Our top pick11,719 reviews
1.5 hMarina, Atlantis, Palm & Burj Al Arab Speedboat Tour
★ 4.8 · 11 719 reviews
- 1.5 hours, Marina, Palm, Atlantis and Burj Al Arab
- Photo stops on the water
- Departs from Dubai Marina
- Free cancellation
Dubai Speedboat Tours
A Dubai speedboat tour gives you fast views of the Marina, Palm and Burj Al Arab. We compared 16 tours, from $20, with free cancellation, and the top tour rated 4.8 across 11,719 reviews. The ride links Dubai Marina, the Palm and Burj Al Arab.
Price from
Speedboat tour$20
Today's lowest speedboat tour across all 16 tours
Average rating
All 16 tours48
49,406 verified reviews across 16 tours
Your day
Shortest to longest30min–8h
Shortest: Private Self-Drive SeaKart
Longest: Private Everest Yacht
Free cancellation 24 h
Marina or JBR start
Mobile voucher
Guided from the boat
Instant confirmation
Photo stops on the way
Everything you can book here
Sixteen boats out of Dubai Marina
Every boat on this page leaves from Dubai Marina or the jetty at JBR beside it, and every speedboat sightseeing tour Dubai operators run covers the same stretch of coast: the Marina towers, Ain Dubai on Bluewaters, Palm Jumeirah with Atlantis on its crescent, and the Burj Al Arab on its own island. What separates them is the hull and the clock. Dubai speedboat tour tickets buy you thirty to a hundred minutes on an open boat with the spray in your face; the yachts trade that speed for shade, a deck and a swim stop. Prices from $20.
Most departures3,770 reviews
1.5 h1.5-Hour Atlantis Sightseeing Speedboat Tour
★ 4.7 · 3 770 reviews
- 1.5 hours, Atlantis The Palm from the water
- Ninety minutes out of the Marina
- Departs from Dubai Marina
- Free cancellation
Rigid inflatable1,920 reviews
30–99 minGuided Sightseeing Tour by Speedboat
★ 4.8 · 1 920 reviews
- About 90 minutes, Guided sightseeing by speedboat
- Dubai Marina skyline at speed
- Departs from Dubai Marina
- Free cancellation
Live guide827 reviews
1–1.5 hSightseeing Speedboat Tour with Live Tour Guide
★ 4.7 · 827 reviews
- About 90 minutes, Live guide on board
- Sightseeing along the coast
- Departs from Dubai Marina
- Free cancellation
Lowest fare here375 reviews
1 h1-Hour Luxury Sightseeing Speedboat Tour
★ 4.8 · 375 reviews
- One hour, Sightseeing along the Marina
- Luxury sightseeing boat
- Cheapest here
- Free cancellation
Rated 4.9202 reviews
100 min100-Min Speed Boat Tour, Atlantis & Burj Al Arab View
★ 4.9 · 202 reviews
- 100 minutes, Atlantis and Burj Al Arab views
- One hundred minutes on the water
- Departs from Dubai Marina
- Free cancellation
Sunset run58 reviews
1 hGuided Speedboat Tour with City Sights & Ice Cream.
