The only emirate entirely on the Gulf of Oman side of the country. The drive through the Hajar Mountains to get there is part of the point — you emerge from a tunnel and the landscape changes: cooler, greener, the sea a different colour and character. Old forts. Fishing villages. What is claimed to be the oldest mosque in the UAE (Al Bidyah, possibly 15th century).

Divers and weekend surfers know Fujairah well. Everyone else thinks of it as somewhere they'd go once, enjoy more than expected, and never quite make it back to.