Dubai family holidays

It may not be the first destination you think of when planning your annual family holiday, but Dubai is developing into a major contender for the coveted top spot of family holiday destinations.

Already widely known as the land of; the tallest, the longest, the highest and the grandest, where everything has to be bigger and better than everything else, Dubai is carrying that ethos into providing some of the best family attractions outside of North America.

As the largest shopping centre on the planet, The Dubai Mall incorporates much more than just retail therapy and plays host to some of the biggest and best family attractions that will make you wish you were a child again.

KidZania is a unique ‘edutainment’ experience encouraging children between the ages of four and 12-years-old to role play with careers including; surgeon, firefighter, chef, radio host, photographer, mechanic, engineer, designer, artist, actor, police officer and television presenter.

The indoor theme park is a city built to a small person’s scale, which allows children to ‘work’, earn ‘money’ and then spend it in a variety of ways. With more than 80 roles to experiment with, it encourages children to engage with the world around them and discover their passions from an early age.

For older children and teenagers Sega Republic is a huge amusement arcade like nothing you will have ever seen before; full of thrills and spills and rides that twist you, flip you, spin you and fling you.

A ski resort in the desert? It has to be Ski Dubai. Whether you are into snowboarding, blading or skiing, the indoor slopes are perfect for carving up some powder — even if it has come out of a machine rather than a cloud. With a fully equipped ski school, beginners both young and old can get to grips with the basics before hitting the slopes.

Whether you’re new to ice skating or a seasoned pro, the Olympic-sized Dubai Ice Rink offers a great opportunity to get out on the rink with lessons for all ages and abilities or public sessions for those who just want to get out there and get going. Disco sessions on the ice liven things up and raise the tempo as the rink comes alive with a dazzling party of lights and music.

The Dubai Mall is also the location of the Reel Cinemas’ flagship 22-screen movie theatre offering the latest Hollywood blockbusters in 3D the largest Cineplex in the UAE.

In the evening, the Dubai Fountain puts on an amazing show like no other; what starts off small, quickly explodes into a display of epic proportions using water and light to fill the night’s sky with music, colour and flare. Spraying up to 22,000 gallons of water up to 500ft into the air, the Dubai Fountain sends sparkling explosions of cascading and shooting water, blasts into the night sky over a lake and forms walls of bright colours and dazzling synchronised performance. Like dancers with perfect technique, the fountain twists and turns in expressive perfection and creatively breathtaking brilliance.