Skip to main content

Top 10 over the past 10 years.... No 7 Wild Wadi Waterpark in Dubai


This month we're celebrating our 10th birthday at Escape Worldwide, and looking back at 10 years of globetrotting in the name of bringing you great holidays - at least that's our excuse! We're having a look at our personal top 10 favourite travel experiences of the last 10 years.


Karen makes a splash in Dubai

"My first visit to Dubai was on the way back from Thailand one September, and while the weather in Thailand had been hot and humid, I wasn't really prepared for quite how hot Dubai can get in the summer! I wanted to see Dubai's main attractions in the few days I had there, but having explored the older parts of the city and finding that the only place I could cool off was on a traditional abra crossing the creek, I decided to head to the beach and to one of the best water parks in the region, Wild Wadi. 

Abra on the creek in Dubai
Take an abra accross Dubai Creek
I wouldn't normally class myself as a water park kind of person, but in the heat of Dubai it's one of the best places to cool down - although the air conditioned shopping malls are also worth a look! In fact, I'd started cooling off at the Mall of the Emirates, one of the largest malls in the world and home to Dubai's very own indoor ski slope (once you've been to Dubai a few times nothing surprises you about what they can build there!) My only attempt at skiing ended up in hospital so I wasn't going to try that again, but the mall's air-conditioning worked its magic - as did the shops! 

Great views from across the park
Great view from Wild Wadi
Wild Wadi is a great family option, so if you're taking your kids to Dubai be sure to allow yourself a full day here. There's a host of rides and slides from the gentle to the plain scary, and I tended to stick to the more sedate side of things - there's something really relaxing about floating around the lazy river of Juha's Journey in a rubber ring while taking in the Dubai sunshine and the sights of the city from the high points!

When I visited, the park was home to the fabulously-named Jumeirah Sceirah, the tallest and fastest water slide outside of North America. At over 100 feet high, you shoot down in just a few seconds and can apparently reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour! Just climbing the stairs to the top of the Jumeirah Sceirah was hard enough in itself, and I spent a good 10 minutes at the top deliberating as to whether I could actually bring myself to hurtle down it - or just take the stairs back! Little kids were looking at me as if to say 'you're pathetic', but it's only when someone twice my age took the plunge without even batting an eyelid that I plucked up the courage! Apparently the view is superb - I wouldn't know as I had my eyes firmly closed throughout! 

the top of the Jumeirah Sceirah
Wild Wadi's great rides
Last winter the Sceirah was replaced with a new attraction to keep Wild Wadi bang up to date, so on my next visit (I'm sure to go back!) there's bound to be something bigger and more terrifying for me to pluck up the courage to ride - or not!"

Watch this space for number 6...... Angkor Wat Cambodia



Escape Worldwide - Home of Long Haul Holidays
http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Amazing Elephant Hills, Khao Sok National Park in Thailand

We have some great holiday ideas to this amazing part of Thailand -  http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk/thailand/elephant_hills_khao_sok_national_park.html Escape Worldwide - Home of Long Haul Holidays http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk

Cruise and stay with Escape Worldwide ⛴🛳

Cruises are amongst the most popular types of holidays at the moment, effortlessly taking you to different destinations throughout your trip - without the need to keep packing & unpacking! Settle in to your ship and wait for the world come to you, ideally with a good book and a gin & tonic.     At Escape Worldwide we tend to focus on Cruise & Stay Holidays, with the cruise as part of your trip but with a whole load more included too. Invariably you’ve flown to your departure port, so rather than heading straight from the airport to the port we’ll include a few days to explore the destination - places such as Singapore , New Orleans, Cape Town, and Dubai deserve more time than just passing through. After you’ve disembarked we can take you on to another location to round off your trip - a beach resort, perhaps, or another city. Fly onwards from Singapore to Bali or Phuket , take a train from New Orleans to Memphis, pick up a rental car as you return to Cape Town and hea

Our Top Trips in 2018 - Mark in Australia

We're continuing our look back at our teams travels this week - Mark visited Australia on an epic three-state trip, starting in Sydney, moving to Victoria and driving most of the Queensland Coast in a campervan - here's a quick look at the highlights of his Aussie adventure. . . . Starting in Sydney ​ The first time I visited Australia was 27 years ago as an 18-year old backpacker, but I'm always excited to go back - it's one of the most diverse, incredible countries on the planet. As with many visits Down Under I started in Sydney , which is a very easy city to get to grips with - for me, if you stay anywhere between Central Station and Circular Quay you can't go too far wrong, and it's such as easy place to explore. I stayed right in the middle of Sydney at the Grace Hotel , which has pretty much everything you want to see within a 20 minute walk - I took in the Sydney Tower Eye, Darling Harbour and the amazing Sydney Opera House, all on foot.