Deira vs Bur Dubai: Which Side of the Creek to Stay On

The Creek's two banks, by what they do best

#1

Al Ras station, Green Line The souk evening and the photographs

Gold Souk (Deira)

The covered arcade of jewellers that made Deira's name, at Al Ras station on the Green Line and a few minutes' walk from the Deira abra stations. Go in the late afternoon or evening, when every shop is open and the light in the arcade is at its best; bargaining is expected, browsing is free, and the Spice Souk is next door.

#2

Between the Gold Souk and the Creek Saffron, dried limes, the first walk off the abra

Spice Souk (Deira)

Sacks of chillies, cinnamon bark, dried limes and herbs in the lanes between the Gold Souk and the Deira abra station. It is the first thing you see when you step off the abra from Bur Dubai, and the reason to do the crossing in the late afternoon rather than the morning, when the lanes are quiet and the heat has not yet gone.

#3

Sharaf DG station (formerly Al Fahidi), Green Line Wind towers, courtyard cafés, the Coffee Museum

Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood (Bur Dubai)

The restored quarter of coral-and-gypsum houses with wind towers, courtyard cafés, small galleries and the Coffee Museum, a short walk from Sharaf DG and the Textile Souk. It is the most photographed corner of Old Dubai and the reason Bur Dubai feels like the prettier bank; arrive in the late afternoon, then walk down to the Creek.

#4

Between Al Fahidi and the Bur Dubai abra station Scarves, pashminas, the walk to the abra

Textile Souk (Bur Dubai)

A covered arcade of fabric shops that leads from the Al Fahidi lanes to the abra station on the Bur Dubai bank. Buy the scarf you will need for the Grand Mosque here, since women need a headscarf and covered ankles and wrists on the Abu Dhabi day, then step onto the AED 1-2 abra across to the Spice Souk.

#5

Along the Creek, south-east of Al Fahidi The evening walk and dinner on the water

Al Seef (Bur Dubai)

A promenade of heritage-style lanes and modern cafés along the Bur Dubai bank of the Creek, lit with lanterns after dark, with dhows and abras passing. It is where Old Dubai goes for dinner and the easiest evening in either district: walk from Al Fahidi, eat by the water, take the abra back to Deira or a taxi home.

#6

The Deira Corniche side Fish, fruit and a local morning

Waterfront Market (Deira)

The modern market where Deira buys its fish, meat, fruit and vegetables. Nothing is staged for tourists, which is the appeal: a morning here, then the Gold Souk and lunch in one of Deira's South Asian or Iranian kitchens, is the Deira day at its most honest. Come early, before the heat and before the best fish has gone.

Deira or Bur Dubai: the short answer

Stay in Deira if the budget is the first criterion, you are arriving or leaving DXB at an awkward hour, and you want the souks, Gold, Spice and the Waterfront Market, on the doorstep. Stay in Bur Dubai if you want the better-looking bank: Al Fahidi's wind towers, the Textile Souk and Al Seef's lantern-lit promenade for dinner, with the Green Line under your feet and the Red Line one interchange away at BurJuman. Both are the cheapest districts in Dubai to sleep in and the most rewarding to walk in after 4 PM.

The Creek is not a barrier. An abra crosses it in a few minutes for AED 1-2 from the stations by the Textile Souk on the Bur Dubai side and by the Spice Souk on the Deira side, so the souks of one bank are always a coin away from the other. The real differences are the airport (Deira is closer), the atmosphere (Bur Dubai is calmer and restored, Deira is busier and rawer) and the metro (Deira has both lines, Bur Dubai has the Green Line plus the BurJuman interchange).

Fares are metered and approximate; taxis from the airport ranks start at about AED 25 flag fall.

Souks and streets: what you walk out into

Deira is the trading bank. The Gold Souk's covered arcade is at Al Ras, the Spice Souk fills the lanes between it and the Creek, and the Waterfront Market on the Corniche side is where the district buys its fish and fruit. Between them are the streets of a working city: money changers, cargo shops, tea stalls and restaurants that feed the trading community at prices no other district matches. It is loud, it is busy from morning until late, and it is the most foreign that Dubai gets.

Bur Dubai is the restored bank. Al Fahidi is a quarter of coral-and-gypsum houses with wind towers, courtyard cafés and the Coffee Museum; the Textile Souk runs from it down to the abra station; Al Seef continues along the Creek as a lantern-lit promenade of cafés, and the Al Shindagha heritage district sits at the mouth of the Creek. It photographs better, it is calmer, and the evening is easier: dinner on the water at Al Seef, then the abra.

Both banks are at their best in the late afternoon and evening. Souk mornings are quiet and the afternoon heat is not the time for lanes; from about 4 PM everything is open and the light on the Creek is the best in the city. Lean: Deira for the souks, Bur Dubai for the streets.

Food: the cheapest full meals in Dubai

Neither bank does hotel-restaurant Dubai. What they do is the food of the people who built the city: South Asian, Iranian and Arabic kitchens where a full meal costs a fraction of a Downtown restaurant bill, open late, with no dress code beyond the polite standard of covered shoulders and knees. Deira has more of them and the later hours; Bur Dubai's cluster around Al Fahidi is easier to find on foot from the tourist streets, and Al Seef adds the water view.

