Abu Dhabi City Tour met Ferrari World-themapark

Closed main attraction, endless queues, breakdowns on several attractions and poor queue management. Not recommended 🙁

The Guide Totally messed up the Tour . According to the schedule Tour should be started around 8am , But Guide who's the same Driver said pick up at 9.30 , where he made it at 9.45 , so we reached Abu dhabi around 11.45am Worst thing was he was falling asleep time to time when we are at the Expressway which speed at 140KMPH , It was really scary He was driving towards the shoulders , It was a Miracle that we made without incident. So We made it to Grand mosque and Emirates Palace, He showed Museum, but had skipped dates market , and all except Ferrari World, The President House he showed only from very far , when we asked drive near by He said now time running out. Made it Ferrari world at 4.20pm which is gonna close at 7pm so we could do only 4 rides at a very rush. It's not worthy for the paid amount. our lives at a risk with such driver , and see places rushing, Missing best parts of Tour.

This tour had only 2 reviews when we signed up so I knew we were taking a risk. I hope those in the future find this review more informational than I found the others. We knew at the beginning that Abu Dhabi would be strict about attire and PDA but I really wanted to see the mosque and experience a bit more culture that the UAE had to offer than just Dubai. This tour was a 'do not recommend' because of a couple of reasons. Our main one was that our tour guide barely spoke English. He did not know any of the answers to our questions (if he even understood them). So this became a self-guided tour, which was not what we wanted or expected. The itinerary was not accurate. For starters, the length of the tour says ~8 hours but all the activities listed on ‘What to Except’ add up to almost 10. That does not include the 1.5 hours to and from Abu Dhabi. That being said, we did not go to the Abu Dhabi mall to eat. We ate in this little restaurant that was a buffet (it was fine and not expensive but was not included in the tour. Also if you didn’t like Arabic food, you would not be happy but we liked it). We also never saw the Dates Market. And although that stop was supposed to be quick, we didn’t go to the souks in Dubai because we were going to see a market like that on this tour. That was a big disappointment! We did not drive by the MAD on Yas Island or if we did, it was not pointed out to us. We also did not get to see the Heritage Village but that was not the tour’s vault as this is closed due to COVID. BEFORE GOING TO THE MOSQUE PLEASE READ: They are very very strict on the women who enter. Even though I had linen pants, a flowy shirt, a head scarf covering, I was rejected (the linen was too see-through). Even our tour guide was surprised. They send you to one of the shops that are just outside but the outfits cost $150 USD! Another woman on our tour was even in a traditional dress and they rejected her because her sleeves were too flowy and see-through. So ladies, please be very aware that you are covered head to toe (no ankles showing and shirt to the wrists). No linen because its too see-though. Men just need to wear pants. I included our picture to show what was accepted. No touching your significant other in the mosque or they will make you delete your photo off your phone and the deleted folder on your phone. The other couple in our group got in trouble because the man raised his arms to shoulder height in one photo and they made him delete it. I believe it was because he was ‘impersonating god’ is what they said. So do not do anything that can be construed as such. You only really need 30 minutes at the mosque. Its stunningly beautiful but there’s not a lot of information or anything. Just as a warning, the ‘Islamic Art Museum/Culture Center’ is really a shop. They have authentic gold paintings, bejeweled carpets, beautiful rugs and robes and Arabic perfumes that smell amazing. I would’ve considered buying one of the perfumes but I spent $150+ on my outfit for the mosque so that became my souvenir hah. This place was cool to see but this is not what you expect when you hear museum. Also there was one of the salesman that kept following us around saying ‘I’ll give you a very good price’ and ‘for you, I’ll drop the price’ over and over. The carpets and rugs were beautifully done though. Just know going in what to expect and with an empathic ‘no’ when asked about pricing and you’ll enjoy it. This is very similar to what they do on tours in Turkey so I had experienced this before. We had a great time at Ferrari World! The rides were super-fast and great for roller coaster enthusiasts, which we are. The lines were super short (prob due to COVID and it being mid-day on a Wednesday). We had just the right amount of time here! We also heard (through another tour’s review) that too short shorts are not accepted in Ferrari World. We did not encounter that but I was wearing linen pants. They do make you wear their masks (that they sell you) to ride the rides but it was worth it! And the entire place is basically inside but the roller coasters go outside so that was great since it was the summer when we went! The other huge downfall of this tour/tour guide was the other couple in our car did not abide by the timing that the tour guide gave us at any of the stops. They were over 30 minutes late leaving Ferrari World and we were just left sitting in the van waiting. I wish our tour guide had our phone numbers and would’ve bugged them to hurry up. Please also make sure that you check out the most recent COVID protocols when going to Abu Dhabi. At the time when we went, they required an additional covid test within 48 hours of entry. This was easy enough to do but their immigration center is not messing around. We were questioned more there than we were entering the country at the airport. Sorry for the long review but I hope people find this helpful! I wish I had known a lot of this info before picking this tour.

We all enjoyed the prompt pick up from our resort and a private tour tailored to our needs. The driver made extra stop at the Louvre museum which was not on the itinerary. We really appreciated the driver’s flexibility and patience waiting for us 5 hrs at the Ferrari park. The only disappointment was no water bottles available for us as it’s customary on this kind of trips.

O.M.G. It's a must have to do. If you planning to go to Dubai, this Tour is one of the best choices that you can trust. Fun place to go. Great Package to book. Very Professional and Friendly.