Abu Dhabi offers the Louvre in a kayak

With coastlines stretching over 700km, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi has always cultivated a strong relationship with the sea. Today, new activities offer visitors the opportunity to discover the destination in a different way, along the water.

In recent weeks, travellers have been able to take advantage of new aquatic activities to discover Abu Dhabi from a different angle: rather unusual with a kayak discovery of the Abu Dhabi Louvre, or much more authentic with a trip to the sea to learn about pearl fishing.

Discover the Abu Dhabi Louvre from the water

For a little over a month now, we can admire the superb building designed by the architect Jean Nouvel from the sea.

Sea Hawk offers kayaking trips around the Abu Dhabi Louvre by sea, with even a few incursions under the museum dome to enjoy a unique view of the « rain of light », this rain of light created by the sun’s rays seeping through the eight layers of metal stars forming the dome. A guide supervises the activity in order to give an in-depth look at the museum’s astonishing architecture.

The outings take place in the morning before the museum opens for those who want to enjoy a serene experience, or at the end of the day to enjoy the declining sunlight that sweeps the museum from side to side. The tour takes about an hour and is held on Fridays and Saturdays.

Go back in time to the time of a pearl expedition at sea

The island of Yas has recently acquired a new experience and offers visitors the opportunity to embark on an authentic Arab adventure in the footsteps of the pearl fishermen, the region’s first wealth producers.

This sea trip offers a real insight into the country’s history, at a time when the Emirates sailors were leaving for several months at sea to bring back the precious pearls of the Gulf.

Before it was supplanted by Japanese cultured pearls, pearl fishing was a major specialty of the Arabian Gulf for nearly 2,000 years, becoming the main activity of the Emirati population in the 19th century.

Inspired by the name of the most talented nokhada (or captain) in pearl history, Serdal Pearl Diving Expedition offers travellers the opportunity to discover for themselves the techniques and conditions under which Emirati fishermen set out in search of their precious loot.

They will embark on a dhow, the traditional dhows of the region, for a 6-hour trip on the crystal clear waters of the Gulf. On board, they will be able to discover the folk stories surrounding pearl fishing or the traditional songs used to measure the divers’ apnea time.

Offshore, they will anchor and the crew will explain the ancestral diving techniques of the Emirati fishermen before proposing to visitors to try by themselves to bring the precious oysters up from the seabed of the Gulf. Everyone will then have the opportunity to open their oysters and bring back with them the pearls they found.