The Palm Jumeirah Dubai is not only famous for being the man-made landmark island in Dubai, it’s also known for its concentration of luxury hotels and resorts.

One of the most popular resorts in the area is Atlantis, The Palm. With 1,539 rooms, this nautical-themed resort was the first to open in The Palm in 2008.

It is also no doubt the most visited resort, because here you can find the famous water park, Aquaventure.

While water parks are not really my thing, I could not pass the opportunity to experience Aquaventure while in Dubai.

Here are three reasons:

1.) Dubai takes all things to the utmost ultra mega luxe level. So if you must visit any water park in the world, it has to be this one.

2.) I will never forget that Amazing Race Season 15 episode, where all teams were in Aquaventure, and a team was eliminated because of one lady’s refusal to go down the Tower of Neptune slide. When I was watching that episode, I was such a backseat viewer. For a million bucks I’d go down that slide over and over! Head first if need be!  (Now that I’ve been – I’ll go down that slide even for a slice of cheesecake. That fun!)

3.) The extremely hot weather in Dubai. It was an amazing way to cool off. Something different from being in an air-conditioned building.

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For families visiting Dubai, Aquaventure is highly recommended. Even though most of the slides and rides are for adults or above 12, there are areas dedicated for smaller children.

Our day’s itinerary pretty much consisted of three parts:

Morning – Aquaventure

Noon (more like 1:30 pm) – Lunch

Afternoon – The Lost Chambers Aquarium

Aquaventure was voted Dubai’s best water park. I have not been to the other ones but having gone through almost all the water slides/ tubes, I can say that if water parks had ratings, Aquaventure would be 5-star.

It was very well-maintained, no sign of wear or rusty parts at all. All equipment were in tip-top shape.

The slides are out of this world. It’s hard to see on the photo above, but that tunnel was actually inside an aquarium. It’s part of a slide tunnel where you find yourself surrounded by sharks, sting-rays and fish. It’s quite surreal and exhilarating.

Some tips for visiting Aquaventure:

1.) Aim to arrive early so it’s not too hot and not too crowded yet. Aquaventure opens at 10AM (and I wish it opened earlier)

2.) Bring only necessary stuff. Locker and towel rental is available. This area is near the entrance. The rides / slides won’t allow people wearing shirts (or shirts over swimwear) and other unnecessary things. Selfie sticks are also not allowed.

3.) Ladies, wear one-piece swimwear or rashies. Slides. Splash. Water current. enough said.

4.) Sunscreen. You will be walking all over the park in your swimwear. Sunglasses and hats are not allowed in slides so you will be without it for a time.

Lunch

There 19 restaurants within Atlantis The Palm (including Japanese restaurant Nobu).

We had lunch at Ronda Locatelli, their Italian restaurant.

The ambience was such a nice respite from the active chaos of Aquaventure. But best of all, the food. I don’t know about you, but everytime I go for a swim, let alone spend the whole morning going up and down water slides – I am famished. So I ordered something crunchy, something carb-y and something sweet. My idea of an after-swim meal!

Started with calamari rings, then spaghetti with lobsters, chili and garlic (sooo good!) and then dessert of chocolate lava cake and ice cream.

Afternoon: The Lost Chambers

After lunch, we headed to The Lost Chambers, Atlantis The Palm’s hypnotising indoor aquarium.

As we all know ,Dubai takes all things to the next level so this aquarium is not your typical kids’ field-trip kind of aquarium.

It’s more of a hypnotic, jaw-dropping display of sea creatures.

While this is the most impressive and well-kept aquarium I’ve been to, I have to say that I am conflicted about aquariums and zoos.

I very much prefer seeing animals in their natural habitat. But I also don’t want to be all preachy about it because not everyone can have the opportunity to view animals in the wild.

Zoos and aquariums also provide education for young people.

While the fish and sea creatures really all looked very healthy and the aquariums were in top-notch condition, I cannot help but feel for the animals.

Are they happy? Do they feel trapped? This grouper seems to want to have a long chat.

This area of zoos and aquariums will forever be a conflict zone for me.

Nevertheless, The Lost Chambers Aquarium was a great way to cap off a day that went from super active to kind-of-mellow to total chill.

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Do you love water parks? How do you feel about aquariums and zoos?

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Aquaventure Waterpark – Atlantis The Palm Dubai 

Atlantis, Crescent Road,The Palm Jumeira – Dubai – United Arab Emirates

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A Combination ticket for Day Visitors to Aquaventure and Lost Chambers costs AED 310.00 (approx. AUD 115.00)  for an adult, and AED 250.00 (approx. AUD 92.00) for a child. 

Towel and Small Locker Combination costs AED 50.00 (approx. AUD 19.00)

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We were hosted by Atlantis The Palm for entrance to Aquaventure, lunch at Ronda Locatelli and entrance to The Lost Chamber. 
All views, opinions, and shrieks over water slides are mine.