Eat Drink Stay Dubai Newsletter 110/w47

Hi Dubai friends,

Welcome to Week 47, Edition 110

Here’s your latest edition of Dubai news, deals & tips, every Friday, in 10 mins or less.

🚨 Netflights and Travel Republic to close?

🗣️ Dubai Airshow roundup.

🛬 Flydubai enhancements: Premium Economy, meals/IFE, 75+ new 737 MAX

🍬 Haribo Happy World to open

💸 Entertainer 2026

🍰 Festival of Cake

📶 Local SIM or e-SIM?

⛵️ The Lana now has a charter yacht

🖤 Black Friday Deals

PS. You can always email me here also.

Please note: some links in this newsletter may be affiliate links, and will be denoted with an asterisk (*). This is a link to a partner site that may pay me a commission - at no further cost to you - and if so, helps to support me & this newsletter. For more info, please see Disclosure and Policies

TRAVEL AGENT NEWS

Netflights and Travel Republic to Close?

Back in Edition 99, I mentioned that dnata was undertaking a ‘strategic review’ of 4 of its UK-based travel businesses, namely Gold Medal, Travelbag, Travel Republic and Netflights, which could result in sales.

Whilst this news is not confirmed, there have been recent articles in UK travel media that suggest dnata have ‘confirmed’ plans to close Netflights and Travel Republic.

Dnata Travel Group has launched a consultation with staff of Travel Republic and Netflights after “confirming proposals to bring operations to a close”.

Dnata said the proposal was a result of a previously announced review of its UK-based travel businesses.

I checked Travel Republic’s website today for the Black Friday article, and there is no sign of anything about this, and it appears to be still be taking bookings.

Whilst some of the comments to the media suggest bookings will still be honoured there is clearly an uncertain future the two brands and it’s definitely something to keep aware of.

At present, the above three links seem to be the main content available, and it doesn’t appear to have been picked up by legacy media at this stage, but I guess this is because they don’t appear to have definitely confirmed closures, but rather proposals and consultations to close.

Comment

All I would say at this stage is - be careful and keep up to date with trusted sources. It’s hard to know what the future may hold, but it looks ominous at this stage I’d suggest.

Given what’s been said recently and previously though, I wouldn’t be tying up any money or commitments into either company, just out of an abundance of caution.

DUBAI DEALS

A Note About Entertainer 2026

If you happen to have purchased Entertainer 2026 and are only seeing 2025 offers as yet, worry not.

I’m reliably informed that 2026 offers and merchants will start to appear in “early December”. If recent years are anything to go by, it’s likely this won’t be just a ‘one off’ as merchants and offers will often keep being added as time goes on.

See screenshot below for The Meat Co as an example. When the new offers are uploaded into the app, ensure you press the ‘down’ arrow to toggle/show the offers. It could be some offers may be in different products, such as Dubai 2026 and Cheers 2026 (drinks).

Remember that on purchase, you will need to ‘opt-in’ to be shown alcoholic drinks offers, i.e. the Cheers product.

Note - if you’re not in an immediate rush to buy the product, it’s hoped the Entertainer discount/promo codes will be available late January/February 2026, if past years are anything to go by.

🔗 Entertainer UAE - Buy One Get One Free

Black Friday Deals Are Live - Check Them Out

If you’re looking for Black Friday, Travel Tuesday, Cyber Week deals - they’re all one one convenient page 👉️ Black Friday Travel Deals*

I’ve added several, many of which are live now, and some will start in the coming days.

Live sales include Hilton, Luxury Escapes, Expedia, Hyatt, Radisson, Qatar Airways, Secret Escapes, Booking, Tui, Love Holidays, Priority Pass, Get Your Guide and several more. Many seem to last until 02 Dec but do check the individual offers.

Any that are not yet live, I’ve included the details of when they will be, or how to register for early access.

There’s also a bonus section - if you’re looking for travel-related ‘stocking fillers’ for gifts or Xmas, I’ve listed several items available from Amazon (their Black Friday Week* is live also) that I use and recommend.

