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The tallest building in the world – I could not help but be fascinated by the Burj Khalifa. In a city full of skyscrapers , this is the mother of them all! I craned my neck to get a good look of this never ending elegant building until it scraped the skies. Welcome to this edition of my visit to Dubai downtown and going up the Observation Deck of the Burj Khalifa with tips.
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Table of Contents
Burj Khalifa Ticket Options
Put simply the more money you are willing to spend the higher up you can go (as in life..) . Ticket prices also differ for peak times eg during sunset hours.
1. We chose the most crowded and popular option at Level 124, 125 Observation Deck during sunset. We bought the 5pm ticket and were lucky to have made it to see the sunset. That was because we went on a weekday and it was the Ramadan fasting season. Otherwise I strongly advice already buying the ticket for 4:30pm –
2. Or Levels 124, 125 and 148
3. Or The Lounge at Levels 152, 153 and 154
4. Or combinations with other attractions which will save you some money vs buying for individual attractions.
5. If you are an early riser, go for the sunrise option.
Our trip was a really short stopover of 2 nights and I had to decide what to see and do as my priority. We were staying at the Business Bay area of Dubai and I was really glad to have pre-bought the tickets. I would strongly recommend it – use Getyourguide options to ensure you have tickets on hand. The tickets can be printed out or stored on your smartphone. I always recommend having a printout in case the phone decides to go on a strike on you and refuse to work.
Getting to the Burj Khalifa
The closest Metro station stop is the Burj Khalifa/Dubai mall station. However its still almost 1 km away. If you have trouble with walking, there are taxis and buses which goes to the Dubai Mall directly. *Do note that the entrance to the Burj Khalifa is inside the Dubai Mall itself. If you decide to walk to the mall it takes about 15 – 20 minutes with an air conditioned walkway, something to be thankful for if it is hot out in the city.
Dubai Mall
I want to talk a little about Dubai Mall – the size of the Mall is really huge and there are always a lot of people there. Me and Rainer got separated in the crowd and could not find each other anymore. If you are in the same predicament, then try to turn on Wifi of the Dubai Mall and contact each other from there or agree beforehand a place to meet up again in case someone from the group is separated (also not an easy task with the crowd) . Luckily we were able to meet up again as we have the ticket for 5pm at the Burj Khalifa entrance and so it was a good thing both of us had the thought to go there.
If you have time to spare before or after visiting the Burj Khalifa , the Dubai Mall has a fountain inside as well as an impressive aquarium you can admire even from outside without going in.
Going up the Burj Khalifa
The queue to the elevator starts from the Lower Ground Floor and has clear signages around the mall. If you are coming in from outside , its not rocket science to just head for the mall entrance closest to the Burj Khalifa. Its a very popular attraction when visiting Dubai so expect queues and again I highly recommend getting your tickets in advance with this link.
1. You have to be there 15 minutes before your ticket time.
2. Bags or strollers are not allowed up there – so do yourself a favour and bring just a handbag. If you have bags or tripod with you – you can store them free of charge at the ground level at the Baggage Check room at the entrance to “At The Top”
3. There is security check , so make sure that you don’t have anything that would get you kicked out of the queue.
3. Allow at least an hour , preferably more for the queue to the ticket desk and the elevators.
During the queuing time, we passed through informational presentations about the Burj Khalifa and the filming of Mission Impossible at the Burj. Once you reach the elevators then all is fast from there. 1 minute ride with very impressive presentations inside the elevator.
Story: We met with a seriously inconsiderate group of tourists who were in a big group and some of them stealthily overtook us in the queue. That was not the end however – they kept on urging the rest of the group who were behind to join them as well. Finally a lady in front who spoke their language told them off. So – you would not want to miss the sunset scene you paid for because of such people believe me.
Views from Level 124 at the outside observation deck are amazing. We stayed for the sunset and blue hour. When you are up there, you will see that having a tripod for the views below are not needed because you will view through the glass or there are small slits in the glass where you can just point your lens through. The glass slits are pretty high up and not suitable for mounting the tripod.
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We saw the Burj Khalifa many times when we visited Dubai. But the skies were cloudy with sand on each of our visits and we did not want to go up to the top of the Burj Khalifa and have bad visibility. Good to know you pay by elevation and by time of day. Since we are early risers sunrise sounds like a good way to have smaller crowds. The views truly are worth heading high in the Burj Khalifa.
Yes, i know what you mean Linda and I definitely would have gone for the sunrise, except they were not available during the fasting month that we visited. I’m glad to have visited once. Thanks for your comment.
Question: You said you should get there 15 minutes before your scheduled time…but then later you said give yourself about an hour to get through the line….so does that mean for a 5pm ticket time, you should get there at 4:45pm (and you will get to the top at 6pm)….or you should get there at 3:45pm for a 5pm ticket time? Thanks!
Yes exactly 15 minutes to get into the ticket queue. Then after there is quite a long queue to the elevator up to the tower. We waited almost an hour for a supposed low season. The timing only matters if you have a time constraint , like being there on time for catching the sunset.
Thanks for a good insight into Buj Khalifa. I haven’t been to Dubai as yet and hence it was good to understand what to expect. I always try and book tickets to landmarks in advance online wherever available to avoid queues. I guess that should save a bit of time if that option is available. The pictures here are so clear and beautiful. Hope the weather is good when we do visit to get such wonderful views.
I definitely recommend pre-buying the tickets in this case. I do hope you get to visit the Burj Khalifa soon. Thanks for your comments
Climbing up the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world is like a dream come true for me! And booking tickets through Getyourguide is a very good idea to save time and avoid long queues. Great to know that the more you pay the better the views you get.I would love to see the blue hour and sunset views from level 124 and maybe even sunrise. No wonder Mission Impossible was shot on such an amazing location.
yes – it is worth going during blue hour and sunset which we did.
I have been to Dubai in a layover a years ago, but back then Burj Khalifa wasn’t open so early, so I missed visiting it. I did see the Dubai Mall though, and the beautiful fountains near it. I would have liked to go up the observation deck of Burj Khalifa, the view from up there is incredible. I would probably be too afraid to approach the windows, that height seems to be vertigo inducing haha.
ah ,that is interesting – i have a fear of heights however have no problem looking down when i was there. Looking up from the 124th floor though – thats a problem.
I’ve been to Dubai many times and have been to the top of Burj Khalifa twice. It really is a must-do when in Dubai and the views are worth every penny. I always feel as if I am looking down at a toy town as everything below looks so minute!
Wow twice! that’s cool –
Dubai is on my list, and surely Burj Khalifa is too. Thanks for the detailed guide about the Burj Khalifa and all the info about how to reach it and what to opt for. This coming winter I am planning for Dubai and definately try the Sunrise there.
Ah winter is a great idea – I was just there again last week – and the temperatures are way more comfortable than it was the last time in April. I am posting more on Dubai in the next week. Feel free to let me know if you have questions
You had a terrific adventure visiting the Burj Khalifa. I haven’t been to Dubai yet, but it’s on my list as I would love to see the tallest building in the world. Great that you provide such a handful of tips about ticket options. I would love to see it during sunset. It’s fantastic that you also detail visiting time and how to get there. Views from Level 124 at the outside observation deck are breathtaking!
Oh yes – the Burj Khalifa is a bucket list for sure. I hope you get there soon. I was just in Dubai again last week and the temperatures are comfortable now.