One Day in Dubai: What to See, Do & Eat

For a one-day quick trip, we would recommend visiting the Dubai Safari Park. Once you reach the park at around 11 AM, the first move is to upgrade your ticket to the Safari Journey package. For an additional AED 50 over the Dubai Safari Park ticket price, it gives you a guided 35-minute ride through the open-zone Explorer Village where giraffes, zebras, ostriches, and antelopes roam together without visible enclosures. It’s timed, so aim for this first as animals are more active before noon.

Visit the African Village and Feed a Hippo

Next, head to the African Village for your Dubai one-day tour, home to gorillas, chimpanzees, and the UAE’s largest walkthrough aviary. But what most people miss? The hippo feeding deck, tucked along a water channel near the gorilla enclosure. For AED 10–20, you can buy pre-cut fruit buckets and drop them to the hippos as they surface.

This is one of those things to do in Dubai that actually feels premium. It’s quiet, uncrowded, and deeply interactive.

Explore the Reptile House (AED 20 Add-On)

After a shaded lunch break at the food court (yes, prices are reasonable here too), walk over to the Reptile House. This indoor section charges AED 20 per person and is a goldmine of kid-focused education. You’ll see pythons, cobras, desert vipers, turtles, lizards, and a gigantic Nile crocodile behind reinforced glass.

Handlers here sometimes offer short 5-minute sessions where kids can touch non-venomous snakes or watch feeding through glass. This is one of the top kids’ activities at Dubai Safari Park that’s hidden in plain sight.

Enter the Arabian Village and Try the Goat Pen

After cooling down, walk through the Arabian Village, which is designed like a desert fortress. What makes this zone fun is the unexpected Arabian wolves pacing silently behind thick glass, sand cats darting between shaded rocks, and oryx basking on artificial dunes.

The hit with younger visitors is the goat feeding pen.

Supervised by staff, it costs AED 10–15 and lets children hand-feed grain to native desert goats, sheep, and donkeys. There’s also a camel photo booth nearby, free if you just want to snap with your own phone.

Time Your Visit to Animal Shows

Depending on the day and season, Dubai Safari Park hosts short educational wildlife shows in open-air arenas. These often feature trained birds, small cats, and conservation messages. They last about 15 minutes and are free with your main ticket. Ask for the day’s schedule at the entry kiosk and time your walkthroughs to catch one mid-afternoon. They’re shaded, seated, and ideal for a breather.

What to Skip and What to Save
Avoid the Safari Kids Farm play area unless you’re with toddlers. Instead, use that window to circle back to any animals you missed. Flamingo Lake in the African Village looks best around 4 PM, with the birds gathering near the waterline for final feeding.
You should aim to leave by 4:30 PM to beat traffic and squeeze in your next destination.