Dubai’s beaches are many but a lot of them belong to hotels so here we take a look at the best public beaches- some are free to access and some have a small charge. Ladies must wear a full bikini or a swimsuit when on the public beaches and swimming in underwear is not allowed. Topless sunbathing is not allowed anywhere in Dubai and the wearing of thongs is not recommended!Beachwear should only be worn while on the beach and not while walking to or from the actual beach… although you may see see bemused tourists wandering up Beach Road wondering why they are getting funny looks!
All the shoreline hotels have beaches and you can pay to use the beach at a resort in many places as long as they are not full. This can cost anywhere between 200 Dhs to 700 Dhs.
A note of warning for all swimmers: the seas in Dubai usually look very calm but even strong swimmers have been swept out to sea by strong rip tides and currents. Please take care when swimming and warn any visitors you may have too.
Mamzer Beach Park
Mamzer Beach is massive and beautiful and it has just been awarded blue flag beach status, making Mamzer Beach Park one of the most desirable beaches to visit. It has 5 beaches in coves around the coast of the park and is very popular with tourists and residents. Each beach has sheltered areas with changing rooms and showers and you can rent chalets complete with a barbecue area on a daily basis. If you don’t want to venture into the sea there are also 2 very large swimming pools. You can rent sun loungers and umbrellas and there are some small cafés and grocery stores. There are also lifeguards on duty with flag warning systems. There is a small charge to get in 5dhs if you walk in and 40 dhs per car if you drive in.
Jumeirah Beach Park
This is one of Dubai’s most popular public beach parks due to its’ handy location on Beach Road and it has just been awarded blue flag beach status, making Mamzer Beach Park one of the most desirable beaches to visit. This park has a stretch of golden sand, grassy areas and palm trees. At either end of the beach there are cafes selling snacks and drinks, there are also showers and toilets and a lifeguard is on duty until sunset. There is a small charge to get in of around 5 dhs.
Russian Beach
Russian Beach is also known as theOpen Beach or Jumeirah Open Beach and is free to use. It is just after Palm Strip Mall at the lower end of Beach Road… the opposite end to the Burj Al Arab. It got its name originally as this is where the Russian and Eastern Europeans always used to hang out. It doesn’t have many facilities but there are some showers and toilets dotted about but you are very close to the small malls on Beach Road that have a lot of cafés so refreshments aren’t far away. There is a jogging track along the stretch of beach and you will see a lot of beefcakes exercising round here! You’ll also see a lot of strollers, joggers, roller- skaters and cyclists. It can get quite man- heavy at the weekend so if you’re a solo lady you may prefer to go Jumeirah Beach Park to avoid stares.
Kite Beach
This is the beach where kite surfers congregate and its great fun to watch them or have a go yourself. It’s also known as Woollongong Beach as it is just behind the University of Wollongong. In the old days you could drive up on to the beach and have barbeques but this is not allowed anymore. It really is just a stretch of open beach and there are no facilities- so make sure you bring snacks and water etc. with you. It’s a lovely peaceful stretch of beach with views of the Burj Al Arab and you can take a good long walk up the beach. Kite Beach is on the shore opposite the Al Manara Road junction- just swing off down one of the little side roads and you will find it!
Burj Beach
Following on from Kite Beach is what is called Burj Beach. This is a very wide and long stretch of beach leading to the Burj Al Arab and is very popular. There are some facilities here as well as volley ball nets and playing football is very popular on this stretch of beach.
Ghantoot Beach
The Golden Tulip Hotel runs this stretch of beach and beach access costs 100 Dhs, which is great as it means you can use their pool,facilities, bars and cafés too. There are volley ball nets and barbeques. There is also a watersports club which offers waterskiing, wake boarding, banana boating and other activities. It’s a great place to escape Dubai at the weekend and you could even team it with an overnight stay at the resort.
How to find it- head up the Sheikh Zayed Road towards Abu Dhabi and keep an eye out for the Ghantoot exit (399). You will see signs for the Al Jazira Golden Tulip Hotel and you will see the gates for Ghantoot Beach. For more information visit www.goldentulipaljazira.com
Jebel Ali Beach
Jebel Ali beach is a stretch of open beach next to the Jebel Ali Beach Resort. There has been a lot of water front construction in that area so the beach is getting smaller. This beach is also popular with the kite surfers. It used to be a great camping spot but you had to get a licence from the Dubai Municipality if you wanted to stay overnight. The rules keep changing so you would have to check with them if it is ok to camp there. The best thing to do would be to take an exploratory trip up there and check out the lay of the land before you pack the car up with camping gear!
JBR Beach
JBR Beach is on the coast next to Jumeirah Beach Resort and is free to use and very popular with residents of the area and tourists. There always seem to be a lot of what we can only call “posers” on this beach- mainly at the weekends! This makes for great people watching though! There are no facilities like showers or toilets on the stretch of beach but the cafes of The Walk are nearby for toilet trips and food! Events are quite often held on this stretch of beach including sporting events and motoring events.
Royal Island Beach Club
OK, so this is not a free beach but it sounds pretty amazing and with it costing 500 Dhs a person to go and visit the first open island of The World development we reckon it would be worth it for a splurge- visitors would no doubt be very impressed too! Situated on the island of Lebanon the beach club features eight private chalets, an restaurant, a swimming pool and two beach areas. You will be ferried to the island on a boat- the pick- up points are still to be announced as the club is expected to open April 2012. Visit www.royalislandbeachclub.ae for more information.
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