Thursday 21 November 2024 (UAE)
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Dubai Dolphinarium, Creek Park
- Dubai Dolphinarium established May 2008 as part of Dubai Marine World at Dubai Creek Park (delayed from December 2007 opening date).
- No shows on Sundays. Dolphins and seals have the day off to go watch a movie, go fishing, visit their friends at Dubai Mall Aquarium, and so on.
- Facilities include a gift shop, photo studio, Happy Valley Restaurant (but you can't eat with the dolphins, only swim with them).
- Ticket bookings can be made online at the Dubai Dolphinarium website.
- Swim-with-the-dolphin enquiries also through the website.
- Swimming with the dolphins is also possible at the Atlantis Dubai hotel on Jumeirah Palm, at Dolphin Bay. Ticket costs are about 50%-100% higher than at Dubai Dolphinarium (cheapest tickets at Atlantis are not for swimming with dolphins, just standing in the water with them).
- Location is Gate 1 of Dubai Creek Park - entry fee of AED 5 per person (Dubai Municipality charge, not Dolphinarium entry cost).
Dubai Dolphinarium ticket costs, prices
- [Update] Creek Park Exotic Bird Show (indoors, a/c) daily except Sundays, show timings 1215, 1615, 1915. Ticket prices AED 50 for adults, and AED 30 for children.
- Dolphin and seal show:
- Standard seats: adults AED 100, children AED 50.
- VIP seats: adults AED 120, children AED 80.
- [Update timings] Aladdin show:
- Standard seats: adults AED 120, children AED 70.
- VIP seats: adults AED 140, children AED 100.
- [Update] Mirror Maze
- Swim with the dolphins:
- Private session: costs AED 2,100 for 1-3 people, AED 550 for each additional person (maximum 6 people [check]).
- Public session: costs AED 550 per person (limited of 6 people per session).
Dubai Dolphinarium deals, discounts, special offers
Generally any discounts only apply to dolphin and seal shows (maybe bird shows also but check). Not for the 11am shows on Fridays or Mondays (DD have their own discounts applicable then). Discounts do not apply to swimming with dolphins.
- Dubai Dolphinarium online booking discounts for 11am Mon and Fri shows (if available): adults AED 70, children AED 40. Online booking page will automatically show discounted price when you select one of those times, if discounted seats are available that day. No discount on VIP tickets.
- Credit cards:
- Citibank UAE - 25% discount on show tickets, also with debit cards.
- Emirates NBD credit cards - 25% discount on show tickets.
- First Gulf Bank (FGB) credit cards - 25% discount on show tickets.
- Najm credit card - buy one get one free for show tickets, standard and VIP tickets.
- RAK Bank credit cards - 25% discount on show tickets, regular and VIP tickets.
- The Entertainer Dubai book or guide usually has 2 for 1 vouchers for dolphin shows, but not for all shows (11am Friday and Monday shows excluded last time we checked). No vouchers or coupons for swimming with dolphins.
- [check other Friday timings, check discount ok for VIP seats 11am Fri and Mon - e.g. RAKBank].
Dubai Dolphinarium show times updated [check]
| [Check times] | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1100 (11am) | no show | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| 1500 (3pm) | no show | no show | no show | no show | no show | √ | √ |
| 1800 (6pm) | no show | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ |
- Change in show timings - no 8pm shows, 5pm shows moved to 6pm.
- Extra shows sometimes offered on public holidays (Eid, National Day, etc), usually same schedule as Friday and Saturday.
Dubai Dolphinarium swim with dolphin available times
It is important to book ahead. Just showing up for a swim with dolphin session is likely to mean you miss out.
| [Check times] | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1300 | unavailable | √ | √ | √ | √ | unavailable | unavailable |
| 1400 | unavailable | √ | √ | √ | √ | unavailable | unavailable |
| 1500 | unavailable | √ | √ | √ | √ | unavailable | unavailable |
| 1600 | unavailable | √ | √ | √ | √ | unavailable | unavailable |
- Check timings with the dolphinarium on public holidays - they offer extra dolphin shows which means that swimming with them becomes unavailable at those times (unless you can eat raw fish and spin a basketball on your nose, and want to apply to be part of the show).
Contact Dubai Dolphinarium
- Contact DD directly for birthday party organisation and renting the facility for other private events.
- Tel +971-4-3369773, fax +971-4-3369774, email info@dubaidolphinarium.ae or smo@dubaidolphinarium.ae.
- Postal address Dubai Dolphinarium, PO Box 232292, Dubai, UAE.
- [Add] location map.
Dubai Dolphinarium background and controversy
- Plans for a dolphinarium in Dubai were announced in 2005, and caused some discontent amongst residents with the opinion that any form of keeping dolphins in captivity was undesirable.
- The Dubai Municipality said that the Dubai Dolphinarium would provide comfortable facilities for the resident dolphins and carried on with their plans.
- A petition was started to attempt to dissuade the Dubai Municipality from building the dolphinarium but construction and opening of the dophinarium went ahead anyway.
- The first expat resident bottle-nosed dolphin moved into the Dubai dolphinarium from a dolphinarium in Ukraine where conditions were apparently unsatisfactory. Although in contrast to how many expat residents come to Dubai, the dolphin did not choose to leave Ukraine, or choose to apply for a job in Dubai. The dolphin was not required to apply for a residence permit from Dubai immigration.
Show timings old information (May 2009)
| May 2009 | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1100 (11am) | no show | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| 1500 (3pm) | no show | √ | √ | ||||
| 1700 (5pm) | no show | √ | √ | √ | √ | ||
| 1800 (6pm) | no show | √ | √ | ||||
| 2000 (8pm) | no show | √ | √ |
- Dolphin and seal show tickets cost AED 100 for Adults and AED 50 for children. Increased to AED 120 and AED 70 ... when?
- Dubai Dolphinarium closed from 02 August to 17 September 2009 for maintenance, reopened on 18 September 2009.
Last update Wednesday 10-Dec-2014
Related pages
- Atlantis Hotel Palm Jumeirah - has an outdoor dolphin pond where you can swim with them.
- The Dubai Mall - has a large fish tank where the brave can swim with sharks instead of dolphins.
Related websites (new window)
- www.dubaidolphinarium.ae - Dubai Dolphinarium website (www.dubaidolphinarium.com is spam)
- [Disabled] Submit URL.