I love weekends and spending quality family time with my children and I am always on the lookout for new places to visit and new things to try. I like to make sure we have variety in our activities and that we offer a range of activities that will cater to different tastes, luckily, there are plenty of things to try in our area.
Here are a few of my favourite weekend outings with the kids:
- Visit a park for a picnic and a play. Despite living in a big city, there is an abundance of lovely green spaces and parks to choose from. As the weather cools down, plan a picnic to your local park. Our favourite parks include: Zabeel Park, Safa Park, Al Khazzan Park, Al Barsha Park or Al Sufouh Park
- Spend the day at Lego Land
- Play to your hearts content at OliOli. This is a great weekend option if the weather isn’t great or you want to be inside. I love it just as much as the kids and we never get sick of it. It encourages creativity, problem solving and real authentic play opportunities.
- Visit a Waterpark, we enjoy Aquaventure Waterpark and the splash area designed for younger children. There are so many waterparks to try in every emirate so try them all until you find the one that your family loves.
- Head out into the desert. This is another one of our favourite activities. We drive out to an area with beautiful sand dunes and spend a few hours playing. We slide down the hills, build castles, have running races and if I am lucky, we wait to watch the sunset. You don’t need a 4WD, just park on the road near the dune and walk in. Be wary of cars and buggies though!
- Go ice-skating. Enjoy the ice rink in Dubai Mall and get some exercise as you skate (or in my case, try to skate)
- Get cultural at Global Village. Enjoy exploring the different countries and watching the performances from around the world.
- Explore Dubai Creek and the Old Town. We love wandering around this area and ducking in and out of the lane ways. The children enjoy watching the different people go about their day to day life and finishing off a busy day with a ride in an Abra on the creek.
- Visit one of the many beaches. There are so many lovely beaches to explore all around UAE. We like to watch the kite surfers at Kite Beach, we enjoy the atmosphere at La Mer and enjoy the quiet quaintness of Hidden Beach.
- Take a drive into another emirate and explore. Some of favourite day trips include:
- Visiting the Friday markets
- The corniche in Sharjah
- Wasit Wetland
- Exploring the mountains in RAK
- The lush gardens of Al Ain
- China mall
- The many beaches and parks
- Visit one of the beautiful wetlands and enjoy the wildlife (Wasit or Ras Al Khor)
Do you have a favourite weekend activity? Tell us in the comments below.
