Dubai Islands
A chain of islands along the Deira shoreline, minutes from the old city. Beaches, marinas, and a coastline still quiet enough to feel new.
The city's next coastline
Dubai grew southwards for decades. Dubai Islands turns the map the other way: a master-planned group of islands off the Deira coast, where the city began. The setting is beachfront rather than skyline, with marinas, resorts, and residential districts planned around open water and open sand.
What makes the location unusual is how connected it stays. The islands are reached by road, not by boat. Old Dubai is next door, and Dubai International Airport is a short drive. Few waterfront addresses anywhere in the city sit this close to where it all started.
And the plan reads accordingly: luxury resorts, marinas, parks, golf played over open water, and a Blue Flag beach, all drawn under Dubai's 2040 vision. The city spent decades building southwards toward its icons. The islands bring that ambition back to the coast where Dubai began.
The five isles: The Central Island, Marina Island, Shore Island, Golf Island, and Elite Island. Five names that read like a masterplan on their own. Between them: resorts, marinas, entertainment districts, wellness retreats, and Souk Al Marfa on the water.
Figures per Nakheel, the master developer of Dubai Islands.
“Dubai Islands connect five islands where waterfront living meets Arabian splendour. Redefining the horizon of Dubai, this destination is set to be a masterpiece with over 60 kilometres of waterfront and over 20 kilometres of beaches, including a Blue Flag-certified beach, almost two kilometres of parks, open spaces and premium golf courses overlooking the Arabian Gulf.”
Nakheel, on Dubai Islands
What is the difference between Dubai Islands and The World Islands?
The two are often confused, and they could hardly be more different. The World is a scatter of private islands far offshore, patterned after a map of the continents and reached by boat. Dubai Islands is five connected islands along the Deira shoreline: it drives like any other district, faces the old city, and is being built as a place to actually live.
Days drawn around water
The islands are planned as a resort city rather than a suburb: mornings on Blue Flag sand, golf played against the open Gulf, marinas within walking distance of home, and evenings at Souk Al Marfa on the water. Hotels and wellness retreats sit between the residential districts, so the resort life is the daily one.
And because the islands face the old city rather than the open desert, the other half of Dubai life stays close: the Creek, the souqs, and the city's original waterfront are minutes away across the bridge.
An address in the making
Dubai Islands is drawing a mix of established and emerging developers. Among them, UNHID Developments is the boutique name: a design-led company with a family construction legacy in Dubai since 1968, preparing to launch a development set to be among the most notable on the islands.
For UNHID, the islands are also a return, twice over. The company's story began in 1968 in a shop along Dubai Creek, in Deira's old waterfront souq of wind-towers and abra docks. And years before the first plots here were released to developers, its chairman, Moosa Swaidan, was part of the design and engineering team that worked with Nakheel on the master plan of the destination, in the years when it was known as Deira Islands.
That history shapes how we build. We chose our ground with a working knowledge of the islands' planning and infrastructure, and we work at a deliberately small scale: low density over volume, considered detail over spectacle, homes delivered turnkey. We knew these islands before they were an address. Now we are preparing one of our own.
Where is Dubai Islands?
Dubai Islands sits just off the Deira shoreline on the northern coast of Dubai, connected to the mainland by road. The old city and Dubai International Airport are both a short drive away.
Is Dubai Islands the same as The World Islands?
No. The World is a separate archipelago far offshore, reached by boat. Dubai Islands lies along the Deira coast, minutes from the city, and is planned as a place to live rather than a novelty to visit.
What is Dubai Islands known for?
More than 20 kilometres of beaches including Blue Flag certified sand, luxury resorts, marinas, parks, and golf overlooking the Arabian Gulf. Planned under Dubai’s 2040 vision, the islands are one of the last coastal districts in the city still taking shape, which is precisely their appeal.
How do you get to Dubai Islands?
By road, across the Infinity Bridge from Deira, about twenty minutes from Dubai International Airport. The islands are also reached by sea, with marinas and waterfront access planned across them.
What was Dubai Islands called before?
Deira Islands. Nakheel first master planned the destination under that name, and it was later renewed and relaunched as Dubai Islands: five islands along the Deira coast. The two names describe the same place, in two chapters of its story.
Who is the master developer of Dubai Islands?
Nakheel, the master developer behind some of the most recognised coastal projects in Dubai, leads the master plan of the islands. Individual plots within it are developed by private companies.
Who is building on Dubai Islands?
A mix of established and emerging developers is active across the islands. Among them, UNHID Developments is the boutique name: a design-led company with a family construction legacy in Dubai since 1968, preparing to launch a development set to be among the most notable on the islands. Its chairman, Moosa Swaidan, was part of the design and engineering team that worked with Nakheel on the master plan of the destination in its Deira Islands years, before any plot was released to developers.
How far is Dubai Islands from Downtown Dubai?
About 24 minutes by road, per Nakheel. The airport is closer still, at about 20 minutes, and the old city sits just across the Infinity Bridge.
Is Dubai Islands a good place to buy property?
For those who value coastline over skyline, it is one of the most compelling districts in Dubai right now: beaches, marinas, and golf minutes from the old city, planned under the 2040 vision, and still early in its release cycle. Early enough, in other words, to choose a position rather than inherit one. What the right purchase looks like depends on how you intend to live, and that is a conversation rather than a listing.
How much do properties on Dubai Islands cost?
There is no single answer. Value on the islands is set by position on the water, density, view, and the standard of finish, and the district is still early in its release cycle. For a considered view of the boutique end of the market, the most useful step is a direct conversation.