Almost the entire coastline of Dubai is one enormous beach. No vacation is long enough to sunbathe at every place worth visiting. To make things easier, we’ve put together a selection of the best free and paid beaches in Dubai.
Free beaches in Dubai
Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR)
The free JBR beach stretches for 2 km along the famous pedestrian promenade The Walk. It is the best choice for anyone staying in the Dubai Marina area. The beach stopped being “wild” in 2015 and now has free changing rooms, toilets, and showers. Unlike many other beaches, there are plenty of children’s playgrounds, green lawns, outdoor fitness equipment, and even a dedicated running track. Excellent restaurants and cafés with terraces start their day by serving breakfast and stay open until the early hours.
JBR beach is always busy with tourists and local residents, and sometimes even costumed Bedouins with camels wander by, offering rides. On weekends (Friday and Saturday in Dubai), the beach is packed with locals, so if you want to put your towel down close to the water, arrive around 7 a.m. The only underground parking usually costs from $5 per hour. But if you spend more than $20 at local restaurants, parking is free, so be sure to keep your receipts.
Facilities: cafés, restaurants, changing rooms, showers, sun loungers, umbrellas, parking, children’s playgrounds.
Opening hours: 24 hours.
Price: free.
Sunset Beach or Sufouh Beach
Sunset Beach is the complete opposite of Jumeirah Beach Residence. On weekdays, you can always count on several dozen meters of personal space and pleasant silence — just you, the sea, the sun, and a gentle breeze. The downside of this tranquility is the complete lack of facilities. There are no sun loungers or umbrellas for rent, or even changing cabins.
The easiest way to reach the beach is by car or taxi. Rental cars understand GPS, while taxi drivers understand the phrase “Hessa Beach, next to sheikhs’ villas.” Cars are left near the entrance to the beach, but park carefully: if you drive onto the sand, you risk getting stuck.
Facilities: free parking.
Opening hours: 24 hours.
Price: free.
Kite Beach
Kite Beach is Dubai’s most colorful beach, with entertainment for every taste. There is a trampoline, a volleyball net, a football pitch, and a wooden promenade running along the waterfront for anyone who wants to walk or jog. Kite Beach is also the only place where you can rent a kite or kayak. Showers and toilets were recently installed, and several small cafés have opened. Although they are beach cafés, visitors are still expected to dress appropriately — guests wearing only swimming trunks or swimsuits may be refused service.
For beach events, the city authorities usually choose these kilometers of sand, giving visitors a chance to experience the full flavor of the East. On ordinary days, however, it is not particularly crowded. Walk a few dozen meters to the side, toward the fishing nets, and you will find yourself on what feels almost like your own private beach, with perhaps just a couple of fishermen untangling their gear nearby.
Facilities: paid beach parking at $4 per hour or roadside parking at $1 per hour, cafés, toilets, showers, volleyball and football courts, trampoline, umbrellas, sun loungers.
Opening hours: 24 hours.
Price: free.
Dubai’s beaches are divided into public municipal beaches and private hotel beaches. Many hotels simply place their sun loungers on the sand adjacent to their property. Pay the entrance fee to one of these beaches and you also gain access to the hotel’s other facilities.
Jumeirah Open Beach
Jumeirah is the name of a district stretching for many kilometers along the emirate’s coastline. You can turn toward the sea almost anywhere and find yourself on a wide, long beach. The section known as Jumeirah Open Beach is located near the world-famous sail-shaped hotel and the Madinat complex. Beach facilities are limited to a few changing cabins and rubbish bins. However, directly opposite is a small park with children’s playgrounds, while paid municipal parking becomes free on weekends and public holidays.
Facilities: parking at $1 per hour, changing cabins, park with children’s playgrounds.
Opening hours: 24 hours.
Price: free.
Paid beaches in Dubai
Al Mamzar Beach
This is the nearest “civilized” beach if you are staying in Deira, Bur Dubai, or near Burj Khalifa in Downtown Dubai. It is equally convenient for tourists from Sharjah and Dubai, as well as for those who enjoy both beach holidays and parks. In fact, it is a park on the seashore, or a beach that gradually turns into a green area. This is its main difference from Dubai’s free beaches.
