A shopping tour in Dubai is not a walk around the shops on your own. Someone comes along who knows where a given thing is sold and what it ought to cost. Three formats dominate: half a day through the Deira markets, where the guide haggles for you and on gold and fabric the gap is real money; a full day across the malls with a personal stylist; or an outlet run to Dubai Outlet Mall and The Outlet Village, 30 to 40 minutes out, holding 30 to 70 percent off all year.

Narrower routes exist alongside those. On the gold circuit the guide reads purity marks and weight aloud before you agree to a number. The fabric route leads into Bur Dubai to a tailor who turns work around in two or three days: measurements on the first visit, fitting before your flight. A spices and perfume tour covers oud, saffron and rose water, with provenance and a price range named in each shop. Transport and water are usually included; what you buy is not.

Some numbers are worth knowing beforehand. The gold price per gram is set by the exchange and holds across the city — only workmanship is negotiable, and that is where the guide earns their fee. The tourist VAT refund is five percent on receipts from 250 dirhams, arranged in the shop and paid out at the airport, passport in hand. Dubai Shopping Festival occupies the weeks from late December into late January, when the best prices and the heaviest crowds arrive together. Souks shut earlier and often pause mid-afternoon; malls trade until midnight.