Money
The UAE dirham (AED), pegged to the US dollar at 3.6725. The rate never moves, so there is nothing to time and no benefit to shopping around.
Cards are accepted almost everywhere. Keep cash for abras, souk stalls and small canteens.
Decline any card terminal offering to charge you in your home currency.
The heat
The most important practical fact. From May to September it runs 40 to 48°C with high humidity on the coast. Heat exhaustion is a real risk and it develops faster than people expect.
Drink far more water than feels necessary. Stay out of the sun between eleven and four. Plan mornings and evenings outdoors and the middle of the day inside. Never leave anyone in a parked car, even briefly.
Alcohol and behaviour
Alcohol is legal in licensed premises — hotels and licensed restaurants. Drinking or being drunk in public is an offence. Drink-driving is zero-tolerance.
Public displays of affection are restricted. Swearing and rude gestures are criminal offences, including online. Photographing people without consent is an offence.
Swimwear belongs on the beach; cover up before leaving it.
Sharjah is entirely dry.
The full guidance is here, and it is fifteen minutes worth reading before you fly.
Medication
Check before you pack. The UAE controls a number of medicines that are ordinary elsewhere, including some codeine-based painkillers, sedatives and certain ADHD and mental-health prescriptions. CBD products are banned outright.
Carry the original packaging and a copy of the prescription, and check the Ministry of Health list for anything you take. People have been detained over this.
Drugs
Zero tolerance, including trace amounts detected in blood, and including substances legal in your home country. Penalties are severe.
Safety
Dubai is one of the safest cities in the world. Violent crime against visitors is very rare, and petty theft is uncommon.
The genuine risks are heat, road traffic and swimming — pay attention to beach flags, as rip currents on the open coast have killed people.
Water and health
Tap water is desalinated and safe; most people drink bottled by habit.
Healthcare is excellent and private, and travel insurance is essential — treatment is expensive and payment is expected up front.
Emergency numbers
999 police, 998 ambulance, 997 fire.
Odds and ends
The weekend is Saturday and Sunday, changed from Friday–Saturday in January 2022.
Friday midday prayers close many souk shops for a couple of hours.
Tipping is 10 to 15 per cent where no service charge is added.
Voltage is 220–240V with UK-style three-pin plugs.