The quick answer
The currency is the UAE dirham, and it is pegged to the US dollar. That is the useful fact: the rate is stable rather than something to time, so there is no advantage in waiting. Cards work everywhere and you can spend a week here without touching cash.
No exchange rate appears on this page; the peg is a policy and your bank's rate is still your bank's.
Cards and cash
Contactless card and phone payment is accepted in shops, restaurants, taxis, the Metro, attractions and most taxis. Visa and Mastercard are universal; other networks are patchier. ATMs are everywhere.
Cash still helps in the old souks, at some smaller cafeterias, for tips, and for the abra, the small boat that crosses Dubai Creek and costs almost nothing. Exchange houses in the city give better rates than the airport and are plentiful and reliable.
Decline the offer to be billed in your home currency on a card terminal; the rate is worse than your bank's.
What things cost
The UAE is not a single price level, it is all of them at once, and that is the most useful thing to understand. A shopping mall food court, a Pakistani cafeteria in Deira and a beach club on the Palm are in the same city and are separated by an order of magnitude. Accommodation spans the same range.
Expensive: alcohol, beach clubs, brunches, taxis over long distances, the marquee attractions and anything with a view of the Burj Khalifa. Inexpensive: the Metro, the abra, the old souks, everyday restaurants in the older districts, the beaches, and a great deal of Abu Dhabi's cultural program.
Alcohol, which is a cost and a rule
Served in licensed venues, which in practice means hotels and a defined set of restaurants and bars, and it is heavily taxed and expensive. The rules on personal purchase and licensing have changed in recent years and differ by emirate, and Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the northern emirates are not the same. Sharjah is dry. Check the current position for the emirate you are in rather than assuming that what applied on a previous trip still does, and read the safety guide for the part that matters, which is the law rather than the price.
Tipping
Expected but modest, and never aggressive. A service charge is often added to restaurant bills, in which case nothing more is needed; rounding up is normal. Hotel porters, housekeeping, drivers and guides are customarily tipped. Taxi fares are usually rounded up. Tips in cash reach the person more reliably than on a card.
Bargaining
Fixed prices in malls and shops. In the gold, spice and textile souks bargaining is expected and is friendly: ask, offer well below, settle in the middle, and be prepared to walk away pleasantly. Gold is sold by weight at the day's rate plus workmanship, so the negotiation is over the making charge rather than the metal.
Tax
Value added tax applies to most goods and services and a tourist refund scheme exists at the airports for eligible purchases; ask the retailer at the time of purchase rather than afterwards. A municipality or tourism fee is normally added per room per night at hotels and is not always in the headline rate. Rates are set by government and are not published here.
Planning with LABUSA Travel
We are straightforward about what a UAE trip costs, and about where the expensive version and the inexpensive version of the same day differ only in the postcode.
Sources
- The Official Portal of the UAE Government: federal information for visitors, including entry, residence and public services. Accessed 11 August 2026.
- Visit Dubai, Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism: official visitor information for the emirate of Dubai. Accessed 11 August 2026.
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: UAE travel advice, including local laws, customs and entry requirements. Accessed 11 August 2026.