Fireworks to everyone! The topic of today's article is another Emirate of Um Al Quwain, where tour operators intensively invite unsuspecting tourists, promising almost comparable entertainment. Is there really something for visitors to enjoy in this small city, the fourth on our list of emirates? You need to check it in person.
First impressions of Omani hospitality in the UAE.
However, we still haven't left yet. We hadn’t even thought about choosing a hitchhiking position when a white car pulled up next to us. An Arab was sitting at the wheel and offered to give us a ride just to the desired destination - Um Al Quwain. They offer it, so we’re going, what questions?
After about 20 minutes it turned out that the driver was not entirely local, but to be precise, an Omani. It’s interesting, because the next country we were going to visit was Oman. It’s logical that Mila and I had the lion’s share of questions in terms of moving around this country.
The Arab turned out to be a cheerful storyteller and adventurer. For example, he told us with great pleasure the story of how he was caught three times by a road radar for speeding, and then at the police station in order not to pay a fine of 7,000 dirhams (56,000 rubles, don’t be surprised, I was not mistaken in the numbers) , with a serious face, he acted like a fool that he did it on purpose, because he wanted to get a photo from the camera as a souvenir.
“You should have seen the stupid and serious face of the policeman when I told him this without a smile,” the Omani concluded his story.
In general, we were not bored on the road. Moreover, when we reported that we were never able to visit Camel Market (camel market), then the driver decided to correct this situation and turned somewhere off the main highway.
We never found a market with camels, either because it was already evening, or because it was not the season for them, I still don’t understand. But we looked at a couple purely for “racing”.
Yes, yes, camel racing is very popular in the UAE. For one “humpback racer” they give no less than 10,000 dirhams. They generally say about Sheikh Zayed that if he simply liked the profile of a camel, then he could give the owner a luxury car.
As a result, we turned onto the familiar road again and drove to the final destination until it got completely dark. It’s just that Narkhiz (sorry, I completely forgot to introduce our friend to you) didn’t want to let us go until we stopped near a local tavern.
Also quite an interesting moment. The driver, like the passengers, does not get out of the car, but simply honks until a “waiter of Pakistani nationality” comes to the window, brings a menu and asks “what would you like, my lord.” We place an order, after which after some time our order is brought hot to us directly to the lowered glass.
At first I thought this was an isolated case or the service style of a cafe of a certain company, but looking a little ahead of our journey, I swear to you that almost all “eateries” work this way. Hmm, you don’t even have to bother getting out of the transport, this is how people are turned into “consumers”. However, let's not talk about sad things.
If in a Russian canteen you are accustomed to a serving of 150 grams and consider this to be the norm, then in the UAE (and later in Oman) you can only cry a bitter tear over such a serving. The portions here are simply huge; Mila and I would have had enough to eat a couple of times for both of us.
We've stocked up on provisions, it's time to go to the camp. The Omani couldn’t invite him to visit, because he wasn’t going to his home, but he was very insistent with the question of money or a hotel. We immediately refused the hotel, and the money too. However, when he arrived at the proposed place for spending the night in a tent and I went to inspect the place, Narkhiz slipped 100 dirhams (800 rubles) into Mila’s pocket, and after I arrived he also asked if we needed money for a hotel. We refused and went out of habit to select a more level place for the tent.
Our friend left us, wildly apologizing, and only then Mila fished a hundred out of her pocket, admitting that she tried to refuse, but it was not real.
Clean beaches, the old city and the ancient wall of Umm al Quwain.
Um Al Quwain is located 50 km from Dubai and, if desired, you can easily get around it on foot. However, we began to gradually get used to the local easy hitchhiking, so we drove to the city center in the first available car, which we caught at the turn to the city.
I understand that the emirate does not boast of vast territories and covers only 24 km along the coast of the Persian Gulf, but the lack public transport where they take tourists is a little surprising.
