Dubai essentials: the calling-app problem, cover, and terminal logistics.

The UAE has two mobile operators of consequence — e& (formerly Etisalat) and du — and both sell visitor prepaid packages, with promotional tourist SIMs regularly available at Dubai International arrivals. Network quality is excellent, coverage across the emirates is comprehensive, and there is no shortage of retail if you want a physical SIM.

The genuine surprise for Indian travellers is regulatory rather than technical. Voice and video calling over consumer messaging and VoIP applications is restricted on UAE networks; licensed local alternatives exist and are widely used by residents. This is a network-level restriction set by the country's telecom regulator, not a setting you have overlooked, and it applies to how the traffic is carried rather than to which SIM you happen to hold. Do not plan on video-calling home the way you would from Bangkok, and do not assume a workaround is appropriate — check the current regulatory position and use what is permitted.

That changes the eSIM calculus in a specific way. An eSIM is still the cleanest option for data on landing and for keeping your Indian number reachable for banking OTPs, which matter a great deal on a shopping trip. But choose the plan for data and messaging, and arrange calls through a service that works there — many families simply agree on text and voice notes for the week.

Roaming on an Indian plan is worth a look for short Dubai trips because the UAE is one of the most heavily bundled destinations in Indian carriers' international packs. Public wifi is also unusually good: the malls, the Metro, the airport and most hotels are well covered, which softens the consequences of getting the plan slightly wrong.

The UAE runs a private, high-quality and expensive healthcare system, and visitors are not inside it. An unplanned admission in Dubai is one of the more costly medical events an Indian traveller can have on a short trip, which is the practical reason to carry emergency medical and evacuation cover regardless of any rule.

There is also a documentation dimension. Travel medical insurance is commonly part of the supporting file for a UAE visit visa, and the exact expectation depends on the visa type and on the channel handling the application — an airline, a hotel, a licensed agent or a direct application through the federal authority. Because that varies, confirm what your specific application requires with the issuing channel and with the UAE authorities rather than assuming a generic policy will satisfy it. Meeting a stated criterion is not the same as an authority accepting a particular policy or issuing a visa.

The activity exclusions in the UAE are unusual and easy to overlook, because the things people book are not obviously extreme until you read the schedule: dune bashing, quad biking, desert buggies, skydiving over the Palm, indoor skiing, and increasingly common flyboard and jet-ski experiences. Several of these sit outside standard cover. Check before you book the experience, not after.

One more UAE-specific caution: policies commonly exclude claims arising from incidents involving alcohol, and local law around alcohol and public behaviour is stricter than many visitors expect. The insurance point and the legal point reinforce each other.

Dubai's terminal geography matters more than it does at most airports. The Metro Red Line has stations at Terminals 1 and 3, and using it with light luggage is fast and inexpensive. Terminal 2 is not on that line, and neither is Al Maktoum. Sharjah and Abu Dhabi are different airports in different emirates entirely, and travellers who booked a low fare into Sharjah are frequently surprised by the onward journey.

Airport taxis operate from managed ranks with an airport surcharge, and app-based ride-hailing operates from designated pickup areas. For a family with luggage arriving at night, a pre-booked transfer with a fixed price is usually the least stressful option; for a solo traveller with a cabin bag arriving mid-morning, the Metro is genuinely better than a car.

Getting around afterwards is easy by regional standards. The Metro, trams and buses all run on a single stored-value travel card, and it is worth buying one on arrival rather than paying per journey. The Metro does not reach everywhere — parts of Jumeirah, Al Quoz and the desert resorts need a car — but it covers the corridor most visitors actually use.

Dubai sells experiences the way an airline sells seats: by slot, at a price that moves. That makes it one of the few destinations where booking the headline attractions from India before you fly is both easier and more likely to get you the hour you wanted.

It also makes multi-attraction passes worth a genuine look rather than a dismissal, provided you check that the specific attractions you care about are included and that the pass still requires a timed reservation — several do.

Indian passport holders generally need a visa for the UAE, and the usual routes are through the airline you are flying, a hotel, a licensed agent, or an application to the federal identity and immigration authority. Separately, there is a long-standing provision under which Indian nationals holding certain valid visas or residence permits from other countries may be eligible for entry facilitation on arrival. That provision has specific conditions, and it has been amended, so treat it as something to confirm rather than to rely on.

The supporting expectations are the standard ones — passport validity, confirmed return travel and accommodation — and the emirate you land in matters, since Dubai's own residency and foreigners affairs department handles some processes distinctly from the federal authority.

Verify current rules with the UAE authorities before you book anything non-refundable. Eligibility described anywhere on the internet, including here, is not an entitlement, and the immigration officer decides admission.