Activity

Glass Bottom Boat Ride

The View From Above

WHAT IT IS

A visit to Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo at The Dubai Mall has just become even more fun with the start of glass-bottom boat trips across the main tank.

So if you want to view the 33,000 sharks, rays and other fish in the aquarium from an entirely different angle then this could be for you.

HOW IT WORKS

You're escorted to the area above the tank where you are given a life jacket – no shark repellent, though. This is followed by a short safety briefing, which basically involves telling you to keep all parts of your body inside the boat. You probably don't really need to be told to keep your fingers out of the water when there are 32 two-metre long, very toothy sand tiger sharks below, but there you are. You then board the boat, which is a pretty basic affair. Each vessel can hold up to 10 passengers plus a two-man crew, consisting of a captain and a guide.

There isn't an engine – instead the captain hauls the vessel across the surface of the water by pulling on a rope attached to the roof.

The "glass" bottom is actually 2cm thick acrylic and you view the fish at their actual size without any magnification. Mind you, those sharks, not to mention the giant grouper and fantail rays, look plenty big enough anyway without being magnified.

You get a clear view of the marine life, in particular the smaller rays that dart past in groups just below the hull, and it is fascinating to study the shapes from above. Other notable specimens include the bowmouth guitarfish and the humphead wrasse. You can also peer down through the transparent roof of the underwater walk-through tunnel and see the tops of people's heads as they stroll by.

Our guide Eric was full of fascinating facts. For example, you know all those tiny lights on the ceiling outside the aquarium? Well they are not there just for decoration. When the mall closes overnight and the main lights are switched off the fish see the bright little dots and feel more relaxed as they are reminded of the stars they saw in their natural habitat.

The only disappointment for me was that the sharks didn't circle the boat with their dorsal fins sticking menacingly out of the water, like in Jaws. Eric explained this was because the sharks in the aquarium were bottom-dwellers rather than the surface-dwelling types that like to alarm swimmers by slicing through the surface.


FOOTNOTE

The boat ride is Dh25 per person in addition to the normal admission price for the zoo and aquarium tunnel. For more information call 04 437 3155.

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