The quick answer
The UAE has very low crime and visitors routinely feel safer here than at home. Walking at night, solo travel and leaving a bag unattended are all normal in a way they are not in most places.
The risk is legal, not criminal. The skyline and the beach clubs give an impression of a place with Western norms, and the law underneath is considerably stricter than that impression. Almost every serious problem a visitor has here comes from assuming otherwise.
This page carries no emergency telephone number; save the current one on arrival.
The laws that catch visitors out
Medication
The most serious. Covered fully on the entry guide. A range of ordinary prescription and over-the-counter medicines are controlled here, approval must sometimes be obtained in advance, and travelers have been detained at the airport. Original packaging, prescription, check before you fly.
Alcohol
Legal for visitors in licensed venues, and the rules around purchase and personal licenses have changed in recent years and differ by emirate. Sharjah is dry. Whatever the current position, two things are constant: being drunk in public is an offense, and drink driving carries a threshold of effectively zero with severe penalties including imprisonment. Do not drive after any alcohol at all.
Public behavior
Public displays of affection beyond hand holding can bring police attention. Swearing, rude gestures and aggressive arguments are treated as offenses, including in a traffic dispute, and including online. Remain calm and polite with officials and with other drivers.
Photography
Do not photograph people without permission, and be especially careful about women, children and anyone in national dress. Photographing government buildings, military sites, ports, airports and palaces is prohibited. Posting a photograph of someone without consent has led to prosecution here, which visitors find hard to believe until it happens.
Debt and money
A distinctive UAE risk: unpaid debts, including a bounced check or a defaulted loan, can be a criminal matter and can result in a travel ban. This matters mostly to residents but is worth knowing if you are doing business here.
Other
Drug penalties are extremely severe, and trace amounts have been prosecuted. Anything read as insulting to Islam, the UAE or its rulers is a serious matter. Same-sex relationships are criminalised; travelers should make an informed decision and be discreet. Cohabitation rules have been relaxed but the picture is not uniform across the emirates.
Heat
The genuine physical risk in summer. Heat exhaustion and heatstroke develop quickly in high humidity and affect the fit as well as the vulnerable. Drink constantly, avoid the middle of the day, use shade and cooling deliberately, and treat dizziness or headache as a reason to stop.
Traffic
The most likely physical danger. Roads are excellent and speeds are high, lane discipline is loose by many visitors' standards, and pedestrians are not always expected. Cross at crossings, use seatbelts in every seat, and use a car seat for children, which is required.
The sea and the desert
Beaches can have strong currents and not all are patrolled; obey the flags and do not swim where there is no supervision. In the desert, never set off alone in a hired car: soft sand strands vehicles and heat does the rest. Go with an operator.
Health
Excellent, modern healthcare and well-stocked pharmacies. Treatment is not free for visitors, so travel insurance is necessary. Tap water is treated and safe; most people drink bottled. Check CDC guidance for routine vaccinations.
Women travelers
Comfortable and low harassment by most measures, with women-only Metro carriages, taxis and hotel floors available as conveniences. Dressing modestly reduces attention.
Before you go
Read your own government's current travel advice. It sets out the legal differences in more detail than a page like this should attempt, and it is updated as they change.
Planning with LABUSA Travel
We brief travelers on local law before departure, because in the UAE that briefing is worth far more than any warning about pickpockets.
Sources
- US Department of State: United Arab Emirates International Travel Information and the current travel advisory. Accessed 11 August 2026.
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: UAE travel advice, including local laws, customs and entry requirements. Accessed 11 August 2026.
- US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Travelers’ Health, United Arab Emirates: vaccination and heat guidance. Accessed 11 August 2026.
- The Official Portal of the UAE Government: federal information for visitors, including entry, residence and public services. Accessed 11 August 2026.