Over 800 meters tall. 200+ storeys making it the most number of floors ever in a building. High-speed elevator travelling at 10 meters per second. These are just few interesting facts of the world’s tallest building – Burj Khalifa.
My family and I had the opportunity to experience the Burj Khalifa tour in October. We were rushing to the meeting point which was in Dubai Mall (next to Cafe Court) – ground level as we were a bit late.
In the lobby area, we were welcomed by a glass replica of Burj Khalifa. The wall behind was plastered with interesting facts about the other notable tall buildings around the world.
After few minutes, we were advised to proceed to the main entrance where the tour would begin. Just a heads up – they have strict security policies. There were metal detectors and luggage x-ray machines. Click here to see the prohibited items.
While on the walkalator which led to the elevator area, we were entertained with visuals reflected on the walls depicting the country’s old way of life and its transition to the modern world.
Then we were ushered to the high-speed elevator. As there were certain maximum number of persons allowed only, it resulted to a queue – but don’t worry you will not wait that long.
No question, the elevator was really travelling in high speed. We timed our travel from the observation deck (124th floor) to the first or second floor (not so sure about this) and it took us only approximately 1 minute.
The highlight of the tour was the observation deck wherein you could enjoy the aerial view of Dubai. It has glass wall panels and wooden floor. Honestly, I could not stay long standing close to the glass walls as I was terrified with the height. The observation deck was like a round plate attached to the main structure of the building.
(the observation deck and the view from the 124th floor)
After taking few pictures for souvenirs, I decided to go back and stay in the main building. Though you could still enjoy the view, it was not great as in the observation deck.
The cost of the tour is AED 100 (USD 27) per person if you purchase in advance. You can easily buy it online. On the day of the tour, don’t forget to bring the receipt print out and the credit card used to purchase.
Ticket for immediate entry will cost AED 400 (USD 109) per person.
The tour took us almost one hour. It actually depends on you because you can stay as long as you want in the observation deck.
There were souvenirs for sale too. We had our family picture taken with the aerial background of the city. It looked like my hubby was falling off from the cladding. Well of course, he didn’t take that risk! It was just a byproduct of Photoshop (lol!). The price tag of that souvenir was AED 300 which includes the softcopy and additional background photos.
We really enjoyed the tour specially my Mum and sister who were just visiting UAE. It was worth the experience and thrill.
