Abu Dhabi

Theimprover

I have my flights booked for Brisbane with a stop over in Singapore but we are looking at changing the flights to Melbourne and as we are flying with Ethiad we can only stopover in Abu Dhabi, has anyone been there? we are 3 lads that will be planning on a 1 night stay just to break the jet lag and have a scoop full of beer, any info from anyone

Kmc123

Stopping off there on the 2nd for an hour on my route to sydney, hope i dont get lost!!

jank

Dont know much about the place but I do know they have a Ferrari theme park there! You should go and check it out!

Doc

Theimprover wrote: »

and have a scoop full of beer, any info from anyone

Not the best place for that.

Theimprover

Doc wrote: »

Theimprover wrote: »

and have a scoop full of beer, any info from anyone

Not the best place for that.

I kind of guessed that, but surely we will find a hotel where we could stick to?

KingdomYid

Kmc123 wrote: »

Stopping off there on the 2nd for an hour on my route to sydney, hope i dont get lost!!

You will be fine mate, once you get off the plane you are guided straight to transfers. You then go through security which is two minutes away, once through that its all the shops and restaurants and the gates are right there too.

universe777

Kmc123 wrote: »

Stopping off there on the 2nd for an hour on my route to sydney, hope i dont get lost!!

Get some Burger King into you, it's upstairs in the airport. Free wifi all over the airport so maybe that will keep you entertained for a while.
Abu Dhabi is one of the nicest and cleanest airports I have come across.

Theimprover

What about op, anyone???

Kmc123

KingdomYid wrote: »

You will be fine mate, once you get off the plane you are guided straight to transfers. You then go through security which is two minutes away, once through that its all the shops and restaurants and the gates are right there too.

Great,thanks for the heads up, its getting close now!!:D

Stinicker

Transferring at Abu Dhabi is a bit of a culture shock with all the Muslims and the women in burkas. However the Airport is fine and the transfer is quite smooth and you don't have that much of a walk. They accepted Euro too at the airport which was handy!

I flew to Bangkok this year with Etihad from Heathrow and it worked out ok, pretty cheap flight and plenty food and drink onboard with a pretty decent entertainment system also. Take a look around you on the outbound from Heathrow and Dublin when you are boarding at the gate and if the flight is quite and not full you might me able to grab a row of centre aisle seats to yourself to make a cattle class bed!!

joaneire

I don't know about staying the night in Abu Dhabi, but one thing I can say is, prepare for the heat! We got off the plane, having left Dublin at 9am that morning and it was about 6degrees, and I literally felt like I'd walked into a sauna! It was horrific! Obviously the airport is air conditioned but the smoking area isn't! Seemed like an awesome airport...we didn't get a chance to have a look around because our first flight had been delayed, but there's certainly a lot to do there, and I reckon if there's an airport hotel around the locality, then it'll be pretty westernised... they say Abu Dhabi isn't as conservative as it used to be!

Dj Stiggie

I'd say you'll be grand. The place is a lot like Dubai, full of expats etc.

Not sure about the drinking scene, but I'm sure you'll be sorted in the hotel bar. I know in Bahrain (which is also in the UAE) if you go to a club or something you have to have a taxi pre-booked and waiting for you outside the door. It's illegal to be drunk in public.

I'd say go, have a great time and stick to the hotel bar.

amybabes

Just an FYI that Abu Dhabi airport is about an hour from Dubai and an hour from Abu Dhabi centre - Etihad provide free luxury coach transfers (economy passengers) to both that leave every half an hour or so.

I stayed in Dubai for 5 days on my way home in August - initially planned on Abu Dhabi but seeing as both were accessible through Etihad and were roughly the same disatance from the airport - we went with Dubai as felt there was more to do.

We stayed at the Sofitel JBR and they actually have an Irish bar in it but it wasn't the cheapest and probably will find a better hotel for nightlife!

yellowlabrador

I remember the airport being opened in 1981, it was in the middle of the desert and believe it or not, there were floods, the desert was like a sea. I suppose it'll be a bit more built up now. The old airport was a shed on the island itself, with no aircon and long rows of wooden tables, where they used to check all luggage for contraband, oh happy days. Planes only landed at night and only took off in the early mornings.
Don't forget, 2nd of December is a national holiday and if you can, go to town. All the buildings will be lit and everyone will be out. It isn't too warm in December, about 25 degrees, but it can get chilly at night.

yellowlabrador

And I forgot, there'll be lots of firework displays that night all over the UAE, as it's independence day