Things to do in Dubai at night

On the water

A dinner cruise is the obvious one and it is genuinely good value — two hours, dinner included, from AED 99 on the Creek and AED 129 in the Marina. Boarding is around 19:30 most nights.

A private charter after dark is a different thing again. The Marina channel at night, with the towers lit on both banks and no traffic on the water, is the best-looking twenty minutes in the city. A two-hour evening charter from AED 1,500 covers it.

In the water

Umm Suqeim 1 is floodlit for night swimming with lifeguards until around midnight, and it costs nothing. In summer this is the only time of day the sea is actually refreshing, and the beach is busier at 10pm in August than at noon.

Beside the water

The Marina promenade runs about seven kilometres and is at its best after ten, when the heat has gone and the restaurants have thinned out. Dubai Marina Mall to Pier 7 and back is an hour at a walking pace.

The Dubai Fountain runs every half hour until eleven and is free. Watching it from an abra on the Burj Lake costs about AED 70 and puts you at water level, which is a better angle than the bridge.

Old Dubai is the underrated half of the city at night. The Deira souks stay open late, the abra across the Creek costs AED 1, and Al Seef is lit and quiet after nine.

• Dhow dinner cruise — 2 hours, from AED 99, boards around 19:30
• Night swimming at Umm Suqeim 1 — floodlit and free, until midnight
• Marina promenade — best after 10pm, about an hour end to end
• Dubai Fountain from an abra — half-hourly until 23:00
• Deira souks and the AED 1 abra crossing — open late, almost free