Vacations are not simply about walking by the promenades or lying on the sandy beaches. Dubai has much more to offer other than the glittering skyscrapers or the inviting shopping scenes. If you are an adventure seeker by heart, then Dubai will not disappoint you in this part as well. Be it exploring the underwater with the scuba diving or floating in the sky with sky diving or simply competing with the waves with kite surfing or wake boarding, Dubai has it all.
Dubai tourism has come up with many exciting and thrilling ideas and ventures surely to satiate your adventure appetite.
The desert safaris are no more excluded only for camel riding or dune bashing but will test your limits with many more exciting things in the waiting like overnight camping or trekking in the wadis during the day or doing sand boarding which is definitely not a game for the novice.
Talking about the adventures, there can be an endless list that might make your heart beat faster. But we have pick pointed few which definitely let the fear factor explore new zeniths.
Sky Diving
Leaping high in the skies with the heads down viewing the man made marvel Palm Jumeirah sounds exciting, right. But the fun of diving down from the high skies falls short of words when you actually go through the fun ride.
Standing on the open doors of the plane and waiting to dive down while tucked up with the instructor is a moment that can only be described by the one who actually experiences it. Gazing from a height of 4000 meters and then the tumble and you are off with your wings. Rushing down at a speed of 210 KMPH, the adventure seekers see the visual treats of Dubai architect wonders in their miniature versions. The parachute opens and you float and swim in the sky like a free bird. Most of the jumpers describe the experience as indeed overwhelming and nerve wrecking and something that will steal your heart away. After the first fall, you can hover in the skies and do the sightseeing in the unique way of its kind with an hour long fun in the air before landing at the Palm Drop Zone.
For this entire thrill, you should be minimum 18 for the SkyDive with an average weight of not more than approximately 100 kgs or 30 BMI (Body Mass Index). The approximate cost is around 1750AED per person.
Location: Palm Jumeirah
www.skydivedubai.ae
Contact: +971 4 377 8888
Mountain Biking
With a vast sandy expanse and soft desert area, Dubai might not be a bikers place but still there are certain mountain trails worth exploring. You need to gear up your bikes and head on to the outskirts of the city in the Hatta area which has flourished as a biker’s area in the past few years. Another region to be trailed can be the mountain region in Fujairah, almost a 1.5 hr drive from Dubai, which provides access to some of the most challenging mountain tracks for the tough souls.
The mountain biking is emerging in Dubai as a popular outdoor sport with a number of groups and mountain bikers organization coming up like the Hot Cog, UAE Mountain Bikers, UAE Mountain Biking and MTB Fridays to name a few.
There are a set of guidelines of mountain biking to be followed to make the ride a joyful one as the conditions might be tough and extreme. Quite a number of fauna and flora can be explored while tracking the steep slopes. It is mandatory to ride with a helmet and is better to carry some repair kit which can be used in situations like punctures or other repair things.
Always carry the water and remain hydrated as it is fatal to be dehydrated especially during the hot months. Biking for the non experienced riders might be difficult as the trails might be tough and challenging. The bike rentals generally start from AED200 per day.
Bike rentals: Adventure HG, Times Square, Sheikh Zayed Road
Contact: +971 4 346 6824
Scuba Diving
Take a dive in the waters and explore the unexplored depths of the vast sea word. With the adventure sport seekers looking for new challenging arenas to test their skills, Scuba diving poses another challenging thrill for the daredevils. A number of reefs and wrecks are to be found in Dubai and the surrounding waters with the coastline is coming up with some great diving options for the divers to decipher the depths of the underwater world and the exotic flora and fauna that lies beneath it.
In Dubai, Scuba Diving is mainly about wreck diving and artificial or natural reef diving. Quite a few divers’ professionals and diving companies come up with good diving options. Many of the diving companies assist if you are not a certified scuba diver and provide necessary training from certified scuba professionals.
M.V.Dara, a wreck is a popular diving destination, with a shallow depth of 17 meters, easily accessible for the experienced as well as novice divers. M.V.Dara wrecked in the Dubai coast in the early 1960s with 238 passengers dead in the tragedy and is considered to be the second greatest tragedy after Titanic.
So get to see some exotic sea creatures in the Gulf of Oman like cuttlefish, sharks, octopus and the reefs in Fujairah and the wrecks in Dubai.
Address: Al Boom Diving Aqua Centre, Villa 254,33rd St., Al Wasl Rd., Dubai
Contact: +971 4 342 2993
Kite Surfing
For the adventure seekers and passionate sports freaks, no challenge seems to be less challenging. Keeping up to the changing times and the growing passion for taking up extreme adventure sports, kite surfing has emerged as one of the most aspiring water sports in Dubai. With the waves dancing to your tunes and tucked with the acrobatic loops, the surfer moves around 20 ft. up the waters. On a fine windy day, one can witness a colorful and jovial scene of around 20 to 30 kites flying in the skies.