★ 4.8 · 58 reviews
- One hour, City sights by speedboat
- Ice cream on board
- Departs from Dubai Marina
- Free cancellation
Most reviewed22,156 reviews
1–3 hLuxury Yacht Tour with Breakfast or BBQ Option
★ 4.7 · 22 156 reviews
- Up to three hours, Luxury yacht in the Marina
- Breakfast included
- Most booked
- Free cancellation
Live DJ4,054 reviews
3 hLuxury Superyacht Tour with Live DJ, Swim & Open Bar
★ 4.8 · 4 054 reviews
- Three hours, Superyacht with a live DJ
- Swim stop and open bar
- Departs from Dubai Marina
- Free cancellation
$126
Check availability→ 
You drive598 reviews
30 minPrivate Self-Drive SeaKart Jet Ski Boat Tour
★ 4.9 · 598 reviews
- 30 minutes, Self-drive SeaKart
- Thirty minutes at the wheel
- Departs from Dubai Marina
- Free cancellation
$149
Check availability→ 
The whole boat362 reviews
1–4 hMarina Private Luxury Yacht Tour
★ 4.9 · 362 reviews
- Up to four hours, Private luxury yacht
- Marina departure, your own boat
- Departs from Dubai Marina
- Free cancellation
$270
Check availability→ 
Swim stop660 reviews
1–3 hPrivate Sea Escape Cruise - Swim, Tan & Sightsee
★ 4.9 · 660 reviews
- Up to three hours, Private sea escape cruise
- Swim, tan and sightsee
- Departs from Dubai Marina
- Free cancellation
$150
Check availability→ 
Rated 5.0619 reviews
1 hPrivate Yacht Cruise for Unforgettable Memories
★ 5.0 · 619 reviews
- One hour, Private yacht cruise
- Your own boat and crew
- Departs from Dubai Marina
- Free cancellation
$153
Check availability→ 
Up to 8 hours519 reviews
1–8 hPrivate Luxury Everest Yacht Cruise from Dubai Marina
★ 4.7 · 519 reviews
- Up to eight hours, Private Everest yacht cruise
- From Dubai Marina
- Longest tour here
- Free cancellation
$170
Check availability→ 
Three lengths802 reviews
1h 20mMarina Private Boat Tour & Palm Jumeirah Sightseeing
★ 4.7 · 802 reviews
- One hours 20 minutes, Private boat to Palm Jumeirah
- Marina and Palm sightseeing
- Departs from Dubai Marina
- Free cancellation
$196
Check availability→ 
50-foot yacht765 reviews
1 hPrivate Luxury Yacht Tour on a 50-Foot Yacht
★ 4.9 · 765 reviews
- One hour, Private fifty-foot yacht
- Luxury tour from the Marina
- Departs from Dubai Marina
- Free cancellation
$133
Check availability→ Two questions
Which Dubai speedboat tour is yours?
Seen the sixteen above and still torn? Out of Dubai Marina there are really only four answers. Take the ninety-minute run that passes the Marina, the Palm, Atlantis and Burj Al Arab. Take the yacht more people here have booked than any other boat. Keep the fare down and still see the skyline from the water. Or take the whole boat for the afternoon. Pick what matters and we will point at one.
See it before you pay for it
Three things every boat goes past
The route out of the Marina is the same on every ticket, and it is three sights long. First the Marina itself, a canal of towers you leave at walking speed before the throttle goes down. Then Palm Jumeirah, which is the one landmark in the city you cannot read from the ground — from the water you run the whole curve of the crescent with Atlantis at the end of it. And last the Burj Al Arab, standing on its own island a few hundred metres offshore, which is as close as anyone gets without a room key.
Side by side
Speedboat, shared yacht, or a boat of your own
People book these interchangeably and then find out they bought different mornings. The speedboats are open RIBs: sixty to a hundred minutes, everyone gets a window seat, it is a Dubai guided tour told out loud over the engine, and the boat stops for photographs. A Dubai cruise on a shared yacht is slower and softer — one to three hours, a sundeck, shade and breakfast or a barbecue on board. A private boat is the only one that waits: your own skipper, your own music and a stop to swim in the lagoon behind the Palm. That is where the Dubai tour cost splits in two.
