Type of trip: good for a day trip or a 1-night overstay

Travel: you can use your own car, rental car, or bus tour

Activities: Kayak, Boat ride, Moutain Biking, Photography

At “Hatta Water Dam” you can enjoy a relaxed day away from the busy city with easy sports activities, a good lunch or dinner, or simply let your soul relax along the scenery. The quickest way is apporx.90 minutes from Dubai, use Waze or Google Maps and reach “Hatta Fort Hotel”, from here it is easy to find Hatta Dam.

Over the last years, it has gained more popularity and outdoor activity centers had been deployed. It is an excellent contrast to desert sands, which you can experience already along the motorway to Hatta, surrounded by mountains and packed with beautiful turquoise water. You can drive your car along the dam stop at one of the scenic points and admire the natural scenery of the mountain region for some time. Visitors can also experience the water area, rent a Hatta Kayak to burn some calories, rent a canoe, or take a boat ride.

If you want to stay overnight you can choose between the JA Hotel Fort Hotel, a luxury Damani Lodges und Sedr Trailers camping park, or bring your own camping gear. 

Type of trip: good for a day trip or a 1-night overstay

Travel: you can use your own car, rental car

Activities: Moutain Hiking from Beginner to Expert, Photography

Surrounded by the Hajar Mountains, Hatta is covered in hilly peaks and valleys perfect for hiking (140km 1:30h from Dubai). You can hike along the wadis in the foothills of the mountains near the Oman border. Here you can see the varied terrain, from patches of sand to jagged rocks. Hiking offers a sense of serenity and adventure for all ages, and there is much to explore on your journey. Discovering Hatta on foot is the best way to truly experience Dubai’s largest national park.

Increasing in popularity year-on-year, Hatta hiking trails currently span a total of 32.6 kilometers, spread across 5 new routes.

The trails are divided into different grades of routes to accommodate every level and experience of hiker.

Type of trip: good for a day trip or a 1-night overstay

Travel: you can use your own car, rental car

Activities: Moutain Biking from Beginner to Expert, Photography

Hatta’s wadis, fields, and winding mountain trails (140km 1.30h from Dubai) are best explored by mountain bike. The Hatta Mountain Bike Trail Centre has well-signposted cycle paths in total over 52 km. The Hatta Trails are free to ride and are open all year round. The trails are created for all ability levels, and both beginners and advanced hikers get their money’s worth here.

If you can not bring your own gear, don’t worry, for 65-80 AED you can rent the gear at the Hatta Mountain Bike Trail Centre. 

Hatta Mountain Biking: https://www.visithatta.com/en/play/mountain-biking

Opening Hours: 6am – 6pm, Sat-Sun 6:30pm (national public holidays times may differ)

Type of trip: 48 hours

Travel: You can organize a transfer with an operator, or arrive with your own vehicle

Pre-requisites: You have to be in good physical health and know how to swim, cooperate with an operator which can help with a free e-Visa registration

Activities: Swimming, Snorkeling, Scuba Diving

Overview: Puploar snorkeling sites reachable from Dibba are Umm Al Fayarin, Octopus Rock, and Lima Rock

Musandam is on the Strait of Hormuz, separated from the rest of Oman by the eastern coastline of the United Arab Emirates. It also includes the exclave Madha which is completely enclosed by the United Arab Emirates, inside of which is a truly tiny exclave called Nahwa that is part of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.

The mountains have housed extremely isolated communities for centuries and many coastal villages can only be reached by boat. Some Bedouin communities are still today closed for non-Omanis. Musandam offers two different sites which have unique landscapes and partially different underwater world. While Khasab (200km, 3h) is reachable over the borders of Ras Al Khaimah in the north, you can reach Dibba (150km, 1.5h) on the south point of Musandam. Dibba is reachable over Fujairah by land border.

If a single-day trip doesn’t seem enough to satisfy your appetite for diving, you can book an overnight trip in Musandam on a custom-built Omani boat. Join an exciting trip to some of the best snorkeling and dive sites in terms of marine life sightings and visibility.