camels wandering down the middle of high-
ways, and pristine white-sand beaches with
barely a hotel in sight can still be found here.
Plan an early start if you’re going just for
the day and want some time to relax on the
beach. If you do this excursion on a Friday
you can catch the bull-butting in Fujairah
(see the boxed text) on the way home, al-
though downsides include heavy traffic and
more-crowded beaches.
The best...
̈ ghtsi Badiyah Mosque (p132)
̈ e to plac eat Al-Meshwar (p133)
̈ e to plac shop Friday Market (p132)
Top Tip
Although many of the beaches in the UAE
look calm, they often have dangerous rip
tides. If you are swimming at any of the
beaches on the East Coast (or elsewhere in
the UAE), be very careful as most are un-
patrolled and there are regular reports of
people drowning.
Getting There & away
d stance from i dubai 130km
d rectioni East
Travel time 90 minutes
c ra Take the E11 towards Sharjah and
then head in the direction of Al-Dhaid, on
the E88. At Masafi you can take the E89
road heading north to Dibba or south
to Fujairah; we recommend going north
first to Dibba and then driving south
along the coast.
public transport Minibuses to Fujairah
leave from Al-Ittihad station (Map p206;
cnr of Omar ibn al-Khattab & Al-Rigga
Rds) in Deira every 45 minutes and cost
Dh25. It will cost just over Dh200 if you
go by taxi. A taxi from Fujairah to Al-
Aqah beach costs around Dh75. Unfortu-
nately there’s no public transport from
Fujairah to Dubai, so you will have to
return by taxi.n ed to Knowe
̈ ea ar code % 09
̈ cationlo 130km east of Dubai
̈ ourist T office (%09 223 1436; www
.fujairah.ae; 9th fl, Fujairah Trade Centre
Bldg, Hamad bin Abdullah Rd; h8am-1pm
Sat-Wed)b n aeTi G The druMHere’s an environmentally friendly,
social and entertaining way to see
the desert: join a drum circle� d bai u
drums (www.dubaidrums.com) hosts
regular full-moon drum circles (adult/
child Dh190/85) in desert camps�
Sessions usually last several hours
and occasionally until the early hours
of the morning� Watch for the near-
legendary all-nighter events� Drums
and a barbecue dinner are provided�f irahuJaFujairah is the only emirate on the Indian Ocean� The main city, also called Fujairah,
is a port town� For a peek into its past, drop by the dusty f jairah Museumu (cnr
al-nakheel & al-Salam rds; adult/child Dh5/free; h8.30am-1.30pm & 4.30-6.30pm Sun-Thu,
2-6.30pm Fri) or the impressive 17th-century fort, which is spectacularly floodlit at
night and surrounded by low-lying traditional walls and houses, which are gradually
being restored� Nature lovers should shoot down to the idyllic mangrove lagoon at
Khor Kalba, a paradise for birdwatchers� Explore on your own or book a guided canoe
safari with Dubai-based d sert e rangers (%04-357 2233; http://www.desertrangers.com;
adult/child Dh300/210; c)�
If possible, visit Fujairah on a Friday when the ancient sport of bull-butting (btwn
Corniche & Coast rd; h4-7pm Fri oct-May) takes place in a dusty dirt patch on the southern
outskirts of town (before Al-Rughailat Bridge)� The practice was introduced centuries
ago by the Portuguese, and today’s contests see bulls brought here from all over the
uAE to lock horns and test their strength against each other� The goal is for a competing
bull to push its opponent out of a circle, which usually takes only a couple of minutes�
Traditionally, the fighting took place in an open field, but since angry bulls would occa-
sionally charge spectators, a new wire fence has been built to keep them enclosed�d
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