Take E11 (which starts off as Sheikh Zayed Rd in Dubai) through Abu Dhabi, and then just follow the signs. There are two ways of getting to Liwa – we took the route through Madinat Zayed.

Yas Island

My husband and I decided to stay in Yas Island, close to Abu Dhabi as a weekend break from Dubai. The area is under development at the moment and the state of the art FERRARI WORLD is currently being built. There were also plans for a Universal Studios to be built in the area, but this project is on hold for the time being.
Yas Island's main draw next to the Yas Hotel is the Yas Marina Circuit which is home to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The hotel is interesting to visit due to it's unique architecture and it's outer shell which changes colour at night. There are also bars and restaurants to visit at the hotel if you are not staying there.
We decided to stay at the Crowne Plaza Hotel as they were offering excellent rates and we had a relaxing time by the pool (see separate review).

From Abu Dhabi City

Yas Island is approximately 25 km from Abu Dhabi Corniche. Look for the signs to Yas Island on the main routes heading off Abu Dhabi island.

Directions from Dubai

Follow signs for Abu Dhabi on E11 Sheikh Zayed Road. Yas Island is approximately 55 km from the border of Abu Dhabi Emirate, in the direction of Abu Dhabi City. You will find signs to Yas Island and Yas Marina Circuit- follow them. The Yas Hotel is next to the circuit and the Crowne Plaza Hotel is opposite the circuit in the hotel cluster.

Note: The last petrol station as you journey from Dubai before Yas Island is at Shahama. There are NO petrol stations on or around Yas Island.

Address: See above

More weird and wonderful vehicles from ENAM

Just a few more photos from our visit to the Emirates National Auto Museum (ENAM)......

Emirates National Auto Museum Emirates National Auto Museum Review

On our way from Yas Island to Liwa, we decided to visit the Emirates National Auto Museum, which houses the private collection of H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan. The wide collection of vehicles is housed in a large pyramid shaped building and includes: Military vehicles, SUV's, coupes, sedans, mercedes, a police vehicle, a huge Dodge Power Wagon that houses an apartment inside, a Ford Model T, Classic cars, convertibles, jeeps and pick-ups. There is also an enormous globe mobile home outside the museum and the Worlds' Largest Mobile Home, as well as a giant jeep and an aeroplane!! All these vehicles were gifts to the Sheikh or bought by him from collectors all over the world.
Entry is free and the museum is open: 7am-12pm and from 1pm-5pm daily. It closes for 1 hour for lunch. A bizarre place in the middle of nowhere, but interesting nevertheless!!!

Directions:
From Dubai, follow road to Abu Dhabi. Take the turning for the E11 road and follow the signs to MAFRAQ. Pass the airport and continue on the same road to TARIF. Turn onto the E65 road and exit at 306 towards HAMEEM. Look for the rainbow sign of the museum on the left. A huge jeep at the side of the road marks the entrance.

Address: Close to Hameem

Directions: See directions above.

Phone: 02 6676999

Website: http://www.enam.ae

Sunset over the dunes at Liwa

It was lovely to watch the sunset over the impressive dunes of Liwa and is a must-do in my opinion when in the region.

More dune photos from LIWA

As I love taking photos of dunes so much - here are some more from my trip to Liwa - the best dunes I've seen so far here in the U.A.E......

Fish Market

Visit the fish market to see everything from shark to shellfish.

Dhow Building Yard

Visit the dhow building yard to see traditional wooden boats being built.

Address: Nr the fish market

Heritage Village Heritage Village Review

The Heritage Village displays several traditional handicrafts for the visitor to Abu Dhabi. You can see a traditional well, for example, where an ox draws out the water, there is a resident camel and donkey which can give rides to kids at certain times of the day. There are stalls selling souvenirs too and traditional craft workshops. The village does close around 1pm for lunch until late afternoon.

Address: Near Marina Mall