Arabian Contrasts

Afternoon: explore Old Dubai. The abra (wooden water taxi) ride across the Creek, the covered Gold Souk glittering with 18-carat displays, the Spice Souk and its saffron and cardamom hills. The Al Fahidi Historic District — wind-tower architecture from another century. Evening: traditional dhow dinner cruise on the Creek.

The course that started everything. Emirates Golf Club opened in 1988 as the first grass course in the Middle East. The Majlis has hosted the Dubai Desert Classic since 1989 — Rory McIlroy, Seve Ballesteros, Tiger Woods have all won here. Dramatic Bedouin-tent clubhouse. Green fee AED 995–1,100 (~£212–£234). Afternoon: Old Dubai markets and Al Fahidi neighbourhood.

Greg Norman's Earth Course hosts the season-ending DP World Tour Championship every November. You have seen the closing holes on television — island green at 17, the grandstand amphitheatre at 18. Playing them in person is the point. AED 1,135 (~£241). Evening: private desert safari — dune bashing at sunset, camelride, BBQ dinner under Bedouin stars. The theatrical complement to a tour venue.

One hour's drive south to Abu Dhabi for the best course in the Middle East and North Africa. Yas Links (Kyle Phillips, 2010) is ranked #1 in MENA and #89 globally — a genuine links course on the shore of the Arabian Gulf, with the Hajar Mountains on the horizon. Green fee ~AED 800–1,000 (~£170–£213). Drive back via the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque (one of the world's great buildings).

Burj Khalifa 'At the Top' observation deck at sunset — 828 metres, the world's tallest building, one of its great views (book in advance, AED 174–235pp). Optional: helicopter flight over the Palm Jumeirah and Burj Al Arab (12 minutes, ~£100pp — extraordinary). Evening: Nobu, Zuma, or the Madinat Jumeirah souk for your Dubai farewell dinner.

Morning flight DXB → MCT (flydubai or Oman Air, 1 hour, ~£100–£150pp). Arrive Muscat mid-morning. Transfer to Kempinski Hotel at The Wave (5 minutes from Al Mouj Golf). Afternoon: walk the Mutrah Corniche — Oman's old harbour waterfront, fishing boats, hilltop fort, the call to prayer across the bay. It feels like a different century. Evening: Mutrah Souq for frankincense and khanjar daggers.

Greg Norman's links-style masterpiece runs along the Muscat coastline with the Hajar Mountains behind. Ranked #2 in the Middle East and #100 in the world. At OMR 50–60 (~£96–£115pp), it is the best-value world-ranked round anywhere on earth. The contrast with AED 1,135 Dubai green fees five days earlier is instructive. Evening: Royal Opera House Muscat (if season — book in advance) or a final Omani dinner on the Corniche.

Hire a 4WD and driver for the day. Nizwa is 1.5 hours inland — the 17th-century mud-brick fort, the ancient goat souk on Friday mornings, the Hajar mountains rising behind it. Then the mountain road climbs to Jabal Al Akhdar at 2,000 metres, where the Anantara resort perches on the canyon rim. Lunch on the rim. Drive back for an evening Oman Air flight home (MCT → LHR direct, 7h10m).