Sir Baniyas Island

We stayed for three nights as part of the inaugural Challenge Sir Bani Yas event. The island itself quite a drive away. 3:30hrs from Dubai 2hrs from Abu Dhabi. There is a private airport if that’s how you roll. To get to the island otherwise you need to take a ferry. You must pre book and provide identification. The journey itself is around 30mins or less. The island has been invested in by the Abu Dhabi government. The roads are good and so is signage etc. We stayed in the Anantara (the only option) the staff are amazing. Facilities though are definitely aged. Still nice but nothing compared to other Anantara resorts. The safari is not like a Kenyan safari. At the time of writing this there is one zebra and two cheetahs. Both of which were hiding at the back of a cage when we were there. Giraffes are amazing though and they have plenty of other wildlife. Over 13000. Two nights is more than enough.

A definite one time visit to understand and appreciate the vision of the country; the island is aimed at planting trees and increasing fertility of its land so as to make it an agricultural area. Very wide spread area with animals running around and well maintained. The trip from Abu Dhabi to the ferry took 2.30 hours. The ferry ride is another 30 minutes ride and then a bus that will take you to the Anantara resort from where the Safari for wildlife begins. The safari is a 90 minute ride with a tour guide. Very passionate tour guides and makes it a wonderful experience. The journey can get tiring if you take a day visit; like we did. There is quite a lot of journey involved. It’s worth the visit at least once. Please take snacks and water with you so that you are not starving. Although the safari ride do have water in their cars. The safari cars are quite comfortable as well; and they help seniors get into the vehicle with additional support if they aren’t able to get into the jeep. Good place to go with family; I would recommend a stay though in the hotel. If you have a tight budget; just take a day visit and enjoy nature at its diversity! Start with a full tank and then there are petrol stations almost when you reach Sir baniyas

Beautiful experience overall. The grounds, flora, and fauna that they’ve managed to create is stunning as the place is generally not highly fertile. The project is very ambitious. On the Sir Bani Yas island there are 3 resorts. One feels like another hotel is Dubai or Abu Dhabi, that’s (1) Desert Islands Resort & Spa, (2) Sahel Villa Resort, and (3) Al Yamm Villa Resort. They have cars on the island shuttling you around from one resort to another one so that you can try the different restaurants so no need to worry about not having enough dining options. For context, we stayed at Al Yamm Villa Resort. Here is the good, the bad, and special: The ‘Good’ - The resort felt rustic and it fit in the environment - The private villa’s pool was heated so it was comfy to get into at night - Turn down service was nice. They have yummy cookies - Even though they take a bit of time to reply, the Anantara app is useful to connect with front desk - You get access to the beautiful beach - There are different activities to keep the fun going The ‘Bad’ - We paid AED 5,000 per night and AED 1,000+ per meal and we felt the value wasn’t there versus Nurai Island or Al Maha Resort - The villa is definitely outdated. I love that it’s rustic, but it can definitely use an upgrade asap. For the prices they charge, it should be luxurious - We wanted a king size bed and they gave us 2 queens and pushed the beds together :( Even though the beds were comfortable, we aren’t used to sleeping on anything less than a California King - Privacy of the outdoor area of the villa was lacking in a major way. Not only could your neighbors see you 100% at all times, but even people walking in front of the villas - Reception doesn’t welcome you with useful information about the resort and how things work - Hit or miss when it came to the staff knowing English well - The shower head holder of the villa was loose. Housekeeping should check for all these things and get them fixed before the guest arrives. - Getting the shower head to work was impossible - The amenities in the bathroom lacked a loofah - The transportation boat from the mainland to the island and return was simply awful. They should have a high quality boat just for guests staying at the hotel(s) on the island The ‘Special’ - Tour guide of the mini safari was amazing. Very knowledgeable and cared a lot about the island itself as a project - Dinner at the African restaurant in the Sahel property was special. They had some nice music on the background coming from the ‘bush’ and it made it cozy - At the African restaurant, baby oryx approached and it was a beautiful experience - The spa was solid. We had a couples experience which included time in the jacuzzi, then a massage, and mini facials - The animal variety in the mini safari tour was great. I’m still amazed at what they were able to build here Would I go back? - Yes, I hope they fix all these things, but regardless I’d love to go back and experience it with friends and family

We stopped here on our cruise and did the Safari which was really good. We saw a lot of animals and a lot of the island. Spent a few hours on the beach as well before returning to our cruise ship. All in all a good interesting stop!

Indeed it was a wildlife experience. Would love to do it again.

Fantastic place esp. for families. Anantara Management as well as staff leave no stone unturned to make your stay pleasant and comfortable. I would especially want to mention Ahmed, Retno & Jatinder at the Desert Island for this, and Mr. Janahi on the Sales team. They went far & beyond with the quality of service! We visited Al Shams & Oleo restaurents on the island and service/food were very nice. Breakfast Buffet at Desert Island was wholesome too. They even did “Indian Khichdi” on demand for our toddler. There are quite a few animals on the island with focus on gazelles and local endangered species, and few rare animals/birds gifted/brought from other countries. The best part was to spot deer, gazelles and peacocks almost every day near the hotel/restaurents, up & close.

Place to visit at least 1 time A bit expensive and the service a bit slow and not amazingly accurate but the relaxing atmosphere can really help to forgive everything The activities should be organised better specially for new comers. Not possible to book after 7pm the day after activities...be ready to study and choose it before arrival otherwise the day after you'll not be able to do anything

Sir Bani Yas Island is the largest island off the coast of Abu Dhabi and was the former private island of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder of the UAE. Thanks to decades of conservation work, it is now home to thousands of large free-roaming animals and several million trees and plants. A bird sanctuary as well as a wildlife reserve, Sir Bani Yas, is a great place to experience nature through activities such as adventure safaris, kayaking, mountain biking, archery, hiking and snorkeling. There are so many activities to do on Sir Bani Yas Island! From culture and history tours, to mountain biking, adventure safari and kayaking and even pearl diving! The wildlife reserve is home to many species, from Arabian Oryx, Somali ostrich, gazelle and deer, giraffes and dolphins! We visited this island with MSC Cruise that stopped here for one day. Once get-off from the cruise, you can reserve a Safari tour to explore the island. It would be great improve the overall organization of Safari tours as the reservation process and costs was not transparent, there was multiple companies onsite but the reservation process was not clear and available online.