- Recreational Activities
- Child Friendly Restaurants
- Family Activities
- Brunches
- Family Thrills
- Shopping
- Tour Dubai
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Recreational Activities
Child Friendly Restaurants
Family Activities
Brunches
Family Thrills
Shopping
Tour Dubai
Top 10 Family-Friendly Activities
With the focus firmly on families, Dubai offers a host of activities to keep the kids (big and small) busy every day of their stay.
Experience The Journey
Let your kids run wild within the green oasis that is The Journey. Located near Kite Beach, this is the perfect place for children to get in touch with nature. With huge structures made from wood, water fountains and lots of places to hide, The Journey allows them to play, climb, swing and run around in the fresh air to their hearts' content.. Additional activities include archery and cooking.
Witness a Miracle
This record-breaking attraction, open each year from December to May, displays more than 45 million flowers all artistically landscaped into a variety of shapes, from cars and hearts to archways and clocks. Kids will love exploring the mini town made out of flowers – complete with a scaled-down Burj Khalifa. And, when you've finished there, venture into the Dubai Butterfly Garden to immerse yourself in a land where hundreds of colourful butterflies flutter within nine domes.
Be part of the movie
Watching the action on screen is just part of the picture at Vox cinemas' 4DX screens. Feel the wind and rain, see the smoke and smell the action unfold as you hold onto your (moving seat) and immerse yourself in the plot. Perfect for adventure movies, this is cinema, but not as you know it. Available at the Mall of the Emirates, Mirdif City Centre and Deira City Centre with discounts available for families.
Tour the Meydan stables
Horse-mad youngsters will love the tours behind the scenes at Meydan racecourse. Watch the star-studded horses train on the racetrack, see them being groomed, watch them take a dip in their own equine swimming pool then go behind the scenes and sneak a peek at the jockey's room, saddle paddock and parade ring. Tours take place from September to April.
Go crazy
There's crazy golf and then there's really crazy golf. The mini 18-hole indoor Tee & Putt course in Wafi Mall will see you teeing off in the dark. But there's more - the Glow in the Dark golf adopts a sci-fi theme which means you'll encounter aliens and astronauts on the way round.
Visit King Croc
Weighing in at 500kg and measuring over five metres long, King Croc is just one of the mighty highlights of Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo at The Dubai Mall. Home to over 33,000 aquatic animals, including 400 sharks and rays and the largest collection of Sand Tiger Sharks in the world, step aboard a glass-bottomed boat to see 'what lies beneath', then tour the Zoo to see giant squid, bats, otters and the whole menagerie of ocean and rainforest creatures. If this isn't enough action, then you could always dive in with the sharks themselves!
Find yourself in the Lost Chambers
Based on The Lost City of Atlantis, the underwater tunnels that weave beneath the Atlantis The Palm resort are alive with creatures from the deep. Within this aquarium the whole family will encounter the whole gamut of marine creatures; tickle a sea cucumber; see rare albino alligators; feed the fish; go behind the scenes to learn more about the operation and watch the 'comedic' scuba divers come face to face with the sharks inside the tank.
Dance with dolphins
This is a show where playful dolphins and seals are the stars of the show. Watch them perform acrobatics, juggle, dance, jump through hoops and even paint. These daily, enthralling shows take place in the dolphinarium within Creek Park and will leave the whole family feeling exhilarated – and possibly a little wet too.
Feed the turtles
Visit the enclosure near Tortuga restaurant at the Mina A'Salaam hotel on Wednesdays at 11am and Fridays at 1pm to feed the resident turtles (for free). As part of the Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project, these sick or rescued turtles are being nurtured by the hotel before being released back into the wild. While feeding the turtles their lunch, it's a great way for children to learn about marine life and conservation.
Enjoy park life
Think that Dubai is all about skyscrapers and highways? Think again and check out the vast green parks of Creek Park, Zabeel Park, Mushrif Park and Al Mamzar Beach Park. Let the children run wild, walk within the landscaped gardens and picnic on the lawns.