Family Vacation In Dubai For A Different Experience For The Kids

Had enough of Disney? Anyone looking for an alternative family vacation experience can’t go wrong in fascinating Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

While Dubai is well known for its luxury hotels, the UAE city also caters to family-oriented experiences. According to a report in Breaking Travel News, the city is transforming from a luxury, and mainly business-orientated city, to a more mature vacation destination, attracting a wide range of tourists.

With the introduction of the upcoming Dubai Expo 2020 and several world-class theme parks, Dubai had to scale its accommodation offerings to suit, leading to a range of mid-class and far more affordable hotels.

Speaking theme parks, the city certainly has some great options for kids of all ages, especially when it comes to water parks, indoor theme parks, aquariums, and ice rinks making it a great spot for a family vacation.

The following are some examples of what is on offer for the whole family.

Aquaventure at the Atlantis, The Palm

Located at the Atlantis Hotel in The Palm, Dubai, Aquaventure is a water park offering some of the scariest rides around. With several record-breaking rides and slides, water cannons and climbing frames, visitors can also go on a Shark Safari to get up close and personal with sharks and rays or enjoy daring rides like the Leap of Faith.

For those less adventurous, there is plenty for smaller kids to do and enjoy and for parents, there’s a 700 meter private beach available for that perfect sun tan.

Wild Wadi Water Park

Everyone knows the shape of the iconic Burj Al-Arab in Dubai – one of the most luxurious hotels in the world – and situated right in front of the building is one of the city’s original family attractions – the Wild Wadi Water Park.

The theme park offers a range of water slides and surf simulators to suit children (and adults) of all ages and is designed around a popular character in Arabian folklore named Juha. While the kids have fun, they can learn a little of the story along the way.

For those older and more adventurous children, Jumeirah Sceirah offers two tandem water slides plunging down 120 meters at an amazing 80km/h.

Dubai Ice Rink

When thinking of Dubai and the UAE in general, images of the desert with a heat haze hanging in the air come to mind. However, according to a travel blog listing the top ten attractions for kids in Dubai, there is another great way to cool off in the city besides the several water parks – at an Olympic-sized ice rink.

For youngsters and those new to ice skating, there are Learn to Skate programs available and for teenagers and the more experienced skater, disco sessions are on offer to really show off those fancy moves. Non-skaters can relax in comfort around the ice rink with a range of food and drink on offer.

SEGA Republic Dubai

One of the best attractions in the city for children of all ages is the SEGA Republic indoor theme park.

This sprawling indoor attraction is one of the largest in the region and is packed with all the fun options modern kids enjoy.

Located in the Dubai Mall, SEGA Republic offers everything from adrenaline rushing roller coasters and sonic free falls to video game arcades with shooting games and all the fun of the fair. In total there are more than 170 amusement options across the theme park, able to keep the most lively kid happy for hours.

Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo

In the same area, visitors can enjoy the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo. With its massive tank full of sea life, those who dare can enjoy a cage snorkeling experience, right in the heart of the city.

Reportedly, the acrylic view screen in the image below is holding back some 10 million liters of water and is occupied by an amazing 33,000 living marine creatures.

Dubai is has definitely grown into the ideal family vacation destination in recent years with plenty to see and do for all ages.

[Photo via Flickr by Olga Pepe, cropped and resized/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]