🔗 Black Friday Travel Deals*

DUBAI NEWS

Dubai Airshow Roundup

Always a peak event in Dubai, this year’s Dubai Airshow had the usual flurry of PR announcements, such as :-

Paul Griffiths, Dubai Airports CEO, suggesting check-in could be eliminated for ‘hand baggage only’ passengers through technology.

The ‘Red Carpet’ biometric entry at Terminal 3, DXB, could be extended to arriving passengers within the next few months.

How Dubai built the world’s fastest drone, which can travel up to 580 km/h.

Flydubai is really making a big push these days. First they announced they will be including complimentary meals and in-flight entertainment on Economy fares, then they will be introducing Premium Economy on their 787s and lastly, they will be expanding their Boeing 737 MAX fleet by at least another 75, possibly even 150.

Note - so as to not make this edition too ‘AV geeky’, I’ll remove the usual ‘Emirates’ section this week and merge that and the remainder of the Airshow news into next week’s edition.

In the recent Conde Nast Middle East Readers Choice Award 2025, there were 3 Dubai hotels in the Top 10.

If I said one was Marsa al Arab and another was FIVE Luxe JBR, I reckon you’ll never guess the remaining one that reached no 7 on the list.

Let me know if you guessed it right - though I’m not expecting any emails!

Dubai’s first Haribo Happy World is due to open on 27 November at Dubai Festival City Mall.

ONE BIG DUBAI TIP

Local SIM, eSIM or Roaming/Bolt-Ons?

A question that often comes up for Dubai is do you need another SIM, and if so, which one?

Whilst the general answer to this question is ‘it depends’, I’ll aim to give a brief process that (hopefully) may help you make an informed decision.

Is It for Data Usage or for Voice/Inbound Calls?

When I travel, if I’m staying anywhere for a decent length of time, I’ll nearly always get a local SIM. However, I think there are two general use cases that need to be considered before plunging for a local SIM.

A local SIM provides a UAE number, which may help if you’re looking to make local calls, or perhaps more importantly, need to be contactable locally. This latter point is important in Dubai, because if you only have an international number, should you need to be contacted by say, food delivery or a driver, they will almost certainly not ring you. Similarly, if you’re looking to do things like register on devices for things like free wifi or apps, you may need a local number to be contactable or apply.

I’m not saying it’s essential, just that it can make your life easier.

The downside to signing up for a local SIM, worth signing up, or maintaining a plan, if you’re only going to be visiting for a few days.

If all you are looking to do is use data, say for apps, messaging, navigating etc. rather than voice, a ‘data only’ plan may suffice. Whilst a local SIM may offer data as well as voice, why potentially pay more if there is a cheaper or better option that suits your needs?

Think About Your Likely Usage

Before you make any decision, you need to consider how much your potential usage, both in terms of minutes (if it’s voice) and data amount in GB (if it’s data).

Top tip - before you travel abroad anywhere, check your device settings, and see which apps routinely connect to data, even in the background. Sometimes it’s not always the ‘active’ app (i.e. the one that you’re using), and the usual culprits are notifications, updates, location-sharing etc.

Bear in mind that you can sometimes use messaging apps for voice, so if you’re only calling out you may be able to do so with the right app (and perhaps a VPN - I’d recommend NordVPN*) such as Botim or Microsoft Teams.

What Choices Do You Have?

You generally have three options (in no order) :-

1. Get a second SIM to put into your device on arrival in Dubai.

2. Get an e-SIM for your device.

3. Use your existing provider, either via normal ‘roaming’ or adding a ‘bolt-on’.

Second SIM

The terminology may be a little different in the UAE market compared to the UK, as phone plans are either ‘post paid’ or ‘pre paid’. It’s the latter that a tourist would be looking to use, as that’s the same as what would be called ‘Pay As You Go’ i.e. you need to manually ‘top up’ to use the data/minutes.

