The hotel group Anantara operates 3 resorts on Sir Bani Yas Island, which includes their Desert Islands Resort, Al Sahel Resort and Al Yamm Resort.
Once you’ve booked a staycation at one of these Anantara resorts on Sir Bani Yas Island, you’ll be able to choose from a number of land or water-based activities to enjoy during your stay on this island.
One of their unique land-based activities is their Culture & History Tour, where you will get the chance to visit different archaeological sites, such as a monastery dating back to approximately 600 CE.
How To Book
You can either book this activity before you arrive for your staycation by emailing activitiesdirs@anantara.com or at the Activities Desk in person once you’ve checked into your resort on Sir Bani Yas Island.
When To Go
This Culture & History Tour is available at 10.30am or 4pm 7 days a week on the island but is subject to availability.
Anantara may need to change the time of this tour due to weather conditions or for other reasons, so best to confirm with Anantara close to your booking date and time.
Costs Involved
Adults: AED295 per person
Children (2-11 years old): AED150 per person
Children (under 2 years): Free
The minimum age to attend this tour is also 1 years old.
How To Get There
Sir Bani Yas Island is 250km away from Abu Dhabi and is approximately a 3 hours’ drive from downtown Abu Dhabi.
Dubai is 350km away and is approximately a 4 hours’ drive, depending upon where you are leaving from in Dubai.
Once you reach Jebel Dhanna Jetty on the mainland, you will be transferred by Anantara's complimentary boat service to the island, which takes approximately 20 minutes.
Their boat service operates 4-5 times daily and must be booked at least 24 hours in advance through Anantara Sir Bani Island Resorts.
Tips For Your Visit
Best to book this activity prior to your arrival on Sir Bani Yas Island, as land-based activities are popular on this island.
Anantara will provide you with complimentary water for each person on this tour, so you won’t need to bring your own water.
You’ll also be provided with a glossy brochure after your tour of the ancient church and monastery.
This is not a walking tour, so you will be driven by a specially trained guide to each historical site in one of Anantara’s 4WD.
It was a bit too hot for our son Tom to join this Culture & History Tour in the heart of the day, so we'd recommend booking the 4pm tour if you'd like to go as a whole family in the cooler time of the day.
The purpose-built roads on Sir Bani Yas island are also in excellent condition, so the 4WD ride isn't as bumpy as we were expecting.
What To Expect
This Culture & History Tour will take between 1.5 – 2 hours and will include a number of stops along the way.
The first stop is to an old bunker built in the 1980s, where traditional methods were used on the island to capture birds of prey.
Newer techniques are used these days, but the bunker and traces of the old net structure can be seen on the ground.
There are also incredible views on this hill, so this is one of the best photo opportunities on this tour and on the island.
The next stop is to see a number of old cemeteries, including a 120-year-old Christian cemetery and other historically important cemeteries for the UAE, where early Sir Bani Yas tribal people were buried.
Then you will visit the 120-Year-Old Date Palm Garden, featuring an ancient irrigation system.
The date palms in this garden grow approximately 10cm per year and really tower over you!
You’ll also see Ghaf trees, which were declared the National Tree of the UAE in 2008.
The final stop on this tour is to visit the ancient archaeological site housing the church and the monastery of Sir Bani Yas Island, dating back to the 7th and 8th centuries CE.
There is an impressive visitor structure built to preserve this site, so you’ll be able to see these impressive archaeological discoveries by walking around the dedicated footpaths.
Throughout your tour, you’ll also see lots of different animals from the comfort of your 4WD including Arabian Oryx, Indian Black Bucks, Peacocks and Arabian Mountain Gazelles.
What's Unique
The uncovering of a church and monastery on this island in 1994 was a discovery of international importance.
This unique historical tour will show you the first known evidence of ancient Christianity in the UAE.
The Verdict
We loved how unique this Culture and History Tour is in the UAE!
We really enjoyed seeing all of the culturally significant areas of Sir Bani Yas island, which hold so much history for the UAE.
We were also very happy to see that these archaeological areas were well preserved and protected for future generations to visit.
Seeing so many animals throughout our tour was a huge bonus and the diverse landscape on this island was breathtaking to see!
Sounds like fun? Don’t just take our word for it, experience it for yourself.
Be inspired to start or add to your very own bucket lists.
You can also click here for more unique bucket list ideas in the UAE!
Above prices & information correct as of November 2021.
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