Expo 2020 in Dubai, UAE, is more halfway way through (it still carries the 2020 designation because Covid caused it to be postponed) and millions of visitors have passed through its gates since it opened on 1 October 2021. It has lived up to all expectations with many rating it on a par with the acclaimed 2010 World Expo held in Shanghai, China.

The Dubai World Expo won’t achieve as many visitors as China though because the coronavirus pandemic has restricted travel from many countries. But the Middle East in general has coped better than most other parts of the world, and the event is drawing large crowds from around the region, and from Russia and India in particular.

There’s still two and a half months until it closes on 31 March 2022 and is worth the journey to Dubai if it’s currently practical for you to travel. However, for older travellers there may be concerns about the lack of social distancing entering Dubai and at some of the pavilions at Expo.

Like many other countries, the UAE is currently experiencing an Omicron wave, but at the time of writing it appears to be levelling out at around 2,500 cases a day – well below the UAE’s peak numbers of 4,000 cases a day at the top of its second wave about a year ago. Vaccination rates are high in the UAE (first dose 100%, second dose 93%, booster dose 39%) so community transmission is much slower than in other countries.

Nevertheless, vaccination does not prevent infection – it only decreases the risk of serious illness and hospitalisation, so some older travellers, particularly those with any underlying health conditions, may be concerned about being out and about even in a country that is almost fully vaccinated.

Of course, many will say that older persons who have those concerns shouldn’t be travelling, but the counter argument to that is that many of these people have been locked down for many months (and in some cases for over a year) and are travelling for their emotional well-being. And others simply want to get their lives back before they are too old to enjoy the time they have left.

Compliance with the face mask mandate in Dubai is very good. Face masks have to be worn everywhere (including outside) and violators can be fined 3,000 dirhams (about US$820) by the Dubai Police. Of course, you can take them off when seated to eat or drink. A few people on the street wear the mask under their nose, but it’s rare to see someone not wearing a face mask at all.

The main concern for older travellers visiting Dubai will be social distancing, which is non-existent at the airport, on the metro and in some of the pavilions at Expo. The rule in UAE is that people must maintain a social distance of two metres, but there are no efforts to enforce this rule at immigration where queues of passengers from dozens of flights are pushing forward, anxious to be processed and get to the baggage claim.

The only way to avoid this is to travel business class, which will entitle you to use the fast-track lanes which are much less crowded. With fewer business people flying these days, many airlines have good deals on offer to fly business class, so check these out first. But be aware that the airlines that do offer deals on business class usually bump the fares up to normal levels about two to three weeks out from the travel date, as they work on the assumption that people booking flights only a few weeks out are usually traveling for business.

And if you are coming from a destination that is served by the UAE’s budget airline, FlyDubai, check to see if business class is available on that route. FlyDubai’s business class fares are much less than on full-service airlines, and often not much more than economy class on airlines like Emirates.

And if you book a flight with FlyDubai you get complimentary global insurance for Covid-19 related health expenses for the duration of your trip, as well as a 40 kg baggage allowance. FlyDubai’s new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft are configured exactly the same as business class on those aircraft operated by full-service airlines with seat capsules for both couples and single travellers that keep you isolated from other passengers.

Once in Dubai, the rule for getting to Expo is to avoid the metro. The UAE built a new metro extension for Expo to make it easy for travellers to get there, but until you reach that extension line at Jebel Ali station, social distancing is impossible. Even on the extension line from Jebel Ali to Expo it can get busy at peak periods, although at other times of the day the metro could be an option for people staying near stations on that line.

The best way to get to Expo is by taxi. Dubai taxis are not expensive, they are clean and they accept credit cards (but keep some cash handy in case the system is down, as happens occasionally). The taxi driver will ask which entrance you want to go to. The best option is the Mobility Gate because that’s usually less busy than the Sustainability Gate that serves tour groups arriving on coaches.

From Dubai Marina you’ll pay less than 50 dirhams (US$14) to the Mobility Gate, and from downtown Dubai about 70-80 dirhams depending on traffic. Even from Deira it shouldn’t cost more than 120 dirhams. Coming back from Expo, there is a 20 dirham flagfall surcharge, so your return trip will cost a little more.