The best place to spot a number of passionate surfers is the vast stretch of Kite beach. Kite surfing, being an extreme sport requires a proper training and equipments before landing on the waters. Being trained from a certified instructor taking few lessons, you can surf safely on the waters. But one should be careful enough not to clash with other surfers ensuring ones own safety as well as others.
Contact: Dukite (+971 50 758 6992)
Hiking
Seeking new heights and watching the world from an eagle eye, there is no better way than mountaineering, climbing and hiking. With a new developing passion for climbing, quite a few individuals are taking up the sport in line with the passion of following adventure sports. Exploring new routes and travel lines, a number of locales and mountain tracks are discovered by climbing enthusiasts across entire UAE and Oman providing spectacular views from the top zenith.
Leaping up at the heights of around 3000 meters, Jebel Misht is quite famous among the climbers groups. Besides hiking and climbing, numerous short heights opportune the climbers with various other sports like bouldering or hiking. The short cliffs near Dibba, Mussandam provide a nice destination for Deep Water Soloing, a climb done on sea cliffs during high tides. Jebel Shams is another good choice for adventurers with a numbers of sports options like mountain climbing, bouldering and hiking.
Address: Adventure HQ, Time Square Centre, Sheikh Zayed Rd.
Contact: +971 4 346 6824
Desert Camping
Camping in the deep desert under a star lit sky, the fun and the thrill and the pleasure goes undefined. The stay might not limit your stay to hiking but also stretch to quite a bit of exploring rich and beautiful desert life. Away from the crowded desert sites, there are also a few unexplored desert locations gaining popularity among the UAE residents and the campers. Pack on your camping kit and head on to the deserts in your four wheel drive. Do some barbequing under the open skies or some fun filled thrilling dune bashing or simply lye down on the vast sandy beds.
There are tour companies and operators that organize overnight camping and hiking trips on the mountain heights or in the wadis. A complete info of the place where you are planning to camp is often recommended for a safe and enjoyable stay.
Off Roading
Take up the untrodden paths and head on to an adventure trip in your four wheel drive. With the increasing fascination for long drives and exploring some magnificent wadi pools and unexplored routes, Off Roading is fascinating many in the quest of doing something with loads of thrill and fun. Driving on the tough lanes of dunes and labyrinths of wadis is challenging requiring a perfection of driving and skills but once acquired is an unstopping fun.
The deserts are vast and endless with ample choices of route selection that will surely make you gasp with wonder. A number of tour companies present a number of deals of off roading trips with their experienced drivers making the trip no less exciting. The dune bashing, the speed and the wadi pools make the adventurers hunt for thrill ultimate fun filled. If you have a grip of the wheel in your hands and can confidently drive, then you can take your own four wheel drive and head on.
Pick a copy of Dubai Off-Road Guide and equip yourself with the tools and resources and unravel the mystics of the roads less taken.
Snorkeling
Spotting the colorful fishes and a glimpse of the exotic marine world is an experience of its kind. Unlike scuba diving, snorkeling is a sport that requires less experience but is no less interesting. There are a number of coastal lines and beaches in Dubai that are accessible for snorkel trips and are a fun to go.
Besides the various beaches and resorts, the Dubai underwater zoo and aquarium and the Lost Chambers in Atlantis also offer snorkeling trips and sessions for the visitors. A number of diving companies provide full day snorkeling trip with full day excursion taking the passengers to the shores of Dibba, Mussandam which is quite famous for snorkeling with a rich variety of marine world.
The equipments for snorkeling can be rented from many of the companies which provide the equipments on rent. After a short briefing, one can snorkel in the waters and enjoy their diving sessions amidst the aquatic creatures.
Skiing
Skiing and snowboarding in the desert. Well sound quite a lot like a fairytale. But everything is possible in Dubai which is nothing less than a man made wonder. Housed in the Mall of the Emirates, the Ski Dubai will make anyone chill in the summers and heat of Dubai. Spread in a huge arena of around 22,500 meters, the Ski Dubai has become a hotspot destination for the families, young or old, or the ones who would love to test their adventure skills.
Categorized in various difficulty levels, the place offers a range of activities from skiing to snowboarding to sledging on the toboggans. If you are looking for an ultimate adventure ride, than slip in the gigantic snowball globe, flip round and set your adrenaline feel the snowy chill.
The visitors are provided with the thermal suits for entering the snow park with kids under 13 given a safety helmet. So put on your skis and ready yourself to jump and roll on the snow and dance in the snow flakes.
Address: Ski Dubai, Mall of the Emirates
Contact: 800386
Kayaking
There are certain things which cannot be defined in words but can be felt only with experience. Kayaking for sure falls in that category. UAE waters are vast and diverse with the rich Arabian Peninsula giving huge opportunities to the kayakers to explore the interiors of the waters.
Wishing to see some exotic birds and sea life in the mangroves, then one can head on to Kalba. If want to explore the Dubai waters or want to go for a short and relaxing kayak trip, then you can paddle in the palm waters. The Kite beach has also a good access to waters for the kayakers with the jovial community of the kite surfers round you giving a wondrous company.