Fujairah, I’d Like to See That: Good Maps

A blog article appeared recently in which a car load of people from Dubai set out to enjoy their Eid holiday in Fujairah. They had not been to Fujairah before, they kept on getting lost and they called into more than 20 gas stations to ask for directions. When they arrived in Fujairah their problem only intensified. How do you find your way to the various tourist hot spots?

Finding your way to and around Fujairah is a problem for newcomers to the eastern state. It can also be an everyday challenge for those who have been living in Fujairah for months. People don’t seem to locate their houses according to street names and postcodes are not in existence yet.

Depending on taxis is not the final solution as many times I have asked taxi drivers to take me here and there and they have shaken their heads as if to say, “Yes, I know the way.” But, before long it becomes apparent that they have not done Fujairah’s equivalent to the London cab driver’s ‘Knowledge Test’ that takes around three years of hard training to learn all the streets in the six-mile radius of Charing Cross.

Until a Global Positioning Service for Fujairah is available, we are going to need a decent map. There are some available in shops but these so quickly go out of date with the burgeoning of Fujairah.

If you have one that is comprehensive, I’d like to see it and promote it on this site for the many who go astray on Fujairah roads and streets.

Here are some online maps that I have collected, some of which I consult before setting out on a journey:

Fujairah Colleges Map PDF
The Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) have on their web site this PDF, which not only helps you to find the Women’s College and the Men’s College in Fujairah but it lists some other important landmarks:

Fujairah Emirate and City MapQuest
Map Quest provides a map that is zoomable, from the country to the region, the city and the street. This is good to get an overview of the emirate of Fujairah and the small towns. Working this site is a bit cumbersome but it does give the major highway numbers and main street names for the city.

Fujairah City Map –Municipality
The local municipality puts out this one that has an index of major places.

Fujairah City -UAE Interact
The UAE News and Information shows this map—no road names and some landmarks.

Fujairah Tourism Bureau Maps
Three basic maps that can be clicked on for enlargement are provided by the local bureau.

Road Map especially to port
Basic map with Fujairah suburbs, prepared to help people find the Fujairah Port.

Google Earth
Google Earth Site
This can be downloaded free of charge. See Fujairah from on high and zoom in. Users have been putting information notes in these maps (English and Arabic) to pinpoint landmarks and houses (see below in Wiki Maps).

World 66 Google Earth of UAE
World 66 Google Earth of Fujairah
These two Google Earth maps are hosted by World 66 travel sites, in case you do not wish to download Google Earth on your computer.

WikiMaps
Wikimapia is an online map and satellite imagery resource that combines Google Maps with a Wiki system allowing users to add information such as the name of a building or the location of their villa. See if you can find your home and put your name on your house. Most of the locations on the Fujairah map are in Arabic.

Wikimapia starting point
Wikimap This has been filed on the Internet to help people find the Fujairah Indian Social Club and has notes of places in Arabic and English
Wikimap This has been filed on the Internet to help people find the Fujairah Port with notes on surrounding buildings.
Wikimap Road to and Including Fujairah This has been filed on the Internet to help people find their way to Fujairah (Arabic mainly)

Directions for Dubai to Fujairah-NEW!

The above provides a range of maps. None of them are completely satisfactory. Hopefully someone will produce a Fujairah street map that is comprehensive. If you have got better ones I can list them (and their whereabouts) to this posting.

Geoff Pound

Image: Fujairah Map with directions to the port.

This posting is near the beginning of a series of some occasional articles entitled, Fujairah: I’d Like to See That! If there is something you’d like to see in Fujairah, please add a comment below or send me a paragraph or two for posting.