Guide · 5 minute read
The World is an archipelago of about 300 artificial islands roughly four kilometres off Dubai, laid out as a map of the world. Most remain undeveloped sand; a handful have been built on, including the Heart of Europe resort cluster. You cannot land on the islands from a charter boat, but the sheltered water between them is where boats anchor to swim.
Published
Construction of The World began in 2003 and the sand was in place by 2008. Then the financial crisis arrived, and most of the islands have sat as bare sand ever since. From a boat the effect is genuinely strange — a recognisable world map made of empty dunes, four kilometres from one of the densest skylines on earth.
Development has restarted in parts. The Heart of Europe cluster, built across several islands, is the most visible, with hotels and floating villas. Lebanon Island has operated as a beach club. Several other islands are privately owned and undeveloped.
Not on a standard charter. The islands are privately held and there is no public landing; a boat trip to The World is a cruise-and-swim, not a step-ashore. Resorts on the developed islands run their own transfers for guests with a booking.
What a charter gives you is the water. The archipelago sits far enough offshore that the noise and traffic of the coast disappear, and the channels between the islands are sheltered. It is the best anchorage within reach of Dubai Marina for a long swim stop.
About forty to forty-five minutes from Dubai Marina at cruising speed, which is why a World Islands charter needs four to five hours to be worth doing. Two hours does not reach it; three hours reaches it and turns straight round.
The run out passes the Palm and the Burj Al Arab, so none of the journey is dead time. Most groups anchor for an hour and a half, eat aboard, swim, and take the coast slowly on the way back.
FAQ
Check a date
Leave the date and roughly how many of you there are and we will come back with the boats that are free and what each costs. No deposit at this stage.