When we lived in Phoenix, we’d wait for winter (is there such a thing in the desert?) each year to escape to Flagstaff to play in the snow. But in Dubai, we could escape to a winter wonderland any day of the week! Ski Dubai is an indoor ski resort in the Mall of the Emirates (the world’s largest mall!) with a snow park and five slopes of varying difficulty.
We were at Ski Dubai to meet some very special residents, the Gentoo and King penguins, but we did have a bit of time to have a little fun in the snow.
I grabbed an inner-tube and dragged it up the hill. An attendant held the tube while I climbed in and then he gave me a good spin and sent me whooshing down the hill. It was a blur of white as I bounced over the snow, spinning and laughing! Once my tube finally came to a stop, I staggered off the slope dragging it behind me.
Tim’s turn! I snapped away as he came spinning down the slope on his tube, laughing like we were kids as he almost flew up over the safety barrier in his tube.
Twin bobsled runs
Ski Dubai also has tobogganing, snow zorbing, and twin bobsled runs, all of which looked like great fun! The snow cavern is filled with interactive experiences and beautiful ice sculptures. So there is plenty to do at Ski Dubai even if you don’t ski! And by the time we left Ski Dubai, we had completely forgotten it was nearly 100°F outside.
Know Before You Go
- Ski Dubai is open Saturday – Wednesday from 9am – 11pm, Thursday 10am – 12am, and Friday 9am – 12am
- Entry to the Snow Park is AED 130 per adult and AED 120 per child; Ski slopes (2 hours) are AED 180 per adult and AED 150 per child; check the Ski Dubai website for various packages
- Jackets, trousers, ski boots, disposable socks, and fleece gloves are provided by Ski Dubai
Thank you to Definitely Dubai and Ski Dubai for hosting us. All opinions (and decisions to throw snowballs despite signs saying not to) are entirely our own.
Jennifer Dombrowski
Jennifer Dombrowski is a location independent globe trotter and bases herself in Prata di Pordenone, Italy. She works as a social media and innovation strategist in higher education and is a regular contributor on johnnyjet.com. Her website, jdombstravels.com, is the 2012 Destinology Travel Bloggy Best Newcomer award winner. Google+
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We’re Jennifer and Tim and we love traveling! We are just one ordinary couple who have found that travel brought us closer together, taught us patience, the art of compromise, and how to truly appreciate the diversity of this extraordinary world. So far, we've visited 37 countries, lived in the United States and Italy, and Tim has lived in Korea. And we do it all while both holding down full time jobs. 
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5 comments
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Ali
December 26, 2012 at 5:50 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
Definitely looks like fun!
Ali recently posted..Bathroom Travel Hassles
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
January 6th, 2013 at 12:19 am
It’s amazing how you totally forget how hot it is outside. What a genius idea!
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Andrea
December 27, 2012 at 4:00 am (UTC 2) Link to this comment
We ate dinner and watched this through the window for about an hour – looks like so much fun but we didn’t try it.
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D.J. - The World of Deej
December 27, 2012 at 2:53 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
Ski Dubai still boggles my mind…would love to go tubing in the desert one day:)
D.J. – The World of Deej recently posted..The Adventures of 2012 – A Year in Pictures
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Cathy Sweeney
December 27, 2012 at 11:50 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
This is so cool! I’d love to do this. It’s just amazing to find such a place in Dubai!
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