The Best Public Beaches in Dubai

“Located on the Persian Gulf, Dubai experiences nearly year-round sunshine and hot weather – meaning it’s a top destination for a beach break. As you’d expect, there’s lots of amazing golden sandy beaches in the city. What you might not know is that many of them are owned by hotels or private beach clubs, meaning you can only access them if you’re a guest or willing to pay. That said, there are some good beaches in Dubai that are open to all. Here’s our guide to some of the best.

The Beach at JBR
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The JBR Beach is one of the most popular public beaches in Dubai, mainly because it’s right next to the Walk in Dubai Marina, near restaurants, juice bars and entertainment. The JBR Beach has sandy areas (sometimes frequented by camels!) and family facilities including a play area and a train that goes up and down the beach.

You’ll also find the Ain Dubai, the world’s biggest observation wheel; the largest inflatable water park in the world (yes you read that right); and lots of different fitness facilities, including an open-air gym.

Dubai Marina Beach Panorama – Di Sergey Safonov – Opera propria, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18963126

Umm Suqeim Beach
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Also known as Jumeirah Public Beach, Umm Suqeim Beach has amazing views of the Burj Al Arab. The best time to go is at dawn, when the beach is extremely quiet and you can watch the sunrise over the Gulf. It’s also one of the only beaches in Dubai with lifeguards on duty in the evening, so you can go night swimming.

Umm Suqeim Beach gets busy with families and tourists later in the day. There are lifeguards, sunshades, changing areas and showers, but no cafes or restaurants – so bring a picnic. There’s also a unique library with bean bag chairs where you can grab some free beach reads.

Black Palace Beach
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Black Palace Beach is known as Al Sufouh Beach in Arabic, as well as Hidden Beach and Secret Beach because it’s sandwiched and concealed between the Al Sufouh Palaces. Because of this, Black Palace Beach is quieter and more secluded than other public beaches in Dubai.

This location also affords amazing views of both the Palm and Burj Al Arab from the sand here. Note: Black Palace Beach is literally just a beach – there are no facilities, sunshades, changing rooms or cafes (so come prepared).

Kite Beach
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Kite Beach is one of the best beaches in Dubai for sports. It’s also sometimes referred to more specifically as kitesurfing beach, as it’s breezy enough for kitesurfing. There are also courts for beach volleyball and sand football, and there’s even a sponge-surface jogging track. Furthermore, you can go wakeboarding and stand-up paddleboarding.

Families like Kite Beach because there’s a ropes course for kids, as well as plenty of cafes and ice cream shops. There are sun loungers, umbrellas and towels for hire too.

Kite Beach. Dubai by Ricardo Santeugini – CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) – flickr.com/photos/santeugini/23302512793Al Mamzar Beach Park
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This huge peninsular beach park is on the northern side of Dubai close to Deira. It’s an enormous park with grass lawns, barbecue and picnic areas, and changing rooms, all surrounded by five different strips of sandy beach. Again, it’s another top spot for families. Do bring a picnic as there’s very little options when it comes to food and drink

La Mer
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Just south of Jumeirah Public Beach is the popular La Mer, which is surrounded by a well-developed dining and entertainment district. This is a good place to hang out by the water, grab a bite to eat, shop, and go for a stroll.

Though most people come mainly for entertainment, there is a lovely white sand beach with cabanas and other facilities. While there are only a handful of sun loungers and umbrellas, there’s lots of family facilities, including a trampoline park and a water park (which have separate entrance fees).

Mercato Beach
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This secluded beach is quieter because it’s behind a residential area and lacks the facilities of some of the more popular Dubai beaches. Mercato Beach has lovely white sand and changing rooms, but there are no sun loungers, umbrellas or cafes to speak of. At the south end of the beach there’s a jogging track, with Mercato Shopping Mall just across the street.

Jumeirah Open Beach
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JBR Open Beach, sometimes referred to as Russian Beach, was one of the first public beaches in Dubai. It’s just south of Mercato Beach, where its jogging track connects the two. Jumeirah Open Beach has a shaded kids play area, showers, toilets and food and drink outlets. There’s also a promenade for rollerblading, skateboarding and cycling.

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View towards Palm Jumeirah from a beach in the Dubai Marina area, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

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