Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall: Downtown Dubai
Part of the full Dubai From DXB: Burj Khalifa and the Old Creek
Downtown Dubai’s Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall hold more than the tower’s decks: a free look into the Dubai Aquarium’s 10-million-litre tank, a fountain show watched from the water on Burj Lake, and the arcades of Souk Al Bahar across the lake, all within a few minutes’ walk of each other.
The Dubai Aquarium’s wall of water inside Dubai Mall
The Dubai Aquarium fills a tank of 10 million litres on the ground floor of Dubai Mall, and its main acrylic panel, roughly 33 metres wide and more than 8 metres tall, faces straight onto the mall’s concourse. Standing in front of it costs nothing, and from there the sand tiger sharks and rays pass a few metres away while shoppers walk by behind you; the upper floors look down into the same tank.
A ticket buys the 48-metre tunnel through the bottom of the tank, with water on three sides overhead, and the Underwater Zoo above it. Prices start at roughly AED 150 and climb past AED 200 for the packages that add a glass-bottom boat or a behind-the-scenes tour, and buying the tunnel ticket in advance is usually cheaper than paying at the desk.
A boardwalk 10 metres from the Dubai Fountain’s jets
The Dubai Fountain plays on Burj Lake, between the mall and the tower, and most people watch it from the promenade. Two paid options put you on the water instead. The boardwalk is a floating walkway 272 metres long that runs out to about 10 metres from the jets, for around AED 20 to 25; the lake ride is a small wooden abra that sits out among the jets during a show, for about AED 75 plus VAT. Either way the show itself lasts about five minutes, and the evening ones run every half hour from 6pm to 11pm.
Both sell by the show, so booking a boardwalk or lake-ride slot fixes which half hour you get. The lakeside promenade fills in the minutes before each evening show, and there is no room to bring a wheeled suitcase up to the railing.
Souk Al Bahar’s arcades on Old Town Island
Souk Al Bahar stands on Old Town Island on the south side of Burj Lake, a market building finished in 2008 in an arabesque style: arched walkways, carved lattice screens and pale stone, with shops and restaurants inside and a line of terraces along the water. A footbridge across the lake joins it to Dubai Mall.
It is the calmer side of the lake: the terraces face straight onto the fountain, so a table here comes with a view of the evening shows, and inside it is quieter than the mall’s main concourses.
An 820-metre walkway to the airport train
Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall station sits on the Red Line, and from there the train reaches Airport Terminal 1 at Dubai International Airport (DXB) in about 23 minutes and Airport Terminal 3 in about 25, for AED 5 on a Silver nol card. The station is not at the mall’s door: an air-conditioned walkway 820 metres long, mostly moving walkway, links the two, and it takes 10 to 15 minutes, so allow around 45 minutes from Souk Al Bahar to the terminal. Terminal 2 has no station, and a taxi from the mall’s rank is the way there. Budget at least 90 minutes at the airport on top.
With a longer gap, the full Dubai itinerary adds Burj Khalifa’s decks and then crosses town to the Al Fahidi lanes and the abra over the creek; with a shorter one, the stops a couple of metro stations from the airport keep the ride short. Downtown itself is small enough that, with nothing to wheel around, the aquarium, the lake and the souk fit comfortably between two trains.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do during a layover near Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall in Dubai?
Start inside Dubai Mall at the Dubai Aquarium, whose main viewing panel is free and whose tunnel is worth a ticket if there is time. Then watch one evening fountain show from the boardwalk or a boat on Burj Lake, which is the part worth booking ahead, and walk across to Souk Al Bahar's arcades on the far side of the lake. Three to four hours covers all of it without leaving Downtown; the aquarium tunnel is the easiest thing to cut.
Is Downtown Dubai a good layover stop with kids?
Yes, mostly for the aquarium. The main panel of the 10-million-litre tank faces the mall concourse and costs nothing to look through, the ticketed tunnel runs underneath the sharks and rays, and the Underwater Zoo on the floor above includes a penguin colony. On Burj Lake, the boat rides include small traditional abras, and the fountain shows only last about five minutes, which suits a short attention span.
Where is the best spot to watch the Dubai Fountain?
Anywhere on the promenade that rings Burj Lake, on the footbridge between Dubai Mall and Souk Al Bahar, or from the terraces of the restaurants in Souk Al Bahar, which face the lake. The paid boardwalk and lake rides get you closer to the jets. Evening shows run every 30 minutes from 6pm to 11pm.
How long is the walk from Dubai Mall to the metro?
Longer than it looks. Dubai Mall connects to Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall metro station by an air-conditioned walkway 820 metres long, with moving walkways for most of it, and it takes 10 to 15 minutes from the mall end to the platform. From Souk Al Bahar, add the footbridge across the lake and the walk through the mall.