Craig and I love to travel. There’s something about shutting the door and running down the drive with our suitcases, knowing that in a matter of hours we’ll be in a different country, wearing things we wouldn’t dare wear at home, and maxing out our credit cards on exotic foods and bucket list experiences.

When you have children, you quickly learn to really make the best of your time together as a couple. We love our mini-mes to bits, but the sleepless nights, endless grazed knees and dinnertime tantrums get the best of us every 6 months or so. We’ll then book a long weekend away and bribe our family and friends to help out - usually citing imminent divorce as an excuse for being selfish and holidaying without the kiddies. Although we should, we just don’t feel guilty.

So when holiday experts Travelbag recently got in touch and asked if I’d liked to enter their #DubaiChallenge to win a 3 night stay in Dubai, I didn’t need any convincing. In order to win, I need to tell you exactly what we’d get up to on our 3 day middle eastern adventure. Easy enough! Dubai has been a dream of ours for some time so this is something I could write about all day long.

So… Why Dubai?

Because it’s one of the most fascinating, contradictory and opulent places in the world. Formerly a simple fishing village, the city’s oil revenues accelerated its early development in the late 1960s. Having experienced exponential growth, the city has become a hub of world-class tourism and is now the 22nd most expensive city in the world and the most expensive city in the Middle East.

To make up for a lack of cultural heritage and compete with the likes of Moscow and Shanghai, Dubai was arguably built to shock. The police drive Ferrari’s, it’s home to the world’s only 7* hotel, it has a man-made island (the Palm Jumeirah) lovingly referred to by locals as the eighth wonder of the world, and you’ll see dozens of gold-plated cars on its main streets. Dubai offers you a grown-up and more sensational version of Vegas, with malls that swell as far outwards, as its hotels do upwards.

So what would Craig and I get up to?

Day 1

After finding our hotel and getting our bearings, I’d whisk Craig straight to the Dubai Mall. Okay, okay - it’s not the most inventive use of our time and we’ll be treading in the footsteps of hundreds of thousands of Brits before us, but what better way is there to de-stress from a long flight than iFlying (indoor skydiving)? I also really fancy the DubaiDino as I’ve never been to the National History Museum (I know, madness right?) and have heard this museum was years in the making. The aquarium is also a must-see with its underwater zoo and 51m walk-through tunnel in which 33,000 sharks, manta rays, and eels swim above the heads of gaping shoppers.

Dubai Aquarium Tunnel - Flickr: Rocking Cat

When sun sets we’ll head on up to the Burj Khalifa (all 124 floors worth, in a sickeningly quick elevator) so we can look out over Dubai as it transitions from day to night.

Dubai Mall and Fountain from Burj Khalifa - Flickr: Ihsann Adams

We’ll then dine at one of the restaurants at Souk Al Bahar facing the Burj Khalifa and watch the dancing fountain show. This was one of my highlights in Vegas, and this is supposed to surpass the Fountains of Bellagio in every which way (I’m yet to come across one bad review).

Dubai Mall Fountains - Flickr: JlllySpoon

Day 2

You’d have to have a few screws loose to not head across to the Atlantic Hotel on the Palm Jumeirah, and thankfully insanity isn’t an affliction Craig or I have. After splashing around at the Aquaventure waterpark, going on the shark safari (with special helmets rather than breathing apparatus) and sunning ourselves on the beach, we’ll probably stop for drinks at the Barazura cocktail bar, then treat ourselves to some authentic middle eastern cuisine at the highly rated Saffron restaurant.

As the sun goes down, we’ll head into the desert on safari. Afternoon desert-adventure tours include dune bashing at Big Red, sand boarding, or hot-air ballooning over the dunes as the sun goes down. Out of all these, ballooning sounds like the best way to really take in the unspoiled beauty and sheer enormity of the desert - and to be honest, I think we’ll probably need some R&R after such a frenetic first day.

Day 3

Mall of the Emirates - Flickr: Els

I suspect we’ll be utterly exhausted by then, and dare-I-say it missing the kiddies. This means we’ll want to wind down our last day with more gentle exploration of the city. I’m desperate to take in the Gold & Spice Souk (even if, by now our bank accounts have been frozen) just because it looks so mesmorizing in photographs. I’ll then try and convince Craig to go to the Mall of the Emirates so I can have my first ever go at skiing on its much famed indoor ski slope with real snow.

Inside Old Souk - Flickr: Soumit

If there’s any time left, Craig will also want to travel outside of the city centre to the Dubai Designer Outlet Mall to see if we can find any bargains. I’ll probably be on auto-pilot by then and won’t be so bothered when my tech-mad hubby starts prattling on about Sound Bars and 4K TVs… told you I had this planned out.

So that’s it - a once in a lifetime experience rammed full of activities, drinks, fine food, culture and Us. Just the sort of adult-only time away we’ll need before tackling Euro Disney next Christmas (How did Craig ever convince me this was a good idea?).

So please Travelbag, help fulfill a lifelong dream and send this knackered Mummy & Daddy to Dubai. If you don’t, we may divorce (of course, I’m joking)