What should I pack for Abu Dhabi?

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the single site every first-time visitor will see, enforces a strict dress code. Women need floor-length sleeves, ankle-length hemlines, and a headscarf. Men need long trousers and covered shoulders. The mosque lends free abayas and sheila scarves at the entrance, but the queue for loaners runs 15-20 minutes on Friday afternoons and weekend mornings. Those 17,000 square meters of white marble floor run cold and slippery-smooth under thin soles. Pack your own lightweight long-sleeve maxi dress or linen trousers plus a cotton scarf, and you walk straight past that line. The Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island is less strict but still expects covered knees and shoulders. Mall dress codes vary. Security at Yas Mall and The Galleria Al Maryah Island will turn away anyone in very short shorts or strapless tops.

Abu Dhabi in June hits 42-45°C by midday with humidity that sticks to your skin near the Corniche waterfront. Right now it feels like 36°C at midnight, and the thick salt air carries a faint sweetness of shisha smoke from the cafes along the breakwater. Your shirt will be damp 30 seconds after stepping outside Abu Dhabi International's terminal doors. Pack light, loose-fitting cotton or linen in pale colors. Three or four tops that breathe. But here's the thing most guides miss. Every mall, museum, and restaurant blasts AC at 18-20°C. The swing from street to the Louvre Abu Dhabi lobby is a full 25 degrees. A packable fleece or merino layer is not optional. You will shiver at dinner in Marina Mall if all you brought is resort wear.

UAE uses Type G plugs, the three-pin British style, at 220V. Your US two-prong charger won't fit without an adapter, and any 110V hair tool will overheat. Most hotel front desks stock loaner adapters, but Saadiyat Island resorts tend to run out by evening. Pack one universal adapter. The UV index in Abu Dhabi's summer regularly exceeds 11, the WHO's extreme threshold. Pack SPF 50+ and reapply every 90 minutes if you're walking the 8-km Corniche or visiting the desert. Bring a refillable water bottle. Tap water here is desalinated and safe to drink, which surprises first-timers who expect to bottle everything in the Gulf. It tastes clean with a faint mineral edge. A 500ml Evian at a Corniche kiosk costs 3-5 AED, about $1-1.40.

Skip packing bulk toiletries. Pharmacies like Aster and Life Pharmacy stock Neutrogena and La Roche-Posay at roughly the same prices as the US, and they stay open until 10pm in every major mall. Dates for snacking are absurdly cheap at any Lulu Hypermarket. A kilo of Khalas variety runs 8-15 AED, the same product that would cost $15+ through Amazon back home. Mind you, one thing you cannot easily buy locally is Western-style stick deodorant. The local preference runs to spray-on perfume, and brands like Degree or Sure cost 25-40 AED when you do find them, roughly double the US price.