I booked my trip to Dubai, UAE on 5th May 2025. Back then I was thinking about my safety as a lone female, I was worrying about my transit visa for going back home through Saudi Arabia, but never in a 1,000,000 years did I anticipate the dangers of war.
This is not a political post – all I care about is the safety and the ability of people to live and travel safely. I started this article on 22nd June 2025, while listening to the latest news on a live YouTube broadcast. My anxiety levels are going up but I am still committed to travel to the Middle East. Will I? I guess we are all going to find out as it goes.
5 days before my trip to Dubai – 21st June 2025
The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a warning for all Bulgarian citizens to avoid travel in the Middle East unless extremely necessary. I have been following the news for days and this is what pushed me over the edge (combined with my mom’s understandable concerns) to start considering cancellation of my plans.
I called Trip.com as I have booked my flights with Saudi Arabia Airlines from Dubai through Jeddah to Heathrow. Trip.com advised me that my trip is not eligible for a full refund as the flight is still scheduled to go ahead. They even called Saudia who quickly confirmed that if I am to cancel, I will only receive £39 out of the £136 I spent. This was due to £70 cancellation fee, ~£13 Trip.com fee and ~£10 booking agent fee.
I then called Booking.com as through them I have booked my stay in Ramada and PremierInn in Dubai. First, the agent didn’t locate one of the bookings and called the Ramada Hotel but couldn’t get through to anyone on the phone. I then insisted on him to find the second booking, proving the confirmation number. He did and told me he will email both hotels to ask them to remove the cancellation fees, but as it stood, I was going to lose the full amount of what I have paid for each hotel.
The most dramatic call was the one to the UK WizzAir number. I was “caller number 38” and the waiting time was 35 minutes. It was longer than this and the whole thing took about an hour. After listening for ages to an upbeat song that I now never want to listen to again, I spoke with an agent, who did not understand what I was saying. I was asking what will happen if I cancel my flight while he kept assuring me that he flight is not cancelled. English is not my first language, but I think that having to slowly repeat and explain the same question more than 3 times to a customer service agent is a bit much. After a painful interaction, I was told that if I was to cancel my flight, I was going to get back 30 Romanian Lei… which is about £5.11.
“Okay then, I told myself, it doesn’t matter when I will cancel – I will still lose all the money I spent.” So I decided to monitor the situation in the Middle East and I will take it as it comes.
4 days before my trip to Dubai – 22nd June 2025
The US bombed Iran. This is what I was concerned about most as the US has military bases in the UAE and they could become a potential target for missile or drone strikes. The Bulgarian news reiterated that Bulgarian nationals should not travel to the region unless extremely unnecessary. Part of me is thinking that this is actually good as in the next 4 days I can see how it goes. The UK still doesn’t advise against travel to the UAE.
According to Sky News, if US military bases are hit, the situation can spiral even move unpredictably. I am now wondering, are there bunkers in the hotels I am staying in? Would Iran hit a place like Dubai?
I am trying not to panic and I have prepared some back-up plans. I am travelling to Romania and from there I am due to fly to Dubai. I already started to plan what I can do instead of going to Dubai, but I still hope I can go and see it.
As I am a EU-passport holder permanently living in the UK, I have enquired with the UK Embassy in Abu Dhabi if I could register with them in case of emergency while I am in the UAE. I did this through their online form on the gov.uk website.
I have also sent emails to the Bulgarian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate in Dubai asking how to register my details with them as per the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ advice.
The situation seems volatile and unpredictable but I really hope I can do this trip and everything goes as planned. Furthermore, I hope for peace in the region for the sake of the millions of people living there.
3 days before my trip to Dubai – 23rd June 2025
The UK Foreign Ministry said that it doesn’t provide services to non-citizens in the way I asked. However, the Bulgarian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Bulgarian Consulate in Dubai responded quickly asking me to provide my contact details and where I will be staying.
I keep watching the news and the Bulgarian news seems to be the most dramatic. High-ranking government officials are giving press-conferences announcing formally that there is no war threat to Bulgaria. … Why would it be?
People around seem to be quite chill when I tell them I am going to Dubai. Besides my mom, but this is understandable.
Roaming is expensive, so I downloaded maps of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Jeddah. On the positive side, after some hassle, I got a Saudi visa, so I plan to see a bit of Jeddah between my flights to and from there.
11 hours before the start of my trip
Everything changed… See here.
This is where I actually ended up...
