In a city like Dubai where anything is possible how does going up to the top of the highest building in the world sound? Well you can do that at the Burj Khalifa. Rising up and piercing the clouds the Burj Khalifa is the first thing you see from miles away as you come in to land in Dubai.
At 829.8 meters tall the height of the building is incredible to explain, you have to see it with your own eyes to believe it exists.
Going up the Burj Khalifa has been on my list of things I have always wanted to do and on a recent stop over to Dubai on way Bangkok I visited the ‘At the Top, Burj Khalifa SKY’ observation deck, which was a truly incredible.
Getting There
If like me you are on a stop over and want to exit the airport and visit Dubai, the process is very simple however give yourself at least 4/5 hours to get out of the airport and back through customs again in time to make your flight. It you are a UK citizen you do not need a visa to exit the airport into UAE.
Once you are out of the airport the quickest and coolest way (in a temperature sense) to get to the Burj Khalifa is via the subway taking it to the Dubai Mall Stop.
The walk from the station to the entrance of the Burj Khalifa does require your walking legs and it will take you about 20/25 mins as the Dubai Mall is quite big.
Experiences
The Burj Khalifa offers two experiences; the main observation deck at floor 125 (452m above ground) and the new observation experience at floor 148 (555m above ground), which is an additional cost.
Getting Up
I would highly recommend pre-booking a ticket as the attraction is very popular and is often fully booked at certain points in the day. You can pre-book online here. The whole visit will take about an hour in total from start to finish.
The experience starts on the lower ground floor of the Burj Khalifa where you make your way along to the elevators. There are three elevators that take you up 125 floors in 60 seconds. If you want to visit the observation deck on floor 148 there is a separate elevator at floor 125.
Once you are in the elevator it flies up the building and then ping you are at floor 125. You can take pictures 360 degrees around the building and see the whole of Dubai from the observation deck. For me it was magical seeing Dubai and then looking out beyond and seeing that it is just desert and then thinking that the whole city is built on sand!
The Views
The views are incredible and don’t really need any descriptions, you will not find views like this anywhere else in the world.
Would I Recommend It?
Absolutely! The At the Top, Burj Khalifa SKY experience is 125 AED (£22 approx) which for what you see is great value for money.
If you want to visit Dubai, Emirates offer twice daily flights direct from Glasgow to Dubai. You can read about my recent experience on Emirates Business Class.