Swipe the table sideways →
| 1-Hour Luxury Sightseeing Speedboat Tour | TOP PICKMarina, Atlantis, Palm & Burj Al Arab Speedboat Tour | Marina Private Luxury Yacht Tour | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per person | $20 | $40 | $270 |
| What it is | One hour out of the Marina: the skyline, Ain Dubai and JBR | Ninety minutes at speed: the Marina, the Palm, Atlantis, Burj Al Arab | A luxury yacht of your own, out of Dubai Marina |
| Time it takes | 1 hour | 1.5 hours | 2 or 3 hours |
| Where you start | Dubai Marina | Dubai Marina | Dubai Marina |
| The boat | A shared speedboat | A shared speedboat | A private yacht, just your group |
| Around the Palm | Atlantis The Palm in view | Yes — the Palm, Atlantis and Burj Al Arab | Yes, past the lagoon and Atlantis |
| A guide on board | Yes, a professional guide | Yes, naming the landmarks as you pass | Crew and hospitality on board |
| Stop for a swim | Not on this one | Not on this one | Yes, in the lagoon |
| Stops for photos | Yes, along the way | Yes, at the landmarks | You set the pace |
| Cancellation | Free cancellation up to 24 hours | Free cancellation up to 24 hours | Free cancellation up to 24 hours |
Verdict
Take the 90-minute boat past all four landmarks
It is the one ride that holds the whole shoreline: ninety minutes out of Dubai Marina past the towers and JBR, the full curve of Palm Jumeirah with Atlantis at its end, and the turn at the Burj Al Arab, with a guide naming the buildings and stops for photographs along the way — rated 4.8 across 11,719 reviews. Keep the yachts, the swim stops and the private hulls for a second outing if the water is why you came.
Check dates and availability→Before you book
The hull decides what kind of ride you get
Three different things get sold as “a boat tour in Dubai”, and the fare tells you which one you are buying. The open speedboat — a RIB out of Dubai Marina, everyone on the rail, the guide talking over the engine — runs thirty to a hundred minutes and is the fastest way to see the Palm and the Burj Al Arab from sea level. A shared yacht trades that speed for a sundeck, shade and breakfast or a barbecue, and takes one to three hours over the same coast. And a private boat is a third kind of outing again: your own skipper, your own music and a stop to swim in the lagoon. Decide which of the three you actually want before you compare numbers, because otherwise you are comparing rides that are not the same ride.
Two-minute check
Which boat fits your morning?
Three things decide it: how many minutes you actually want on the water, whether you are happy sharing the boat or want it to yourself, and whether the day needs a stop to swim. There is no single best Dubai tour out of the Marina, only the one that matches those three answers — so answer them and find out before you pay rather than at the pontoon.
How many of you are going?Some boats are shared and seat a dozen, others are yours alone for the afternoon
How do you feel about a fast ride?A speedboat bumps and whips across the water; a yacht holds a steady line
How long do you want to be out?Three different afternoons, and they are not interchangeable
Answer the three questions above
You’ll get the one that fits your answers, and the thing about it that catches people out.
Six ways onto the water
49,406 reviews across sixteen Dubai boat tours
Ratings are the operators’ own numbers on GetYourGuide, shown as published. We do not write reviews and we do not average other people’s into a score of our own.
4.8
★★★★★
Based on 49,406
verified reviews
5 ★86%
4 ★10%
3 ★3%
2 ★1%
1 ★0%
All sixteen Dubai boat tours on this page, rated on GetYourGuide.
Read all 49,406→🚤
Marina, Atlantis, Palm & Burj Al Arab Speedboat Tour
From $40 · 11,719 reviews
★★★★★
The run that takes in all four landmarks
Ninety minutes at speed out of Dubai Marina: up along the coast to Jumeirah Beach, around Palm Jumeirah past Atlantis, with Ain Dubai and Burj Al Arab in view and a guide naming them as you pass, stopping for the photographs. Rated 4.8 across 11,719 reviews, which is why it is the one we point at first.
⛵
Luxury Yacht Tour with Breakfast or BBQ Option
From $25 · 22,156 reviews
★★★★★
The boat more people here have booked than any other
A yacht out of Dubai Marina with breakfast in the morning or a BBQ at sunset, a spacious upper deck and an air-conditioned one below, sailing past the Marina and Burj Al Arab. It carries 22,156 reviews at 4.7, more than any other listing on this page, which is what makes it the default answer rather than the interesting one.
