Zaya Nurai Island Day Trip, Abu Dhabi.

Zaya Nurai Island is one of the most luxurious private island resorts in the Middle East. But did you know you can do a Zaya Nurai Island day trip on one of the UAE’s popular ‘day pass’ rates? While I was in Dubai, Nigel was obsessed with going to this island. So Gohei and I humoured him and said we’d go along with him on the Sunday I was there to make him stop talking about it.

This actually did the opposite, because Zaya Nurai Island was so amazing that all three of us couldn’t stop talking about it when we returned, and even now, over a month later, we’re still messaging each other with cries of ‘TAKE ME BACK!’ every single week.

How To Book Zaya Nurai Day Passes

We booked our day passes for Zaya Nurai island by phone the day before we went, and after our night out at the Burj Khalifa the night before, we woke up rather late on the Sunday and hurriedly got everything together and jumped in a taxi.

Getting to Zaya Nurai Island from Dubai

Just under an hour later we reached Abu Dhabi, and after paying the very reasonable 250AED taxi fare (around £55), we ‘checked in’ to the Zaya Nurai reception.

The reception at Zaya Nurai was located in a cool air-conditioned hut, with fresh iced-water filled with lemon and cucumber, and tea and coffee facilities. Less than ten minutes after we arrived the speed boat was there to collect us and the other guests.

We sped across the ocean, my hair flying everywhere, and then we saw it…the island already looked incredible and we weren’t even on it yet! Huge contemporary villas overlooking the ocean, perfect for large groups of friends or families.

What to wear to Zaya Nurai

 

Arriving on Zaya Nurai Island

After disembarking the boat at Zaya Nurai, we were led round to the pool area and shown where the restaurants were. The cost of the Zaya Nurai Island day pass is 450AED per day, and it’s a minimum spend, so that 450AED covers all your food and drink, and then you just pay extra if you spend anything over that. This works out at around £90 for lunch, drinks, and dinner, and full use of the resort for the whole day. We thought it was amazing value, as the food was just incredible!

Dining on Zaya Nurai Island

We chose to have lunch at the restaurant just across the path and beach from the swimming pool, and the meal we had was pretty amazing…

 

We started perusing the menus while sipping on fresh watermelon juices and taking bites from a huge loaf of bread, split into three sections, with each section being a different flavour. The tomato part was my fave, but the others were pretty great too!

We started with salads; I chose a tomato and buratta salad, which was utterly delish and perfect for such a hot day!

 

For mains we all had Surf & Turf; a mouthwatering chunk of steak wrapped in bacon (we think it was bacon, it tasted like bacon…but as UAE is an Islamic country it could well have been faux bacon), with a huge king prawn resting on top and thick crispy chips. Naturally we had sides of bernaise sauce to coat the steak and chips in!

 

And then there was dessert. The menu was difficult to choose from, but as it was so hot we all decided to go for the refreshing mango sorbet. It was without a doubt the most impressive sorbet I’ve ever had!

 

Enjoying Zaya Nurai Island – The Beach & Pool

After lunch we jumped in a golf buggy and headed over to the beach on the other side of the island. Now, let me tell you, Zaya Nurai Island is a bloggers dreeeeeam! Everything looked as though it had come straight out of a Pinterest board or Instagram!

There were teepees, big comfy bean bag chairs, a bar with copper pineapples and swings for seats. On the beach there were big comfy cushion blocks that wouldn’t have been out of place in Ibiza.

 

And then there was the piece de resistance… the water swings.

We headed straight for them, only I had a little trouble getting on. I’ve never had very good upper body strength, so while Nigel swung himself up and on, I was desperately kicking my legs and trying to pull myself up. It was tough you guys!!

 

It  took quite a while, and although the resulting experience of ‘omfg I’m on a swing in the ocean’ was so worth it, and naturally went down quite well on Instagram, I just had to tell you and show you what actually happened behind that ‘perfect’ Instagram shot…

It was so funny though that the three of us couldn’t stop laughing as Nigel was trying to tell me how to pull myself onto it and I just kept screaming “I CAN’T” “MY BODY WON’T SWING ROUND BECAUSE MY BUM IS TOO BIG”, and then I couldn’t get the muscle power in my arms to lift myself because I was shaking with laughter.

It was hilarious. Nigel got a video of a little bit of it, so I thought I’d let you see it. Don’t judge me guys.

 

When I finally got on I felt totally exhausted, and felt like I had to stay there for a decent length of time because of the time it had taken for me to get onto the damn thing!

I even managed to twist myself round for a hair photo…hahaha! I tried to swing on the swing…but it wouldn’t swing. Sad times.

When we finally did leave and swim back to the beach, everyone was laughing at me, including the barmen, so I said “You guys need to put those things in shallow water”, and they told me it was high tide so usually they are in shallow water. Apparently we’d just chosen a bad time of the day to try and get on them, haha.

It was almost 5pm by this point and we had to leave Zaya Nurai to get back to Dubai around 6pm as I was staying at the Four Seasons Jumeirah Beach that night, so we hailed a golf buggy and got a ride back to the pool area.

We had a lovely relaxing half hour or so chilling in the pool at Zaya Nurai as the sun went down, and then paid our 450AED and hopped on the boat back to Abu Dhabi. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see any more of Abu Dhabi as we just didn’t have time, but I’d love to spend a couple of days there next time I stop over!

How to get to Zaya Nurai Island from Abu Dhabi?

You can get to Zaya Nurai Island from Abu Dhabi by taxi and then boat. You need to get a taxi to the Zaya Nurai Welcome Center, and then get the island’s private boat (which is included in the day pass price) to the island.

How to get to Zaya Nurai Island from Dubai?

You can get to Zaya Nurai Island from Dubai by either driving or by taxi (around £50/230AED each way) and then boat. You need to get a taxi to the Zaya Nurai Welcome Center, and then get the island’s private boat (which is included in the day pass price) to the island.

What is the Zaya Nurai Island day trip price?

The Zaya Nurai Island day pass price is currently priced at AED750, AED550 of which is redeemable against food and beverage, spa and activities. This includes beach and pool access as well as boat transfer. Prior booking is required and all bookings will be subject to availability.

Is there a Zaya Nurai Ladies Night?

Yes! There is a Ladies Night at Dusk on Zaya Nurai Island every Tuesday from 7.30pm to 11.30pm. Ladies can get free mixed drinks, hops and grape as well as a 20 percent discount on food. There is a minimum spend of AED75 on food is required to redeem the offer plus AED60 for boat transfer. Booking is essential before departing for the island so you’ll need to call or email dining@nurai.com to reserve your spot.