Saadiyat Island, a natural island in Abu Dhabi, is one of the foremost eco-tourism destinations in the United Arab Emirates. It is perfect if you’re looking for the best beach in Abu Dhabi. It is an even better place for leisurely relaxation and recreation. Here are a few ideas – if you need them – for your Saadiyat Island Abu Dhabi vacation.

The Beach Life

Saadiyat Island is adjacent to the Saadiyat Marine National Park, one of Abu Dhabi’s marine protected areas. It has three prominent beach destinations: Kai Beach, Saadiyat Beach Club and Soul Beach.

All these beaches are on the nine-kilometre white-sand stretch of coast adjacent to the Arabian Gulf. Saadiyat Beach waters are home to bottlenose dolphins, among other wildlife, and the beach is a breeding ground for hawksbill turtles.

Kai Beach

Kai Beach is a 500-metre-long beach known for its powder-white sands. It’s a walk-in-only beach – no reservations required – but you do need to visit early as facilities like sunbeds are limited. A food and beverage truck onsite serves food and drinks, and the beach has changing and shower rooms for freshening up and changing into and out of your swimsuit.

Kai Beach opens at 7 a.m. and closes after sunset.

Saadiyat Beach Club

If you want more than just sea and white sand, head to Saadiyat Beach Club. It gives you a lot more options, amenities and space than Kai Beach.

Your admission fee gives you access to the 650-square-metre infinity pool. You can rent cabanas, order food and drinks from the poolside bar, and visit onsite restaurants, Safina and La Salle. The beach club also has a gym, a sauna, a spa, steam rooms, a grooming lounge for men, and even a library. If you visit on a weekend, you may be able to enjoy a seated brunch, too.

Saadiyat Beach Club is open from 8 a.m. to sunset.

Soul Beach

You may also visit Soul Beach in Mamsha Al Saadiyat, a beachfront residential and commercial neighbourhood on the western end of Saadiyat Island. It’s the beach along the Mamsha promenade, lined with a delightful variety of dining options, including shops selling pastries and speciality coffee.

Your entrance fee gives you access to a pristine, kilometre-long beach, sunbeds with parasols, and changing facilities. You can order food and drinks right from your sunbed.

Soul Beach is open from 7 a.m. until sunset.

A Dose of Culture

Is it culture you want? You’ll get a hefty dose of that at Saadiyat Island’s Cultural District. The area’s foremost cultural attractions are Louvre Abu Dhabi, Manarat Al Saadiyat and Abrahamic Family House.

Louvre Abu Dhabi

Louvre Abu Dhabi is a museum complex surrounded by water. This structure, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, looks like it has a floating metal roof. Its apparent weightlessness is a feat of architectural and engineering ingenuity because, in truth, it weighs 7,500 tonnes, approximately the same weight as the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The roof looks like a shallow dome, inspired by the cupola that typically adorns traditional Arabic structures. It is also made up of eight layers of stars – 7,850 of them, to be precise – of varying sizes and angles. The layering of geometric stars means the roof has perforations through which light from the sun can get through.

This design does more than just let natural light bathe the interior. The dappled light and shade the roof projects onto the floor and walls evoke the pattern sunlight creates when it falls to the ground after passing through a layer of palm fronds.

The museum has extensive collections of permanent and loaned artwork displayed in its many galleries. It also hosts exhibitions and events. If you’re travelling with children, make sure to visit the Children’s Museum. Occupying three floors, it is filled with artwork and interactive games to help your children appreciate the vastness and wonder of the cosmos.

Louvre Abu Dhabi is on Jacques Chirac Street in Saadiyat Cultural District. It is open daily except Monday. The museum complex is open from 10 a.m. to midnight. The exhibits and galleries are open from 10 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. (during weekdays) or 8:30 p.m. (from Fridays to Sundays).

Manarat Al Saadiyat

Manarat Al Saadiyat is a sight to behold, as it lies behind the UAE Paviliondesigned by Norman Foster for the 2010 World Exhibition in Shanghai. After the world exhibition, the UAE country pavilion was disassembled, transported to the UAE and reassembled in Saadiyat Island.

Manarat Al Saadiyat is an art, cultural and community space. Visit it to enjoy art and photography exhibitions, open mic and poetry events, movie viewing, and film festivals.

Manarat Al Saadiyat has an art studio, a popular venue for art workshops, art camps, group workshops, corporate activities, and an artist fellowship programme. The photography studio, meanwhile, is the venue for photography exhibitions, workshops, meet-ups, and master classes. It organises photography competitions and has an active photographer residency programme.

Manarat Al Saadiyat is on Jacques Chirac Street. It is open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Abrahamic Family House

While you’re in Saadiyat Island Abu Dhabi to visit Louvre Abu Dhabi and Manarat Al Saadiyat, take the time to visit the Abrahamic Family House. Art is often a reflection of one’s beliefs and culture – and the Abrahamic Family House is a microcosm of the ethnic, cultural and religious diversity of the UAE.

It is home to these three houses of worship:

• Eminence Ahmed El Tayeb Mosque
• St. Francis Church Abu Dhabi
• Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue

Amidst (and connecting) these three houses are shared spaces designed to encourage interaction and dialogue. There are guided tours, lectures, competitions, seminars, and workshops. The houses of worship are also fully functional and open to worshippers at set prayer times.

Abraham Family House is also on Jacques Chirac Street in the Saadiyat Cultural District. It is open from Tuesdays through Sundays, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. The places of worship are also open to worshippers according to set prayer/service schedules.

Sand and Soul at Saadiyat Island

Saadiyat Island is a beautiful recreational destination in Abu Dhabi. You can soak up the sun on Saadiyat Beach or let culture seep in at the Cultural District. You can nourish your body or feed your soul at Saadiyat Island Abu Dhabi.