⚓
1-Hour Luxury Sightseeing Speedboat Tour
From $20 · 375 reviews
★★★★★
The lowest fare on the water here
One hour from Dubai Marina with The Black Boats: the glittering skyline from sea level, Ain Dubai, JBR and Atlantis The Palm, a professional guide giving the sights meaning, and the time to photograph all of it. Rated 4.8 across 375 reviews.
🏝
1.5-Hour Atlantis Sightseeing Speedboat Tour
From $24 · 3,770 reviews
★★★★★
Ninety minutes, at whatever hour suits you
A ninety-minute speed boat tour around the coastal landmarks of Dubai, with departures from 9:00 AM to 7:45 PM, so it fits around whatever else the day holds. The Palm Jumeirah and Burj Al Arab from sea level. Rated 4.7 across 3,770 reviews. Book this one if the rest of the day is already spoken for.
🛥
Private Self-Drive SeaKart Jet Ski Boat Tour
From $149 · 598 reviews
★★★★★
The one where you take the wheel
Thirty minutes to two hours driving your own SeaKart, with an instructor leading the way and a guide on a separate boat taking the pictures of you. The Palm, Atlantis, the World Islands and Burj Al Arab from the water, with a swim stop in the Palm Lagoon on some options. Rated 4.9 across 598 reviews.
🛳
Marina Private Luxury Yacht Tour
From $270 · 362 reviews
★★★★★
The whole boat, for the afternoon
A luxury yacht out of Dubai Marina for two hours or three, with nobody aboard but your own group: past the lagoon, Kempinski and Atlantis, with a stop to swim and the hospitality of the crew the whole way. Rated 4.9 across 362 reviews.
What it really costs
What a speedboat ride out of the Marina costs, line by line
Prices are per person and cover the boat, the captain and the guide who names the buildings for you. Three things move the Dubai speedboat tour cost: how long the engine runs, how many people share the hull with you, and whether the boat stops for a swim. An hour and ninety minutes see the same Marina; the longer ticket is what buys you the far side of the Palm and the Burj Al Arab up close.
Swipe sideways →
| What you do | Price | What that buys | Cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|
| One hour on a shared speedboat | $20 | 1 hour, the Marina, JBR and Ain Dubai, guide on board | Free cancellation |
| Ninety minutes to Atlantis and back | $24 | 1.5 hours, the Palm and Atlantis added, departures from 9am to 7:45pm | Free cancellation |
| Marina, Atlantis, Palm and Burj Al Arab | $40 | 1.5 hours, all four landmarks, photo stops, rated 4.8 across 11,719 reviews | Free cancellation |
| Self-drive SeaKart with an instructor ahead | $149 | 30 minutes at the wheel, private, photographs taken from the guide’s boat | Free cancellation |
| A private boat to the Palm | $196 | 1 hour 20, your own hull and skipper, your own music, three tour lengths | Free cancellation |
Costs the listing doesn't show you
- The price on the card is the shortest option. Several listings sell 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes under one title, and the longer ones cost more at checkout.
- The hours are the whole outing. Thirty minutes at the short end and up to eight on the private cruises, counted from check-in at the pier to the step back onto it.
- Private is the whole boat. Those fares cover the hull and the skipper rather than a seat, so read them against the size of your group, not per person.
- There is no shade at speed. A hat, sunglasses and sun cover are yours to bring, and between June and August they decide how the middle of the day feels.
What is genuinely included
- Departure from a pier in Dubai Marina or at JBR, and the return to the same berth
- A life jacket and the safety briefing at the pier, before the boat casts off
- A guide on the shared tours, or a skipper on the private ones, on every listing here
- Photo stops along the route, and bottled water on board where the listing says so
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before, with a full refund
The honest answer
Is a Dubai speedboat tour worth it?