You can depart from either the Mobility or Sustainability Gates, or from the Opportunity Gate, because there are taxi ranks at all three. There is a fourth gate (which some refer to as the ‘main gate’) at the 2020 Plaza, but that’s primarily for persons traveling on the Metro and Expo workers living in the Expo village.

If you decide to hire a car in Dubai, and drive yourself, then the biggest car parks are at the Mobility and Sustainability Gates. Remember to bring your vaccination certificate as you’ll need that to get in. Unvaccinated travellers will need to produce a negative PCR test certificate from a test taken within the previous 72 hours.

When we published a preview article on Expo 2020 in September last year, what we did not know at the time was that travellers over 60 years of age would receive a free season ticket. So if you are over 60, remember to bring your passport on your first day as proof of age (although if you clearly look to be over 60, they may not ask to see your passport). Keep the ticket as you’ll need that for entry on subsequent days. And you’ll need your vaccination certificate every day as well (vaccination certificates in PDF format on phones are accepted provided it has a QR code).

The season ticket will provide you with free entry to everything inside Expo except for the Garden in the Sky. That attraction (which provides a stunning view over the whole Expo complex) will cost you an extra 30 dirhams. For those under 60, the cost of a daily ticket is 95 dirhams (about US$25) - still very good value.

Once inside you will find the face mask mandate strictly enforced. If anyone removes their mask anywhere, except when eating or drinking, they’ll be lucky to last 30 seconds before there is a security officer by their side asking them to wear their mask. But they will tolerate visitors removing their masks for a minute or two when taking selfies in front of attractions.

Social distancing is easy to achieve as you walk around Expo because the walkways are wide, and plazas are spacious. A few people might forget about social distancing whilst watching the nightly sound and light shows in the main Al Wasl Plaza (which should not be missed because they are outstanding) or one of the many concerts on offer, but in these cases it’s easy to walk away from them.

Where it’s not possible to socially distance is in some of the pavilions and in the queues for some of the pavilions. Most of the pavilions have attendants that are enforcing social distancing in the queues, but people tend to bunch up whilst they are waiting. There are several nationalities that seem to have no regard for the social distancing rules (no need to identify them here, it will be obvious who they are to you once you are there) and some impatient individuals who are constantly trying to push forward.

The Egypt and USA pavilions are the worst. There is absolutely no control on social distancing in the queues for the Egypt pavilion, and although the USA pavilion attendants try to enforce social distancing prior to entry, once inside you are marshalled onto a conveyor belt (like the ones they use in airports for baggage) and people push forward rather than standing their positions and listening to the commentary.

In our preview article last September we talked about Expo’s state-of-the-art Smart Queue scheme, which supposedly would make queueing more orderly by admitting visitors through a dedicated entrance at pre-booked times, but the Expo 2020 app is not easy to navigate, and Smart Queue requires pre-registration which it seems few people have bothered to do.  Some pavilions including the UK, Japan, Germany and the Netherlands are not participating in the Smart Queue scheme.

The Japan and UN pavilions are the best for social distancing. Japan because they introduced their own pre-booking system (just go to the pavilion any time after 9 am and book an available slot for later in the day, and the UN pavilion (which is called the ‘Opportunity Pavilion - Mission Possible’) because it is very spacious, and visitors are admitted in small groups with attendants inside supervising the social distancing.

The Japan pavilion is definitely worth visiting (Japan will be hosting the next World Expo in 2025) but the UN pavilion is not – unless you are visiting with grandchildren. The UN pavilion is very well presented but it feels like it has been designed as an educational facility for school children.

For the other big thematic and country pavilions, the best times to go to avoid the crowds are at 10 am (Expo opens at 9 am so you can get to the front of a queue at one of the pavilions if you are prepared to wait) and after 9 pm at night. The pavilions close at 10 pm but be aware that some won’t admit new entrants at varying times between 9.00 pm and 9.45 pm. The bigger the pavilion, the earlier the cut-off time is.

The Alif Mobility pavilion is not usually very busy around 9 pm and should be on your ‘must see’ list as it’s another that is highly rated. You also won’t be battling crowds too much at the middle-sized pavilions early and late in the day, and the small country pavilions (which are usually not much more than static displays) are rarely busy at any time of the day. If there are any country pavilions that you really want to visit but look crowded, then swap to an N95 face mask for the duration of your visit. You won’t want to wear those around Expo all day, but it’s useful to have one in your pocket for places that you can’t socially distance.

