Expo 2020 Dubai: Explore secret spots with Dh65 guided tours

Dubai - The tours can be booked on the Expo 2020 website

With a guided tour of Expo 2020 Dubai, visitors can uncover intricate stories behind every pavilion.

For just Dh65, residents and tourists can hire a tour guide on the Expo 2020 website. They can even choose between a cycling and walking tour.

Two types of tour packages are available at the Expo — an essential tour and a half-day tour.

The half-day walking tour costs Dh65 per head and takes visitors to one thematic pavilion — Terra, Mission Possible or Alif — with 15 stops during the journey. The tour takes just over three hours to complete.

Those who want to explore all three thematic pavilions can opt for the essential tour package, which costs Dh120 per head. At each thematic pavilion, the tour guide will explain the meaning and ideas behind the structures. The tour has 25 stops and will take visitors through the various attractions at Expo.

"A visitor can learn about the Garden in the Sky, the water-themed attractions and the parks, to name a few," said Mohammad Elleithy, a tour guide at Expo 2020.

Every country pavilion is constructed in a distinctive way and has a message behind it.

"The tour guides can take the visitors on a whole different journey," Mohammad said. "Take the Korean pavilion. A visitor will think it is a spinning cube, but it has a story behind it. Something like the Oman pavilion is constructed in the form of a frankincense tree, which is notable for Oman. There is also a real frankincense tree in front of the pavilion."

The Turkmenistan pavilion, on the other hand, has five horse sculptures at the entrance, but few people might know that it's because a horse is the national animal of the country.

The walking tour starts at the gates of the thematic pavilions and ends at Al Wasl Plaza, where visitors can learn a few tidbits about the 'beating heart' of the Expo 2020 site.

Cycling tours

The bicycle tour package is free of charge and can be booked online based on visitors' preferred timings. The cycling tours will have seven stops during the journey.

Mohammad said the guides have been getting tremendous response from the visitors.

"This is a very large-scale event and a tour guide can be hired for an in-depth learning about the Expo 2020," he said.

Only 14 people per group can participate in the cycling tour. Two timeslots are available: 10am and 4pm for an Arabic-speaking tour guide and 10.10am and 4.10pm for an English-speaking tour guide.

Visitors' experience

Maria, a Danish expat and resident of Dubai, explored the Expo with her friends and family on a bicycle tour.

"I had taken the bicycle tour earlier. I wanted my kids to learn from the tour guide. What a great experience it is to learn on the move," she said.

Maria added that hopping on a cycle for an hour can help visitors navigate the vast Expo site with ease.

"Once you get on the bicycle tour, you know what you must visit. It is definitely a good idea to have a guide who gives some interesting facts about the Expo," she said.

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Reize, a British expat and student at Dubai College, said the tour was a great experience.

"It was great learning about the three thematic pavilions and the guide provided a satisfactory explanation. I have got much more to explore, as the bicycle tour is limited to a few themes and attraction," he said.

ayaz@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai