How do I get around Dubai?

Dubai Metro's Red Line is your workhorse. It runs from Rashidiya near the airport through Deira, along Sheikh Zayed Road past Downtown (Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall station), and out to Jebel Ali, hitting most things a first-timer wants to see. The Green Line loops through older Deira and Bur Dubai — useful for the Gold Souk and Al Fahidi Historical District. Trains come every 3-7 minutes, 5 AM to midnight on weekdays. Friday service starts later, around 9 or 10 AM, so plan accordingly if you have morning plans on the weekend. Buy a silver Nol card from any station machine for 25 AED (~$7), which includes 19 AED of loaded credit. A single-zone trip runs about 3 AED; crossing zones costs 5 AED. The front car is Women and Children only — men who wander in get fined, and inspectors do check.

Uber and Careem both operate here, and Careem tends to be a few dirhams cheaper on short trips. Dubai's cream-colored RTA taxis are metered and honest — roughly 5 AED base fare, 1.96 AED per kilometer, 12 AED minimum. No haggling required. The meter works. This is not Southeast Asia. A taxi from Dubai Mall to JBR runs about 45-55 AED (~$13). Pink-roofed taxis are women-only with female drivers. Worth noting: Sheikh Zayed Road during rush hour (7-9 AM, 5-8 PM) turns a 15-minute ride into 45 minutes of sitting in traffic with the AC blasting against 40-degree heat pressing on the glass. The metro doesn't have that problem.

For crossing Dubai Creek between Deira and Bur Dubai, the old wooden abra boats still run — 1 AED per crossing, five minutes, and the diesel smell mixed with warm salt air off the creek is one of the few moments in Dubai that feels unpolished. The Dubai Tram connects JBR and the Marina waterfront to the metro at DMCC and Dubai Marina stations. Useful if you're staying in that corridor. The Palm Monorail from Gateway station to Atlantis costs 30 AED round trip — a novelty, not transport. You'll ride it once to see Atlantis, then never again.

Walking is a seasonal question. November through March, the promenade at JBR or the paths winding through Dubai Marina are quite pleasant — warm evening air, flat ground, the sound of fountain shows drifting from the canal. May through September, the air sits around 45°C with thick humidity, and walking 500 meters to the next tower feels like standing inside a running dryer. Mind you, the city was designed around the car regardless of season. Blocks are long, pedestrian crossings are sparse outside Downtown and the Marina, and two buildings that look close on your phone screen might be a 20-minute walk through a parking garage and across a six-lane highway. When in doubt, open Careem. A five-minute ride costs 12-15 AED (~$4). That's not worth sweating through your shirt over.