Things to do in Dubai

30 activities, venues and outings in Dubai, from theatres and live music to parks and tours.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

DoJumeirah
Aquaventure Waterpark
Aquaventure have a lot of water slides, including the extreme slides: Leap of feath and Poseidon's Revenge. It also includes Dolphin encounter, swimming with dolphins. The waterpark also contains the Dubai Balloon, which offers 10min balloon rides up to 300m high for AED 175 (adults) and AED 75 (children).
10:00–18:00 daily320 dirham/adults 275 dirham/child under 1.2 m, 40 dirhams for locker, discounts via online booking
DoJumeirah
Atlantis
Atlantis-themed but Arabian-styled resort on the artificial island of The Palm. Has a huge water park with plenty of thrilling water slides, an aquarium and a large shopping area with plenty of places to eat and drink.
DoDeira
Cinecity - Al Ghurair Centre
formerly the Grand Cinemas
The largest cinema chain in the Middle East. It is a part of Novo Cinemas group. This 8-screen cinema complex including 14 anchor stores has 2 levels.
DoJumeirah
Cycling or walking along Jumeirah Beach
A beautiful coastal running and cycling track stretches for about 7 km from the mouth of Dubai Canal all the way to Burj Al Arab. One of the few places in Dubai where you can see native Emiratis enjoying their time alongside expats from all over the world in the evenings. There are bike rental stations along the way (mobile data and a credit card needed though).
DoDeira
Dinner Dhow Cruises
A 2-hour dhow cruise tour on a "5-star" dhow, along Dubai Creek with commentary in English.
tour start every hour, from 8:30PM onwards200 dirhams/person
DoSuburbs and Hatta
Dubai Autodrome
This is 5-km world-class motorsports circuit hosted many international championships. You can take thrilling driving experience here in some of the world's fastest sports cars.
DoDeira
Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club
This leisure hub is an ideal destination for golfers. It provides wide-ranging set of services, floodlit par-3 course, modern golf academies and driving ranges. Visitors can enjoy a challenging game of golf, hire a private boat to enjoy the calm waters or take a swim.
DoBur Dubai
Dubai Ferry trip
The Dubai Ferry makes a sightseeing circular trip to Jumeirah Beach (deep sea side) or to the Floating Bridge (toward the creek). There are also a one way trips towards Dubai Marina at 1pm and 6pm (duration: 2 hours).
3PM, 5PM50 dirhams/person in regular, 75 dirhams/person in gold class
DoJumeirah
Dubai Marina Yacht Club
A quiet and peaceful place with colorful lights at the night. You can rent a boat for a few hours or a day or just sit there for hours watching the skyscrapers and eating out at great restaurants.
DoJebel Ali
Dubai Parks & Resorts
Dubai Parks and Resorts is the Middle East's largest integrated leisure and theme park destination featuring more than 100 rides and attractions, and consists of three theme parks: Motiongate Dubai, Bollywood Parks Dubai, and Legoland Dubai, and one water park: Legoland Water Park. It also encompasses Riverland Dubai, which is a themed retail and dining destination, as well as the Polynesian-themed family resort, Lapita Hotel Dubai.
11AM to 7PM
DoSuburbs and Hatta
Dubai Safari Park
Dubai Safari Park is a wildlife park, animal sanctuary & education center that is home to more than 2,500 animals from all over the world including lions, elephants, giraffes, moon bears, and camels. The park is divided into four zones - Explorer Village, African Village, Arabian Desert Safari, and Asian Village.
9AM to 5PM50 dirham
DoSuburbs and Hatta
Dubai Sports City (DSC)
A 50-million square feet mixed use development that will be the world’s first integrated purpose-built sports city. The development is being built around five major sports venues and features a series of major sports academy facilities. It contains these sporting complexes:
DoSuburbs and Hatta
Global Village
Annual festival (usually during winter). Countries around the world gather and set up a small village in the outskirts of Dubai. Each country/region has its own pavilion with a unique replica of their famous landmarks. This is usually like a flea market where you can get souvenirs from almost every corner of the earth for a bargained price and experience as if you're in that certain country for at least 10 minutes of your life even if you're 10,000 km away. Raffles for cars and gold bars also happen. You'd see the hieroglyphics of Egypt, temples of Thailand, Forbidden City of Beijing, the Eiffel Tower and many more.
