The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has put the emirate's coastline on one screen. Its new digital Islands and Water Sports Guide, unveiled around Arabian Travel Market 2026, maps more than 200 islands along with the activities, access rules and licensed operators around them. For anyone planning a private trip, it turns a scattered, hard-to-research part of Abu Dhabi into something you can plan deliberately.
What DCT Abu Dhabi actually launched
The guide lives on the Experience Abu Dhabi website under Plan Your Trip. At its centre is an interactive map that plots islands and water-sports locations, with each island tagged by how you may visit it — from highly recommended and accessible to limited access, privately owned, marine protected area, or closed to visitors.
It also gathers marine protected area information, licensed operator listings and coastal guidance in one place. DCT Abu Dhabi built it with several government bodies, including the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi Maritime, so the practical detail, where you can sail, kayak or moor responsibly, sits alongside the inspiration. Listed activities span sailing, island hopping and kayaking through mangrove channels.
Why it matters for a private, luxury trip
For a private itinerary the value is clarity. Knowing in advance which islands welcome visitors and which are protected or privately held lets your team charter a yacht or speedboat and shape a route with no wasted hours and no awkward turn-backs at a restricted shore.
The access categories are the quiet luxury here. They point you toward calmer, sanctioned stretches of water rather than the busiest public beaches, which suits travellers who value seclusion. Because operators are licensed and marine-protected zones are flagged, a bespoke day on the water can be both exclusive and low-impact.
How to build your bespoke island day
Use the map to anchor a half or full day around a theme, a wildlife morning, a mangrove paddle, a sunset sail, then let a private guide handle timing, tides and permissions. Pairing that with a wildlife island such as Sir Bani Yas, where free-roaming animals share the reserve, gives a nature day that feels a world away from the city skyline.
A guided mangrove kayak in Abu Dhabi's protected channels is an easy, low-effort counterpoint for families or a slower afternoon, while a private dhow dinner cruise closes the day on the water. The guide won't book any of this for you, but it tells your planner exactly what is possible and where.
Abu Dhabi has made its coastline plannable. For a private traveller, the new guide is the map behind a tailored, seclusion-first day on the water: charter a boat, choose sanctioned islands, and let a guide handle the rest.
