‘Swimming in the sea’ is what springs to mind while planning a visit to Dubai, the city drenched in sun all round the year. Stretches of sandy beach along the Arabian Gulf and temperature controlled swimming pools in luxurious hotels beckon tourists to travel to Dubai on a shopping holiday. In Dubai sports is invariably linked to water activities, and the city has innumerable sports clubs and associations offering facilities. Swimming has become such a popular activity that one of the hotels is planning to offer artificially cooled sand to guests on its beach in the near future.
Swimming has picked up big time among Dubai sports, with schools also encouraging swimming as part of their activities. Besides enjoying the cool waters of the sea, swimming is a major fitness sport popular with Dubai residents. Among Dubai sports, swimming is most popular. Most hotels and resorts in Dubai have swimming pools, some temperature controlled, for guests, and to public on paying a fee. Many hotels with more than one pool also offer coaching programmes to beginners be it a toddler or an adult. Check out the details on the websites of the hotels while planning a visit to Dubai.
Palm Beach: Dubai has several patches of public and private beaches as well as beach parks all along its coastline. Most of the beaches are relatively clean, open to swimming, and have various water sports facilities. Palm Beach is full of holidaymakers especially during winter, enjoying a swim in the lovely waters and lazing on the pearly white beaches. A travel to Dubai can include an enjoyable visit to Palm Beach.
Jumeirah Beach: One of the popular beaches in Dubai, Jumeirah Beach is a vast coastline along which are some famous luxury hotels and resorts. Many tourists book into these beach hotels for an opportunity to swim in the sea. Most of these hotels also have excellently maintained swimming pools for its guests. Several private clubs also on Jumeirah beach offer recreational sport facilities to tourists visiting Dubai.
Al Mamzar Park: This is another public beach park, which makes for a lovely holiday on a visit to Dubai. Al Mamzar Park lies on the Deira side of the Dubai creek. There are various picnic facilities like playgrounds, food stalls, barbecue sites etc, ideal for a family on a visit to Dubai.
People who travel to Dubai should be aware that regular beachwear is acceptable for both men and women at most public beach stretches, though swimmers should get back to their casual dressing if they are leaving the beach. Some of the hotels and resorts along the beaches to stay on a visit to Dubai include Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Resort, Burj Al Arab Hotel, Habtoor Grand Spa Resort, and Dubai Marine Beach Resort etc.
DSC Swimming Academy: The Dubai Sports City’s Swimming Academy is a prestigious facility, which is expected to open in 2009. The 50-metre pool will offer swimming programmes to the locals as well as excellent training facilities to international swimming teams who visit Dubai. The pool will have state-of-art camera systems and video facility to aid competitive swimmers to hold championships.
Swimming lessons: Swimming is a major activity in Dubai sports. Several clubs and schools have mushroomed all over Dubai to cater to the increasing demand to learn swimming as well as to cater to the needs of tourists who visit Dubai. Some of the clubs/academies that offer coaching in swimming include:
Active Sports Academy: Offers coaching lessons to children and parents starting from the age of 4 months. Contact: P.O.Box 53880 Dubai, UAE. Tel: +971 50 559 7055, Fax: +971 4 288 2773 Email: activesports@eim.ae
Baby and Toddler Splash: This facility is for children in the age group of 4 months to 3 years. People who visit Dubai can have the details from their website www.babysplashdubai.com.
Dubaiswim: They offer different programmes ranging from learning to competitive swimming to fitness. More details can be had from their website www.dubaiswim.com
Al Nasr Leisureland: The facility remains open from 9 am to dusk. Coaching facility is available. Contact: 04-3371234.
Excel Sports: Offers coaching facility to children and adults. Contact info@excelsportsuae.com. Tel: 050-7943656.
Hamilton Aquatics Swim School: Promises high quality coaching. Contact hamiltonaquatics@gmail.com
Whether in the sea or in a pool, travel in Dubai reveals a zealous passion for swimming amongst visitors and residents alike.