Dubai Gold Souk Guide

Visit Dubai, the city’s official tourism site, places the Gold Souk on the Deira side of Dubai Creek, in the old part of the city, and calls it one of the oldest traditional markets in the emirate. Its gold shopping guide describes it as the city’s most famous gold market, with hundreds of stores. The Spice Souk is a three-minute walk away and the Perfume Souk about five minutes. Deira Old Souq marine station is a five-minute walk, with water taxis across the creek to Al Fahidi.

People also search for the “old” and “new” gold souk and for Al Kabayel. None of the official pages we read (Visit Dubai, the Roads and Transport Authority, Dubai Jewellery Group) describes a separate new souk or that building, so we do not describe them here. For a different jewellery area, see the Gold and Diamond Park shops in our directory.

Two Green Line stations serve the souk: Gold Souq (G22) and Al Ras (G23), as RTA names and numbers them in its metro timetable. Visit Dubai puts the souk about a five-minute walk from either.

• From the Red Line via BurJuman: Visit Dubai’s route is to change to the Green Line at BurJuman, ride towards e& and get off at Al Ras or Gold Souq.
• From the Red Line via Union: RTA lists Union as the other Red and Green Line interchange. From Union, ride the Green Line towards Creek; Gold Souq is two stops on, after Baniyas Square.
• Late visits: RTA publishes first and last train times for every station in the same timetable. Check them if you plan to stay until the shops close.

The Gold Souq bus station is one of the stations RTA lists on its Dubai bus stations page. RTA also publishes a plan of the station with its bays and route numbers, and the plan marks Gold Souq Metro Station and Al Khaleej Street around it. Routes change, so we do not copy the list here: open the station plan from that RTA page, or use RTA’s journey planner, for your exact trip. For arrival times, the plan says to SMS the letter D, a space and the bus stop ID to 5223.

Visit Dubai names two simple bus options for the souk itself: route T10 stops at its Dubai Gold Souk stop, about three minutes away on foot, and routes 5, C09 and C28 stop at Deira, Old Souq 1, about four minutes away.

Timings. Visit Dubai says most shops in the Gold Souk open from 10am to 10pm, although some individual stores may vary. It does not give separate hours for Fridays or public holidays, so if you are going for one particular shop, check that shop’s own hours first. The area is shaded, and Visit Dubai suggests sunset as a good time to visit.

Parking. None of the official pages we read gives parking details for the Gold Souk, so we do not quote a car park, a zone or a fee. Visit Dubai’s own directions are by metro, bus and water taxi. If you drive, use only marked public spaces, pay as the sign at the bay tells you, and allow extra time to find a space.

Every shop starts from the same gold rate: Dubai Jewellery Group announces one unified retail gold price for the UAE market each day, and that is the rate shown at the top of this page. Visit Dubai’s gold shopping guide explains the rest: jewellery is sold by weight, and each store adds a labour charge that depends on how intricate the design is. 5% VAT is added on jewellery.

So the figure to compare between shops is the making charge, not the rate. Visit Dubai notes that retailers will offer a bargain if you are fair with your price. For a 10 g 22K piece the gold alone is AED 4,335.00 today; ask each shop for its making charge on that weight, then compare totals in the gold price calculator. For what 22K and its 916 stamp mean, see the 22K gold rate page.

• Hallmark: Dubai Jewellery Group says every gold jewellery item must carry an official hallmark or tags issued under UAE standards. Look for the karat stamp, such as 916 for 22K or 750 for 18K.
• Weight: ask the shop to weigh the piece in front of you.
• Invoice and certificate: ask for an itemised invoice with weight, karat, rate, making charge and VAT. Visit Dubai adds that Dubai gold dealers are obliged to provide a digital authentication certificate on request.
• Buy inside a shop: Visit Dubai advises buying from stores within the souk, not from street vendors nearby.
• ID: under anti-money-laundering rules, DJG says you may be asked for your Emirates ID or a passport copy.
• Problems: DJG says complaints about misrepresentation, pricing or a missing hallmark can be registered with Dubai Consumer Protection (Department of Economy and Tourism) on 600545555.

Tourists can reclaim VAT on jewellery: the UAE government portal sets a minimum purchase of AED 250, age 18 or over, and validation at the exit within 90 days with the goods in your possession. Ask for the tax-free tag when you pay.

To choose a shop before you go, browse the 18 Gold Souk shops in our directory, the sellers of gold bars and coins or the gold shops near you.