But there are plenty of taxis here, and the price for tourists will be 3-4 times higher than for locals. For example, a local can go for 5 dirhams for almost any distance, but a tourist, it’s good if he pays 10, or even 20. A hitchhiker will have to work hard with his hands, brushing aside the annoying “checkers” that are constantly honking behind him.
We were lucky again with the driver of the next car; he was a local Arab businessman who was transporting a lamb for someone’s lunch. He dropped us off exactly Umm Al-Quwain Museum Fort, which turned out to be closed due to Friday (a day off), and in addition gave us a couple of new packages of perfume. Another problem with gifts, well, we will thank people on our further journey.
Previously, the fort housed a police station along with national museum, but in the 2000s it was completely given over to the Emirati traditional museum.
I don’t even know, maybe we were lucky that we didn’t have to waste time on the boring halls of the fort and, in search of another ancient landmark - the so-called wall, we ran into a deserted seashore.
In the local dialect, the name Umm Al Quwain means “place of two depressions,” which corresponds to the topography of the peninsula. This is a quiet small fishing town, as evidenced by the numerous boats, boats and the corresponding smell almost in the very center of the village.
On the shore blue bay we decided to throw our backpacks and “wet our feet” in the clearest water, next to which crabs periodically appeared from the sand.
I even managed to find a couple of previously unseen shells of different colors. We were glad that we were the only tourists here; the same thing pleased the passing Pakistanis, who stared at us with genuine curiosity, and even, as if by chance, sat down to sit nearby on the rocks.
Surprisingly, very close, literally 200 meters away, we found what we were looking for old wall, which in ancient times played the role of a kind of fortification of the city. Thanks to the height of this wall and the ebb and flow of the sea, there was both safety and short-term access to the city. At both ends of the wall we see watchtowers. But things are really bad with the park here.
Here, perhaps, are all the attractions for visiting tourists. No, of course, on the Internet you can read about a good water park, an old market, hotels, trips to islands with rare flora and fauna, but this is not about us. But whether to go to this quiet semi-desert emirate or not is up to you to decide for yourself, but I would not recommend it ;).
For us, this is the end of Um-Al-Quwain, so we’ll go to the highway for now, treat ourselves to the remains of yesterday’s “Omani gift”, waiting for a ride to, maybe it will be more fun there.
Our family was placed in a building located on the first line and located in the letter “P” towards the sea. Depending on the location, your room will have either a side or central sea view. Usually in other hotels you have to pay extra for a sea view, but here everything is automatically free. On one side of the hotel there is sea port which, by the way, didn’t bother me at all, but on the other hand, construction plus an abandoned pier with decommissioned ships, but also didn’t create any tension at all.
What really bothered me was that there is a mosque next to the hotel and if you are a light sleeper, then get ready to wake up every morning at five o’clock to the muezzin’s call to prayer. Outside the hotel there is absolutely nothing to see or do - there is an industrial zone and areas where poor Indians and Pakistanis live. There is really nowhere to walk there; if you want, you need to call a taxi and go there.
The territory in general is not large, but here we must take into account that the hotel itself is not big at all. However, there is enough space for all vacationers; no one bumps their foreheads against each other. The area is very well-groomed and green, plus they always trim and water things there, in general they take care of it, as they say. It also has a swimming pool, then Children's swimming pool, a barbecue area, a small children's area, an area for gatherings, several cozy gazebos and, in addition, there are several tables around the territory where you can surf the Internet in the evenings and drink rum-cola. Wi-Fi is free throughout the entire territory, good reception in the reception area, but on the beach and in the rooms as it happens. However, it was quite enough for messages.
Our room was large and there was nothing to complain about at all. Apart from perhaps the lighting in the room, there is one light bulb, which is very dim and looks more like a night light. So it’s impossible to read before bed. Well, I’ll also note as a significant minus - a common walk-through balcony, because of which I had to keep the curtains curtained all the time.
The room had a kettle with all tea accessories, two bottles of water were added daily. There is a minibar in the refrigerator, but it is paid, there was beer and soda. On TV you could watch either two or three Russian channels. In our room there were two separate beds and some had one large shared bed. We didn't have a safe, although it was present in other rooms. But since we didn’t have any special need for it, we weren’t particularly indignant.