Twenty dollars buys an hour of the Marina and the skyline from sea level, and the question is really about the other two hundred and fifty. The coast is the same on every ticket. The Dubai tour price climbs when the boat gets quieter and the clock gets longer: ninety minutes instead of sixty, a sundeck instead of a bench, your own skipper instead of a shared bow, a stop to swim in the lagoon. The forty-dollar boat that takes in the Marina, Atlantis, the Palm and the Burj Al Arab, rated 4.8 across 11,719 reviews, is the one most people pick once they have read both columns.
What makes it worth it
- Dubai Marina, Ain Dubai, Burj Al Arab, Atlantis and the Palm on one run along the coast
- A guide or a skipper on board names the buildings as you pass them
- Boats pause for photo stops where the skyline lines up behind you
- A speedboat tour takes 30 to 100 minutes, so it fits around the rest of the day
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours, so booking early costs you nothing
Keep in mind
- The quoted time is the whole outing from the pier, boarding and briefing included
- You sit outside at speed: wind, spray and sun come with the ride
- Speedboats run $20 to $43; a private yacht starts at $126
- From June to August the heat sets the hour, so departures are early or near sunset
- Private yacht listings run one to eight hours, so read the option you select
The ride, minute by minute
Out of the Marina, along the Palm, back by the Burj Al Arab
Hold the date before the week fills up
Free cancellation runs to 24 hours on every tour here, so a booked date costs you nothing until the day before. Boats go all year, and the popular sunset slots fill first.
At the pier in Dubai Marina
Every boat on this page leaves from Dubai Marina or JBR. You check in at the pier, put on a life jacket and hear the briefing before anyone casts off.
Out through the Marina
The boat idles between the towers of Dubai Marina, past the yacht club and the moored hulls, and the skipper opens the throttle once the channel is behind you.
JBR, Bluewaters and Ain Dubai
The beachfront at JBR runs past on one side and Ain Dubai turns above Bluewaters Island. This is where a 60-minute tour spends most of its hour.
Burj Al Arab from sea level
The sail-shaped hotel stands on its own island, and from the water you see the side of it that no street in Dubai shows you. Boats slow here for photographs.
Palm Jumeirah and Atlantis
The boat runs along the crescent of Palm Jumeirah to Atlantis The Palm at the end of it. The 90-minute and 100-minute tours are the ones that get this far.
The same berth in the Marina
The return leg is the skyline the other way round, and you step off at the pier you left from. Sunset departures come back with the towers already lit.
Best time of day
Take an early slot or the last one, and let the skyline do the rest
Two things pull against each other out on the water in Dubai, and the departures at either end of the day settle both. There is very little shade on a speedboat, so the middle of the day is when the deck is hottest and when the light flattens the towers into haze. A morning slot puts you between the Marina towers while the air is still cool and the water is at its calmest, with the rest of the day still ahead of you. The last departures do the opposite and are the ones people book first: the Burj Al Arab and the Palm in low sun, and the run back to the pier with the skyline already lit. Between June and August those two windows are effectively the whole timetable, and from November to March you can take any hour you like.
On the water
What the hour actually looks like
Dubai Marina
Where every boat on this page starts, and the skyline you come back to.
Burj Al Arab
The sail-shaped hotel from sea level, the angle the beach road never gives you.
Palm Jumeirah
The crescent runs past for minutes at a time on the longer tours.
Atlantis The Palm
The far end of the run, and the turning point on most 90-minute routes.
What it's like
One coastline, three ways to spend an hour on it
Almost everyone arrives in Dubai with the same picture in their head: the towers of the Marina, the sail of the Burj Al Arab, the Palm laid out in the sea. What nobody tells you before you book is that there are three quite different hours sold under the same heading, they cost very different amounts, and they are not interchangeable.
