Gold souk,spice souk,and perfume souk all are within the walking distance.The textile souk is on the opposite bank in Bur Dubai and is just a short ride away of water taxi( Abra Ride).
Gold Souk
Gold Souk is one of the best places in the world to shop for Gold, silver, gemstones or fine jewelry. There are a lot of shops and a wide variety of designs to choose from. You will be awestruck on seeing the designs!
The gold dresses are beautiful but who will buy them! You will get almost anything in gold here. Some shops doesn’t charge but few shops charge 2.5% extra for card payments, so better check with them before making a purchase. You can bargain on the making charges.
Spice souk
Dubai Spice souk or the old souk is the traditional market adjacent to Dubai Gold souk. It is both colorful and aromatic !Stores in the Spice Souk sell a variety of fragrances and spices and many herbs used in Arabic and South Asian food.Tasting and smelling is encouraged. If you are in doubt, just chat with the vendor- he will demonstrate the use of certain medicinal herbs or saffron. There are a wide variety of fragrant teas too.
A variety of dry fruits and nuts are also available in natural, roasted or flavored forms.
Haggling is easier when purchasing in bulk. Vendors offer dates chocolate(camel milk chocolates) to taste and they are delicious! We ended up buying a lot of chocolates in different flavors! Almost every flavor is delectable. Forgot to take the pic. But don’t buy the normal looking chocolates, go for the dates one.The packaging is good too so it’s best for gifting.
There will be souvenirs and personalized sand art stalls too. But be careful with the sand art bottles while bringing back although it’s tightly sealed. I put it in the suitcase and after reaching home, the sand is a bit distorted 🙁. So always put it in upright position.
The traditional crystal lamps looks elegant and dazzling. They are in different sizes and price starts from 40 AED.
There are many other attractive crockery and other items.
Perfume souk
Fragrance is a key hallmark of Arabian life!As you are nearing the perfume souk, your nose will be tantalized by different aromas. You can select from the thousands of Arabian scents and can be bought as perfume, powder, stick,crystal, rock or wood element. You can even personalize the aroma and buy your own signature scent!
There are a few other souks like utensils souk, mattress souk, herbs souk..
Textile souk
This place is an explosion of colours! Bright and colorful textiles everywhere.If you are looking for materials, this is the best place to shop.There are a lot of beautiful skirts and dresses, pillows, rugs and many more for reasonable prices.Never forget to bargain!Prices are reasonable only if you bargain.
The textile souk is on the other side and one needs to cross the Dubai creek on water taxi or Abra. It’s a 10 minutes ride.
Abra ride
The popular mode of transport on Dubai Creek is the Abra ride. These are the small motorized boats called Abras.
They can hold around 20 people and the cost is 1 AED per trip per person.It is directly paid to the Abra driver. It’s a different experience and the crossing gives you an excellent view.
You can view a lot of Seagulls too.
There are a lot of restaurants on the lake side with beautiful view and delicious food.
Opening hours:
10 am to 10 pm
(Some shops close between 1 pm and 4 pm)
Fridays- 4 pm to 10 pm
How to get there:
The Souk is walk-able distance(10 min ) from Al Ras Metro station(green line). After getting down, just ask the locals if you can’t find the way.
Address & Location:
Sikkat Al-Khali Street, Deira, Dubai,
United Arab Emirates
Tips:
- Never buy in the first shop so that you will get a price idea and can bargain later.
- Never buy without bargaining.( Vendors quote a high price)
- Take an Abra ride on Dubai Creek.
- Dates chocolates are heavenly. Don’t miss them.
- Some of the gold shops charge extra for card payments, so check before paying.