By Harry Nara · Last updated
- Expected first day of RamadanMonday 8 February 2027
- Expected Eid Al FitrWednesday 10 March 2027
- Where
- Citywide, with the Iftar cannon fired at several public sites
- Tickets
- Free
- Time of year
- February to March
- Dates
- Move each year with the lunar calendar
Islamic holidays in the UAE are determined by moon sighting, so these dates are expected rather than fixed. International Astronomical Centre calculations put the first day of Ramadan at 8 February 2027, with Eid Al Fitr expected around 10 March. The month runs twenty nine or thirty days, and the official confirmation comes from the moon sighting committee shortly beforehand. The Islamic calendar is about eleven days shorter than the Gregorian one, so Ramadan moves earlier each year.
Most visitors worry about the wrong thing. You are not required to fast, restaurants and cafes serve non-fasting guests through the day, malls and attractions keep normal hours and supermarkets are unaffected. What genuinely changes is the rhythm: working hours are cut by two hours by law, the afternoon empties out, and the whole city shifts to the night. The single best thing you can do with a Ramadan evening is stand near the Iftar cannon at sunset, which is free, takes ten minutes and is the moment the entire city is waiting for.
What Ramadan in Dubai actually is
The Islamic month of fasting, when Muslims abstain from food and drink between dawn and sunset. Because the Islamic calendar is shorter than the Gregorian one, it moves earlier each year and falls in the pleasant part of the Dubai winter at the moment. The fast is broken at sunset with a meal called Iftar, traditionally begun with dates and laban, and there is a second meal called Suhoor before dawn. Around those two fixed points the city rearranges itself entirely: quiet, slow mornings, a dead afternoon, and then an enormous surge of life from sunset until very late.
Where to watch Ramadan in Dubai
- The Iftar cannon at sunset, and this is the thing to build an evening around. A cannon is fired at the moment the fast breaks, a tradition known locally as Midfa Al Iftar, at several public sites across the city. It is free, it takes minutes, and the atmosphere in the hushed few seconds before it goes off is the single most memorable thing a visitor can witness during the month. Check the current firing locations when you arrive, because the sites change.
- A hotel Iftar, if you want the full version sitting down. Every large hotel lays on an Iftar buffet at sunset and many build a Ramadan tent for the month. It is a proper occasion rather than a meal, it is enormous, and the good ones book out well ahead. Prices range from very reasonable to extravagant.
- Suhoor, for the version most visitors never see. The late meal before dawn is a quieter, more social affair than Iftar, running from around midnight into the early hours, often with shisha and live oud. If you are a night owl this is the more atmospheric of the two meals by a distance.
- The old quarter around the creek after dark. The historic districts are at their best during the month, with the mosques full at prayer times and the lanes busy late. It is a completely different experience from the new waterfronts and it costs nothing.
- Jumeirah Mosque, for the part that is explained to you. It is one of the few mosques in the city that welcomes non-Muslim visitors on organised tours, and the sessions explain the practice of the month rather than leaving you to guess at it. Book ahead, and check the timings, which change during Ramadan.
Tickets and what it costs
The month itself costs nothing to experience. The cannon firings are public and free, the mosques and the old districts are free, and the atmosphere after dark is free. What you pay for is the sit down version: hotel Iftar and Suhoor buffets are ticketed per person, range from modest to very expensive depending on the venue, and the well regarded ones sell out days or weeks ahead, particularly at weekends. Ramadan tents at the larger hotels are a fixed price affair covering food and often shisha. Worth knowing on the cost side: hotel rates across the city are frequently at their lowest of the cool season during Ramadan, because leisure demand drops while the weather is still good. For a visitor willing to work with the rhythm rather than against it, it can be the best value month of the winter.
Official information and booking: u.ae/en/information-and-services/public-holidays-and-religious-affairs/ramadan
Getting there
Everything runs, but the timing shifts. Metro and bus services operate with adjusted hours and are busiest in the half hour before sunset, when the entire city is trying to get home or to a table at once. That window is the worst possible time to be travelling anywhere, and it is also when the roads are at their most hazardous, because a lot of drivers are hurrying and have not eaten all day. The half hour after the cannon is the opposite: the roads empty out almost completely and it is the easiest driving of the day. Taxis are hard to find just before Iftar and plentiful just after. If you plan around those two facts alone you will find the month easy to move around in.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Assuming you cannot eat or drink in public
This is the fear that puts people off visiting and it is out of date. Restaurants and cafes serve through the day, malls have dining available, and there is no requirement for non-Muslims to fast. The courtesy that still applies is discretion: not eating, drinking or smoking while walking down the street or on public transport.
Booking a big night out and finding no live music
Nightclubs and live music venues either close for the month or run a much subdued programme, and the party side of Dubai is genuinely switched off. If a nightlife heavy trip is what you are booking, Ramadan is the wrong month and no amount of planning fixes it.
Travelling in the half hour before sunset
It is the single busiest and most stressful window of the day on the roads, and the least safe. Either be where you want to be well before it or wait until after the cannon, when the city goes quiet and the roads clear.
Expecting normal business hours
Working hours are cut by two hours a day by law for the whole month, and that ripples through offices, government services and some shops. Malls and restaurants go the other way and stay open very late. Anything administrative takes longer than usual.
Not booking Iftar ahead
The good hotel Iftars are booked out well in advance, especially towards the weekend. Turning up hoping for a table at sunset is the one way to be left out of the thing everyone else is doing.
Other Dubai events
Frequently asked questions
Can I visit Dubai during Ramadan?
Yes, and it is a genuinely rewarding time to come. You are not expected to fast, restaurants serve through the day, attractions and malls keep normal or extended hours, and hotel rates are often lower than the rest of the cool season. The trade is that nightlife is subdued and the daytime is quiet.
Can I eat and drink in public during the day?
Yes. Restaurants and cafes serve non-fasting guests through the day and malls provide dining areas away from those who are fasting. What is still expected is discretion, meaning you do not eat, drink or smoke while walking in the street or on public transport. That courtesy is easy and it is genuinely appreciated.
What is the Iftar cannon?
A cannon fired at the exact moment the fast breaks at sunset, a tradition known as Midfa Al Iftar, sounded at several public locations across the city. It is free to watch and it is the most atmospheric few minutes of the month. Firing sites change between years, so check locally when you arrive.
What changes for businesses and services?
Working hours are reduced by two hours a day under UAE labour law, which applies to Muslim and non-Muslim employees alike without a pay reduction. Offices and government services run shorter days, so administrative tasks take longer. Supermarkets are unaffected and malls stay open very late.
When is Ramadan?
It moves earlier by roughly eleven days each year because the Islamic calendar is shorter than the Gregorian one, and the exact start is set by moon sighting rather than fixed in advance. Astronomical calculation gives an expected date well ahead, but the official confirmation comes only a day or two before it begins.
Is alcohol still served?
Licensed venues in hotels generally continue to serve, though often on reduced hours and with a much quieter atmosphere, and some suspend service during daylight. Live music and club nights are the part that genuinely stops. If drinking and nightlife are central to your trip, pick a different month.
Sources
- UAE Government, Ramadan
- UAE Government, public holidays and moon sighting
- Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, reduced working hours
Dates on this page are checked against the organiser’s own listing and confirmed through 2027. Written and maintained by Harry Nara.