Dhow cruises
Dhow cruise Dubai
A dhow cruise in Dubai costs from AED 99 per person for two hours with a buffet dinner, live entertainment and unlimited soft drinks. Four departure points run nightly (Dubai Marina, Dubai Creek, Al Seef and the Water Canal), and they are genuinely different trips, not four versions of the same one.
WhatsApp only — messages and calls
- Length
- 2 hours
- From
- AED 99 per person, dinner included
- Departures
- Marina, Creek, Al Seef, Water Canal
- Usual boarding
- 19:30 to 20:00, returning 22:00
A dhow is the wooden trading boat that worked this coast for a few hundred years before the towers went up. The ones running dinner cruises today are built the same way and fitted out with two decks: an air-conditioned lower deck where the buffet is laid out, and an open upper deck with seating, which is where you should sit.
The trip is always about two hours and always includes food. Where it varies is the view. The Marina and Canal boats run past modern Dubai: glass, lights, Ain Dubai. The Creek and Al Seef boats run through the old city, past the souks, the wharfage and the abras. If you have one evening and want to see the Dubai people came for, take the Creek. If you want the skyline, take the Marina.
Dinner is a buffet: mixed grill, biryani, salads, Arabic mezze and a dessert counter, with vegetarian dishes always laid out separately. Soft drinks, water, tea and Arabic coffee are unlimited and included. Alcohol is not served on most dhows and where it is, it is charged separately.
Booking is straightforward and you do not need to do it far ahead. A day's notice is usually enough outside December and January. Prices are per person, children under five go free, and hotel transfer can be added for about AED 40 a head.
What is included
- Two-hour cruise on a traditional wooden dhow, two decks
- Buffet dinner: grills, biryani, mezze, salads, dessert, vegetarian throughout
- Unlimited soft drinks, water, tea and Arabic coffee
- Live entertainment: tanoura on most sailings, a musician on some
- Open upper deck with seating, air-conditioned lower deck
Worth knowing
- Sit on the upper deck. The lower deck is where the buffet is, but the view is through glass.
- Boarding closes ten minutes before departure and the boat does not wait.
- Winter evenings on the upper deck are cool on the water, bring a layer between December and February.
- Most dhows do not serve alcohol. Ask before booking if that matters to your evening.
The four routes are four different evenings
Price is the last thing to choose on here, because the AED 50 between cheapest and dearest is the least important difference between them. What separates the routes is what you look at for two hours, how easy the boarding is, and how new the boat is.
The Creek is the historic one and the cheapest. You pass the gold and spice souks, the abra crossings and the wooden cargo dhows still loading by hand for Iran and East Africa — a working port rather than a display. The boats are traditional and the oldest of the four fleets. Al Seef is the same water boarded from the restored Bur Dubai side, with newer boats and a far more pleasant place to wait.
The Marina is the modern counterpart: two hours of towers, Ain Dubai and the Bluewaters frontage on the newest and largest boats. The Water Canal is the newest route of all, running through Business Bay under the illuminated waterfall bridge with the Burj Khalifa overhead, and it is the one Dubai residents pick most often.
What a dhow evening is actually like
Worth setting expectations, because a dhow cruise is a shared experience and people who book it expecting a private charter are disappointed for the wrong reasons. There will be a hundred to a hundred and fifty people aboard. Seating is at fixed tables assigned on arrival, and on a busy sailing you may share a table.
The buffet opens about twenty minutes after departure and runs for the best part of an hour, so there is no advantage to queuing first. Entertainment is usually a tanoura dancer around the halfway point. The food is a competent hotel-style buffet rather than something you would travel for.
What you are buying for AED 99 to AED 149 is two hours on the water at night with dinner included, at a price no private boat approaches. Judged as that it is very good value. Judged as a restaurant with a view, it is not.
When a private dhow makes more sense
The crossover sits around twenty guests. Below that, shared tickets are cheaper and the fixed seating is not a real problem. Above it, hiring a whole dhow starts to win on price alone — from about AED 9,000 for two hours on a boat taking up to a hundred, which is AED 90 a head at a hundred guests.
What changes beyond the money is control: your own boarding time, your own menu, your own music, and no strangers at the next table. For a company dinner, a large family gathering or a birthday where somebody wants to make a speech, that is the difference between an event and an outing. It needs two to three weeks' notice rather than a day.
