Palm Jumeirah is the largest artificial island on Earth, a real miracle created by man. With its outlines, it repeats a palm tree (trunk and 16 symmetrically arranged leaves), which is surrounded by a crescent-shaped breakwater for protection against the destructive action of the waves. The island has a huge number of luxury private villas, hotels, skyscrapers, shopping and entertainment centers, parks, beach clubs.
Palm Jumeirah is located in the United Arab Emirates, on the shores of the Persian Gulf off the coast of Dubai. By the way, this is one of the three islands of the Palm Islands complex, which increases the coastline of the Dubai Emirate by 520 km. And although the Palm Jumeirah island is smaller than the Palm Jebel Ali and the Palm Deira, but it was created first and due to this it became the “visiting card” of the UAE.
You need to visit the United Arab Emirates, in particular Dubai, at least then to see the Palm Jumeirah and appreciate what talented people, knowledge and money can create.
The story of the creation of the Palm Jumeirah
The idea to create a unique man-made island in the Persian Gulf belongs to UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. This idea came to him back in the 1990s, when on plots of land off the coast of the emirate of Dubai there was no suitable place for building new buildings. The construction of the miracle island, designed to increase the coastline of the emirate with a view to the subsequent development of tourism, was launched in 2001.
For the construction, 94,000,000 m³ of sand and 5,500,000 m³ of stone were used – in such a volume of material would be enough to build a wall 2.5 meters high at the equator of the entire globe. The main difficulty was that the sand from the deserts of the UAE turned out to be unsuitable for the construction of an artificial embankment: it is very small, and because of this, the water easily washed it out. Incredible efforts were expended to lift tons of sand from the seabed and bring it to the coast of the emirate. When creating a sand embankment, neither cement nor steel reinforcements were needed – the whole structure is held only by its own weight. Nevertheless, this unique project has proved its viability, because Palm Jumeirah has been successfully operating since 2006.
“Crown of the palm” – this is exactly what “Jumeirah Palm” is translated, and the photo from above clearly shows that the outlines of the manmade embankment completely repeat the silhouette of a palm tree. It is interesting that the choice of this form is explained not only by the fact that the palm is a symbol of the emirate of Dubai. Just with a relatively small diameter of 5.5 km, the trunk has 16 leaf-branches with a total coastline of 56 km – if the island had a round shape, this figure would be 9 times smaller. The artificial island is surrounded by a crescent-shaped breakwater stretching for 11 km. To strengthen the protection of the island, and at the same time attract divers on the coast of the emirate, all this splendor was complemented by a coral reef with two sunken F-100 aircraft.
Resort Attractions
Tourists arriving at the resorts of Dubai (UAE) are offered a wide variety of leisure options: relaxing on the beaches, diving courses, walking on the sea, helicopter flights, all kinds of entertainment at the hotels, classes in fitness clubs, visiting spa centers, excursions to museums and much more.
Among the most significant sights of the island of Jumeirah and the emirate of Dubai are the Atlantis hotel and the entertainment located on its territory: the Lost Chambers aquarium with exotic marine life, Dolphin Bay dolphinarium and Aquaventure water park. As for the Aquaventure water amusement park , it is recognized as one of the largest not only in the UAE, but also in the entire Middle East: 17 hectares of land were given under its territory, and more than 18 million liters of water were used to equip attractions. In Aquaventure there are many water slides for guests of different height and age, there are descents on the rapids and waterfalls of a turbulent river, a large-scale playground is provided, there is the opportunity to go diving and swim with dolphins.
Note! In Dubai, there is another large and popular water park, Wild Wadi water park. Detailed information about him is presented on this page .
Tourists who come to the UAE and want to see religious sights can visit the Jumeirah Mosque, located in the resort area of Dubai and considered the most beautiful in the city. Although the building was built recently, its architecture is made in the style of religious buildings of the Middle Ages. Jumeirah Mosque is the first mosque in Dubai and the UAE, open to adherents of absolutely any faith. Non-Muslims can visit this shrine on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 10.00, but entry is allowed only with a local guide from the UAE. More information about the mosque is presented on this page .
Holidays by the sea
The most pleasant and comfortable weather conditions for relaxing on the coast on the Palm Jumeirah are observed in mid-autumn. This is the time of the “velvet” season in the Emirate of Dubai, when the temperature of the water in the Persian Gulf is kept at +20 – +23 ° C, when it will be nice to sunbathe under the sun and hide in the shade of a beach umbrella.
The coast of Jumeirah is a series of beach areas covered with snow-white soft sand, with clean water, with convenient and comfortable descents into the water. There are different beaches:
- free, which can be visited by both residents of Dubai and tourists who arrived in the UAE;
- private, belonging to a particular residential complex or hotel – as a rule, the entrance to them is closed;
- Paid public beach parks.
