For a real taste of old-time Dubai, nothing beats a ride across the Creek in one of the city’s abras, the old-fashioned little wooden boats which are traditionally used to ferry locals from one side of the city centre to the other. It’s a pleasantly breezy ride even in the heat of the day, offering matchless views up and down...

Located at the vast Atlantis resort on Palm Jumeirah, the spectacular Aquaventure waterpark is the newest and most state-of-the-art in the city, featuring all sorts of unusual and exciting ways of getting wet. Centrepiece of the park is the dramatic “Ziggurat”, featuring the stomach-churning “Leap of Faith” waterslide, 27.5m tall and 61m long, at the bottom of which you’re deposited...

At the far end of the Palm Jumeirah island, the monumental Atlantis resort is one of Dubai’s most eye-popping mega-developments. Modelled after its sister resort in the Bahamas, Atlantis brings a healthy dose of supersized kitsch to the city’s elegantly futuristic skyline: a vast, pale-pink extravaganza towering high above the sea and looking like a bizarre film-set from some outlandish fantasy...

Next to Aquaventure water park at the vast Atlantis Resort, Dolphin Bay offers the chance to spend some time in the water with the resort’s resident bottle-nose dolphins. Shallow-water “Dolphin Encounters” (30min; from 695dh) are open to all ages, including non-swimmers. Alternatively, there are also deep-water “Dolphin Adventure” and “Royal Swim” packages (30min; ages 8 and above only) – the latter includes the...

Next to Gate #1 at Creek Park, Dubai’s state-of-the-art new dolphinarium hosts twice-daily shows in its spacious modern auditorium. Starring the centre’s three resident bottlenose dolphins accompanied by four seals, shows feature all the usual watery wildlife antics and acrobatics, with the obligatory jumping through hoops and flipping of balls. Cheesy, but a guaranteed hit amongst younger kids (and perhaps...

Halfway down Jumeirah Road, the idyllic Jumeirah Beach Park is the place to come if you want the beach but aren’t prepared to stump up the vast amounts of cash needed to stay in one of the city’s oceanfront hotels – although sadly the whole place is currently closed until at least the end of 2016 as a result of...

Bounding Bur Dubai to the south, the formless suburb of Oud Metha lacks the character of other districts nearby, but is home to a number of attractions tucked away amongst the rather drab concrete streets. The suburb’s major landmarks are the quirky Wafi complex, with its spiky pyramids poking up above the surrounding streets, and the even larger pyramid of...

One of the city’s most enduringly popular attractions, Wild Wadi waterpark boasts a wide range of attractions to suit all ages. Younger kids can inner-tube around Lazy River or splash about in Juha’s Dhow and Lagoon play area, while older children and grown-ups can try the various master-blaster tube rides or have a crack at surfing the Wipe-Out and Rip...