Five Incredibly Fun Things To Do With Young Kids in Dubai
In November 2020, we traveled to Dubai, UAE on a family trip. You can see here for the logistics behind the trip (including where we stayed, COVID travel protocol, etc.) and our Instagram page for our travel story highlights.
Dubai has been one of my favorite places to travel with our three, badass little kids, so I wanted to share our itinerary with you in case any of it may be helpful as you plan your next family trip.
OliOli Museum: OliOli is self-described as Dubai's first Award winning experiential children's play museum , featuring 8+ galleries and 40+ exhibits that combine learning and entertainment. There were three floors of pure excitement for children from as young as my 1-year-old (a toddler’s section on the second floor), to my preschoolers. I would think this place is best fit for children in that age range and that by 10 years old or so, kids may be too old for it.
We were told that the exhibits change pretty regularly but in November, they had exhibits that explored air, water (my kids’ personal favorite – getting all wet and messy so bring a change of clothes and water friendly shoes like these), light, sound, and Toshi’s Net: a big, gigantic net that kids (and big kids like me!) can climb.
Tickets cost AED 126 (so about $35) for children 2-16 years old, 63 AED for toddlers from 1 year up to two years old (~ $18). Bonus: one adult ticket is comped per paying child. See some pictures from our visit below.
KidZania: KidZania is located in the Dubai Mall and is a monster-size (as in, 7,000 meters or ~23,000 sq ft) replica of a real city where children have the opportunity to role play 40+ professions: from firefighter to surgeon to bank-teller, this place was to die for! While my one-year-old was far too young to enjoy it, the older two had an absolute blast. KidZania was way more expensive than OliOli with standard tickets running at AED 195 (~$54) and Premium tickets costing AED 260 (~$71). And unlike OliOli, adults don’t get complementary tix at KidZania and each adult ticket cost AED 80 (~$22.) But what’s money to a baller like you, right?
Selfishly, this place was awesome for two reasons. 1) The Dubai Mall is a place dreams are made of and if there are two adults, one can shop while the other watches the kids’ eyes light up at the mall and 2) KidZania is fun, even for adults. Caveat: I’d say the place is best suited for 6+ years and OliOli is best for a younger crowd. Unfortunately, my phone died before we got to KidZania that day, so no pictures but you can check out their site to get a sense of this wonderland.
Trampoline Xtreme: when Mom’s away (shopping), kiddos will play! Once again located in the Dubai Mall, Trampoline Xtreme was a huge trampoline and rock-climbing park. My kiddos had a blast jumping and climbing. We paid for 2 hours and per kid, it was AED 185 (~$51). Not cheap. Con? Our 1-year-old couldn’t join in on the fun as she didn’t meet the minimum age requirement, and she was absolutely devastated.
Climbing all the way to the top @ Trampoline Xtreme is no easy feat
The Palm Atlantis Aquaventure Waterpark: The Atlantis is a full-day affair (at the least) if you want to experience all of it, and the waterpark is the center of it.
Old Town Dubai: This one wasn’t an obvious choice to me and it was after much debate that we decided to check out Old Town Dubai versus a desert safari excursion out of town to ride camels and ATVs. However, with tons of spices, incense, gold souks, and cultural clothing, it’s no wonder Old Town Dubai was a hit with my preschoolers!
Learning about all the spices
Added bonus: we went to the famous Turkish ice cream stand in the middle of the gold souks section. It was hilarious. Check out the video below. He does all sorts of neat tricks with the ice cream scoops & cones and makes you burn off some calories before you treat yourself to some ice cream. Worth checking out irrespective of whether you have kiddos.
Catch (my ice cream) if you can!