Aquaventure Waterpark Dubai

Aquaventure is the water park of the Atlantis The Palm resort on Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. The park calls itself the world's largest water park: more than 105 slides, attractions and experiences spread across three towers, Neptune, Poseidon and Trident, plus a river, lagoons and a kilometre of private beach. It opens every day from 10am to 6pm.

I book open-dated tickets below the box-office price, including the ticket that adds the Lost Chambers aquarium. Prices for every park are in the table on the theme parks page.

The big slides

• Leap of Faith (Neptune Tower): a near-vertical drop from nine storeys up, through a tunnel in a lagoon full of sharks.
• Blackout: the park calls it the "scarier sister" of Leap of Faith, another near-vertical drop.
• Odyssey of Terror: according to the park, the world's tallest waterslide. You ride up a curved wall, feel almost weightless at the top and drop back down.
• Poseidon's Revenge: you step into a capsule and reach 60 km/h on a 116-metre slide with an upside-down loop.
• Shockwave: a 449-metre family water coaster through dark tunnels; the park calls it the world's longest.
• Aquaconda and Zoomerango: giant six-seater tube slides; Zoomerango has a 14-metre vertical wall.
• Slitherine and Medusa's Lair: racing slides where you go side by side with a friend.

With children

Some rides are only for guests over 1.2 m, but the park has four Splashers children's zones:

Zone	What is there
Splashers Lagoon	nine water features, splash buckets, a six-lane children's racer and a children's tornado slide
Splashers Cove	six slides, including a children's rally-racer
Splashers Island	seven body and tube slides for children under 1.2 m
Splashers Mountain	two giant buckets, climbing courses and slides

A child ticket is for ages 3-7 and under 1.2 m; children under three enter free. Without an adult, guests must be at least 12.

For those who don't like steep drops

The park has a long river with pools along the way, calm lagoons, the Surf's Up wave rider (included in the ticket) and Aquaventure Beach, a kilometre of private beach with a view of the Dubai skyline. From the beach you can head out to sea by kayak, paddleboard or jet ski.

Tips

• Queues for the big slides are long. Arrive for the 10am opening and go to Leap of Faith and the other big slides first.
• The park sells the AquaXpress fast pass for faster boarding. Fast passes in the parks cost 150 AED to 250 AED per person, depending on the park.
• Weekdays are quieter than weekends.
• Towels and lockers are extra; book them with the ticket or at the ticket plaza.
• Swimwear only: swimsuits, board shorts, rash guards and burkinis are all fine.
• If you also want to see the sharks and rays from the dry side, take the ticket that includes the Lost Chambers aquarium.