There are local providers that can purchase in malls, phone shops or elsewhere, though another option is to aim for the ‘free Tourist SIM’ that will often be offered on arrival at immigration. If they don’t put one in your passport, feel free to ask.

Be aware with local SIMs, especially the tourist SIMS, you need to be fully aware of the payment terms and how to register. Occasionally, the ‘free’ options are limited to the first 24 hours and then you have to top up, and this is why you need to ‘shop around’ or compare to ensure you have the right plan.

Sometimes it can be more fruitful to look on the ‘open market’ at different plans and providers than commit to something ‘free’. You could always keep the Tourist SIM and don’t register, then see if you can get a better deal elsewhere.

The two main providers locally are Du and Etisalat.

Depending on your device, you may be able to operate two SIMs concurrently, i.e. your ‘home’ network provider’s SIM and the local provider’s SIM.

E-SIM

An ‘e-SIM’ is a virtual SIM, which usually is registered directly to your phone rather than physically inserting a second physical SIM.

These are generally for data, rather than voice, and may have different allowances for different countries. In other words, some providers may have better plans depending on the country you will be visiting.

It’s beyond the scope of this article to go ‘to deep’, but 3 of the more common providers are Airalo*, Saily* (which is made by the same company as NordVPN*) and Nomad* (which offers a Middle East Plan).

Using Your Existing Network Provider

This is often overlooked, but sometimes the easiest option may be the one closest to home.

Whatever plan you may be on, check what the roaming charges and allowances are. It could be, for instance, you provider will offer a daily allowance that may be ‘good enough’.

Alternatively, you can contact your provider and ask if they do either country-specific packages or other ‘bolt-ons’. With a ‘bolt-on’, you will often add a charge to your contract on a monthly basis, so don’t forget to cancel when you return home.

As an example, I was visiting USA a few months ago and it worked out easier to buy a month plan that matched my UK allowance, i.e. unlimited daily data, rather than a ‘per day’ bolt on.

Conclusion

As is often the case with these things, there is no ‘silver bullet’ in terms of an answer that will be ‘best’ for everyone.

And as is often the case again, it’s really about knowing what you need and then what options there are to satisfy that. Just like a usual ‘Dubai Decision’ then!

Personally, I would always recommend having a local data allowance if you’re planning to use apps like Entertainer, and a contactable number if you’re going to be reliant on people calling you (and with deliveries and cars, you could be).

Last but not least, if you do take any form of plan locally, or even a bolt-on from your own provider, put a reminder in your phone to cancel when you no longer need it.

FOOD AND DRINK

Mama Shelter Dubai has launched a Saturday ‘karaoke brunch’, Mama Karaoke Brunch.

How about trying Dubai’s first ‘Festival of Cake’ at Al Wasl Plaza, Expo City?

A long way to go, but sounds like the sugar rush could be worth it.

Whilst I’ll cover New Year in greater detail in a future edition, I wanted to give a shout to Dubai Mums Meet for organising this family-focussed event for NYE at the always-special (to me, anyway!) Barasti Beach Club!

H/T 🎩 to Lil at Dubai Family Leisure Guide for the heads-up.

Good to see Bahri Bar still going strong as one of Time Out’s “best hotel bars with standout drinks” and Ling Ling and Soho Garden in their top nightclubs in Dubai.

Nammos at Four Seasons Resort is due to reopen on 08 December.

HOTEL NEWS

If you’re contemplating staying at the Lana (tip - you should be), this may sway your decision-making.

They now offer their own charter yacht, a Sunseeker Predator 57, which can take up to 8 passengers on various cruises.

Whilst Dubai is often compared (loosely) to Las Vegas, Dubai is winning the race for occupancy as Las Vegas is lagging these days.

7 of the tallest hotels in the world are in Dubai, but can you name them?

Branded residences are certainly the ‘in thing’ at present, as Marriott International sign up for 20 branded residences across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

These include The Residences at Dubai Beach EDITION and St. Regis Residences at Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi.