Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) is the gem of the Middle East. It known for its many skyscrapers, luxury hotels, and amusement facilities. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that that Dubai has a very high quality aquarium that can compete with some the best aquariums in the world. If you’re willing to pay the right price, you can visit and have a chance to go swimming with dolphins in Dubai.
The place you want to check out is the Dubai Dolphinarum. Like many of the attractions in Dubai, it is owned and operated by the government and no expense is spared to make it look and feel impressive. Their staff consists of marine biologists from around the world, recruited for their abilities. Since tourists from many countries visit, they have a multi-lingual staff that can speak English.
The Dolphinarium has normal aquarium stuff like dolphin shows and seal shows. However, the best thing is their “Swim With The Dolphin” experience. With a reservation and a sign of release forms, anybody over the age of five can participate. It starts with a marine educator explaining dolphin behavior and life to visitors. After the orientation is over, you must shower and change clothes – it is important that anyone who touches the dolphins is clean.
Next, you can go in the habitat tank and actually swim and touch the dolphins! Part of the tank is shallow, so you don’t have to worry about deep water. When they say “swim with dolphins” they really mean it. You can swim around and even touch, hug, and be pulled around the pool by the dolphins (holding on to their fin – awesome!).
Each dolphin experience package gives visitors 20 minutes to swim with dolphins – that is a lot longer than other aquariums, which rush customers in and out in 5 minutes or less. Most of the tours are in mixed groups, but if you’re willing to pay extra you can have a private swim with the dolphins.
When the 20 minutes is up, you give the dolphins a goodbye hug and proceed to take a shower and change back into your original clothes.
Dolphin Bay
Another more expensive option for swimming with dolphins in Dubai is at the Dolphin Bay facility located at the Palm Jumeirah Atlantis resort. It is part of the Aquaventure water park that is located inside that resort. They offer both a shallow water and a deep water swimming experience – both of which last ninety minutes (a lot longer than the dolphinarium option).