DUBAI & ABU DHABI

Dubai is where most yacht charters and cruises will be based. Boasting great marinas and a first-class cruise port, it is also home to the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, is visible from just about anywhere in the city – on a clear day, you can see it from 95km away. It’s currently home to the world’s highest observation deck at a vertiginous 555m. At its feet you’ll find the Dubai Mall, the world’s busiest, as well as the all-singing, all-dancing Dubai Fountain, which is the world’s … ah, you already guessed.

Oil-rich Abu Dhabi, the UAE's capital, is positioning itself as a culture and leisure hub. Beneath white-marble domes, the vast Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque features an immense Persian carpet, crystal chandeliers and capacity for 41,000 worshipers. Beyond this looms the vast Al Dhafra region, home to the northern reaches of the Rub Al Khali (Empty Quarter) desert's rippling dunes. Its magical silence is interrupted only by the whisper of shifting sands rolling towards Saudi Arabia.

North of Dubai, Sharjah is the UAE's art and heritage centre while Ras Al Khaimah is all about the beach – with a dash of adventure-activities thrown in. Head east into the jagged embrace of the Hajar Mountains to experience a side of the UAE far removed from Dubai's gloss.

The distinctive sail-shaped Burj Al Arab is the city’s emblem and houses the so-called world’s only seven-star hotel. It sits next to the sprawling Madinat Jumeirah complex, an atmospheric take on a Middle Eastern city of old albeit with high-end hotels, restaurants, bars, shops and Venetian-style waterways that offer top views of the iconic hotel.