Dubai facts, with the date we checked them.
One question per page. The answer sits at the top with a link to the primary source and the date it was last verified. 63 numbers are tracked in a fact ledger and re-checked on a schedule — fares every 30 days, terminal layouts every 180.
Last verification run: 2026-09-14
Questions answered
- Is it worth buying a SIM card at Dubai airport?Dubai Airports says du gives out free tourist SIMs at the immigration counters, and every telecom counter it lists is arrivals-side. Neither operator publishes a counter price — so the airport is where you collect a SIM, not where you compare one.checked 2026-08-30
- How do you get from DXB to the city — metro, taxi, or pickup?The Metro is far cheaper and runs from Terminals 1 and 3. What usually decides it is not price but your arrival time and how many bags you have — the Metro has a two-bag limit and does not run all night.checked 2026-08-21
- Can I leave Dubai airport during a layover?There is no separate transit rule. Leaving means entering the UAE as a visitor on whatever terms your passport already gets — and on two separate tickets you have to do it whether you wanted to or not.checked 2026-08-21
- Should you get an eSIM, a local SIM, or use roaming in Dubai?An eSIM for almost everyone. On Airalo's UAE packages you are on Etisalat's network — the same one sold at the carrier counter — so this is a question about how you buy, not about coverage.checked 2026-09-14
- Where can you sleep or shower at Dubai airport?Terminal 3 has a book-by-the-hour hotel inside the departures area, above Duty Free. Terminal 1's Concourse D has lounges but no rooms, and Terminal 2 has almost nothing — so what you can do depends on which concourse your layover leaves you in.checked 2026-08-21
- How are DXB terminals laid out and how do you move between them?Terminal 1 has D Gates, Terminal 2 has F Gates, Terminal 3 has A, B and C Gates. On a single booking you stay airside; on separate tickets you clear passport control, collect your bags and check in again.checked 2026-08-21
- Which nol card should you buy in Dubai?Buy a Silver card if you will take five or more trips. For four trips or fewer the Red Ticket is cheaper. Gold costs the same as Silver but charges double the fare.checked 2026-08-21
One email a week: what changed in Dubai’s fares, rules and airport operations — and what we re-checked and found unchanged.
No archive page, no reposting — the full text stays here on the site.
Why this exists
Most Dubai travel pages do not say when their numbers were last true. Fares change, terminals get renamed, rules get updated — and the page that told you AED 20 two years ago still says AED 20.
This site stores every number once, with its source and the date it was checked, and shows both on the page. When a value changes, every page using it is updated and the change is recorded in the changelog. When a value is checked and has not changed, that is recorded too — because "confirmed unchanged on this date" is also information.