Day 6 (2024) Three Churches, Saadiyat Beach Club & Global Village

October 16, 2024

After breakfast, we will head to Saadiyat Island. Today, we’re looking for a bit of culture. Since we opted out of visiting the Grand Mosque for time reasons, we plan to make a short stop at the 'Three Churches' (Abrahamic family house) on the way to the beach. I've already been here with my family, but for my sister-in-law, everything is new.

After the obligatory 'covering up' - here, ladies are not allowed to wear shorts, short shirts, or have visible hair - we will look at the Three Churches.

You can borrow headscarves for free, and on request, dresses as well, but we won't need those today since we're wearing long pants.

Tip: It's recommended to make an online reservation! Guided tours are also offered for free, but we didn’t take advantage of that.

The mosque is actually the most exciting (at least in our opinion).

Now that we’re sweating under the fabric with long clothes, we look forward to Saadiyat Beach. We're headed to the Saadiyat Beach Club. Unfortunately, like before, you can't access Saadiyat Beach for free; you have to purchase entry, which isn’t cheap either. You can either use the access at Soul Beach (Edit: October 2025 - it no longer exists - it is now called 'Mamsha Beach') or through Kai Beach. Both beach operators offer sunbeds with showers and toilets. At Soul Beach, you can bring your own food and drinks, but not at Kai Beach.

You should expect an entry fee (during the week) starting at €30 just to visit the beach.

Today, we’re treating ourselves to a day at the Saadiyat Beach Club. It’s not cheap, but we get the nicest stretch of beach, a large pool, sunbeds, a spa area, a restaurant, and all the amenities that a beach club offers. Since my cousin gets discounts here, it’s more worthwhile for us than a ticket at Soul or Kai Beach, where there is also no (cooling) pool (and I really need that in these temperatures).

The sea here is a dream - like the Maldives! White sand, turquoise water. Truly magnificent!

And Saadiyat Beach is really - by far - the most beautiful beach in the Abu Dhabi to Dubai region!!!

In the morning, the sea is like a mirror, but in the afternoon, waves come in - probably due to the tides.

We chill here until late afternoon, then we leave the beach club to head (once again) towards Dubai. A visit to Global Village is still on the agenda.

To my dismay, it hasn’t really gotten 'cooler' today either. At 6 PM, it’s still over 30 degrees hot 🥵🥵🥵

The Global Village just opened its gates for the season a few days ago, so it’s quite crowded. We buy a ticket at the counter (around €6) and battle through the crowds. We explore some 'countries' with stalls and shows, watch a drumming group on the main stage, the laser show by the lake, and the evening fireworks.

I’m drenched in sweat, and finding dinner proves to be challenging as either nothing vegetarian is available, or the lines at the stalls are so long that we don’t want to wait. In the end, I end up with a tiny & totally overpriced portion of noodles. With a bit of luck, we snag a seat on a bench and take a break. It’s a shame there are so few seating options.

It’s almost 10 PM when we make our way to the exit.

Unfortunately, I must say that I probably won't need to visit Global Village again anytime soon. Too crowded, everything overpriced, and there's just a bit 'too much' of everything.

It’s something to see once, but I don't think a repeat visit is necessary in my opinion.