Alcohol is the one thing the old districts mostly do without. Licensed venues are the hotel bars, and there are fewer of them here than in the Marina or Downtown; nobody drinks in the street anywhere in Dubai, and the Creek is no exception. If a drink with the sunset matters, plan it on the water instead: private charters from the Marina allow guests of legal drinking age to bring their own.

Lean: Deira, narrowly, for range and late hours; Bur Dubai if you want dinner with a view of the water at Al Seef.

The abra and the Creek: crossing for AED 1-2

The abra is the best thing in either district and it costs AED 1-2. The wooden boats cross between the Bur Dubai bank, at the station at the end of the Textile Souk, and the Deira bank, by the Spice Souk, in a few minutes, leaving when full, through the day and into the evening. It is public transport, not a cruise, which is exactly why it is worth doing: you sit with the people who use it daily, with the wind towers on one side and the dhows on the other.

Plan the crossing into the evening rather than as a separate outing. The classic loop is Al Fahidi at 4 PM, the Textile Souk, the abra to Deira, the Spice and Gold Souks as they light up, then the abra back for dinner at Al Seef, or the reverse if you sleep in Deira. It is 2-3 hours on foot and on the water and it costs AED 2-4 in boat fares. The other free and near-free things in the city are in best free things to do in Dubai.

Lean: even. The abra makes the choice of bank matter less than any other factor in this article.

The airport and the metro

DXB is on the Deira side of the Creek, and it shows. From Terminals 1 and 3 the Red Line runs straight through Deira, with Deira City Centre, Al Rigga and Union, and on to BurJuman, the interchange for Bur Dubai's Green Line stations at Sharaf DG and Al Ghubaiba. Fares are about AED 3-7.5 on a Silver Nol card depending on the zones, and the card itself is about AED 25 with AED 19 of credit. Taxis from the airport ranks start at about AED 25 flag fall, so budget about AED 30-45 to a Deira hotel and AED 40-55 to Bur Dubai, both under 20 minutes outside the 7-9:30 AM and 5-8 PM rush.

For the rest of the city, Deira has both lines and Bur Dubai has the Green Line plus one interchange. To the Marina and the yacht pier it is the Red Line to DMCC, direct from Union, Al Rigga or BurJuman, about 35 km at the top fare of AED 7.5, or a taxi at around AED 80-110 and 35-50 minutes. To Downtown it is the Red Line to Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall, about 10-15 km. Station names carry sponsors and change; the metro guide for tourists describes each stop by what is around it.

Fares are approximate; check the RTA app before you go. The E100 ends at Abu Dhabi Central bus station, not at the Grand Mosque.

Lean: Deira for the airport and for having both lines; Bur Dubai is one interchange behind on everything, which in practice is 5 minutes.

Our tours from Old Dubai

Both banks are ordinary Dubai city addresses for our pickups. The full-day desert safari collects you at the hotel in an air-conditioned 4x4 for 7 hours of dune bashing, sandboarding, the camel ride and the BBQ dinner with shows at Al Khayma camp, from $45 with no prepayment; the drive to the Lahbab Red Dunes is about 45-60 minutes, and Old Dubai is at the nearer end of it. The Abu Dhabi city tour picks up at 8:00 AM; from the Creek the drive is at the longer end of 1.5-2 hours, the day is 9 hours, and the price is $45 shared or $245 for a private car for up to 7. The sunrise balloon collects you before dawn anywhere in Dubai city for $275.

The yacht cruises are the one outing that needs planning from here, because they leave from the marina pier behind Al Majara Tower in Dubai Marina, about 35 km away. Take the Red Line to DMCC or a taxi and allow an hour: the shared yacht hour from $32 checks in 20 minutes before departure, and the 21+ yacht party boards at 8:30 PM and leaves at 9:00 PM without waiting. Both are paid in advance because the slots sell out; the safari and the Abu Dhabi day are paid on the day.

Lean: even. Old Dubai is the far end of the city from the boats whichever bank you pick, and the same distance from the desert and Abu Dhabi pickups.

Who should choose what, and how to do both

The Creek suits five kinds of traveller, and each has a bank.

• Tight budget, early flight: Deira. The cheapest rooms, the Red Line from the terminal, the souks at the end of the street.
• Couples and first-timers who want charm: Bur Dubai, within a walk of Al Fahidi and Al Seef, with the abra as the evening's transport.
• Families: Bur Dubai, for calmer streets, the heritage quarter to wander and the Green Line to BurJuman for the Red Line to the Marina and the beach.
• Souk shoppers: Deira, near Al Ras. The Gold Souk is the reason you came.
• Want the Burj on a budget instead: neither; see Downtown vs Business Bay.

You do not need to choose for the whole trip. Old Dubai is best as the first 2 nights of a longer stay, when the airport is close, the late souks suit the jet lag and the safari and Abu Dhabi pickup days fit easily, before moving to the Marina or the beach. The Old Dubai guide has the half-day plan for both banks, where to stay in Dubai for a first trip puts the Creek against the Marina, Downtown and the Palm, and Dubai to Abu Dhabi covers the E100 from Al Ghubaiba if you would rather go by bus than with us.

FAQ

Recommended Dubai tours for this guide

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