Our Dubai travel guide covers all the essentials to help you before you set off.
The currency of Dubai is the UAE dirham. Like British pounds and pence, each dirham is divided into 100 fils. The currency code for the dirham is AED, so look out for this if you’re buying dirhams in the UK.
If you have a Global Money Account, the UAE dirham is one of the 18 currencies you can hold in it.
To open a Global Money Account, you’ll need to have an eligible HSBC UK current account. This excludes our Basic Bank Account, Appointee and MyAccount.
Dirhams are available to order all over the UK. It’s often best to buy travel money before you go – if you withdraw money from a cash machine in Dubai, you may need to pay a withdrawal fee. However, if you use your Global Money debit card to withdraw cash, there will be no HSBC UK fees. Non-HSBC fees may apply.
To buy travel money, you can visit your local travel money bureau or order them online using HSBC Travel Money.
Just be sure to check the exchange rate before ordering your currency. They do differ from place to place.
Dubai is mainly a cashless city, and you can get by using only your credit card or debit card. However, having dirhams can be helpful for things like taxi rides, gifts from smaller businesses or tipping.
Explore: Should you use a card or travel money outside the UK?
There are some things you’ll need to know before you start using your cards outside the UK. For example, there may be fees and charges to be aware of. You’ll usually need to pay a fee for card payments – 2.75% for debit cards and 2.99% for credit cards – but there are no HSBC fees with Global Money. Non-HSBC fees may apply.
You can choose to convert to British pounds at the point of sale or pay in dirhams.
It's no longer compulsory to get travel insurance to visit the UAE, but the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office recommends you should get some.
Explore: Taking out travel insurance with HSBC
Tips for services are appreciated in Dubai, but not essential. Tipping about 10% to 15% is common, but you can tip more for great service.
It’s worth having some AED5 or AED10 notes on hand so you can tip your waiter or taxi driver directly.
You won’t need to apply for a visa before you head to Dubai. Once you land, you’ll be given a free 30-day visa and your passport will be stamped.
Depending on where in the UK you’re flying from, your flight to Dubai can take between 7 and 8 hours.
The time zone in Dubai is Gulf Standard Time (GST). Dubai doesn’t change clocks for daylight saving time, so it’s 3 hours ahead of the UK in summer and 4 hours ahead in winter.
