Dubai Canal dhow cruise

Where the canal runs, and how big it is

The canal opened on 9 November 2016. It carries Dubai Creek on from Business Bay to the Gulf, so the old creek now reaches the sea at both ends.

	The Dubai Water Canal
Length	3.2 km
Width	80 to 120 m
Depth	6 m, for boats up to 32 m long
From	Business Bay
To	The Gulf at Jumeirah 2
Passes	Safa Park and Jumeirah
Road bridges	Sheikh Zayed Road (8 lanes each way), Al Wasl Road and Jumeirah Road (3 lanes each way)
Foot and cycle bridges	3, including the Twisted Bridge, renamed the Bridge of Tolerance in 2017

The extension through Business Bay and the canal adds about 13 km of waterway between the Creek and the Gulf.

Boarding and the 2 hours on board

The canal dinner listing we checked boards at 19:30 and sails from 20:30 to 22:30. It does not publish a jetty address. Another canal dinner listing we checked starts from Dubai Festival City, timed to the IMAGINE show on the waterfront there. Your quote names the jetty for your boat, and your driver takes you to it.

The listing names sights well beyond the 3.2 km canal: the Burj Khalifa, Business Bay, Dubai Design District, Creek Harbour and the dhow yards at Al Jaddaf. So a canal cruise can cover the Business Bay waterway and the upper Creek as well. Ask which stretch your boat sails before you book.

On board there are two decks. The upper deck is open to the air and the lower one is air-conditioned. The listing serves an international and Arabic buffet with soft drinks, tea and coffee, plus Tanoura and puppet shows.

Getting to the canal by car

These free-flow times run to the canal at Sheikh Zayed Road, from OpenStreetMap routing. The jetty in your quote may be a few minutes either side.

From	Distance	Without traffic
Downtown Dubai	about 5 km	about 7 min
Dubai Marina	about 20 km	about 20 min
Palm Jumeirah	about 20 km	about 18 min

The canal passes under Sheikh Zayed Road, so evening jams on that road are the main risk to boarding on time. Your pickup time leaves room for them.

A dinner cruise or the RTA water bus?

Some people searching for a Dubai Canal cruise want public transport on the water, not dinner. RTA runs that service separately, with four marine stations along the canal. RTA’s heritage abra also runs a round trip of about 45 minutes from the Sheikh Zayed Road marine station, for 6 passengers or more. Timetables and tickets sit on the RTA marine pages and marine.rta.ae.

The dinner dhow is a different product: a private operator’s boat, a set evening sailing, a buffet and a show. For the metro, abras, ferries and taxis, our guide to getting around Dubai compares every option.

Canal, Creek or Marina

The canal suits a stay in Downtown, Business Bay or DIFC, since the water is minutes away and the Burj Khalifa stays in view.

For old Dubai instead, the Creek dinner cruise boards on the Deira bank or at Al Seef. For a stay in JBR or on the Palm, the Dubai Marina dhow cruise is closer to your hotel.

Dress, children and access on the canal

• Dress: smart casual, as the listing we checked asks.
• Children: the listing we checked lets children aged 4 and under sail free. Other boats set other ages, so give each child’s age when you ask.
• Group size: the listing we checked takes bookings for 2 guests or more.
• Wheelchairs: step-free access depends on the jetty. The operator confirms it, along with a seat on the air-conditioned lower deck, before we book.
• Ramadan: the listing drops its shows during the holy month, so confirm the evening programme for your date.

Your car, a shared boat, or a private charter

Canal dinner boats sell seats, so other guests share your deck. Only the car is yours alone: one driver, your group, and a wait at the jetty until the boat docks at about 22:30.

The canal takes boats up to 32 m long. A private charter of a whole boat is quoted on request, subject to availability on your date.

Group	Car from our own fleet
Up to 3	Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7 Series or Lexus ES 300h
Up to 6	Cadillac Escalade, GMC Yukon or Kia Carnival
7 to 19	Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, in 13-seat and 19-seat versions

If you want the driver after you dock as well, for a late run down Jumeirah Road, book a car with a driver by the hour. The cruise then sits inside those hours.

What sets the price of a canal evening

A canal evening is priced per booking, not from a list. We send the quote on WhatsApp, and these are the factors behind it.

Factor	Example
The boat	A shared dinner dhow, or a private charter
Guests	Adults, and the age of each child
The car	An S-Class for 2, or a 13-seat Sprinter for a group
Where you are collected	Downtown is about 5 km from the canal, Dubai Marina about 20 km
Time before or after	Dubai Mall in the afternoon, or a late drop-off

Canal boats set their own cut-off. The listing we checked takes free cancellations up to 1 day before the trip. Both cut-offs, the boat’s and the car’s, are written into your quote before you confirm.

Combine it with Downtown or a DXB arrival

The new Dubai half day of our Dubai city tour ends at Dubai Mall. From there the canal is about 5 km away, so the afternoon can roll straight into boarding.

Landing the same day? Your chauffeur meets you in the arrivals hall, takes the bags to your hotel and returns you for the 19:30 boarding. The Dubai International pickup page shows the meeting point in each terminal.

See Marina vs Creek vs Canal dhow cruises for how the three routes differ and yacht or dhow cruise for dhow against yacht.