Dubai’s reputation is beach clubs with entry fees and hotel stretches behind a rope, and both exist. It also has a long line of free public beaches along the Jumeirah coast with showers, lifeguards, running tracks, food trucks and the Burj Al Arab standing out on its island as a backdrop. Kite Beach is the best equipped of them, it costs nothing, and it is where a lot of the city goes at five in the afternoon.
What is there
Soft sand on a long open stretch, with the Burj Al Arab visible down the coast.
Free access, with showers, changing rooms, toilets and lifeguards during posted hours.
A running and cycling track behind the sand, well used at both ends of the day.
Food trucks and cafes, which are a genuine part of the appeal.
Courts and play areas, including volleyball and a children’s section.
Watersports, with kitesurfing, paddleboarding and kayaking hire and schools.
Sun loungers for hire if you would rather not sit on a towel.
The rest of the Jumeirah coast
Sunset Beach, further along, quieter, directly opposite the Burj Al Arab and the classic photograph spot.
La Mer and the newer waterfront developments, with restaurants and shops built onto the beach.
JBR beach, further southwest, with the promenade of restaurants behind it.
Black Palace Beach, a quieter unmarked stretch with a view of the Palm.
The hotel beaches, which are private and generally accessible only to guests or on a day pass.
Watersports
Kitesurfing, with a designated zone, schools and equipment hire, and reliable wind in the right season.
Paddleboarding and kayaking, calmer and easier, hired by the hour.
Wing foiling and windsurfing, which have grown here.
Lessons are widely available and the schools are used to complete beginners.
Check your insurance, since watersports appear on a good number of exclusion lists.
Practical notes
Dress code: swimwear on the sand, covered up on the road and in the shops behind. This is signposted and it is a small courtesy.
Alcohol is not permitted on public beaches.
Shade is limited and umbrellas are worth hiring or bringing.
Parking is paid and fills at the popular hours.
Public transport leaves a walk; a taxi from the nearest station is small money.
Jellyfish appear seasonally on this coast, and lifeguards flag it when they do.
Take nothing you would mind losing and go in the water in shifts if you are in a group.
Where this fits in a Dubai trip
The beach is the late afternoon, every day, and it costs nothing.
For the full comparison of the city’s beaches, private and public, our guide to the best beaches in Dubai covers the coastline.
For the island just offshore with its own beaches, hotels and monorail, our guide to the Palm Jumeirah covers what is out there.
And for how a beach afternoon fits around everything else with children in tow, our family guide to Dubai covers the timing.
The short version
Go to Kite Beach in the late afternoon rather than at midday, because Dubai’s beaches belong to the last three hours of daylight. It is free, it has showers, lifeguards, a running track and food trucks, and the Burj Al Arab is down the coast. Swim between the flags during lifeguard hours and take the red flag seriously. Cover up when you leave the sand. And think twice before paying a premium for a hotel’s private beach, because the public ones here are genuinely good.
