Saadiyat Island: Paradise at our doorstep

Living in the UAE means that we are absolutely spoiled when it comes to the coast line. Factor in the relatively warm winters and it is understandable that people not only want to live here but vacation here. Being quite loyal to the Dubai coast line I finally made the plunge and went to Saadiyat Island. Now I wonder why I have not gone before! It was gorgeous. White sand and turquoise water made a simple day trip into a vacation away to some faraway Caribbean paradise.

Entrance to the beach

 Entrance and membership fee information from the website:

• Basic entrance fee of AED 25 per adult and AED 15 per child over six years old. An annual membership fee of AED 500 per adult and AED 1,000 per family.
• Daily access fee inclusive of sun-lounging facilities is AED 50 per Adult/Child on weekdays and AED 75 on weekends. A six-month membership fee is AED 1,500 and an annual membership fee is AED 2,500. 
• There is free parking for up to 200 cars at the beach as well as a public bus service which stops there

Enjoying the beach

From the small restaurant

 As we did not bring snacks with us we opted to grab something from the small restaurant which was by the entrance. I went for the tabouleh and hummous. Both were well flavoured and cost AED22 each. There were other Arabic mezze, such as moutabel and Beiruty hummous, also for AED22. Sandwhiches and pizza, as well as some nice salads were also available to order and were around AED30-50. The prices were reasonable for the quality and quantity of what we ordered.

Looking towards the sun loungers

There are also changing, shower, washroom and locker facilities at the beach which are clean and well maintained.

After a nice day at the beach we headed across to the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel and Villas for a lovely Devonshire Tea at The Library which was AED70 per person. At first we decided to sit outside and enjoy the view but as we were not in the sun we slowly got rather chilled and moved inside.

Rose hip and hibiscus tea outside on the terrace

Delicious scone with clotted cream and cherry jam

Inside The Library

The Library was a cozy place to enjoy a Devonshire tea. I could imagine coming here even alone and reading one of the books they have on hand while eating scones and drinking tea or grabbing some girlfriends for an opportunity to just catch up. The service was excellent and because the scones (which are freshly baked) did not come in the time frame that was given to us we also received a glass of fresh orange juice.

Getting to Saadiyat Island is simple from Dubai as you only need to follow the E11 south bound and then you will find the signs to Yas Island/Saadiyat Island. From the Marina area to Saadiyat Public Beach it took us about 40 minutes with a stop at a petrol station.

Check out Saadiyat Island this weekend for an escape from the norm.