While the economy has delayed some construction plans, such as the massive entertainment complex Dubai Land, other high-end projects are being driven to completion with even more urgency and focus. Dubai is still a thriving metropolis with world-class attractions on its doorstep. The best thing about them is their sheer accessibility. The city stretches some 25 miles along the coast, a straight up-and-down journey from one place to the next. Taxis are cheap and plentiful and now, with the metro up and running, getting around is very easy.
So what are these exciting adventures?
#1. Skydiving
Skydive in Dubai offers tandem jumps, which allow you to feel the thrill of free fall with no previous experience while you’re harnessed to one of the best professional instructors. The tandem jump is a great introduction to skydiving. For some, the best way to experience these 21st century landmarks is by jumping out of a Cessna and plummeting toward them at hellish speeds.
#2. Mountain biking
Within the Hajar Mountains running east of Dubai through Ras al-Khaimah emirate and Oman, there’s a labyrinth of big-time trails to tackle. A hardcore organization of expat mountain bikers, Hot Cog, has helped discover and maintain 70 kilometers of wild routes through craggy terrain around the Showka area, incorporating narrow trails, wadi beds and animal paths.
#3. Desert camping
There’s no need to be stuck in a crowded campsite around Dubai.
Beyond the city limits, the emirate’s desert is basically one giant campsite
Travel by 4×4 across the deserts of Dubai on this exhilarating 5-hour excursion! Enjoy an adrenaline rush sandboarding down Dubai’s desert dunes, take a camel ride and get a henna tattoo! Complete your experience with a delicious barbecue dinner under the twinkling Arabian stars while watching a traditional tanoura dance performance. It’s a must-do experience when visiting Dubai.
#4. Reef- and wreck-diving
The Red Sea grabs the headlines for Middle East diving, but the emirates offer good, lesser-known underwater experiences. Reefs are sparse along Dubai’s sandy coastline, but there are some good wreck dives a few miles offshore.
Sunk in 1998, Anchor Barge forms an artificial coral-coated reef at a depth of 25 meters — it’s a popular haunt for color-changing cuttlefish.
#5. Climbing and hiking
There are various exciting hiking sites such as The majestic Hajar Mountains (“Hajar” means “stone” in Arabic) start in the northern Musandam peninsula which is part of Oman. They run parallel with the eastern coast of the UAE, and move back into Oman. In the last – albeit largest – bit, the mountain range runs gradually more inland and also becomes wider. The mountains extend for 500 km in total.
Around Dibba, on the east coast, you can even try deep-water soloing — cliff climbing above the sea.
#6. Sea kayaking
The coast of the Arabian Peninsula has some excellent sea kayaking arenas, including areas of wetland that seem incongruous with the prevailing desert climate.
On the west coast, kayakers can explore accessible mangroves in the emirates of Um Al Quwain and Abu Dhabi, where they can see turtles and flamingos.
Over on the east coast is Khor Kalba, a protected 1,500-hectare area of mangrove forest that attracts important local wildlife.
White-collared kingfishers and Socotra cormorants, both endangered species, make their home here — paddlers can easily enjoy half a day gliding around calm waters trying to spot the rare bird life.
Still on the east coast, more adventurous kayakers can spend anything between two days to a week traveling around the Musandam coast from Dibba, checking out coves and inlets and camping on isolated beaches.
#7. Kitesurfing and wakeboarding
Dubai may not be the first place you think of when debating where to go on your next kite trip, but it has many benefits and things that other destinations do not have!
There are two great kite spots in Dubai, they are pretty much next to each other and one could walk between them. My favourite is called Nessnass beach and the bay is around 3km sq. but then opens out to the sea. Water close to the edges of the bay can get very flat and the water is a lovely temperature.
Hope you get to try some if not all of these and tell us about it! We hope you enjoyed today’s article.