Kayaking Day Trip to The World Islands
/Ever heard of The World Islands? I hadn’t either until moving to Dubai. The World Islands is an archipelago of small artificial islands in the Arabian Gulf. Dubai is famous for its man-made islands and land reclamation. The most famous examples of this are the Burj Al Arab and Palm Jumeirah, which are land extensions of the city connected to the mainland. This is where The World Islands are different. They’re located 4km off the coast of Dubai and the only way to get to them is by boat, helicopter or jet ski if you wish.
Up close the islands are unimpressive, small mounds of sand. But from an aerial view, they actually look like a world map - crazy! I guarantee you Google them now, hehe. There are 300 islands in total and each one is either named after a country, landmark, or region. Including California, India and Mount Everest to name a few.
The project started in September 2003 and the dredging was completed by January 2008. Including the breakwater which is a wave barrier surrounding the islands. Unfortunately, shortly after the completion, the financial crisis of 2008 brought the entire project to a halt. Even now, 13 years later, Lebanon is the only island open to tourists which is home to the Royal Island Beach Club.
The boats depart every hour from Jumeirah Fishing Harbour 1, opposite the 3Fils restaurant. The island access and boat transportation charges are 300AED (£60pp) for adults and 150AED (£30pp) for children. We managed to get a 2-4-1 deal on Groupon which was very handy.
If you didn’t google the location yet, then here it is… crazy huh?!
From the Jumeirah Fishing Harbour 1, it takes around 15-20 minutes by boat to Lebanon Island. We visited the islands on a super windy, January afternoon so the waves were humongous! However, once we were inside the breakwater and vicinity of the islands, the waters were calm and peaceful.
This was our view for the day! From here we were surrounded by all the empty islands which gave us an incredible view of the Dubai skyline. It’s crazy to think that by now all these islands should have been built on, so in theory, there would be no view at all…
At the Royal Island Beach Club, there’s an inexpensive restaurant, swimming pool, beach volleyball court and of course beaches surrounding the island. The beach club is bigger than most others in Dubai. Plus there were only 10 other people on the island with us that day. It was incredible! Having the place pretty much to ourselves, really gave us that island feel.
Included in the island day pass is the use of paddleboards and kayaks. It’s a very surreal feeling going in between the islands as they’re not that far away from each other. As it was January the water wasn’t that warm but definitely not as cold as the Dubai mainland.
After a refreshing dip in the sea and a failed attempt at paddle boarding, we decided to go exploring around the whole island. At times it felt like we were the only ones there. I’m not sure if it was the time of year that we went but it was a shame that the whole place was deserted. We were imagining what it would be like if all the construction was completed. Nevertheless, it was so relaxing to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
After a game of volleyball, it was time for the main event - kayaking! We shared a kayak and went in between the islands. We hadn’t realised that we were allowed onto the empty ones! We ended up parking upon Iraq, Palestine, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. So weird haha.
Just an island for two. Kayak included. Incredible.
After spending a good hour kayaking around the islands, we ordered dinner from the restaurant, which was surprisingly delicious! Seeing as there was only one chef, one waiter and one lifeguard managing the whole place. We decided to stay until the beach club closed so we could see the sunset from the island. It certainly didn’t disappoint!
Thankfully the huge waves had dropped by the time the sun was setting, so we had a lovely, calm ride back into the city. The view was insane. Seeing all the twinkly, skyscraper lights come on and approaching the city by boat was definitely one of the highlights of the day.
We had talked about visiting The World Islands for so long and it was even better than expected. We were looked after so well by the waiter and lifeguard. I would highly recommend this trip and can’t wait to go back.
