UAE Solo Female Travel Safety Tips and Advice

On this page you will find first-hand, unbiased, and real safety tips, advice and reviews from women traveling solo, submitted directly from their personal experiences in the country.

Their opinions are unfiltered and submitted independently as part of the Solo Female Travel Safety Index, a ranking of 210 countries and regions based on how safe they are for women traveling solo.

The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers.

You don’t need to login to read the below reviews. But do sign up or login to share your solo travel experiences, country safety rating and comments.

United Arab Emirates Country data

We have compiled a few data points below that can help you better understand United Arab Emirates and have more context when thinking about travel safety.

Official country name: United Arab Emirates.

Etymology: The name "Arabia" can be traced back many centuries B.C., when the ancient Egyptians referred to the region as "Ar Rabi". "Emirates" derives from "amir" the Arabic word for "commander," "lord," or "prince".

Capital: Abu Dhabi.

Independence / foundation: The Trucial States of the Persian Gulf coast granted the UK control of their defense and foreign affairs in 19th century treaties.

In 1971, six of these states - Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah, Dubayy, and Umm al Qaywayn - merged to form the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Population: 10 million.

Currency: Emirati Dirham (AED)
1 USD = 3.67 AED
1 EUR = 3.95 - 4.02 AED

Time zone: UTC+4

Languages spoken: Arabic (official), English (common language spoken by everyone), Hindi, Malayam, Urdu, Pashto, Tagalog, Persian.

Religions: Muslim (official) 76%, Christian 9%, other (primarily Hindu and Buddhist, less than 5% of the population consists of Parsi, Baha'i, Druze, Sikh, Ahmadi, Ismaili, Dawoodi Bohra Muslim, and Jewish) 15%.

Climate: Desert weather conditions, cooler in the eastern mountains.

Real GDP (ppp – purchasing power parity): $707.3 billion.

Real GDP per capita (ppp): $74,900.

Main airports: Dubai International Airport, Abu Dhabi International Airport, Sharjah International Airport.

World heritage sites in United Arab Emirates

There are over 1,100 world heritage sites spread across more than 165 countries. New ones are added every year, and some may be removed from the list for various reasons.

Number of UNESCO listed sites: 1.

Top world heritage sites:

Cultural Sites of Al Ain (Hafit, Hili, Bidaa Bint Saud and Oases Areas).

Interesting facts about United Arab Emirates

- The UAE has no permanent rivers or natural lakes and is famous for its superlative man-made structures. The most popular is Palm Jumeirah, an artificial, palm tree-shaped archipelago home to luxury hotels, beaches and approximately 80,000 people. Dubai is also home to the tallest building in the world. Located in Dubai, the Burj Khalifa Tower measures 828m tall.

- In 2017, the UAE became the world’s first country to establish the post of Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence. The city of Dubai in the UAE has its own cryptocurrency, emCash.

- Many acts that may be legal and perfectly acceptable elsewhere can be illegal and punishable by law in the UAE. This includes the importation of pork products, alcohol or pornography, cross-dressing and homosexual sex. Financial crimes, including the non-payment of bills such as a hotel bill, can result in imprisonment or a fine. Criticising the Government, taking photos of people without their permission, swearing or making rude gestures and some ingredients in sincare products or medication, such as CDB oil, are not permitted and can result in criminal charges. The list of permitted medicines is here. Extra-marital relationships can be criminally prosecuted and result in a jail sentence if the spouse or parent files a criminal complaint.

Further reading: N/A.

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United Arab Emirates Travel tips

More about United Arab Emirates on Solo Female Travelers

Coming soon.

Did you spot any errors? We do our best to keep this information updated and accurate, but things change. If you saw anything that is not right, let us know so we can fix it: [email protected].

About the Solo Female Travel Safety Index

Safety matters to solo female travelers, you told us so in our annual Solo Female Travel Survey, where year after year, women prove that this is their most important concern when traveling solo.

We wanted to do something about it, so we built these country-specific pages where you can find reviews and scores for 7 key variables affecting the safety of women traveling solo.

How to use the Safety Index

On this page, you will find the country score and the personal opinions on safety of other women traveling solo.

You can sort the comments by:

• The level of experience traveling solo of the reviewer (beginner = <5 trips solo, Intermediate = 5 to 10 trips solo, Experienced = >10 trips solo).
• The age of the traveler.
• Whether they are a visitor or local.
• The date they were posted.

The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers. 

Thus, the lower the score, the safer the country.

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Looking for more safety resources?

This entire website is devoted to helping women travel solo. Check out the links below to learn more:

Solo Female Travel Stats: Results from the the largest, most comprehensive and only global research study on solo female travel trends, preferences and behaviors published.

Thanks to Jacobo Vilella for creating the Solo Female Travelers Safety Index ❤️