Dubai has truly earned its reputation as one of the world’s most family friendly destinations with its unapparelled levels of safety, high quality facilities and more than a plethora of things to do for the little ones. Whether you are looking to see some wildlife, splash around in one of the city’s award-winning waterparks or want to ride the most thrilling rollercoasters on your next trip, you will find a Dubai attraction to suit your mood and the wishes of your little ones.
Where to start? Dubai has so many family-friendly and bespoke kids’ attractions and experiences that it will be hard to list them all. We have grouped some of Dubai’s best kids attractions for you in the categories of animal fun, water fun and park fun.
Animal Fun
There is so much to explore when it comes to animal and wildlife attractions in Dubai with many of them offering the opportunity to learn about the Emirate’s fauna and conservation projects.
The Dubai Butterfly Garden has over 15,000 butterflies of more than 30 different species and offers a great opportunity to come up close and personal with these wonderful creatures. As an added bonus, you can visit Dubai Miracle Garden – the world’s largest natural flower garden right next door!
For a fun-filled day out, head to Dubai Safari Park, home to over 3,000 animals from all over the world. The park is split into four different areas: the Asian Village, Arabian Village, African Village and the Explorer Village.
In Ski Dubai at Mall of the Emirates, you have the opportunity to see both Gentoo penguins and King penguins and learn more about Ski Dubai’s breeding programme to try and preserve penguins.
For underwater animal fun, we recommend a visit to the Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project. Established by Dubai Wildlife Protection Office the sanctuary takes in poorly and injured turtles and nurtures them back to health in the sea-fed lagoon at Jumeirah Al Naseem, before releasing them back into the wild. Since 2004, the project has rehabilitated and released over 1,600 turtles.
A little further away, in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, is Al Ain Zoo, one of the most established attractions in the UAE. This animal park is home to over 4,000 animals and has extensive education and conservation programs. You can explore the park by foot or book a safari drive and there are some bespoke experiences available as well including feeding the giraffes and demonstrations of the park’s birds of prey.
Water Fun
With its year-round warm weather a visit to one of Dubai’s water parks is a must with guaranteed fun for the whole family. Here’s an overview of the best water parks in Dubai:
- Wild Wadi Waterpark is one of Dubai’s most iconic and award-winning waterparks located next to Burj Al Arab Jumeirah and Jumeirah Beach Hotel. The ride to try is the Jumeirah Sceirah!
- Aquaventure at Atlantis The Palm Jumeirah is the world’s largest water park featuring over 30 record-breaking slides. The ride to try is here is Shockwave, the longest family water coaster in the world
- Legoland Water Park is ideal for younger kids up to 12 years old and the entire park is designed in Lego-style for a unique experience
- Laguna water park in Dubai is located right by the beach in Jumeirah offering stunning views of the Arabian Gulf and the Dubai Skyline
Park Fun
Dubai’s very own dedicated entertainment destination, Dubai Parks and Resorts, is Dubai’s largest attraction featuring five different theme parks as well as several hotels and numerous restaurants. There is Legoland and Legoland Water Park, Motiongate Dubai, Bollywood Parks Dubai and Riverland Dubai, each with their own unique attractions and experiences for a guaranteed family fun day out.
During the hot summer months, the city’s largest indoor theme park IMG World of Adventure is the perfect Dubai attraction for a cool day out for the whole family.