Entrance to Al Mamzar Beach costs $1.30, while entering the park by car costs $8. If you arrive by car, feel free to bring meat for a barbecue (but not pork) — there are 28 designated barbecue areas throughout the park. You can sit directly on the grass, as Dubai’s lawns are intended for exactly that. It is better to arrive for a picnic around 8 a.m., before the park fills up with Filipino expats.
A 10-minute drive from Al Mamzar Beach is the only place in Dubai where you can rent scooters, bargaining the price down by almost half with the energetic Indian vendors.
Facilities: park, children’s playgrounds, barbecue areas, swimming pool.
Opening hours: Sunday–Wednesday, 8:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m.; Thursday–Saturday, 8:00 a.m.–11:00 p.m. Monday and Wednesday are women’s days, when only women, girls of any age, and boys under 8 are allowed on the beach.
Price: $1.30 per person and $8 per car.
Atlantis hotel beaches
The beaches of the Atlantis hotel are located on the famous artificial Palm Jumeirah archipelago. It is one of the most luxurious hotels with its own coastline and three beaches, which is unusual even for Dubai. The sand is fine and white, while the calm waters of the bay are ideal for children of all ages. You can easily spend the whole day here, with entertainment for every taste: from a huge water park and the opportunity to swim with dolphins to a marine zoo and a waterfront restaurant.
From October to April, air temperatures in Dubai range from +23 to +35°C, while the water temperature ranges from +18 to +27°C. From April to early October, the water is much warmer at +27 to +32°C, but the heat is intense, with temperatures of +35 to +45°C. This is why the best time to visit Dubai is between these two seasons, while January–February and July–August are best avoided.
Royal Beach is open from 8:30 a.m. until sunset and is ideal for active travelers. You can find the day’s activities listed near the kiosk where towels are available. At Nasimi Beach, you can reserve a sun lounger or beach cabana for the entire day. Nasimi Beach is open from 9 a.m. until 1 a.m., and until 2 a.m. on Fridays. Later in the evening, the beach turns into a fashionable party venue with DJs, laser shows, and fireworks. For this reason, only guests over the age of 21 are admitted. The third beach, meanwhile, is perfect for families with children. It is part of the Aquaventure water park, located directly on the seafront.
You can reach the Atlantis hotel by taxi, but taking the monorail for $7 round trip is more interesting and cheaper. The modern train travels high above the entire “trunk” of Palm Jumeirah, offering spectacular views of the archipelago from its windows.
Facilities: free parking at the hotel or $1 per hour along the road, restaurants, towels, sun loungers, water park.
Opening hours: varies by beach.
Price: from $70.
Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Club
The five-star Sheraton hotel is located right in the center of The Walk promenade. Visit the Sheraton beach even if you are staying at another hotel in the Dubai Marina area. Clean white sand, aquamarine water, comfortable umbrellas, and sun loungers are nothing unusual in Dubai. But the natural shade provided by two hundred palm trees along the shore is rare in the UAE and makes the entrance fee worthwhile.
Facilities: free hotel parking, freshwater swimming pools, sun loungers, restaurants and cafés.
Opening hours: 7:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.
Price: a full-day pass costs $38 for adults and $25 for children; on weekends, $60 and $33 respectively. Payment can be made in cash or by card at the entrance. Children under 7 enter free.
Dubai Marine Beach Resort & Spa
If you are staying in Deira, Bur Dubai, or near Burj Khalifa in Downtown Dubai, this cozy spot is one of the few hotel beach options available: a small beach in a bay within a large resort. As everywhere in Dubai, the service is excellent. You can leave your belongings on your sun lounger without worrying and head off for breakfast or lunch. The compact resort, with restaurants for every taste, creates the feeling of a small self-contained world. You can easily spend the entire day here and move to a bar or one of the two nightclubs in the evening. If you arrive by car, there is secure parking directly in front of the hotel entrance.
Facilities: sun loungers, freshwater swimming pool, restaurants. Parking costs $1 per hour.
Opening hours: 8:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.
Price: weekday/weekend beach admission costs $27/$62 for adults and $11/$25 for children aged 3–12.
Source: Skyscanner article “8 Best Beaches in Dubai“.