Ways to do this
Dubai Marina dhow
From AED 129 · 2 hours
The modern skyline route: Marina towers, JBR and Ain Dubai. The busiest of the four and the one with the best upper deck.
Dubai Creek dhow
From AED 99 · 2 hours
Old Dubai: the souks, the wharfage, abras crossing in front of you. The cheapest and, for a first visit, the most interesting.
Al Seef dhow
From AED 119 · 2 hours
Boards at the restored Al Seef waterfront on the Bur Dubai side. Same water as the Creek, a quieter and newer boarding area.
Dubai Water Canal dhow
From AED 149 · 2 hours
Through the canal past Business Bay and under the waterfall bridge. The newest route and the one locals take.
What it costs
Per person, dinner included. Children under five sail free; five to eleven pay half. Private hire of a whole dhow is quoted separately.
| Option | Detail | From |
|---|---|---|
| Creek dhow, sharing | 2 hours with buffet dinner | AED 99per person |
| Al Seef dhow, sharing | 2 hours with buffet dinner | AED 119per person |
| Marina dhow, sharing | 2 hours with buffet dinner | AED 129per person |
| Water Canal dhow, sharing | 2 hours with buffet dinner | AED 149per person |
| Whole dhow, private | Up to 100 guests, 2 hours | AED 9,000total |
Ask about Dhow cruises on your date.
Leave the date and the headcount and we will come back with what is free and what it costs. No deposit, and no obligation to book.
- No deposit to enquire
- A reply within a couple of hours
- Licensed boats, licensed crew, price all-in
WhatsApp only — messages and calls
Send an enquiry
Questions people ask
How much is a dhow cruise in Dubai?
From AED 99 per person for a two-hour Creek cruise with a buffet dinner, up to about AED 149 for the Water Canal route. Marina cruises sit at AED 129. Children under five sail free and five to elevens pay half.
What is included in a dhow cruise dinner?
A buffet of mixed grills, biryani, Arabic mezze, salads and dessert with vegetarian dishes laid out separately, plus unlimited soft drinks, water, tea and Arabic coffee. Live entertainment, usually a tanoura performance, is included on most sailings.
Which dhow cruise is best in Dubai?
The Creek for a first visit, because it runs through old Dubai past the souks and the wharfage. The Marina for the skyline and the best upper deck. The Water Canal if you have seen both and want the newest route.
What time does a dhow cruise start?
Boarding is usually between 19:30 and 20:00, with the boat leaving at 20:00 and returning around 22:00. Boarding closes ten minutes before departure. Some operators run an earlier sunset sailing at 17:30 in winter.
How do I book a dhow cruise in Dubai?
WhatsApp us or send an enquiry with the date, the number of guests and which departure point you want. A day's notice is usually enough outside December and January, when a week is safer.
Is a dhow cruise the same as a dinner cruise?
Not quite. A dhow is a traditional wooden boat and the format is fixed: two hours, buffet, entertainment. A modern dinner cruise runs on a catamaran or a motor yacht with a served menu and costs more. Both include dinner on the water.
Can we hire a whole dhow privately?
Yes. Private hire of a full dhow starts around AED 9,000 for two hours and takes up to a hundred guests, which works out cheaper per head than a yacht for a large party. The menu and the route are set with you beforehand.
The questions people ask before booking this
- Booking a dhow cruise in Dubai, step by stepBooking a dhow cruise in Dubai takes about five minutes: pick one of the four departure points, confirm the date and headcount, and pay per person, from AED 99 on the Creek to AED 149 on the Water Canal, dinner included.
- Private dhow hire in Dubai: a whole boat for a hundredPrivate hire of a whole dhow in Dubai starts at about AED 9,000 for two hours and carries up to a hundred guests with a buffet dinner included, roughly AED 90 a head.
- Dhow cruise vs yacht charter: which should you bookDhow cruise vs yacht charter comes down to group size.
Tell us when, and we will tell you what is free.
Weekends and sunset slots go first between October and April. Leave the date and the headcount below, or message us on WhatsApp. If your date is close, WhatsApp is quicker than any form.
- No deposit to enquire
- A reply within a couple of hours
- Licensed boats, licensed crew, price all-in
WhatsApp only — messages and calls