Gulf a 32
Double the family fun with a twin-centre trip to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, writes Joanna Booth
s any parent will tell you, kids love superlatives. They’re forever asking what the biggest, fastest, most extreme
version of absolutely anything is. And the only place I’ve found as committed to these titles as my nine-year-old is the United Arab Emirates. With the world’s tallest building, largest fountain and fastest rollercoaster, the UAE looked set to impress. But on our half-term family holiday, I was keen to
explore beyond the record books and find a more authentic side to this Gulf state. Could our week split equally between Dubai and Abu Dhabi provide calmer and more cerebral entertainment alongside its big-ticket thrills?
DUBAI: SPLASHES AND SAFARIS Speeding along Sheikh Zayed Road in the shadow of skyscrapers, my son Dexter craned his head to look for supercars. He wasn’t disappointed; he spotted more Ferraris, Lamborghinis, McLarens and Rolls-Royces during a week in the Emirates than he’d ever seen in London.
Yet these may not always be the most exciting vehicles in Dubai, as we discovered at the Museum of the Future, an intriguing exploration of what tomorrow might look like. Inside the astounding, curved building, its façade decorated with swooping Arabic script, we played with a robot dog and had a coffee made by a bionic barista before starting our fictional journey to 2071. As well as exploring the global potential for space travel and ecological protection, the exhibits envision a future Dubai complete with flying cars and a mosque with a levitating tower. The next day, I felt like I was about to take off myself. Aquaventure is the world’s biggest water park, and after enjoying the ‘low thrill’ rides – my favourite was bobbing down a channel through the shark tank on a rubber ring – I agreed to try a ‘moderate’ option. But with my terror levels matching my husband and son’s exhilaration, I then left them to ride the high-octane slides and instead enjoyed the loungers on the white-sand beach and a cocktail at Wavehouse, where we reconvened for lunchtime poke bowls. By the end of the day, we’d all ticked off a ²
15 MAY 2025
travelweekly.co.uk
PICTURE: Atlantis, The Palm
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