Dubai family guide
3 min read
Three of Dubai's family attractions suit different ages for different reasons: IMG Worlds of Adventure is a fully indoor theme park with zones aimed at different ages, Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo is a shorter indoor visit built around marine life, and Dubai Safari Park is a six-zone outdoor day out. This guide matches each to toddlers, younger children, older children and teenagers, with the age and price rules that matter most.
| Age group | Best fit |
|---|---|
| Toddlers and preschoolers | Dubai Safari ParkUnder-3s enter free, and its Kids Farm zone is built for younger children to meet domestic animals up close. |
| Ages 5 to 8 | Dubai Aquarium & Underwater ZooThe Aquarium Tunnel and Penguin Cove make for a shorter, fully indoor visit that suits shorter attention spans. |
| Ages 9 to 12 | IMG Worlds of AdventureIts Cartoon Network and IMG Boulevard zones suit this age well, inside a fully air-conditioned indoor park. |
| Teenagers | IMG Worlds of AdventureThe park's own Marvel zone is aimed at families with older children and teenagers. |
| A hot afternoon, any age | IMG Worlds of Adventure or Dubai Aquarium & Underwater ZooBoth are fully indoor and air-conditioned; Dubai Safari Park is mostly outdoors, and is open for Season 8 from 12 October 2026. |
| A full day out with a mixed-age group | Dubai Safari ParkSix zones, the Arabian Desert Safari drive included in the ticket and free daily live presentations give different ages something to do across a whole day. |
Dubai Safari Park's Kids Farm zone and free entry for under-3s make it a natural fit for toddlers and preschoolers in Season 8, from 12 October 2026. Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo's Aquarium Tunnel and Penguin Cove suit ages 5 to 8 well: it is a shorter, focused visit rather than a full theme park day.
IMG Worlds of Adventure spreads across zones built for different ages: Cartoon Network and IMG Boulevard suit 9 to 12 year-olds, and the park's own Marvel zone is aimed at families with older children and teenagers.
IMG Worlds of Adventure and Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo are both fully indoor, which matters on a hot afternoon or with a nap schedule to work around. Dubai Safari Park is mostly outdoors across its six zones, and its own site says it is open for Season 8 from 12 October 2026 at 09:00.
IMG Worlds of Adventure's general admission is AED 365 on its own site. Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo's Silver Pass starts at AED 199, with Gold and Platinum tiers above it. Dubai Safari Park's own Safari Park Pass is from AED 50, and its Safari Bundle, which adds a safari journey, is AED 117.
We sell tickets for all three. Our price and cancellation terms for each are on its own card above.
IMG Worlds of Adventure is the largest indoor theme park in the world, and Dubai's first mega park - which in practice means a full day of rides with no exposure to the heat at any point. It is laid out as four themed zones. MARVEL puts you inside the comics with motion-simulator and dark rides built around the Avengers and Spider-Man. Cartoon Network runs on Ben 10, The Powerpuff Girls and Lazy Town, and is pitched at younger children. Lost Valley is a dinosaur adventure with animatronics through a jungle setting and a coaster running above it. IMG Boulevard holds the shops, the restaurants and the cinema. There are more than twenty rides and attractions in total, with live entertainment and character meets scheduled through the day. Allow at least four hours. The whole park is air-conditioned and weather-proof, so it works equally in August and January; height restrictions apply on the coasters and are posted at each queue.
From
AED 230
per person
The Dubai Aquarium is the ten-million-litre tank you can see for free from the floor of The Dubai Mall - and this ticket takes you inside it. The 48-metre walkthrough tunnel runs along the base of the tank, so rays pass overhead and sand tiger sharks come within a metre of the glass; there are more than 140 species in there, including around 300 sharks and rays. Upstairs, the Underwater Zoo is a separate set of habitats rather than more of the same water: penguins, otters, piranhas, a UAE night-creatures section, and King Croc, a five-metre saltwater crocodile weighing around 750 kilograms. Allow about an hour for both, longer with children, who tend to stop at every tank. It is entirely indoors and air-conditioned, and because it sits inside the mall it is easy to combine with the Burj Khalifa or the fountain in a single Downtown afternoon. Feeding and diver-presentation times are posted at the entrance and worth timing your visit around.
From
AED 220
per person
Dubai Safari Park is a large, modern wildlife park on the Al Warqa side of the city, built to replace the old Dubai Zoo and designed around open enclosures rather than cages. The site is organised into geographic villages - African, Asian, Arabian and an Explorer village - so the animals are grouped by the habitat they come from, with elephants, big cats, gorillas, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles and a substantial bird collection among more than a thousand animals. There are keeper talks and feeding sessions through the day, a Kids Farm for younger visitors, and a safari drive-through in the African village. Shuttle trains carry visitors between the villages, which matters because the campus is large and mostly open-air, though it is well planted and shaded in parts. Allow around three hours. Go early in the day when the animals are most active, wear a hat and comfortable shoes, and bring water. The park operates seasonally, so check dates before booking.
From
AED 199
per person
Dubai Safari Park: under-3s enter free, and its Kids Farm zone is built for younger children to meet domestic animals up close.
It is open for Season 8 from 12 October 2026 at 09:00, according to its own site.
The Aquarium Tunnel, the Underwater Zoo and Penguin Cove, for AED 199.
Yes. It markets itself as a fully air-conditioned indoor theme park, which the park's own site gives as Dubai's largest.
Yes: IMG Worlds of Adventure, Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo and Dubai Safari Park are all in our catalogue.
Under 3s, according to the park's own site.
Marvel: the park's own site aims it at families with older children and teenagers.
Facts and official prices checked on the attractions' own websites on 26 and 27 September 2026, and Dubai Safari Park's and Dubai Aquarium's again on 8 October 2026. Rules and prices change, so check the attraction's site before you go. Sources: IMG Worlds of Adventure tickets · Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo tickets · Dubai Safari Park
The Green Planet, Dubai Crocodile Park, Dubai Dolphinarium and Lost World Aquarium compared from their own sites: prices, showtimes and what each includes.
Checked 4 Nov 2026
Compare Abu Dhabi's top sights: the Grand Mosque, Qasr Al Watan, the Louvre, Yas Island's parks and free spots, with official prices next to ours.
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Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo prices: Silver AED 199, Gold AED 269, Platinum AED 399, and the Burj Khalifa combo for adults and children.
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