If you’re looking for a unique daycation – somewhere with a bit of peace and quiet, and not too far away from Dubai – do consider the Anantara World Islands. It’s breathtakingly beautiful there.
Here’s 5 reasons to get a Day Pass to the Anantara World Islands Dubai with the Family.
1. Access to Beautiful White Sand Beach and Calm Waters
The first thing you’ll notice as you get off the boat onto the pier, is how clear, and blue the water is by the shore. The sceptic in me was thinking that they’ve put some colouring to give us this illusion of a picture-perfect beach, haha. But nah – it just what happens when you’re situated away from Dubai. Makes us wonder why don’t they develop more of the World Islands, isn’t it?
You’ll see little fishes swimming around – which my girls were trying to follow whilst fully clothed (Mummy – my pants is getting wet!) And further along the beach you’ll find these instagrammable swings – perfect for your new profile photo.
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2. Access to Family Pool with complimentary treats all day long
You get access to Anantara World Island’s family pool which is situated in front of the main resort lobby and to the side of Helios & Luna – their poolside restaurant and bar.
The team had lots of giant floats when we went – which was good fun for the kids. Note that the main pool depth is 1.4m, and they did have shallow steps to the front of the pool which will help the younger, less-confident swimmers.
The pool area has its own amenities schedule – with complimentary slushies, ice lollies, fruit skewers and popcorn throughout the afternoon. There’s even a slot for ‘sunglasses cleaning’ which I personally thought was hilarious. I can just imagine the team coming up with this schedule and someone go – what else can we add to it? 😀 Talk about being pampered, right?
They do have indoor showers very close to the pool, with the whole works – shampoo, conditioner and shower gel, which really helped as we could get the kids (and ourselves) properly cleaned up afterwards.
3. Access to Kids’ Club, Games Room, Gym, Yoga Room and Padel Courts
What makes this daycation very different to most, if not all hotels in Dubai – is that, you do get access to Anantara’s Kids’ Club, as well as their games room, gym, yoga and padel courts. That’s a HUGE plus.
Tuk Tuk Kids’ Club is open from 9am to 6pm everyday, and drop-off is from 4 years old. They have introduced a new wooden swing and slide structure since our last visit, as well as a trampoline.
Have a look at their Kids’ Club schedule.
We went back to their games room again this time to muck around before lunch arrived. It’s a short stroll from Helios and has foosball, table tennis table, pool table and that’s also where they keep their padel racquets! We didn’t get the time to use the courts this time but take note that you can – if you wanted to 🙂
We found our way to Anantara’s Gym which is situated above the games room. It was nice to get some steps in and do some weights in here, plus they also have a yoga room next door. The view from here is beautiful – and it’s a nice spot to be, to people-watch as well, ha ha!
4. Exquisite Dining with Amazing Views
Anantara World Islands has two main restaurants – Helios and Qamar, and a bar called Luna for light bites and drinks. With your day pass – you will get a certain amount redeemable for F&B (and Spa, if you come in the weekends). These restaurants will be the ones that you can redeem at.
Helios
If you were there for the day – Helios would be your option for lunch. I can happily sit there all afternoon and take a hundred photos, to be honest. The tables up front are on the sand, so don’t forget to bring your beach toys so the little ones can play.
The menu is greek-mediterranean, with various salads from a beetroot with goat cheese at 75 AED, to wagyu beef carpaccio at 105 AED. There’s grilled octopus and fried calamari for starters, a selection of pizzas and pastas – averaging around 100 AED , and a generous seafood selection. If you want to go all out ( pay day! ) – you can get Helios Signature Seafood platter which has the whole works, for 950 AED.
Wagyu Tenderloin – Helios Dubai | Drag to the left to see the meal
Note that if you did not get the day pass – you can still book to dine at Helios with a minimum spend of 200 AED per person. This is in addition to their boat ride which is 150 AED per person and 75 AED for kids ages 5-11 years old. You can also order from Helios and dine by the poolside – which we did for desserts. Their tiramisu was heavanly!
See Helios’ Food & Beverage Menus
Qamar
As it was Ramadan when we went – we were booked into iftar at Qamar at sunset. The sunset from that side of the Anantara is worth the trip alone. We sat outside on their terrace and dived into the buffet. The kids loved the arabic bread and to highlight – the team were very kind to prepare chicken nuggets and fries for them as well. Here’s how iftar is like at Qamar this year.
See details on our Family Iftar 2025 Listing.
5. Peacocks, Ducks and Oryxs Roaming around
Did you know that there are over 20 peacocks living on Anantara World Islands? They are not afraid of people – so don’t be alarmed if you started to take photos of them and they came right in front of you. Scared my little girl a bit, ha ha!
There were probably around 30 ducks that I saw, crossing the pathway and hopping into the sea for a dip. The kids would love it.
Apparently there are oryxs on the island but it’s on the far end and you’ll need to get a buggy (or a very long walk) to get there. We didn’t get the chance to see them this trip. Maybe next time!
Here’s an overall capture of Anantara World Islands :
And now…. a bit of logistics.
Where do we take the boat from, to get to the Anantara World Islands?
From J4 Marina – or otherwise pop ‘Anantara World Islands Resort Welcome Centre’ on Googlemaps.
How much is the day pass at Anantara World Islands ?
As of March 2025, these are the day pass rates for Anantara World Islands :
- Mon-Thurs : 499 AED ( 300 AED redeemable in F&B or Spa) | 249 AED for kids 5-11 years old (150 AED redeemable from Kids’ Menu)
- Fri-Sun : 699 AED ( 300 AED redeemable in F&B, 200 AED redeemable in Spa ) | 349 AED for kids 5-11 years old (175 AED redeemable from Kids’ Menu)
Please check Anantara’s daycation page for current details.
Happy to see that they have made the daycation passes much more affordable, compared to two years ago. I would personally say – if you have more than 2 kids ages 5 and above, look into a staycation instead. Otherwise, their weekday day pass is a pretty good deal – and a unique alternative to doing a daycation in a Dubai Resort itself, especially if your kids are under 5 and free!
Do we have to get a day pass to get there, or can we just go there to dine?
Yes – you can just go to Anantara World Islands to have a meal at Helios (Greek-Mediterranean) , Qamar (Indian-Arabic) , or Luna Lounge – with the following criteria :
- Minimum spend of 200 AED per person for food and beverages
- Additional charge of 150 AED per adult and 75 AED per child (5 – 11 years old) for the round trip by boat from J4 Anantara World Islands Welcome Center
Overall Thoughts
We had such a nice time with the kids on the island. It was somewhat different with them being a little older now (ages almost 5, 7 and 9). Just 5 of us, running around exploring the island and properly enjoying it.
It is somewhere you would want to go if you are looking for peace and quiet. A little escape from the the busyness of Dubai. It would actually be an ideal spot for a girl’s retreat, or hey – why not come back again with just your other half for an adults’ getaway 🙂
Please tag us on social media, if you do end up heading over to Anantara World Islands!
- Daycation at Anantara World Islands
- Call Anantara on +971 4 567 8664 | Whatsapp +971 56 546 1800 | Email here
- More details on Anantara’s Website
Disclaimer : We were guests of the Anantara to review the resort over a daycation.