Middle East

Travel to the Middle East – desert, golf and five thousand year old cities

A six and a half hour flight from Copenhagen is a winter destination with 25 degrees in January, a coast of skyscrapers, and behind it a desert where you can still sleep under the stars in a Bedouin tent. For Danish travelers, the Middle East is first and foremost the Gulf and Jordan, with Egypt as the old classic and Oman as the destination people come home talking about. The region also contains hotspots, and we mention them by name.

The honest half first. Parts of the Middle East are off-limits for travel right now. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' travel advisories are the only source that counts, and they change from week to week - check them for each country before booking, and again the week before departure. The destinations we write about here are the ones Danes are traveling to today.

Destinations in the Middle East

The Gulf – Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman

Dubai is the Middle East that most Danes know: the world's tallest building, an artificial island shaped like a palm tree, and a beach where the water is 22 degrees in January. The city is divided into districts, each with its own character, and it pays to choose a neighborhood before choosing a hotel – Marina and JBR for the beach, Downtown for the view, Deira for the city that was here before oil came. The golf courses are among the best maintained in the world, and they are played in the morning; in the afternoon even winter is warm.

Abu Dhabi is the capital and the quieter neighbor: Louvre Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Formula 1 track on Yas Island . Both cities are located in the United Arab Emirates , a federation of seven emirates, of which Ajman is the smallest and most overlooked. Qatar has relaxed its visa rules after the 2022 World Cup and built a museum landscape around Doha; Bahrain is the Gulf's smallest and most relaxed state.

Dubai Marina in the United Arab Emirates
Dubai Marina: 22 degrees in the water in January, and the skyscrapers stand right down to the beach.

Oman is the country for those who have seen Dubai and want the opposite. Muscat has no skyscrapers, it is forbidden by law to build higher than the minarets of the mosque, and behind the city lie the Hajar Mountains, the sand dunes of the Wahiba Desert and a coast where turtles lay their eggs at night at Ras al Jinz. The journey to Oman is by car, not bus: two weeks, your own four-wheel drive, and an overnight stay in the desert.

Jordan – Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea

Jordan is mostly desert, but a fantastic desert. In the south the red sand landscapes and rocks of Wadi Rum, in the east the endless basalt plains, in the north lush hills with olive trees. The country lacks water, and in the summer it is seriously scarce – that is why April, May, September and October are the months to travel.

Petra is reached on foot through the Siq, a 1,2-kilometer-long gorge that is three meters wide at its narrowest point and opens directly in front of the facade of the Treasury. It is the only place in the world where the arrival is as great as the attraction. Buy the Jordan Pass from home: it covers visas and entrance to Petra and over 40 other sites, and it costs less than the two things separately.

Petra in Jordan, Middle East
Petra: 1,2 kilometer gorge, three meters wide at its narrowest point, and then there's the facade.

Egypt – Nile and Red Sea

Hardly any country is as strongly associated with a single attraction as Egypt and the pyramids: the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing. But Egypt is two journeys. One is the Nile from Luxor to Aswan , three or four days on a riverboat with the temples lying like pearls on a string along the shore. The other is the Red Sea , where the coral reef begins, where the beach ends, and where Marsa Alam is the calmer alternative to Sharm el-Sheikh. Travel October to April; in July and August, Luxor is over 40 degrees.

Egypt
Egypt: the pyramids are one day. The Nile and the Red Sea are the rest of the trip.

Cyprus and Israel – the eastern corner of the Mediterranean

Cyprus is located 80 kilometers south of Turkey and is the third largest island in the Mediterranean, an ancient civilization with a turbulent history and a divided capital. The island is EU, euro and four hours direct flight – and has a swimming season from May to November. Israel is one of the region's richest journeys , from Jerusalem's Old City to the Dead Sea and the Negev; travel only according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' current guidance.

Cyprus
Cyprus: EU, euro, four-hour flight and bathing water until November.

This is how you live – and this is how you travel with it

The week begins on Sunday; Friday is a public holiday, and in the Gulf the weekend is Friday-Saturday or Saturday-Sunday depending on the country. During the month of Ramadan – in 2026 from mid-February to mid-March – there is no public eating during the day, restaurants open at sunset and cities wake up in the evening; it is an experience, not an obstacle, if you know in advance. Alcohol is served in hotels in the Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan and Egypt, not in Qatar outside the hotels, and certainly not in Saudi Arabia. Food is the easiest way in: mezze is shared, bread is cutlery, and coffee with cardamom comes before you ask for it.

📄 Travel facts for the trip to the Middle East

  • Best season: November–March in the Gulf and Egypt; April–May and September–October in Jordan; May–November in Cyprus
  • Temperatures: Dubai 24 degrees in January and over 40 in July-August; Luxor the same; Cyprus 30 in July
  • Time difference: The Gulf is three hours ahead of Denmark in winter, two in summer; Jordan, Egypt and Cyprus one hour
  • Language: Arabic; English throughout the Gulf and in the hotels; Greek and Turkish in Cyprus
  • Currency: dirham (AED), riyal (QAR, OMR), dinar (BHD, JOD), Egyptian pound (EGP), euro in Cyprus
  • Entry: visa-free or visa on arrival for Danish passports in the Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan and Egypt; Jordan Pass covers Jordan's visa. Always check the applicable rules before departure
  • Security: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' travel advice for each country, checked when booking and again before departure
  • Recommended travel time: 5–7 days to Dubai or Abu Dhabi; 10 days to Jordan; 14 days to Oman with your own car
  • ✈️ Depart from: Copenhagen Airport (CPH) – direct to Dubai in about six and a half hours; Doha and Abu Dhabi direct; Amman, Muscat and Cairo typically with one change

💡 Travel talk tips

Combine the Gulf with Jordan or Oman, not more Gulf. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are similar enough that five days in one is plenty. Fly on to Amman and spend the week at Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea, or to Muscat and drive into the mountains. Then the trip has two completely different halves.

Insider tip: book Petra for an overnight stay in Wadi Musa, not as a day trip from Amman. The city opens at six, the tour buses arrive at ten, and the four hours in between are Petra as it looked before anyone found it again.

🤝 Travel partner — the space is available. Here we recommend travel partners: Who can provide the trip or just accommodation/transport? Do you arrange trips to the Middle East? The space could be yours — write to us at hello@leisuretalk.net.

Travel inspiration from the Middle East

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