Dubai Activities

Abu Dhabi Day Trip

On an Abu Dhabi day trip from Dubai, you can see all the highlights of the capital in one day, on an exciting and hassle-free tour where you don’t have to think about travel or arranging your trip, since this will be arranged for you by local guides and experts. All you need to do is turn up to start the tour, and the rest will be taken care of.

Image source: Flikr. Copyright: Mathias Apitz

Travellers will get to see many of the city’s fascinating wonders, including the Grand Mosque, the Pass Qasr Al Hosn, the former home of Abu Dhabi’s royals, as well as Yas Island and Ferrari World. The whole day trip will be packed with historic and culturally-significant landmarks, accompanied by the host of dazzling spectacles dotted around beautiful Abu Dhabi.

During the day trip, there will be a break for lunch where you can take a wander and find a restaurant that you like the look of. Plus, each of the tour buses contain air conditioning and guided commentary, so your trip will be both comfortable and informative. What more could you ask for?

Aquaventure Waterpark

Aquaventure Waterpark is an expansive waterpark located in Dubai, with a host of thrilling and invigorating rides on offer which are suitable for all ages, including some excellent slides for adults. Altogether, the park covers 17 hectares, including countless attractions and flumes; making it one of the most impressive waterparks on the continent.

Lockers and towels are available at the park, so you can safely store your belongings while you whizz down the rides and dry off. With so much to explore and discover, this park is always a winner with the little ones and visitors can easily spend a whole day here splashing around.

Go swimming with dolphins if you want to get up close and personal with these majestic creatures, then take home some spectacular holiday pictures. There’s also a private beach available for the resort’s visitors, so if you’ve had your thrills for the day and want somewhere you can lay back, relax and soak up the sun, you can do so in peace here.

Camel Safari

A camel safari is an exciting, cultural and visually stunning experience, making it the highlight of many people’s trip to Dubai. Each of you will ride on your own camel on a tour of the nearby desert, with an experienced tour guide who has plenty of local knowledge. Plus, a camel safari makes for an exciting day trip; allowing you to experience the stunning desert surrounding the city, as well as Dubai’s colourful sunsets.

Your tour starts from a Bedouin-style desert camp, where you’ll be welcomed with dates and Arabian coffee to enjoy, as well as tea, soft drinks and other light refreshments, before embarking on your epic camel tour. Expect to hear some fascinating local knowledge from your guide, learn all about traditional Dubai and take in the spectacular surrounding sand dunes, all while enjoying the novelty of riding a camel in the desert.

Many of the camps also provide entertainment while you enjoy dinner with local music, and even a show if you’re lucky.

Day Cruise to Musandam

A day cruise to Musandam from Dubai is the perfect way to escape the city and see the beauty and natural landscape of the surrounding area. With a small group of local guides, you will sail on a traditional boat around the fjords of the Oman peninsula, which is just along the coast from Dubai. The waters are warm and deep blue in this area, and the boat will anchor for you to swim, snorkel and explore.

There are schools of colourful fish for you to see, and dolphins often swim by the boat, so you can see these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat. On a day cruise, you and your group will be catered for, having fresh local food served for on your trip, along with beverages too, while you enjoy the ocean vistas that stretch all the way to the horizon.

Visit the gorgeous countryside, just a sail away from Dubai, and do so with local people and local food, to discover the true culture and customs of this incredible country.

Dubai Dolphinarium

At the Dubai Dolphinarium, the whole family can see amazing stunts performed by dolphins and enjoy a show packed with tricks, that will have you in awe from start to finish. Kids can’t get enough of seeing these incredible creatures up close, and their trainers will show you how lovable and intelligent they are.

If you make your way to Dubai Creek Park, you will find the Dolphinarium in no time, then you can get seated in the stadium and feel the buzz of excitement before the performance starts. This is a fantastic bonding experience for the whole family, and a great way to stay cool, while everyone is captivated by the show.

As well as dolphins, you can see seals perform too, as they clap their flippers and talk to the audience. For smaller children, seeing the colourful exotic bird show is a mesmerising experience, when they get to hear and see birds of all shapes and sizes.

