Dubai's coastline is the part of the city most visitors only see from a beach. Getting onto the water changes the proportions: the Burj Al Arab is a sail from the land and a building from the sea, and the Marina towers only make sense when you are looking up the canal at them. There are four ways to do it, from two hundred dirhams to twelve hundred. The water is one section of our guide to things to do in Dubai.
Jet ski, thirty or sixty minutes
You drive it yourself, after a briefing, with a guide riding alongside. The standard route runs out past the Burj Al Arab and around the Marina breakwater, which puts you closer to the hotel than any land viewpoint allows.
Thirty minutes is enough for the route. Sixty is for people who want to ride rather than sightsee. Life jacket and briefing are included, and no licence is needed.
Suits: confident swimmers, teenagers and up, anyone who wants to be doing something rather than sitting.
Speedboat tour, ninety minutes
A guided run in a rigid boat past Palm Jumeirah, Atlantis, the Burj Al Arab and the Marina, with the driver stopping for photographs at each. You are a passenger, it is fast, and you will get wet at the front.
This is the best value way onto the water. Ninety minutes covers the whole coastline that matters, with commentary.
Suits: almost everyone. Families with children old enough to hold on, couples, groups.
Private yacht charter, two hours
The boat is yours, not a seat on someone else's. Two hours as standard from Dubai Marina, longer on request, with the route agreed with the captain. Space to sit, shade, a sound system, and the option to stop and swim.
Priced per charter rather than per person, which changes the arithmetic entirely: the same boat costs the same whether four people or ten are on it.
Suits: birthdays, proposals, family groups, small corporate events, anyone who wants the water without sharing it.
Private yacht charter from AED 1,199 for two hours.
Dhow dinner cruise, two hours
The slow one, and the only one with dinner. A traditional wooden boat with a buffet served on board and live entertainment, sailing either Dubai Marina past the lit towers or Dubai Creek through the old trading quarter.
It is an evening rather than an activity. Nobody gets wet.
Marina route from AED 119, Creek route from AED 99. The difference between them is set out in Marina or Creek.
Choosing
- Best value: speedboat. Ninety minutes, the whole coast, AED 199.
- Most fun: jet ski, if you are comfortable in open water.
- A group with something to celebrate: yacht. Per vehicle pricing makes it reasonable once there are six of you.
- Dinner and a view: dhow cruise.
- Travelling with grandparents or toddlers: dhow cruise. The others involve climbing in and out of a moving boat.
Practical notes
- Morning water is calmer. Wind picks up through the afternoon, and the chop at the Palm breakwater is noticeable by three.
- Take sun protection you cannot sweat off. There is no shade on a jet ski and reflected light off water burns faster than people expect.
- Leave your phone in a dry bag or with the guide. Phones go overboard on these trips regularly.
- Swimwear under clothing for the jet ski and the speedboat. There are no changing facilities at most marina berths.
- Weather cancels. High wind stops jet skis and speedboats more often than rain does. Free cancellation applies and the operator will tell you the night before.
- Nobody needs a licence for any of these. The yacht comes with a captain and crew.
From the air instead
The same coastline from above, which is the only way to see Palm Jumeirah as a palm. Covered in Dubai from the air, from a twelve minute helicopter flight at AED 749 upwards.
