Abu Dhabi 360

Looking to soak up Abu Dhabi’s famous year-round sunshine? The immaculate Corniche Beach is one of the best places to do it. This beautiful beach isn’t just home to turquoise water and soft, white sand, it also has a beautiful seaside boardwalk, with well-kept walkways home to manicured gardens and benches overlooking the picturesque Arabian Gulf.

The 2km beach is divided into three sections: Al Sahil (Gate 4, free entry) is perfect for singles and larger groups, Gate 2 is ideal for families and has its own quiet zone, with Gate 3 also being great for families and kids. The two latter beaches are shielded from view with a fence. Showers, changing rooms and cabanas are available, and sun loungers and umbrellas can be hired for a fee. A lifeguard is on duty until sunset.

Feel like getting active? Take a stroll to the nearby children’s play area, or check out the cycle and pedestrian pathways and free sports facilities, including five volleyball courts, two football pitches and three playing fields. Get into the beautiful blue ocean with a snorkelling experience and discover local aquatic life. If all that activity works up an appetite, you’ll find several cafés and restaurants nearby.

The turquoise sea and swaying palm trees make this spotlessly maintained Blue Flag public beach an unexpected gem in the heart of the UAE capital. Entrance is AED 10 for adults and AED 5 for children. Kids under five go free. You’ll pay AED 25 per sun lounger.

Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi is where luxurious comfort, impeccable service and unique dining experiences come together in an enchanting setting. From a distance, the hotel looks like something out of an Arabian fairytale, with the main building alone stretching over one kilometre from one wing to the other and the gardens spreading across 100 hectares. Walking in, you will find a sense of deep relaxation washing over you. With a pristine 1.3km private beach, stunning pools, a private marina and natural bay, a beautiful spa and highly-rated dining venues - you can't go wrong with a holiday here.

Emirates Palace is one of the most remarkable buildings in Abu Dhabi when it comes to architecture. Picture this: During the day, the palace's golden exterior contrasts with the lush greenery, silvery water fountains, and crisp blue sky. And at night, the hotel's lighting changes subtly, with an ethereal rainbow effect displayed on the main dome. Featuring 114 domes, the palace's central dome is a striking 72.6 metres above the ground, meticulously crafted with gold, mother of pearl and crystals. The building also boasts 1,002 chandeliers - the largest weighing 2.5 tons - with other photo-worthy features, including two handmade wall displays portraying the palace.

Nothing gets the adrenaline pumping like Ferrari World Yas Island Abu Dhabi's rides. Feel the exhilaration as you speed through roller coasters and soar high in the air. The whole family will find an adrenaline-fueled ride just for them, everyone can join in the thrilling fun. The Ferrari-branded theme park on Yas Island is home to more than 40 record-breaking attractions, including the highest loop ride, and it all happens underneath the tallest space-frame structure on the planet.

An exclusive, intimate island experience featuring one- and two-bedroom villas in a private setting on beautiful white sand overlooking the Arabian Gulf. Inspired by traditional Arabic fishing and pearl-diving villages and their barasti (palm frond) houses, the 30 Al Yamm villas – some with private plunge pools – are sustainably built, designed to complement the island's delicate ecosystem and with additional views across a mangrove-filled salt-water lagoon.

With three Anantara resorts on Sir Bani Yas Island, guests can enrich their stay with complimentary transfers between the trio of retreats, giving them the freedom to enjoy all the facilities and pleasures of Anantara Sir Bani Yas Island Resorts, including pampering Anantara Spa rituals, timeless activities such as archery and falconry, a wide range of watersports and, of course, a mouthwatering choice of restaurants.

With a central lodge featuring a Mediterranean restaurant and lounge, Anantara Sir Bani Yas Island Al Yamm Villa Resort offers you privacy with a dash of luxury. Visitors can also enjoy nature and wildlife drives across the island's Arabian Wildlife Park, scuba diving and mangrove kayaking from the Desert Islands Watersports Centre, or simply relax at the on-site Al Yamm Spa Villa.

Describing the world's largest uninterrupted sand mass, explorer Sir Wilfred Thesiger wrote, “It was very still, with the silence which we have driven from our world”. 

Today, the magical Rub’ al Khali (Empty Quarter) offers the same serene silence that it did when Thesiger explored it with his Emirati and Omani companions in the 1940s, its fine golden and red sands shifting with the winds to form dunes hundreds of feet high and visible as far as the eye can see.

Beautiful by day or starry night, this ever-changing expanse of desert boasts one of the world’s most luxurious hotels: the magnificent Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara. A fairytale destination reminiscent of the tale One Thousand and One Nights, this luxury five-star oasis resembles an old Arabian fortress town, nestled in a valley of towering dunes. Aside from warm Arabian hospitality, exquisite interiors and sumptuous dining, the hotel also offers solo travellers, couples or families a dose of adventure, from dawn desert walks to camel trekking, dune bashing to falconry and Saluki (desert hunting dog) shows, camp-fire barbecues to fat-tyre biking, and much more.

Perched on the edge of this majestic desert you’ll also find the stunning Tilal Liwa Hotel, a secluded luxury hideaway with all the comforts of modern life, of course. Discover impressive restaurants, an enormous outdoor pool with breathtaking views of the dunes, and a range of desert activities for all ages. 

If you’re in the Empty Quarter, try to get up close and personal with the world’s tallest sand dune, Tel Moreeb, which means Terrifying Mountain. Over 300 metres high and boasting a 50° incline, this photogenic dune is a dream for 4x4 enthusiasts, with experienced bikers and drivers competing to climb to the top during the Moreeb Hill Climb event, part of the Liwa International Festival that takes place in the winter. If you prefer to err on the side of caution, simply watch dune-side and get some covetable photographs.

Perfect for the traveller who wants an authentic and immersive adventure experience, Abu Dhabi’s Empty Quarter is a must-see bucket-list destination.