HomeBlogExploring Atlantis Waterpark on Palm Jumeirah, Dubai: A Day of Adventure and Luxury

Exploring Atlantis Waterpark on Palm Jumeirah, Dubai: A Day of Adventure and Luxury

Dubai has two wonderful modern water parks that compete fiercely with each other: Atlantis and Wild Wadi. I had originally planned to visit Wild Wadi, but gradually Atlantis won me over.

And solely because of its location!

The fact is that Atlantis Waterpark is located in a completely unusual place – on the artificial island of Palm Jumeirah. This artificial island in the sea, shaped like a palm tree, took five years to build.

The central axis of the island represents the ‘trunk of the palm tree’, where there are two dozen multi-storey residential buildings. ‘Palm branches’ extend from the ‘trunk’ of the palm tree, with streets lined with luxurious mansions and villas.

The island’s highlight is one of the most prestigious hotels in the UAE, the luxurious five-star Atlantis. Guests of this hotel have free access to the water park!

The water park is very large, clean, beautiful, green, and full of flowers and plants. There are awnings and elegant covered walkways everywhere, so you can easily hide from the scorching sun.

The water park is very large, covering 17 hectares. You can pick up a map to easily find the attractions you want to visit.

The water park opens in the morning at around 9 or 10 a.m., and in the evening, at sunset, all the slides close, visitors are no longer allowed in, and everyone is asked to leave the premises.

It is better, of course, to arrive at the opening so that you can spend more time relaxing. Organised groups arrive around 10 a.m., which gives you plenty of time for everything.

We could have gone to the water park on our own, but we decided to buy a ticket from a tour operator.

First, you approach the island through a wide underwater tunnel.

The entrance to the water park is impressive. There are ticket offices, information stands and monitors around the perimeter. I was pleased to see that the information was also available.

But we were surprised by the huge queues; it was clear that people (mostly with children) had been waiting for tickets for a long time. We were warned that it was better to visit the water park on weekdays because on weekends (which is Friday for them), there would be such a crowd that it would be impossible to move.

By the way, you could buy separate tickets for swimming with dolphins! And there were also special attractions not included in the main programme.

The main ticket is not cheap! 280 dirhams (about 2,500 roubles on that day). And for children under 120 cm tall, it’s 220 dirhams.

But for citizens of the Emirates, everything is half price!

Atlantis is open all year round, but the opening hours vary depending on the season. At the entrance, they check (very thoroughly) all items brought with you, including food and water. Everything must be left in a locker.

All additional services (towels and lockers) must be paid for separately. A towel costs 30 dirhams, a locker 40 dirhams. But of course, you can share a locker between two people. There are lots of lockers – a whole room divided into zones.

At the entrance, you are given wristbands. And finally, you enter the water park!

It’s simply amazing — built using the latest innovations in water entertainment!

We immediately climbed to the top of one of the highest slides.

The view is incredible! It’s no surprise that you can admire the sea right from the water park. But if you imagine that just 12 years ago there was only water here, and the shore was several kilometres away, it’s an amazing feeling!

A very beautiful place. The views are simply fabulous.

A ‘lazy river’ flows around the entire water park. It is about two kilometres long. You can relax and swim on inflatable rings.

The current carries the rings along. There are enough rings for everyone, both single and double. There are also large rafts that can hold five people.

So, lying on an inflatable ring, you can travel almost the entire length of the water park. The river flows under the open sky, through narrow canyons, caves and under waterfalls. It constantly branches off into smaller channels, and it’s easy to get lost, so if you have children, be careful!

Turning down the channels, you can sometimes automatically rise up the slides! These are special ‘escalators’ – you rise without getting off the ring. And then you can fly at breakneck speed through narrow canyons, and then just float calmly, contemplating the surroundings.

And there really is something to see!

In the very centre of the water park is the 30-metre-high ‘Ziggurat’ pyramid, styled after the Mayan pyramids, with all kinds of slides.

It is very convenient that you do not need to carry an inflatable ring with you for many of the attractions, as they are lifted up by special lifts.

The Shark Attack slide is very impressive. You fly down the slide as if you were inside an aquarium and see fish and sharks through the glass on all sides.

There is a great children’s area.

There are small slides, separate pools, water jets, huge buckets on the roof that tip over when they fill up and pour water on all the children in the area. It is always fun and noisy there.

There are sun loungers everywhere, and there seem to be plenty of them, but sometimes there aren’t enough, especially near the popular slides and attractions.

What I really liked was that the water park has access to a beach with umbrellas and sun loungers, which is very clean and well maintained. The beach offers a magnificent view of Dubai’s landmark, the Burj Al Arab hotel, and the new skyscraper district, Dubai Marina.

After getting my fill of the slides, I came here several times to swim in the warm waters of the Persian Gulf and just lie in the warm March sun.

There are many cafes, stalls, food stands, ice cream, drinks, etc. But the prices are very high, even for Dubai.

I still regret that I didn’t manage to find the time to take the high-speed electric train. It is a modern monorail, 5.5 kilometres long.

It runs on a schedule, from the water park on the artificial island of Palm Jumeirah to the mainland. The line rises 15 metres above the island. The monorail is very beautiful and resembles an above-ground metro. The price is reasonable, but I really wanted to ride it. Compare it to the Dubai Metro, which I sincerely admire – the Dubai Metro as a symbol of a super-modern city.

In general, the Atlantis Water Park will not leave you indifferent, and you should come here early in the morning and stay for the whole day.

Related articles

  • 16 August, 2025
This is probably the most advertised water park in Dubai. I visited it before the wonderful Wild Wadi water park,...