DoSuburbs and Hatta
IMG Worlds of Adventure
A very large indoor theme park, with 4 universes: Lost Valley, IMG boulverard, Cartoon Network, Marvell. Nice families and adventurers, specially during hot summer months. It has 22 attractions including 3 roller coasters: The Velociraptor (5 inversions), Predator (3 inversions) and Spiderman (turning seats).
Sun–Wed 11AM–9PM, Thu–Sat 11AM–10PM, Ramadan: Sun–Wed 1–10PM, Thu–Sat 1–11PM245 dirhams/adults, 225 dirhams/child, free below 1.2 m
DoJebel Ali
Jebel Ali Shooting Club
This club has awesome architecture and design. It has wide range of shooting options to practice right from automatic ball trap, Olympic trap, down the line, Olympic skeet to compak sporting.
DoJumeirah
Megaplex
Experience the next generation of cinemas and impressive effects in the Middle East. You can also book tickets via app or online.
DoJebel Ali
Seawings
Experience live areal views and sightseeing excursions of Dubai's modern skyline and dazzling landmarks. The water-based take-offs and landings further adds greater experience.
1700 UAE
DoJumeirah
Ski Dubai
Dubai has a snow skiing centre in the Mall of the Emirates, offering both skiing and snowboarding. The 400 m slope is quite large for an indoor area. All equipment is available for hire. Although it is -4 c inside, you do not need to bring a jacket because they supply pretty much everything except gloves and a hat which you can buy right there (gloves are included in some packs). It also propose the "Penguin Encounter" activity where you interact and play with penguins (king and gentoo).
Sun–Wed 10:00–23:00, Thu 10:00–00:00, Fri 09:00–00:00, Sat 09:00-23:00 – tickets close 1 hr 30 min beforeA "Slope Session" pass costs 200 dirhams for 2 hours or 300 dirhams for full day, plus 20 dirhams, for a locker. The "Snow Park" starts at 190 dirhams, the pack with all activities unlimited "Ski Dubai Experience" costs 500 dirhams
DoJumeirah
Skydive Dubai
Tandem jumps over the Palm Jumeirah or the desert. Gyrocopter flights available as well.
Closed · opens 8 am2299 dirham for tandem jump
DoDeira
VOX Deira City Centre
VOX has 11 screens with various types of experiences for movie lovers. The immersive experience of DepthQ 3D technology, fully reclining seats, VIP seats, 20-m screens and brightest and clearest pictures is their latest addition.
DoJumeirah
Wild Wadi Waterpark
The perfect place for the entire family to spend a day as well as being a great way to beat the heat and enjoy the day away from the bustle of the city. Located close to the hotels and resorts of Jumeriah Beach, the park has water rides, slides, and a lagoon that is hidden away. You'll enjoy waterfalls, out of the way swimming holes, and a tidal pool.
10:00–19:00 daily, sometimes closes at 18:00 for private events295 dirhams/adult, 245 dirhams/child below 1.1 m
DoSuburbs and Hatta Not mapped
DSC Multi-Purpose Stadium
The main sports structure will be a 60,000-seat multi-purpose outdoor stadium. This stadium will be used for athletics, cricket and football.
DoSuburbs and Hatta Not mapped
Dubai International Stadium
A 25,000-seat cricket stadium, popularly known as Ring of Fire.
DoJebel Ali Not mapped
Jetty Lounge
This is an elegant beach lounge that has fantastic drinks. Cozy, but over-crowded during the sunsets.
DoJebel Ali Not mapped
Peekaboo!
An ideal place for children below 7 years, for entertaining and creative activities. There is a variety of play equipment, toys and classes for kids.
DoJebel Ali Not mapped
Switch Bowling
A multi-lane bowling section, one of the perfect indoor entertainment venue for families and kids. In addition, it has billiards section, video gaming areas, toddlers' play area and restaurants.
DoDeira
Jungle Bay Waterpark
Brand new waterpark, as of April 2021.
Closed · opens 10 am
DoJumeirah
XLine
The world's longest urban zip line.
Daily 09:00-17:00599 dirham
DoSuburbs and Hatta Not mapped
DSC Indoor Arena
A 10,000-seat indoor arena.
DoJebel Ali Not mapped
Oasis Town of Dahid
Explore the village, its traditions and the oasis.

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Dubai (CC BY-SA 4.0).