Practical tips
Best time
Desert climate: November to March is mild and is high season; June to September brings extreme heat, with highs frequently above 40 degrees, and life moves indoors to air conditioning. Ramadan changes restaurant hours and the country's rhythm; check the dates for your travel year.
Languages
Arabic is the official language; English works in practically all commerce and services, because most of the population is foreign. Urdu, Hindi, Tagalog and other community languages are heard everywhere.
Etiquette
The consular advisory is clear: respect local customs, above all during Ramadan; modest dress in public buildings and religious sites; no alcohol in public; maximum caution photographing government buildings, diplomatic missions or incidents; and restraint sharing political content online, which can carry criminal consequences. Public displays of affection are frowned upon and can be sanctioned, and dress norms are stricter in Sharjah than in Dubai.
What to see & culture
Places
The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, open to visitors with suitable dress; the Louvre Abu Dhabi under its perforated dome; the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Creek, with the historic Al Fahidi quarter and abras crossing between the souks; the Al Ain oasis, a World Heritage site; and the Hajar mountains in Fujairah, which almost nobody associates with the country.
Culture
A federation of seven emirates, independent since 1971, that went in two generations from pearling and fishing ports to global metropolises. Society is majority-foreign and deeply stratified, with Emirati Bedouin and maritime culture at the root: falconry, camel racing, the hospitality of Arabic coffee with dates.
Food
The Emirati table joins the Gulf and the Indian Ocean: spiced rice machboos, grilled Gulf fish, honeyed luqaimat for sweetness, karak chai at any hour. Around it, some of the best Lebanese, Indian, Pakistani, Filipino and Iranian cooking outside those countries, because the communities are huge.