The first is the speedboat. Between 30 and 100 minutes, open to the air, out of Dubai Marina and along the coast past JBR, Ain Dubai, the Burj Al Arab and the Palm, with a guide or a skipper naming the buildings and the boat slowing at the points where the skyline lines up behind you. Eight of the sixteen tours on this page are this.
The second is the yacht. The same water at a quarter of the speed, with a deck to sit on, a shaded cabin, and one to three hours instead of one. Breakfast or a BBQ on board, a swim stop in the lagoon, music, and the skyline moving slowly enough to look at properly.
The third is your own boat. Private listings hand you the whole hull and the skipper: you pick the length, the route and who is on board, and nobody else is sitting across from you. These are the long ones, up to four hours in the Marina and up to eight on the coast.
Those three are what the fares are really measuring. A speedboat hour starts at $20, the tour most people take here is $40 for 90 minutes, a yacht with breakfast or a BBQ is $25, and a private luxury yacht in the Marina runs to $270.
Every boat here leaves from Dubai Marina or JBR, which means the walk to the pier is short and the first minutes of the tour are spent between the towers rather than getting out of traffic. You check in, you are handed a life jacket, and the briefing happens before anyone casts off.
The month decides the hour rather than the tour. November to March is the stretch when the water is pleasant at any departure time; April and October are warm and still easy. In May and September the heat pushes people to the morning and evening slots, and from June to August the boats run early or at sunset. Tours go all year.
The plan that works is the plain one. Put a speedboat in the first half of your stay, take the 90-minute route rather than the shortest one if the Palm and Atlantis are what you came for, and book a sunset slot a few days ahead. Free cancellation runs to 24 hours, so holding a date early costs you nothing.
If an hour in a shared boat is not enough
The three boats you take for yourself
Most of this page is a seat on a speedboat for an hour or ninety minutes. These three hand you the whole hull and the skipper instead: you choose the length, the route along the Marina, JBR and the Palm, and who is on board with you. They are the long outings here, and the ones that stop in the lagoon for a swim.
Practical
Plan the ride
Five things decide how it goes: which of the sixteen boats you take, whether you sail from Dubai Marina or the JBR jetty next door, what you wear on an open bow that throws spray, how early you go if the boat is part of a longer Dubai day tour, and which month you come.
The 90-minute speedboat
Our top pick: out of Dubai Marina, along JBR and the coast to the Burj Al Arab, Atlantis and the Palm, with photo stops and a guide on board. Rated 4.8 across 11,719 reviews.
The lowest fare
An hour on a luxury speedboat from $20, out through the Marina and along the front past Ain Dubai and JBR, guide included.
The 100-minute run
The longest speedboat outing here, on standard departure times from the Dubai Marina Yacht Club, with a captain and a hostess on board and a limited number of seats.
Driving it yourself
A private SeaKart you steer, with an instructor leading on a separate boat, past the Palm, Atlantis, the World Islands and the Burj Al Arab.
A yacht with breakfast or BBQ
The listing with more reviews than anything else here: one to three hours from the Marina, an upper deck in the open and an air-conditioned deck below.
Your own yacht
Private cruises from the Marina, one to four hours, with a skipper, a sundeck and a swim stop in the lagoon. The longest run to $270.
Sunglasses that stay on
You are in the open at speed for the whole outing, and there is nothing between you and the sun on the way out to the Palm.
Something you can get spray on
A speedboat throws water over the bow when it crosses a wake. Most people dry off within minutes, but not in white linen.
A phone strap or a wrist loop
The boat stops for photographs and the deck is moving the rest of the time. One hand is usually all you have spare.
Sun cover for your shoulders
The shade on a speedboat is a canopy at best. On the yacht listings there is a cabin, on the fast boats there is not.
Swimwear on the cruises
The private cruises and the SeaKart options stop to swim in the Palm lagoon, and the listings ask you to bring it.
