What should I pack for Dubai?

You're packing for two climates that exist at the same time. Outside, April temperatures sit around 30°C and climb past 45°C by July — the air thickens into something you can feel on your skin, heavy and salt-tinged from the Gulf. Step inside Dubai Mall or Mall of the Emirates and the AC drops to roughly 18°C. Walk in drenched with sweat and you'll be shivering ten minutes later. A light jacket or cardigan is the single most-used item in your bag. For clothes generally, loose cotton or linen covering your shoulders and knees works everywhere. The metro posts dress-code signs and staff will turn you away for short shorts or bare shoulders. Jumeirah Mosque — Dubai's only mosque open to non-Muslim visitors — requires wrists-and-ankles coverage and provides no loaners, so pack one long outfit. The Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi does supply free abayas for the common day trip.

Footwear matters here more than you'd think. The marble and tile outside most hotels absorbs heat — by midday in summer, ground surfaces can hit 60°C, and thin-soled flip-flops won't save you. Bring one pair of closed-toe walking shoes for mosque visits and desert excursions, plus sandals with thick soles for beach days at Kite Beach or La Mer. Skip the heavy trainers you'd wear in a European walking city; you'll overheat before you reach the second souk. A wide-brimmed hat and proper sunglasses aren't tourist accessories here — the UV index runs between 10 and 12 most of the year, which is about as high as it gets anywhere. SPF 50 is the floor, not the ceiling. You'll reapply every ninety minutes if you're spending any time outdoors at Madinat Jumeirah or walking along the Creek.

Dubai uses UK-style Type G plugs — three rectangular pins in a triangle — at 220V. If you're coming from the US, that means both an adapter and checking your devices. Most phone chargers handle 110-240V just fine, but American hair dryers and straighteners will burn out on the first use. To be fair, you can buy adapters at any Carrefour or LuLu Hypermarket for 10-15 AED (roughly $3-4), so don't stress if you forget one. A portable battery pack earns its weight on day one. Between Google Maps navigation, the RTA nol card app, and photographing everything from the Burj Khalifa observation deck to the spice stalls in Deira, your phone won't last a full day without a top-up. One thing people forget: a refillable water bottle. Dubai's tap water is desalinated and safe to drink, and most malls have refill stations — you'll go through two to three liters a day just walking between air-conditioned stops.

Skip packing full-size toiletries. Boots, Watsons, and the pharmacy sections inside Carrefour carry everything at prices that tend to run lower than US or European equivalents — a bottle of Bioderma sunscreen that's $15 in the States is usually 40-50 AED (around $11-14) at LuLu. Mosquito repellent is a non-issue; Dubai sprays aggressively and the desert climate keeps populations low. Mind you, if you use a specific deodorant brand, bring your own. The selection here skews heavily toward Middle Eastern fragrance preferences — oud-based, rich, layered. Pleasant if that's your thing, but probably not what you reach for at 6 AM. One last note: leave the rain gear at home unless you're visiting in January or February, when Dubai gets its brief, confused rainy stretch. Even then, the showers last twenty minutes and dry out before you can open an umbrella.