What should I avoid in Abu Dhabi?

Abu Dhabi from June through September is not "warm." It is 48°C at 2pm with 80% humidity. Your sunglasses fog the moment you step outside Abu Dhabi International's terminal. Your skin feels damp within 30 seconds. The Corniche, a pleasant 4km seafront walk in January, becomes a health risk by mid-June when the pavement radiates heat upward and the air smells faintly of brine from the Persian Gulf. You'll find the outdoor terraces at Nation Riviera Beach Club empty by noon. The malls compensate with air conditioning set to 18°C, so pack a light layer for the temperature swing between the street and the Galleria on Al Maryah Island. The realistic window for outdoor Abu Dhabi runs October through April, with December averaging 24°C and low humidity.

The restaurants lining the Corniche between the Hilton Abu Dhabi and the InterContinental charge 80-120 AED ($22-33) for grilled hammour that costs 45 AED at the Al Mina fish market, a 15-minute taxi ride south. The fish market itself is worth the trip for the smell alone. Whole snappers and kingfish laid out on crushed ice, the sound of cleavers on cutting boards, vendors filleting your catch for 10 AED. Ferrari World on Yas Island is worth seeing on a Tuesday or Wednesday morning. On a Friday or during Eid, the queue for Formula Rossa (240 km/h, opened 2010, the fastest roller coaster on earth) hits 90 minutes. Saadiyat Island's public beach charges 75 AED per person on weekends, with lounger rental adding another 100 AED. Al Bateen beach, 20 minutes west, is free and half as crowded.

Taxis at Abu Dhabi International should always run on the meter. The airport flag-fall is 25 AED on top of the metered fare, which totals 60-80 AED to Corniche hotels. If a driver quotes a "flat fare" of 150 AED, decline and take the next cab in the rank. Abu Dhabi enforces dress codes more strictly than Dubai. Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque (opened 2007, capacity 40,000) requires covered shoulders, long trousers or skirts past the ankle, and a headscarf for women. Free abayas are available at the entrance, but the queue for them on Friday mornings runs 20 minutes. That said, the mosque is free to enter and the white marble interior, cool underfoot even in summer, is worth the dress code. Do not photograph government buildings or military installations. The fine starts at 10,000 AED ($2,723).

Budget desert safari operators sell 99-AED trips on flyers outside Marina Mall. They pack 15-20 people into a bus, skip the dune-bashing, and drop you at a concrete camp with lukewarm buffet shawarma and a 5-minute camel ride. Arabian Adventures runs groups of 6-8 for 350-500 AED in Land Cruisers, with dinner at an open-air camp in the Al Khatim desert about 90 minutes south. The silence out there at dusk, broken only by wind over the dunes, is half the point. One more thing. Do not photograph Emirati women without explicit permission. It is taken seriously, and police will intervene. The same applies to Emirati men in formal dress, though the reaction tends to be a firm request to delete rather than a call to the authorities.