Abu Dhabi: Grand Mosque, Heritage Village & Ferrari World Day Trip

4.63

(3339 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I noticed was the hush inside Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque — not silence exactly, but this soft echo of footsteps on marble. Our guide, Khaled, handed me an abaya at the entrance (I’d forgotten about the dress code, honestly) and showed us how to wear it without fuss. The air smelled faintly of sandalwood and something floral. I remember standing under those chandeliers and just feeling small in a good way. Khaled pointed out tiny details in the mosaics that I never would’ve spotted — he said one took months to finish by hand. I tried to say thank you in Arabic and got a smile back, so maybe it wasn’t too bad.

After that, we drove along the Corniche — windows down for a bit because the breeze felt nice even with the city heat. The skyline looked almost unreal against the water. We stopped for photos outside Qasr Al Watan (couldn’t go in), and then at Ferrari World on Yas Island, which is... well, red. Very red. I’m not really into cars but seeing that logo up close was weirdly exciting. Someone in our group tried to convince Khaled to let us ride something but nope — just photos today.

I liked Heritage Village more than I expected. There’s this old boat pulled up on sand and a woman weaving baskets who didn’t mind me watching for a minute. It smells like spices and dust there — kind of earthy? We wandered through little museum rooms full of things people used before oil changed everything here. Then dates market: sticky-sweet air everywhere, trays piled high with fruit I couldn’t name. The guy selling them offered samples; I picked one at random and it tasted almost like caramel.

Honestly by late afternoon I was tired in that good way you get after seeing too much in one go — shoes dusty, phone full of pictures I’ll probably never sort through properly. We made it back to Dubai as the sun dipped low behind towers. Still think about that quiet moment under the mosque’s domes sometimes — you know?