A light layer after sunset
The evening departures come back with the towers lit and the air off the water noticeably cooler than the pier.
Sunset slots go first
The last departures of the day are the ones people want, and they are the first to close. Book those a few days out rather than the morning of.
Free cancellation to 24 hours
Booking early costs nothing, so hold a date as soon as your dates in Dubai are firm.
Check the length you are selecting
Several listings sell 30, 60, 90 and 120-minute options under one title, and the price on the card is the shortest one.
Private means the whole boat
On the private listings the fare covers the hull and the skipper, not a seat, so it divides across everyone you bring.
One price everywhere
Operator desk, platform or hotel lobby — the fare is the same. Booking ahead buys the slot, not a discount.
Read where the swim stop is
Only some of the cruises stop in the lagoon. If swimming is the reason you are booking, it has to be in the option you pick.
Dubai Marina is the base
Every tour on this page leaves from Dubai Marina or the beachfront at JBR, and most piers are a short walk from the tram.
The Yacht Club pier
Several of the speedboat listings, including the 100-minute one, board at the Dubai Marina Yacht Club rather than on the promenade.
Arrive before the briefing
Check-in, life jackets and the safety talk happen at the pier, and the listings ask you to be there ahead of the departure time.
Without a car
The Marina walk, the tram and the metro all reach the piers, which is why almost nobody drives to these departures.
JBR departures
Some boats leave from the beach side at JBR instead, which puts Ain Dubai and Bluewaters in the first minutes of the route.
The route back is the same water
Every tour here returns to the berth it left from, so you end the outing where you started.
Best time
When to come
Boats run all year, because the Gulf here is sheltered and the crossing is short. What changes month to month is the heat on an open deck, how hard the light is at midday, and which departure time the captains push you towards.
Nov – Mar
The best weather of the year
Warm days, cool air off the water and long usable afternoons — this is when a boat out of the Marina is simply pleasant, and every one of the sixteen runs. It is also the busy half of the year, so people book Dubai tour dates a week or two ahead, especially the sunset departures and the private hulls.
Apr & Oct
Warm, still easy
The shoulder months keep the comfortable water and lose some of the queue. Middays are warm rather than heavy, and a ninety-minute ride still feels short. One of the better windows if you want the boat you actually chose rather than the one with a seat left.
May & Sep
Hot — go early or late
The heat builds on an open deck with no shade over the bow, so the captains lean on the first departures of the morning and the last of the evening. Those are the good ones anyway: flat water at nine, and the skyline lighting up on the way back at seven.
Jun – Aug
Peak heat
High summer on the Gulf is hard work at midday, so the boats that sell are the early mornings and the sunset runs, and the yachts with a shaded lower deck come into their own. Book with free cancellation, which holds up to 24 hours before departure.
Worth knowing
Six things that aren't in the listing
01
There are three different hours here, not one. A speedboat at speed, a yacht you sit on for two or three hours, and a private boat you have to yourself. They cost different amounts and they end at different times, and that decides more than the price does.
02
The length of the tour decides how far you get. The 60-minute routes work the Marina, JBR and Ain Dubai. The 90 and 100-minute ones carry on to the Burj Al Arab, the Palm and Atlantis, which is what most people picture when they book.
03
Check which option you are selecting. Several listings sell 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes under one title, and the price shown on the card is the shortest of them.
04
Private is the whole boat, not a seat. On the private cruises the fare covers the hull and the skipper, so it splits across your group instead of multiplying by it.
05
The month sets the hour. November to March is comfortable at any departure time. From June to August the boats run early in the morning or close to sunset, and those are the slots to book.
06
Book the sunset slot ahead. The last departures of the day close first, and free cancellation runs to 24 hours, so holding one early costs you nothing.
Round out the trip
Booked alongside
Go deeper
More on Dubai speedboat tours
Common questions
Dubai speedboat tours, answered
How long does a Dubai speedboat tour take?