Helicopter Tour

A helicopter tour of Dubai is one of the most breathtaking ways to take in the wonders of the city and see the many sights and buildings that make up its iconic skyline. There are different services around the city that offer helicopter tours, each with welcoming and professional pilots and guides.

Each tour will last approximately 15 minutes which is more than enough time to see the landscape unfold below, and view this beautiful city from a unique perspective. You’ll fly above Palm Island, see the Burj Khalifa, Cayan Tower and Princess Tower while zooming around the city.

This tour is suitable for all ages and a fantastic activity for groups, families and couples, too. Tours can easily be booked through your hotel, or you can contact tour companies directly; remember the best time of day to fly is in the afternoon, as conditions are much clearer than in the morning.

Indoor Skydiving

Indoor skydiving is, for many people, a dream which is made possible when holidaying in Dubai, where you can experience all of the thrills of zero gravity without being hundreds of feet up in the air. At iFly Dubai, people of all ages can feel what it is like to dive through the air in the world’s first double skydiving simulator, which offers you a realistic and thrilling simulation of real-life skydiving.

There are different packages available for first-timers and those who have some experience, so you can pick the one that suits your experience level and preferences. Whichever experience you choose, you will get all the skydiving gear you need, along with training to show you the ropes and what to do, as well as any help you might need from professionals along the way.

After your training, you will be ready to jump into the simulator for your sessions, where you can make all kinds of shapes, when flying through the air, in this electrifying skydiving experience.

Sandboarding

Sandboarding is a once-in-a-lifetime activity which you can experience right here in Dubai. Feel the wind in your hair as you fly down the warm sand dunes, both colossal and small, cruising all the way down to the bottom. Prior experience isn’t usually needed before you get out into the desert, and equipment is provided for you. So, all you need to do is just book and turn up.

This activity is made all the more spectacular by the gorgeous backdrop of Dubai’s deserts, which you can admire as you fly down the dunes. This is often a half-day experience, where you will be picked up from your hotel and driven out to the desert.

Dune Bashing is a similar activity that often goes hand in hand with sandboarding, and many tours offer both activities together as one excursion. When Dune Bashing, the whole family can enjoy a thrilling drive up and down the dunes, and often through them in state-of-the-art off-road vehicles.

Shopping Malls

Shopping malls are some of the most visited and well-loved places in Dubai, which is home to some of the largest in the world, so if you are holidaying here you need to experience the glitz and glamour of this retail capital and shop until you drop. Shopping malls are not only places to pick up luxury items, designer clothes and Arabic jewels when on holiday; they have splendid architecture and are packed with food and entertainment, too.

The Dubai Mall on Al Mussallah Road is a modern complex that boasts a spectacular artistic design, with sculptures diving into the indoor water foundation, which has a display every 30 minutes inside the mall. Or, head out to the vast gold or spice markets sprinkled throughout the city and test your haggling skills.

The Ibn Battuta Mall brings together the old and the new with its dazzling new shops and boutiques, which you can browse while admiring the historical artefacts that are scattered throughout the mall. The mosaic designs and colours give this place a refreshing feel, whether your dining out, buying gifts, or taking in Dubai’s impressive buildings.

TEPfactor

The TEPfactor is the perfect game room experience in Dubai if you love a tantalising challenge that makes you think, puzzles that test your logic, reasoning and creative thinking. Beneath the streets of the city, you will find cave-like rooms filled with puzzles and mazes ready for you to solve, in order for you to head back out into the real world.

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons. Copyright TEPfaktor

This is a great team-building activity for business trips, families and groups, where you will need to put your heads together to beat the game. The length of each experience differs from group to group but tends to last for about two to three hours, and it also has a physical aspect to many of its puzzles, so wear your trainers and comfortable clothes.

There are medals available if you complete the challenges in good time, so you need to use your intelligence and cunning to win. This is one of the most highly rated and rewarding experiences in Dubai, so shouldn’t be missed.