When travel bug bites during Eid Al Adha holidays

Abu Dhabi - With one week break from work and schools, many Abu Dhabi residents are choosing a holiday abroad.

Khaled Al Balouchi, an Emirati from Al Ain, will be among thousands to fly out of the UAE this weekend for a week-long holiday during this Eid Al Adha. 
Al Balouchi, a government employee, already booked his ticket three weeks ago, even though the Eid dates were not certain back then. 
"I found this really cheap flight to Bulgaria, with Wizz Air, from Al Maktoum Airport. It was only about Dh240 one way, so even though the dates were to differ, I would not lose much money if I had to work on the day of the flight," he said. 
"As it happened, I'm okay to fly this weekend and I didn't book the return flight yet. I heard Bulgaria is still quite cheap, so I plan to do some shopping there, but I would also like to travel to Romania, by train. It is not that far and I've never travelled by train before. I heard you could book an overnight trip in a sleeping compartment, which should be fun!" 
With one week break from work and schools, many Abu Dhabi residents are choosing a holiday abroad. Thailand, Morocco and Europe remain some of the top preferred destinations. 
"Me and my friend are going to Egypt. I know it's still a bit hot, but my friend is visiting me from Romania and since we were in school together we dreamt of pharaohs and pyramids, so this is a great chance to go to Cairo together," said Magdalena Candea, a Romanian expat in Abu Dhabi. 
Many families, though, will be staying "home", in Abu Dhabi, particularly those who have just returned from their summer vacation. 
"To be honest, this week off is like a knife with two edges. On one hand it is nice to have the holiday, but on the other we only returned from UK three weeks ago and the kids were just starting to settle into the new school year, so the timing for a week break is not ideal," pointed out Lisa Delilo, a British expat here. 
"Plus, I work in the private sector, so I only have off until Tuesday, while the children will be off for the whole week and I would have to find someone to look after them," added the mother of two. 
silvia@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE
• Abu Dhabi