The speedboat listings on this page run from 30 minutes to 100 minutes, and the time quoted is the whole outing from the pier. An hour covers Dubai Marina, JBR and Ain Dubai; ninety minutes and up is what reaches the Burj Al Arab, Palm Jumeirah and Atlantis The Palm. The yacht and private cruises run from one hour to eight.
Do you get wet on a speedboat tour?
You are in the open air for the whole ride, so wind is constant and spray comes over the side when the boat crosses a wake or turns. Most people finish the tour damp rather than soaked, and dry off within minutes in the Dubai air. Wear something you do not mind sea water on, and keep your phone in a pocket or on a strap between photo stops.
Does the boat stop for photos?
Yes, and it is written into most of the listings here. The tours pause where the landmarks line up — off the Burj Al Arab, along the crescent of Palm Jumeirah, and in front of the Marina skyline on the way back. The 100-minute listing runs with a captain and a hostess on board, and several of the guided tours build the stops into the route.
Can children go on a Dubai speedboat tour?
Families are on these boats every day, and the private cruise listings say in so many words that they are kids friendly. A speedboat is bouncier than a yacht, so for younger children the one to three-hour cruises with a deck and a shaded cabin are the easier hour. Each operator states its own age rules on the listing, so read that before you book.
Where do the speedboat tours leave from?
From Dubai Marina and the beachfront at JBR. Several of the speedboat listings board at the Dubai Marina Yacht Club, and the rest use piers along the Marina promenade, all of them walkable from the tram. You check in at the pier, put on a life jacket and hear the briefing before the boat casts off, then return to the same berth.
How much does a speedboat tour in Dubai cost?
An hour on a luxury speedboat starts at $20, and the 90-minute run past the Burj Al Arab, Atlantis and the Palm is $40. A yacht tour with breakfast or a BBQ is $25, and a private luxury yacht in the Marina runs to $270 for the whole boat.
Speedboat or yacht — which one should you book?
They buy different hours on the same water. A speedboat is fast, open and short, and it covers the whole coastline from the Marina to Atlantis in ninety minutes. A yacht moves slowly, has a deck and a cabin, runs one to three hours and often includes breakfast, a BBQ or a swim stop. The yacht listing here carries 22,156 reviews, the 90-minute speedboat 11,719.
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A day on the water in Dubai — the plan we'd follow
Which of the sixteen tours matches the hours you actually have, whether a speedboat or a yacht is the better use of your afternoon, and which departure time to take in the month you are coming. Built from the operators’ own listings and the same live prices as this page.
- All sixteen tours, with times and what each fare covers, from the listings
- Which routes reach the Burj Al Arab, Palm Jumeirah and Atlantis, and which stay closer in
- The private boats and what the whole-hull fare works out at for a group
- What to wear at speed in the open, and which slot to book in each month
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Why trust this page
How we put this together
Checked, not guessed
Durations, inclusions and operator names come from the live GetYourGuide listings for each tour. Prices and ratings are read off the same listings and updated with the page.
How we pick
Every boat tour bookable from Dubai Marina and JBR is on this page, ordered so the short speedboat runs come first and the private cruises last. Nobody pays to be featured.
We say what the fare length is
Several listings sell 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes under one title, and the headline price is the shortest of them. We mark that on the card, because it is the thing travellers most often get wrong.
Three kinds of boat, stated plainly
A speedboat at speed, a yacht you sit on for two or three hours, and a private hull with your own skipper are different purchases at different prices. We lead with that, because it decides more of your day than the fare does.
The answer
Take the ninety minutes, and book the slot before the week fills.
Dubai Marina and the coast come with every boat on this page. What you are choosing is how far along it you get and how long you stay out there: an hour past JBR and Ain Dubai, ninety minutes on to the Burj Al Arab, Palm Jumeirah and Atlantis, or a private hull for the afternoon. Tours start at $20. Pick a sunset departure and hold the date early.
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