Marvel at the Dazzling Grandeur of Abu Dhabi and Dubai

Flying nonstop from the hubs of New York, Washington, D.C., or Chicago on Etihad Airways, you’ll land at Abu Dhabi International airport. Your trip includes a complimentary transfer into the city, where you’ll check into the Courtyard World Trade Center and can spend the evening decompressing with a cocktail at Up & Below, the hotel’s rooftop pool and lounge.

Following a comfortable night’s sleep in your four-star room, you can look forward to some sun and sand the next day. Your hotel is just two blocks from the beach, ideal for a swim and soak in the sun, before picking among the seemingly endless options for your first dinner in the capital.

After perking up with breakfast at the hotel’s Fifth Street Café, you’ll spend a half day touring the capital of the UAE, starting with the colorful, sprawling, marble-clad Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the largest and arguably most spectacular mosque in the country. From there, your Pacific Holidays group will drive along the long and lively stretch of white sand known as the Abu Dhabi Corniche, so-named after the grand routes of France’s Côte d’Azur, and get a glimpse of Emirates Palace, whose grandiose grounds make it a candidate for the most photogenic hotel in the world. Your group will then pay a visit to the Etihad Towers, a centerpiece of the Abu Dhabi skyline found a short walk from Qasr Al Watan, the Founder’s Memorial, and many other attractions you’ll be free to explore on your own.

On your last day in Abu Dhabi, you might take on another optional tour with your group, or otherwise check off any last parts of the city you’ve wanted to visit on your own, whether it’s a visit to Louvre Abu Dhabi, the sprawling Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi theme park, Yas Mall, the largest shopping center in the city, or something else entirely, based on an insider’s tip from your Pacific Holidays tour guide.

If you feel like catching some fresh air outside of the city, you can add an additional stop in the desert en route to Dubai with Pacific Holidays. This optional tour features temporary and traditional henna tattoos, camel rides among the sand dunes, a belly dancing performance, and a Bedouin feast of grilled meats and Arabian sweets, with your accommodation in an authentic Bedouin tent under the stars.

Following your complimentary transfer to Dubai, you’ll check into Hilton Garden Inn Al Muraqabat, where you’ll have time to splash around in the rooftop pool, or orient yourself in Deira, one of Dubai’s oldest neighborhoods. The area is renowned for its excellent shopping, bustling waterfront, and an abundance of lively local restaurants.

Dubai Creek has been the city’s main artery for eons, and you’ll start off the day using it as a dreamy viewpoint to admire the city skyline and snap postcard-worthy pics. Continuing on your tour, you’ll drive into the old district of Bastakiya, where you’ll get a look behind the city’s hypermodern sheen with a glimpse of how things used to be. From the 18th-century Al Fahidi Fort and the Dubai Museum contained therein to Ruler’s Court, the attached old Diwan Mosque, and shopping among Heritage Village and the ancient spice and gold souks (markets) nearby, you’ll feel as if you’ve come unstuck from time.

Your Pacific Holidays tour continues along the Drydocks, one of the most active ports on earth, then to the Union House, where in 1971 Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum signed the document which officially unified the Emirates into one proud nation. Finishing off the day, you’ll stop to snap pictures of other iconic buildings, including the pink sandstone Jumeirah Mosque, the seven-star Burj Al Arab hotel, its rivals in luxury accommodation, Atlantis and The Palm, and the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa.

By morning, it might be hard to say goodbye to the city. Thankfully, with a free airport transfer waiting to usher you directly from your hotel to the airport, the only thing you’ll have to worry about is how soon you’ll be able to book your next trip back.