Experience Dubai without a sheik's budget by visiting off-season

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With Dubai it is easy to picture the glitz and wealth of the Arab city, but it doesn't have to cost you a small fortune
Visit off-season, between June and August, to take advantage of the slashed prices in the glamorous hotels
Book tickets online in advance to see the top of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa and save some money

Published: 02:09 EST, 3 October 2015 | Updated: 08:34 EST, 6 October 2015

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Think Dubai, and visions of blingy gold taps, preposterously luxurious seven-star hotels and glittering shopping malls spring to mind.

The idea of it being ‘affordable’ seems totally contrary to its status as the Las Vegas of the Arab world.

But there is, happily, a way of doing Dubai that doesn’t damage your wallet too much. You really can visit this unique United Arab Emirates destination without having to sell all your camels.

Arabian adventure: Belinda headed to Dubai to find just how to experience the treasures of the Arab nation, without breaking the bank in the process. She is pictured here with a camel from her desert safari tour

Discounted digs: The super-stylish Vida hotel in Downtown Dubai has been dubbed Dubai’s first boutique offering. It is a minimalistic hotel without a gold tap in sight - with rooms available for a discount in off-season

The first thing to do is to go off-season, between June and August.

During the summer months hotels slash their prices, often by as much as 50 per cent - and while it might be clothes-drenchingly, energy-sappingly hot then, the heat is perfectly manageable if you keep to the shade or indoors, where the air-conditioning is ferocious.

I stayed in Downtown Dubai in the slinky, super-stylish Vida hotel, dubbed Dubai’s first boutique offering. It is a rare oasis of cool, minimalist, designer interiors, with not a gold tap in sight – and, despite being four-star, cost just 809 AED (£145) per room per night for two people, breakfast included.

On my first day I went shopping. Dubai is, after all, the global capital of retail, and I headed for the Dubai Mall – the biggest mall in the world, no less, with over 1200 outlets.

The choice is eye-watering - every imaginable international high street name is there, from Bloomingdales to Galeries Lafayette - but beware of the prices.

I checked out some UK stores including Jigsaw and New Look (I was on a budget, remember), and prices seemed to be like-for-like with back home.

If you get your timing right, however, you can bag some top deals. Dubai has lots of sales and shopping festivals, such as Dubai Summer Surprises between 2 August to 5 September, when there are huge discounts, giveaways and bargains to be snaffled.

There are bumper sales during Eid too, the three-day celebration at the end of Ramadan, when you might pick up a cut-price designer handbag or jewel-encrusted watch.

All I bought during my mall visit was a souvenir block of camel chocolate (camel milk is a sort of heavier, more buttery version of cow’s milk, and surprisingly delicious) for 29AED (just under £5) and a camelccino which I slurped on as I strolled around.

Not for the faint-hearted: A visit to the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa is a must-do experience while in Dubai. Book online to save a bit of money

Burj Khalifa stands head and shoulders above other buildings in Dubai and the rest of the world at a whopping 2722 feet high

You don't have to stay at the expensive Burj Al Arab in Dubai (left) to experience the glitz of Dubai. Embark on an affordable desert safari to see delights including whirling dervishes spinning in their neon-lit skirts (right)

Aside from the shopping, Dubai is all about skyscrapers of course, so while there you have to go up the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.

This is not too pricey: if you book in advance online it only costs 125 AED (about £20), while it is 300 AED for immediate access on the day, so plan ahead.

A lift whizzes you up 124 floors in less than a minute to At The Top, the vertiginous viewing platform which is, in fact, not At The Top at all but only two-thirds of the way up. You can still see 360-degree dizzy-making views of Dubai and, if it is not too hazy, you can make out the whole of the Palm Jumeirah.

The next day I experienced a Dubai institution: the Friday Brunch – a value-for-money, eat-all-you-can-fit buffet-style banquet.

Research affordable places to have the famous Dubai brunch, which can be a value-for-money, eat-all-you-can-fit buffet-style banquet if you do your research. Pictured is Vida's Urban Picnic (left) and with Belinda's camelccino (right)

All the big hotels have a variation on the theme, and I checked out Vida’s magnificent, endless Urban Picnic, featuring mounds of fluffy pastries and zesty salads and scrummy pizza, all for a very reasonable £46pp.

Food is not cheap in Dubai but, once again, in the summer months many hotels add complimentary half board upgrades, so timing your visit is key.

If you fancy something cultural, I recommend a bumper, bargain evening’s Emirati entertainment out in the Arabian desert.

I went on Galaxia Tours’ ‘desert safari’, which combined dune-bashing (4x4s with roll bars driving at speed across the dunes and generally flinging you around), with shisha-smoking (a glass-bottomed water pipe with fruit-flavoured tobacco; the best is the apple-infused shisha, but beware because a whole session packs a punch equivalent to smoking 200 cigarettes) and a little light camel-riding.

Thrill-seeking adventure: Visitors can go dune bashing in 4x4 vehicles with roll bars that drive at speed across the desert

For a mere £25 you get a full evening's entertainment, followed by a Bedouin-style camp night under the stars with belly-dancing and a buffet feast

The Galaxia tour even includes the chance to enjoy a bit of light camel riding. Belinda is pictured at the front

The night ended at a Bedouin-style camp where I was treated to some belly-dancing, a male whirling dervish, complete with neon-lit skirts, plus a giant buffet feast featuring local delicacies such as baba ganoush, falafel, and piles of barbecued meats.

All this for just 105 AED or £25 per person, excluding alcohol. A bargain indeed.

You don’t have to miss out on all of Dubai’s smarter night-life options, however.

On my last night I dressed up and checked out the popular Neos, a shiny cocktail bar located on the 63rd floor of The Address, which has dazzling views of the illuminated Dubai skyline.

Their signature Level 63 is a commendably perky blend of vodka, lime and elderflower, and was just AED60 (£9.50).

No, Dubai, the self-styled City of Gold, is not exactly cheap – this is the most expensive destination in the Middle East, after all – but there are bargains to be had and it does qualify as an ‘affordable luxury’ destination.

I managed to come home with some unspent dirhams, albeit only a small handful.