Dubai & Abu Dhabi Family Holiday, 6 Nights

Met at Dubai International and driven to the hotel, where the pool takes the afternoon. Early evening at the Dubai Mall: the aquarium's ten-million-litre tank with its walk-through tunnel and the Underwater Zoo upstairs, then the fountain on the lake outside, which plays every half hour from six and is the best free thing in the city for children. Dinner on the promenade and an early night. · Dubai · Airport transfer, about 30–45 minutes

One park, chosen with you before you travel. In the cool months Motiongate at Dubai Parks and Resorts — the Hollywood-studio rides, the Smurfs village for younger children, and Legoland next door if the family splits — is the open-air choice; in summer, or with younger children, IMG Worlds of Adventure is entirely indoors, with the Marvel and Cartoon Network zones and the dinosaur valley under one roof. Either way the vehicle waits, lunch is inside, and you leave when the children are done rather than when the coach does. · Dubai · Private vehicle, about 30–45 minutes each way

The waterpark at the end of the Palm for the whole day: the towers of slides, the river rapids and the lazy river, the children's splash areas for the small ones, and the Lost Chambers aquarium next door for the hour when everyone needs shade. Lunch inside the park. The Palm monorail runs past the entrance for those who want the ride. Back to the hotel by late afternoon, and a free evening. · Dubai · Private vehicle, about 30 minutes each way

A gentle morning for the old city: an abra across the creek, which every child wants to do twice, the spice souk with its sacks and the gold souk's windows, and the flamingo hide at the Ras Al Khor sanctuary on the creek's inland end, where the flocks feed from October to March. Lunch and a rest at the hotel. At about three the 4x4s collect you for the desert: the camp offers camel rides, sandboarding, henna, the sunset from the dunes and a barbecue buffet with the shows after dark. Children under three, pregnant women and anyone with a back condition skip the dune-driving section and go to the camp on the flat track — the whole family meets there. · Dubai · Private vehicle in the morning; 4x4 pickup at about 3 pm, back by about 9 pm

South on the motorway, with the BAPS Hindu Mandir at Abu Mureikhah on the way: the carved stone temple opened in 2024 (closed on Mondays; passports needed at the gate; no shorts or sleeveless tops). On to Yas Island and the hotel, with the afternoon by the pool or at Yas Waterworld for a first park. In the last hour before sunset, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, twenty minutes away — the free access pass is booked in your names, ankle-length clothing and headscarves for women are required and abayas are lent. Dinner at Yas Bay. · Abu Dhabi · Private vehicle, about 1 hour 30 minutes plus stops

The parks are next to each other and the tickets are the family's to choose: Ferrari World, with the fastest roller coaster in the world and a junior zone that small children can ride, Warner Bros. World, entirely indoors with its six themed lands, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, or a second waterpark day. Two park tickets per person are included and we book the pair that suits the ages and the weather; park hours vary by day and season and we confirm them before you travel. Dinner back at the hotel. · Abu Dhabi · On Yas Island, shuttle and on foot

Breakfast, the pool for as long as the flight allows, and the transfer to whichever airport your ticket uses — Zayed International is twenty minutes from Yas Island, Dubai International about an hour and a quarter. With a late flight the morning can add Yas Mall or the Yas Marina waterfront. Flights to India are three to four hours from either airport. · Abu Dhabi · Airport transfer: Zayed International about 20 minutes, Dubai International about 1 hour 15 minutes