Creating quality family time can be difficult, especially when both parents are “competitive” professionals in the corporate world. As a result, it’s crucial to sit the entire family down every once in a while to discuss how time together should be spent.
If your family loves physical activities and adventures, the issue of creating quality time together is partly solved. These interests provide a general understanding of what would be fun to do together in your free time.
Abu Dhabi is Perfect for Active Families
In Abu Dhabi, there’s no shortage of fun adventures to be had. In fact, tourists from different parts of the globe come here for them. Instead of thinking that those provisions are only intended for tourists, think of them as easily accessible experiences for your family to enjoy.
It’s worth noting too, that a world-class sports facility here offers a variety of activities that families can enjoy together. It’s just a matter of determining what the different members of the family actually want to do.
To help you plan your family time, rounded up below are seven experiences definitely worth trying.
1. A day at Ferrari World
Everything about this is an adventure. It’s a theme park with rides that will get the body pumping adrenaline and, of course, there are beautiful cars on showcase. Plus, there are so many other side features to see and enjoy.
2. Watch sports competitions
Although you all will be mere spectators, there’s a unique sense of excitement to watching a sport you all love. For example, a tennis competition among the world’s best players can be an emotionally charged experience, particularly if you’re big fans of a particular player.
Another thing most people love about going to sports competitions is the potential to meet star athletes, have pictures taken with them and get their autograph.
3. Bike around the Corniche
This is a highly recommended activity for families. Biking around the Corniche is such a wholesome activity – it’s an exercise and it treats you to a beautiful view of the area.
Also, biking is not all you get to do here. You can play at the beach (bring a volleyball or Frisbee), have a picnic, eat ice cream, and even stop at the splash park when the day gets unbearably hot.
4. Take sports lessons
This may not be something that you can actually do with the little ones (classes are always divided between adults and children) but a family that learns the same sport will surely create more fun moments together.
After or in between lessons, you can practice together and improve your skills. Perhaps, in the future, you can compete against each other and get creative with the game dynamics. For example, whoever wins a match will be in charge of choosing the weekend’s dinner, or will get to pass on their chores to the losers.
5. Visit Al Ain Zoo
Learning can be a fun adventure for the family and it’s nice to get acquainted with exotic animals. It’s a long walk around the Al Ain zoo, so wear comfortable shoes and make sure everybody has something cool to drink.
6. Visit Yas Waterworld
This is a lovely place to visit if you wish to cool down in the desert city. There are wave pools, regular pools for swimming, and around 45 water slides. There’ll be a lot of squeals of joy as everybody tries out the different attractions of this water park.
7. Hike around Wadi Tayyibah – Dibba, Al Fujairah
Fujairah is a different emirate, but as long as you’re in the UAE, it’s a great place for hiking.
So if your family’s looking for something physically challenging but won’t leave the body in too much pain the day after, a hike at Wadi Tayyibah is worth a try. It’s a one-way hike that will treat you all to views of natural pools and traditional irrigation systems. You may also check out the town museum along the way or stop for a picnic.
Hopefully, these ideas will help in creating quality “together time” for your family, and inspire you to come up with your own.
About the Author
A veteran c-level executive with more than 25 years of experience across multi-faceted industries including Leisure & Recreation, Barry Bremner joined Zayed Sports City as Director of Business & Corporate Services in 2009 and was appointed to General Manager in 2013. During his time with Zayed Sports City, he has developed and implemented new management systems as well as raised the profile of the organization by securing leading events to take place at Zayed Sports City, including WWE, Monster Jam, the U-17 World Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and the Mubadala World Tennis Championship. During his tenure at the property, annual visitors to Zayed Sports City have increased from 420,000 in 2009 to 1.3m in 2016.
