When people think of the UAE, they mainly imagine sun, sand and shopping, which is all too true but there’s more to it than that. Here are 10 of my favourite adventures divided into three categories:
Air
- Nothing like starting your day by watching the sunrise from a few hundred feet above ground. Sky Dive Dubai Dessert base camp offers Tandem Xcitor flights. The Dubai lake is a beautiful sight to behold in the morning.
2. If a few hundred feet above ground don’t excite you, then I highly suggest kicking it up a notch and skydiving above the Palm in Jumeriah!
3. Too scared of free falling out of the sky? It’s okay, you can start with baby steps and try the indoor skydiving at Inflight Dubai.
Land
- Jebel Jais is the highest mountain in the UAE. Located in Ras Al Khaimah you can drive up to the peak. But if you really want to get your blood pumping, I suggest you try the newly opened climbing route, “Via Ferrata” that also features three zip lines, the longest being 300 meters.
5. If you fancy desert drives then try to tackle Tal Moreeb (which means Horrifying Hill in Arabic), a nearly 300 meter high sand dune in Liwa Oasis. the Liwa Sports Festival is held there between Dec 29 and Jan 6, and it includes drag racing, drifting and other various races and activities.
6. Sharjah Paintball Park is insanely fun, best part is you can play night and day in both the outdoor and indoor arenas (ps: they have a BBQ area as well!).
7. A little cliché by now but it still a favorite, skiing in Ski Dubai, besides the giant snowball and the ski slides they also got penguins! Even if you don’t like skiing, no one can resist an up and close encounter with penguins (especially in the desert).
Sea
8.I recommend two diving areas, which are extremely different to one another, the first is Fujairah - East Cost, there’s plenty of scenic dive sites including a car cemetery the other dive site is actually located in a mall! Dubai Mall aquarium tank to be exact, it’s not your typical dive site but it’s something to tick off a list! Mall dive? check!
9. If you prefer to be above water instead of under it, Mangrove Kayaking in Abu Dhabi is both serene and blissful.
10. Kayaking too mellow for your taste? FlyBoarding, Jet Skiing and Banana Boating are a few of the many great water sport activities in Ras Al Khaima.
By Muna