A guided food and culture walk through old Dubai: Abra crossing, Gold Souk, Spice Souk, and heritage house, with street food included throughout.

Old Dubai, eaten and understood

The tour starts at the Creek waterfront and crosses to Deira by Abra — a five-minute ride on a working wooden ferry that costs one dirham per crossing and carries about 15 people at a time. On the Deira side, the first stop is Al Khayma Heritage House: a 19th-century merchant home with a badgir (wind tower) on the roof — the Gulf's original passive cooling system, drawing sea air down into the rooms below. Your guide explains what this building tells you about who Dubai was before the towers. From there, through the Spice Souk, then the Gold Souk, with your guide pointing out what's traded commercially versus what's positioned for tourists.

The food that stays with you

Throughout the walk, your guide stops at specific vendors: the stall that makes luqaimat to order (fried dough balls dusted in sesame and honey, eaten warm); the cart where karak chai is poured in the condensed-milk style that became Dubai's street drink; the counter where camel milk ice cream is served in flavours that include saffron and cardamom. The Premium Tastings upgrade adds the Arabic coffee session — you grind the beans with cardamom and rosewater, blend at the right ratio, and pour from a dallah into a finjaan cup. Your guide explains what each element means in the hospitality culture of the Gulf. You'll leave the tour with a clear answer to the question: what does Dubai actually taste like?