Shampoos with all sorts of soaps and gels were added to us every day; we had no special comments regarding cleaning. From time to time we left tips of about 100 rubles in our money. By the way, the centralized air conditioning in the room is very powerful but at the same time completely silent. At first, the kettle in the room did not work and there was no TV remote control. We went to the reception and they immediately replaced the kettle and brought us the remote control. Then they asked for an iron and they brought it right away along with an ironing board. And immediately upon check-in at the reception, we were given an electrical adapter for our plugs. One Russian administrator is on duty there periodically, but in his absence we used Yandex translator.
If we talk about food, this was definitely the best best menu of all the three and four star hotels we have ever stayed in. Of course, such a wide variety of different dishes as in the Turkish fives is not here, but the quality of the food is very decent.
I was pleased with the constant presence of meat dishes and chicken. There were normal juices on tap from bags and not the same as they pour in other hotels. There were fresh vegetables all the time, and fruits included melons, watermelons, canned pineapples, peaches and fruit slices. There weren't many desserts, but you could always choose a couple. We paid for breakfast and dinner, and in this situation we could always easily change dinner for lunch if necessary.
On the beach there is sand mixed with small pebbles and shells. The length of the beach is approximately 70 to 80 meters. And if in steps (I measured it on purpose), then from the fence to the pier there are 147 steps. But in principle, this is enough for all the vacationers of the first line to fit on it. And what’s great is that it’s not like in Egypt or Turkey - you come and all the sunbeds up to the fourth row are occupied. But here, in fact, there is not even a second row and there are always free sunbeds even on the first row.
It’s also very nice that there is no loud music all day and no one walks along the beach and doesn’t get on your nerves by pushing excursions. You can just lie quietly, sunbathe and read books, which is what I actually did. There were a lot of fish in the sea and they didn’t bite at all. Seen starfish and cuttlefish, then it was very interesting to sit on the pier and watch how the needle fish hunted the fry. Of the minuses, I can note a noticeably strong current. You could really take a 20-minute walk on wild beach, there was no current at all and the water was a little warmer.
I don’t recommend changing money at the reception desk - the most unfavorable rate is best done at exchange offices. For example, you can pay in dollars in a store and they will give you change in dirhams at a good rate. But if you pay in rubles or euros, there will be no such benefit. We went on two free excursions from the hotel - I highly recommend it.
You can go to Dubai on a free transfer to do some shopping. Overall, we were very pleased with our calm and measured holiday. If you want parties and stormy nightlife then this is not the place for you. Two-thirds of the hotel is filled with tourists from Russia, but on Fridays the local aborigines usually come for the weekend. Have a good holiday everyone!
And of course and. Reviews from tourists about the weather and holidays in Um Al Quwain.
Um Al Quwain is a small emirate in the UAE, occupying 1% of the country's total territory. It lies 34 kilometers from Ajman. It is distinguished from other Arab emirates by its picturesque, heavily indented bays and lagoons. coastline. Um Al Quwain is the largest supplier of seafood in the country. It is also famous for its riding academy, where the best horses are kept in the UAE. The emirate honors and preserves the way of life and traditions thanks to its territorial isolation - it is a fairly quiet provincial place.
Um Al Quwain lies in the UTC+4 time zone, which means that the time here completely coincides with Moscow. On summer time The clocks don't change here.
How to get to Um Al Quwain?
Um Al Quwain does not have its own airport, and intercity buses do not run to it either - only the route to Ajman, located 34 kilometers from here.
Nearest international Airport is located in Dubai, so, as an option, you can get there by minibus, but passengers here are dropped off right on the highway, and then you will have to get to the city on your own. Tourists prefer to travel by taxi from the nearest emirates; the cost of the trip will be 30-60 dirhams.
Climate
Average monthly temperature in Um Al Quwain
Attractions of Um Al Quwain
In the emirate you can see the fort, high watchtowers or wind towers near the old market, visit the riding school or the Historical Museum. Some tourists go to Falaj al-Muala, a large Phoenician garden, or on a walk to the island of Al Sharyah, where you can see the huge number of birds that live here. In general, all the islands closest to the shore are quite picturesque; groups of vacationers go there on excursions to admire the beauty of the local areas. Nature lovers will love it nature reserve Siniya.
The historical museum, housed in an ancient fort, contains exhibits found in the nearby village, which has existed since the 200s. You can also visit the archaeological excavations themselves - they are located just outside the city.
Things to do in Um Al Quwain
The emirate has the best camel racing tracks in the entire UAE, and there is a marine club for lovers of water skiing, sailing and windsurfing. The shooting range provides an opportunity to shoot from a variety of weapons presented there to visitors.
Um Al Quwain has the largest water park in the entire Middle East, with not only many water slides and pools, but also an eighteen-meter artificial volcano. The new port has a large aquarium open to visitors, containing a variety of marine life, including rare species of fish, sea snakes and corals.
Not far from the water park there is a flying club, where you can see with your own eyes exhibits such as the Antonov-2 biplane and the Ilyushin-76 cargo plane. For those wishing to relax, a large coffee shop is open on site. The club hosts championships in parachuting and skydiving, and here you can even learn to pilot, try your hand at paragliding, skydiving, or ride a hot-air balloon. You will be trained by qualified pilots with extensive experience and certification.
Best beaches vacationers will find bays on the coastline of the nearest islands.
One of the smallest emirates has its own unique characteristics. Umm Al Quwain is the emirate with the smallest population in the country. A little more than 72 thousand people live here. That is why lovers of silence tend to come here on vacation. Here you are unlikely to encounter noisy crowds of vacationers. The Emirate lives its calm, measured life.
This is a special emirate, distinguished by unique beaches and an abundance of picturesque lagoons. The entire coastline of the emirate is rugged and presents an amazing sight. It is for the magnificent beaches that most tourists come here. Umm Al Quwain is located relatively far from other emirates. This is probably why he managed to preserve his primitive uniqueness. This is one of the few places in the country where you can get acquainted with the customs and traditions of the local population and learn about the way of life ordinary people. A walk through the old part of the city will give you a lot of bright and unforgettable impressions.
Best time to go on holiday in 2018
The quiet life of the emirate of Umm al Quwain attracts tourists all year round. There is no high or low season here. Tourists are welcome at any time of the year snow-white beaches, gentle sea, and friendly locals. If you select the most favorable time for a trip in terms of weather conditions, then it is best from October to April. However, in the winter months the water becomes quite cool. Its temperature drops to +17 degrees, so the swimming season is temporarily suspended in winter.
How to get to Umm al Quwain from Moscow
Umm Al Quwain is perhaps the most inaccessible emirate in the country. But this is where its uniqueness and originality lie. To get to Umm al Quwain, you must first fly to or, and from there get to the desired emirate (You can find cheap air tickets). You can get to Umm al Quwain by bus, taxi, or rented car. The drive is quite far, so you will have to spend at least 1.5 hours on the road. In general, the trip from Moscow to your destination will take about 8 hours.
The cheapest tickets from Moscow to Dubai and back
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The main attractions of Umm al Quwain
Despite its small size, Umm al Quwain can offer tourists a lot of interesting excursion sites. There are unique historical attractions, amazing religious sites, and modern entertainment centers.
Dreamland Waterpark
Dreamland Waterpark - the best place for families with children in Umm Alb Quwain One of the main attractions of the emirate is the largest water park in the region, Dreamland. Absolutely all travelers vacationing in this emirate come here at least once. Visitors are offered several large swimming pools, waterslides of various heights, and a lot of other water activities. The water park can be divided into two zones: adults and children. Adults can slide down the biggest slide and enjoy aquatic species sports, and just swim in the pool. There is also a huge selection of entertainment for children. In addition, there is a cafe on the territory of the water park where you can have a snack or just drink a cold drink.
