February 2019 – Finding New Adventures

Note – It’s been awhile since I’ve posted, but a lot has been going on. We just got back from this fantastic trip and I wanted to share all the planning and fun we had. Enjoy!

The past few years during school vacations we had gone to Paris, Rome and London. While we had a blast at all three of those places, we were open to trying something new in 2019.

We searched for different cities in Europe and quickly considered some places in the Caribbean but nothing resonated. So much about travel is finding inspiration. We started looking a little more out of our comfort zone. The boys had seen some documentaries on Dubai and the construction projects going on there. Whether it was the Burj Kalifa skyscraper or the Palm Islands or the mall with the indoor ski slope, there was something that they found fascinating about the place without actually knowing anything about it. I got searching to figure out our options and how realistic a trip it could be.

Vetting

As part of planning nearly every trip, there’s the initial vetting of how expensive it’s going to be, how much stuff we’ll actually be interested in doing while there, and finding hotels we could stay at for a reasonable price in cash or points. Looking quickly at the flight options I knew it would be possible to get there on paid tickets relatively reasonably. We didn’t have any miles that would get us there at an acceptable rate so it would definitely be cash for tickets. Looking at activities there seemed to be quite a few very interesting things to do. Whether it was touring the malls and buildings, or taking a tour, or just hanging out on the beach, we wouldn’t be bored. Finally I started looking at hotels to stay at. In the end, this is what tipped the scales for me.

Desert Resort

Since we would be looking almost exclusively at Marriott properties, I found a blog post (sadly no longer available) that ranked the many Marriott properties in Dubai. One that caught my attention was not actually in Dubai but outside the city and in the middle of a desert wildlife preserve. The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert, while not having a name that rolls off the tongue appeared to offer quite a unique resort experience.

From camel rides, to a nightly falconry show, to kids activities of all sorts, this resort promised to be an experience unlike anything we had ever done and my wife and I were extremely interested! The fact the weather was nearly guaranteed to excellent was a huge plus as well. That we could stay there on points sealed the deal.

This would be a once in a lifetime type of experience that was exactly what we were looking for.

Next up, planning to get there.