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The list · 8 minute read

A list of the marinas in Dubai, ranked by what they suit

The useful list of marinas in Dubai is six: Dubai Marina for charters and restaurants, Dubai Harbour for large yachts and cruise ships, Dubai Creek Marina for the old city, Dubai Festival City for the Creek's upper reach, Mina Rashid for superyachts and the QE2, and Jebel Ali for boats kept cheaply away from the crowd. Almost every charter a visitor takes leaves from the first of them.

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A large motor yacht crossing deep water, photographed from directly above

The short version

  • Dubai Marina: the charter marina. Most boats a visitor boards leave from here.
  • Dubai Harbour: the newest and largest, built for big yachts and the cruise terminal.
  • Mina Rashid: superyacht berths and the moored QE2, closest to the old city.
  • Dubai Creek and Festival City: the inland waterway, dhows and the historic route.
  • Jebel Ali: furthest south, cheapest berthing, no visitor traffic.

Dubai Marina — where the charters are

The one that matters for almost everybody. Dubai Marina is a three-kilometre dug canal surrounded by towers, with several hundred berths, restaurants along the promenade and the largest concentration of charter boats in the city.

It is where this fleet berths and where essentially every sightseeing charter, sunset trip and party boat in Dubai departs from. It is also the only marina here with a genuine public frontage — the promenade, Pier 7, the mall — which is why it doubles as somewhere to spend an evening whether or not you get on a boat.

The district itself, and how it differs from JBR and Bluewaters next door, is in Dubai Marina, JBR and Bluewaters explained.

Dubai Harbour — the newest and the largest

Between the Marina and the Palm, opened recently and built at a different scale: over a thousand berths, deep water, and a cruise terminal alongside. It takes vessels the Marina cannot, and it is where the largest private yachts in Dubai increasingly sit.

For a visitor it is less useful than it sounds — it is a working harbour and a cruise port rather than a promenade, and there is far less to walk to. What it is for, and how it changed the Marina, is in Dubai Harbour explained.

Mina Rashid — superyachts and the QE2

The old commercial port closest to the historic city, redeveloped as a superyacht marina with the QE2 permanently moored in it as a hotel. Berths here take very large vessels and the setting is the most unusual of the six.

It is the answer to where the biggest boats in Dubai are. It is not a charter departure point for visitors in any meaningful volume, and there is no public pontoon to walk along.

A crewed motor yacht under way on open water with the sun low behind her

Dubai Creek Marina and Festival City

Two facilities on the Creek, which is the inland waterway the city was founded on. Dubai Creek Marina sits by the golf club on the Deira side; Dubai Festival City is further up, beside the mall and the fountain show.

Neither is a yacht-charter hub in the Marina sense. What leaves from this water is dhows — the traditional route, the wharfage, the souks — and that is a genuinely different evening, described in Dubai Creek in one evening.

The Creek is also the sheltered option. A northwesterly that makes the open coast unpleasant barely touches it.

Jebel Ali — the one nobody visits

Furthest south, past the Palm and out towards the Abu Dhabi border, beside the largest port in the region. Berthing is cheaper here than anywhere else in Dubai and there is essentially no visitor traffic.

It is where boats are kept rather than where boats are boarded, and it is included in this list mainly so that the absence of anything to do there is stated rather than discovered.

Which one you will actually use

Dubai Marina, almost certainly. If you are chartering a boat as a visitor, that is where you are going, and the practical questions are parking, which pontoon, and how long it takes to get down to the water — all in getting to Dubai Marina and parking.

If you are booking a dhow cruise, it is the Creek, Al Seef, the canal or the Marina depending on the route, and the fare rises in roughly that order.

If you own a boat, the list reverses and the question becomes berthing cost, draught and how far you are prepared to drive.

  • Chartering as a visitor: Dubai Marina.
  • Dhow cruise: Creek, Al Seef, canal or Marina, depending on route.
  • Very large yacht: Dubai Harbour or Mina Rashid.
  • Keeping a boat cheaply: Jebel Ali.

FAQ

Questions people ask

How many marinas are there in Dubai?

Six that matter in practice: Dubai Marina, Dubai Harbour, Mina Rashid, Dubai Creek Marina, Dubai Festival City and Jebel Ali. Several smaller private facilities exist alongside them.

Which marina do yacht charters leave from in Dubai?

Dubai Marina, in the overwhelming majority of cases. It holds the largest concentration of charter boats in the city and is the only marina here with a proper public promenade.

What is the biggest marina in Dubai?

Dubai Harbour, with over a thousand berths, deep water and a cruise terminal. It takes vessels Dubai Marina cannot and sits between the Marina and the Palm.

Where do superyachts berth in Dubai?

Mainly Mina Rashid and Dubai Harbour. Mina Rashid is the old port beside the historic city, with the QE2 permanently moored in it; Dubai Harbour is the newer deep-water option.

Which Dubai marina is best to visit without a boat?

Dubai Marina. It is the only one built with a public frontage — a seven-kilometre promenade, restaurants and a mall — and it works as an evening whether or not you get on the water.

Which marina is most sheltered in windy weather?

The Creek facilities. It is an inland waterway, so a northwesterly that makes the open coast unpleasant barely reaches it, which is why Creek dhow cruises run when other trips move.

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