Umm Al Quwain Historical Museum
Umm Al Quwain Museum is the main historical attraction of the emirate The fort museum is considered one of the most visited historical attractions. The historical museum is housed in a restored fortification structure, which at one time was the residence of the local emir. Most of the museum's exhibits are ancient objects found in the village of Al Dar, the foundation of which dates back to the 3rd century AD.
Dow boat sculpture
Another interesting attraction of the resort is the Doe sculpture. Dow is an old one sailboat, on which the Arabs went to sea. Currently, such boats are built only in the emirate of Ajman. The Doe sculpture is located near the hospital. It is looked after very carefully and is coated with special paint every year to prevent it from rotting.
If you're tired of the hustle and bustle major cities and dream of spending a vacation in a quiet, cozy place, then Umm al-Quwain is just what you need. This emirate is quite small, located on west coast between Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah. The capital of the emirate, Umm al-Quwain, does not even have its own airport. Tourists travel from neighboring Dubai, Sharjah and Ras al-Khaimah. There are “other Emirates” here, different from ultra-modern Dubai. The local population is mainly engaged in fishing and traditional crafts. The emirate may be small, but nature has generously endowed it. A long clean beach, dense coastal mangroves, of extraordinary beauty sand dunes, fertile oases - all this is Umm al-Quwain.
The capital of the emirate is the city of Umm al-Quwain.
The main part of the city of Umm al-Quwain is located on a peninsula. Almost all city hotels are located along the coast, which is very convenient. The equipment of hotels and the level of service are no different from large cities, but the prices are lower. Holidays in these places are possible even in the hot summer months, and all because heat It is much easier to bear here, since a cool breeze blows from the sea all day long and is very pleasant in the heat, and the greenery of the seven islands in the lagoon creates its own microclimate.
Excursions and attractions of Umm al-Quwain.
In the city you can visit the museum, the aquarium at the Research Center, relax in a cozy park, or just stroll along the beautiful embankment. But don’t think that only a calm, measured holiday is possible in Umm al-Quwain. There is something to do here for those who like to actively spend their leisure time. The calm waters of the lagoon provide ideal conditions for windsurfing, kayaking and water skiing. Classes sailing and canoeing through clear, calm waters to deserted islands, exploring the birds, fish and insects that live in mangrove swamps - these are unique adventures that any tourist will enjoy. Excursions to the Falaj Al Moalla oasis, located fifty kilometers from the city, are interesting.
Coming on holiday to this emirate, tourists have the opportunity to watch camel racing, experience the thrill of dune buggy racing or go on an excursion to amazing place, where sand dunes alternate with wooded valleys and you can spend an unforgettable night camping under the starry Arabian sky.
Holidays for children.
Children will also like it here. Near the city there is the Dreamland water park. This is the first water park in the UAE. It is more designed for family holiday. On the territory of the water park you can rent a small house with air conditioning, a refrigerator and other amenities of civilization and spend the whole day in Dreamland. There are never any queues for the rides, as the park is huge and has a large capacity.
For lovers of extreme sports.
Not far from Dreamland there is a flying club. For extreme sports enthusiasts we offer interesting excursions in a hot air balloon along the coast of the Persian Gulf. You can choose a sightseeing flight on an airplane and even jump from a parachute in tandem with an instructor.
Vacationers will not stay here without shopping. There is a wonderful one in the city old market, many small shops and stores and two large ones shopping center. There is also no shortage of restaurants, bars and cafes. If this doesn’t seem enough to someone, then it’s not a problem to go to Dubai, which is less than 40 kilometers away.
On vacation in Umm al-Quwain with Flagship Travel.
Umm al-Quwain is perfect place, where there is everything for have a great holiday: pristine coast with clear, clean water, islands with mangrove forests and entire colonies of birds, mass interesting entertainment, its own water park, modern comfortable hotels. Flagman Travel has long-standing, reliable connections with local host operators and hotels, so come to Umm al-Quwain, you will definitely enjoy your holiday here!