Of the public beaches, it is worth highlighting Jumeirah Public Beach, which is located near the Dubai Marina Hotel and Jumeirah Mosque. Although not equipped, it is very spacious and clean.
Among the beaches owned by hotels, you need to pay attention to the beach of the Atlantis Hotel. Indeed, not only Atlantis guests can relax on it, but also vacationers who decide to visit the Aquaventure water park. Access to this private beach is included in the entrance fee to the water park.
There is a Shoreline beach on the island, owned by the eponymous residential complex of 20 high-rise buildings. It is noteworthy that the entrance to the Shoreline is allowed not only to people from this area, but also to ordinary tourists. The residential complex is guarded, so the rest there is completely safe.
See also: an overview of the beaches of Dubai – where better to relax .
Holiday Accommodation Options
A lot of world-class hotels are concentrated on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, some of them occupy a place among the outstanding attractions of the city and the emirate . Dubai is a luxury resort designed for wealthy vacationers, respectively, the prices are high.
Visitors to booking.com. offer more than 100 interesting accommodation options.
And now a few words about the most famous hotels in Dubai and the UAE.
- In Atlantis The Palm 5 * you can rent a room for an amount from 250 to 13 500 $ per day. As already noted, here is the most famous water park in the UAE, Aquaventure and a private beach – hotel guests can visit them for free.
- At the Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah, a double room per day will cost $ 200 – $ 1,100. The hotel has a spacious sandy strip by the sea, two swimming pools, tennis courts and a beautiful kids club. To services of visitors – 6 bars and restaurants.
- Somewhat cheaper, from $ 180 to $ 700 per day, an Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort room will cost. In addition to rooms, the hotel includes villas over the sea and a villa with a pool near the beach. Hotel guests have access to the beach, 3 swimming pools, 4 restaurants and a spa.
- Room at Fairmont The Palm costs from 125 to 1 650 $ per day. For guests there are 4 outdoor pools, a good beach, a gym, several restaurants. The hotel has a kids club, which organizes various entertainment and educational programs.
How to get to Palma
The famous resort is located in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Dubai, and it is from Dubai that you need to get there.
The most convenient and fastest way to get to Palm Jumeirah is by rented car or taxi. You can get there from Dubai International Airport in about 30 minutes, but during peak hours small traffic jams usually gather in those places where sightseeing groups stop for photography.
Directly through the resort you can travel both by taxi and by high-speed train along the monorail. The beginning of the monorail at the Gateway Towers station (this is at the very beginning of the “trunk” of Palma), the total length of almost 5.5 km. The standard interval between flights is 15 minutes, the total travel time from start to end stop (total 4) is 15 minutes. Monorail working hours: daily from 8:00 to 22:00.
Palm Jumeirah Problems
Although the island is very beautiful, the ecologists of the UAE and the whole world are excited about the changes taking place in the flora and fauna of the Persian Gulf. In response to the many demands to make the life of the inhabitants of the sea waters safe, the Dubai Emirate authorities built artificial reefs off the coast and plan to supply energy from environmentally friendly sources on all artificial islands.
The presence of a breakwater also creates certain problems. It is extremely important for protection against waves, but at the same time leads to stagnation of water in the bays and provokes the appearance of an unpleasant odor from it. The UAE government has made several attempts to solve this problem, but the desired result has not yet been obtained.
There is another important question: “How long can such a huge, but too fragile embankment, which is affected by climate change, as well as formidable waves leaching sand from it, stand?” The authors of the project argue that over the next 800 years you should not worry, and persuade investors to buy a “piece” of amazing real estate in the emirate. Moreover, the legislation of the emirate has been amended to allow anyone to purchase real estate here with absolute ownership.
It is important to know: How to behave in the UAE – the rules for tourists .
Useful Tips
- During a vacation by the sea on the island of Palm Jumeirah (Dubai, UAE) it is forbidden to take photos, smoke hookah and drink alcohol, take topless sun baths. If you ignore the above rules established by the authorities of the emirate, you can be fined.
- According to many tourists, the view of the unique resort area of Dubai is impressive only from a height, and from the ground everything is much more prosaic. That is why it is advisable to travel here not by taxi, but along the monorail. It is laid although not too high, but still at a height of several meters above the ground.
- Riding on the Palm Jumeirah is better on your own, without an excursion. So you can, at your discretion, plan the time and duration of the trip. By the way, you can go with such a calculation in order to have time to relax and take a walk, as well as watch the sunset.
- The final stop of the high-speed train is located at the famous Atlantis. The construction, of course, is luxurious, but the territory is closed to visitors. A trip to the hotel will be advisable only when a visit to the Aquaventur water park is planned.
- If you move on the right side of the Palm Jumeirah, you will see the famous hotel Burj Al Arab . If you move to the left, a review of the Dubai Marina will open.