Don’t forget there are a few corporate pavilions too that don’t get too crowded. The DP World pavilion is worth a look and has an impressive indoor waterfall display. But don’t despair if you can’t get to all the country pavilions that you’d like to see because of the crowds – there’s plenty more to do at Expo.

Every day there is ongoing entertainment and concerts being staged at various locations around the Expo site. Many countries have brought in local artists to showcase their talent and you’ll find the performances listed in the events section of the Expo app.

The sound and light show at the Al Wasl Plaza, which commences around sunset, usually includes a concert on weekends at 8 pm. You’ll need to get a seat early to have a good view of that. Even without the concerts during weekdays, the sound and light show is worth seeing. It lasts for several hours with intervals between segments, and you can enjoy it whilst walking around the plaza. Some short video clips from the show can be seen here.

There is a 10 mins drone and light show above the China Pavilion most nights that’s worth seeing but note the timings don’t always match what is shown on the Expo app. Currently the app lists one show at 8 pm but the schedule outside the China Pavilion lists two shows at 7 pm and 9 pm. So it’s always good to check timings when you pass by pavilions earlier in the day.

Don’t miss the ‘flying piano’ performances in the Opportunity district that are held several times in the late afternoon and early evening. They usually start at 5 pm but check actual timings whenever you are in that area on the board by the white grand piano. There are Chopin performances in the Poland pavilion at 4 pm and 6.30 pm most days.

Tango flash mobs, classic jazz performances, rock bands, international orchestras and traditional folk music are all part of the daily entertainment offerings at Expo, so if you are into world music, you can enjoy a visit to Expo without even setting foot in a country pavilion.

Aside from music, the biggest attraction that Expo offers is food experiences. Most of the large and mid-size country pavilions (and a few of the smaller ones too) have restaurants or snack bars attached serving food from those countries. In most cases the restaurants can be accessed without entering the pavilion.

So if you are partial to a warm Portuguese egg tart, or have a sweet tooth for genuine French nougat, head to the pavilions of the country of origin, and chances are you’ll find exactly what you are looking for. A few country pavilion restaurants have cooking classes, sometimes hosted by celebrity chefs flown in from those countries.

Even away from the country pavilions, there are dozens of good restaurants tucked away in all corners of the Expo site, ranging from cafeteria style to haute cuisine. There’s a large dining hall devoted entirely to African foods. Prices are higher than outside Expo – around 50 percent higher for the cafeterias and dining halls and up to 2-3 times higher for the high-end gourmet restaurants.

If you are traveling on a budget, then there are plenty of street food stalls around, or you can order a takeaway meal at a talabat ordering point, and have it delivered by a robot trolley. Chilled drinking water in cans is available from vending machines all over Expo at the surprisingly reasonable price of 2.5 dirhams. You can top up your own water bottles from drinking water faucets around Expo, but the water is not chilled.

You’ll need plenty of water because although it is winter in Dubai, it is still quite warm during the day, and will start to get hot again in March. Don’t forget to bring a jacket if you are staying late because January and February can be quite chilly in the evening.

During my first three days at Expo, my health app told me I walked an average of 11.5 km a day. If you don’t think you can walk that distance to see all the pavilions, then you can hop on the Expo Explorer which is a free shuttle that operates on different routes around the three main districts.

You can pick up a map of the Expo site from stands at the entry gates or near Al Wasl Plaza which shows the routes of the Expo Explorers. There’s also a free people mover that operates around the outer perimeter of the Expo site (but inside the gates) and the stops for that are shown on the map.

There are bicycle hire stands around the Expo site if you’d prefer to use a bike to get around. There are also golf buggy taxis for 10 dirhams per person per trip. If cost is not an issue, then you can hire your own golf buggy with a professional driver to get you around. The cost is 250 dirhams per hour, or 950 dirhams for four hours. 

For many people, a World Expo is a once in a lifetime experience. If you’ve not attended a World Expo before, allow a minimum of three days to see everything. And if you are not in a rush, and are over 60, you can use your free season ticket to keep coming back to enjoy the food and entertainment during the evenings.

All images and video: © David Astley