# The Beaches



## happyhour (Aug 11, 2008)

Can anyone tell me what the beaches are like. We have it in our heads that every weekend we shall be relaxing on the beach. Is it safe to swim in the sea. Is there any beasties we should be careful of in the sea? Silly questions I know.

Thanks again

Happyhour


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## sgilli3 (Mar 23, 2008)

Depends where you come from.
I think the beaches here are awful - but Im from Oz ( say no more)

The public beaches are few and far between.
I find them dirty- rubbish in the water and sand. They are less crowded in the other emirates, though you need to cover more.

On saying that- they are very popular!!


The water is lovely and warm to swim in.
Like all beaches- you need to be aware of currents and rips and always swim between the flags.

This is just *MY* personal view, and others will disagree ( usually those who are coming from places where the beaches are poor anyway)


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## flossie (Jun 9, 2008)

sgilli3 said:


> Depends where you come from.
> I think the beaches here are awful - but Im from Oz ( say no more)
> 
> The public beaches are few and far between.
> ...


Sigh. Once again I'm agreeing with Sgilli!! We're from Oz, too. 

Sgilli, can't you say something outrageous just so I can disagree with you? It's becoming a habit.


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## macca_24 (Apr 14, 2008)

I agree, I think they are very disappointing too and I've said this before and same for reason because I come from Cronulla Australia where the beaches are best, (so I am a little bias) and Newcastle and the North Coast, NO WAVES. But they are safe for the kids to swim, very crowded on the weekend, but always found them crystal clear. Just a matter of a change of taste, we'll get use to it. Pool's more convenient now.


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

I have to agree with all of the above. I'm from Seychelles and in my opinion, the beaches here are nothing special!! It depends on where you are from though. If you are coming from the UK, then you will like the beaches!


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## Ogri750 (Feb 14, 2008)

I'm from the UK

What's a beach


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## flossie (Jun 9, 2008)

That cold, wet, windy place with stones (sorry, pebbles) that hurt under your feet.


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## Ogri750 (Feb 14, 2008)

Ah right

The place you never go to because you end up a funny shade of blue as the hypothermia sets in

Thanks for clearing up the confusion


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

flossie said:


> That cold, wet, windy place with stones (sorry, pebbles) that hurt under your feet.



You got that in one hit!!


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## flossie (Jun 9, 2008)

Ogri750 said:


> Ah right
> 
> The place you never go to because you end up a funny shade of blue as the hypothermia sets in
> 
> Thanks for clearing up the confusion


That's right. Unless you manage to get down there for the couple of hours that summer lasts for. Oh, how I miss sunny London!!


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## macca_24 (Apr 14, 2008)

Glad I'm not in England then, makes the beaches sound like paradise. They'll do, definitely better than nothing. We'll make the most of it then. They are growing on me already!


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## James - UK (Aug 18, 2008)

macca_24 said:


> Glad I'm not in England then, makes the beaches sound like paradise. They'll do, definitely better than nothing. We'll make the most of it then. They are growing on me already!


Ha ha, good old England, well, For once Im going to put my neck on the line for my home country (Pasanda, wait for it, Im going to be nice here about the UK) the Beaches in the North (Newcastle) are fantastic, some of the best Ive seen from around the world, HOWEVER! (and here comes the problem) We dont/never have Sunshine, therefore you cannot fully appreciate the beauty of the place, THEN, when we did get a 'stray ray' people flock to the beaches like migrating wilderbeasts in search of their summer! ha ha, seriously I agree with the above, the beaches are ok here, but coming from Aus, or SA, South East Asia or even India (goa) you will never rate them! 

There is sunshine tho (-_-)! ha ha

Regards
James


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## Indigo Dingo (Sep 24, 2008)

There are some quite nice beaches in the northern Emirates (Fujairah ( check out the website for fujairah-tourism.ae) is nice and has good diving too, I'm told) as well as Oman if you want to get out of Dubai on the weekends. Both are on the Gulf of Oman as opposed to the Arabian Gulf, and Furairah is only 90mins or so away from Dubai. (I'm from Melbourne so used to driving a bit to get to a good beach!
Agree beaches aren't that great compared to Oz, but I have really enjoyed swimming in the warm and incredibly salty water (love the bouyancy!) If its something you're serious about check out the beach clubs, might be a bit exy but you can have nice grassy areas, be served drinks on your lounge chairs, find shade and even get lunch! And if the beach gets too much you can always switch to the pool! Most hotels have beach clubs, and there is also the popular Jumeriah Beach Park which is public and more affordable. The kids seem to enjoy it too.
Good luck!


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## Pasanada (Feb 5, 2008)

James, Pasanda is an Indian dish, Pasanada is a Spanish answer to the question "Whats up?" (Que pasa? No PASA NADA) 

Yes, the UK doesn't have what I'd describe as nice beaches, my earliest memories are of being taken to Great Yarmouth for the day; pebble beaches, brown water and cheese and cucumber sarnies - yuck!!

I'm currently sat in my villa in Spain; I have spectacular views of the Mediterraean Sea (I live 3 kms away on a hill) and the beaches in my part (Costa Blanca/Costa Calida) are soft yellow sand and crystal blue waters. I also have some beautiful photos of the sun rising over the Med.

I found the best beaches in the UAE are to be found in Abu Dhabi, near the Royal Family's palace and the Emirates Palace Hotel. We would head down there about midnight and just swim for hours (with a few sessions of shisha smoking whilst lying back and admiring the stars). The locals never worried about clothing, they jumped in with swimming cozzies on, including the women. I do miss the Gulf, the water was lovely!!


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## macca_24 (Apr 14, 2008)

Well I'm sorry to disagree but I've been to Fugairah twice and I think the beaches stink over there, it made me appreciate the Dubai coast more. I couldn't even bring myself to put more than my feet in the water. Beautiful resorts though with lovely pools.


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## Rusty2 (Aug 19, 2008)

What about beaches outside town? Are there any accessible ones? Are there nice places to go where you can maybe get some beach privacy?


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## Gaza (Sep 22, 2008)

Pasanada said:


> Yes, the UK doesn't have what I'd describe as nice beaches, my earliest memories are of being taken to Great Yarmouth for the day; pebble beaches, brown water and cheese and cucumber sarnies - yuck!!


The UK has some of the best beaches in the world if you know where to look. The biggest issue is we don't get enough of the sun/heat to make the best use of them.

I live 15 minutes walk from Poole's beaches. All are "Blue Flag" meaning they have passed all the EU tests for cleanliness. The sand is soft and white. Slightly further along in Sanbanks there are wide beaches with sand dunes.

However, the UKs beast beaches are to be found in one of its most remote areas, Wester Ross. Take Redpoint Beach for example. A stunning beach that seldom has more than 6 people on it. There are many other similar beaches through Scotland. If only we had the climate of Dubai!


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