I spent a month entertaining my children for free in the UAE – here's how

From hiking to history tours, I challenged myself to put together activities for my three children without spending a dirham

Spending the day in the many stretches of desert around the Emirates is both fun and free to do. Gemma White for The National

It won’t be news to parents that weekends with children can get expensive. On top of sports and social activities, splashing out on a seemingly endless list of treats, trips and takeaways can really add up.

With this in mind, I set myself the challenge of not spending any money entertaining my three boys, Indiana, 12, Fox, nine, and Caspian, six, for a whole month. The task was simple: I would endeavour to take them out every Saturday and Sunday for four weekends (although you can hit up most of these places on weekdays during the school break), but only to do things that were gratis, and I would also include visits to places we hadn’t been to before.

Lunches were packed – no restaurant meals or snacks – sunscreen was applied and we boldly headed off to enjoy the array of fabulous free things the Emirates has to offer. Here’s how we fared.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi

As our family hadn’t yet got around to visiting this architectural marvel, this challenge seemed like the perfect time to head to Abu Dhabi and enjoy a free tour to learn more about the mosque. Appropriately attired, upon arrival, we were directed to wait for the next tour to start. The free tour took about 40 minutes, which was the perfect length of time to hold my six-year-old’s attention.

I view cultural experiences such as this as a fantastic way to enrich children’s knowledge and confidence, and the guide was happy to field questions from my trio. Afterwards, we crossed the bridge to visit the nearby Wahat Al Karama memorial – which also offers a free guided tour – along with checking out the exhibits and information at the visitor centre.

Al Jahili Fort, Al Ain

Fox at Al Jahili Fort in Al Ain, which has a big outdoor space for children to run around. Gemma White for The National

The fort is about an hour’s drive from my house, which is about the same time I could easily spend on a Friday night heading out to Palm Jumeirah for dinner, so it’s no biggie. One of the largest forts in the UAE, construction for this began in 1891 and it was completed seven years later. After a period of abandonment in the 1950s, it was incorporated by British forces in their regional headquarters.

My children, who are currently very much in their “loving history” era, were very impressed by the building and loved stepping through the big wooden doors into the vast courtyard inside and seeing the four turrets up close. Along with the parkland it’s set in, the fort is a great outdoor space for children to run around and pretend to be knights. The racing around was temporarily put on hold when we went inside to view the exhibitions.

Imagine fountain show at Dubai Festival City Mall

Usually, we would head to the mall for shopping, dining or to go to the cinema, but given the parameters of our challenge, we went there purely for the free fountain show. The mall can get quite busy, especially during the cooler months, and there are plenty of dining outlets from which to watch the show although those were off-limits to us this time. The children were kept more than entertained with all the lights, lasers and twisting fountains with the movements all set to music, but we’re definitely going to return for dinner at one of the waterfront restaurants.

Love Lakes walk, Dubai

Love Lakes has fish in the water and a 400-year-old tree. Gemma White for The National

We’ve been to the lakes before so we knew to get there early as parking can get busy. As a family, we prefer an early morning walk to an afternoon one anyway. The lakes have changed a lot since we last visited, especially when it comes to the sheer number of people camping there.

Once past the campers, the children enjoyed the freedom the area allows, because you can let them wander off into the open space while still keeping an eye on them. Firm favourites were the giant fish in the water who follow you as you walk along the bank, and the raised hilltop that’s home to myriad selfie opportunities. They also loved visiting the 400-year-old tree.

Breakfast in the desert, Dubai

While technically we needed to provide food and drinks for this, I’m counting this as free because we simply took along snacks we already had at home – no extra shopping required. Actually, it was doubly free because the friends we went with were seasoned campers and provided all the cooking equipment, plates, tables and chairs.

We stayed relatively local to us, heading out to an area behind the Hamdan Sports Complex off the 611 in Dubai. The dogs enjoyed their time off the leash as much as the children who spent hours climbing, digging into and rolling down the dunes while getting sand into absolutely every crevice. Much excitement was also had when they spotted a caravan of camels.

Ace Hardware, locations across the UAE

Caspian enjoying the festive section at Ace Hardware. Gemma White for The National

A hardware store might not be the first place you think of when it comes to entertaining the children, but it’s been an unexpected go-to for us for quite a few years. While we usually visit Ace (also, Ikea) only when we need to buy something, my Apple Pay stayed resolutely untapped this time as we headed to our closest one in Al Badia, Festival City.

The children love checking out the tents, especially at this time of year when they are all set up outside. Plus, the giant chairs are good fun and an entire Christmas village is also set up for December, which they spent a long time watching. No outdoor seating area went untested, along with a visit to the aquarium area with its selection of tropical fish.

Wadi hike, Fujairah

Indiana, Fox and Caspian with friends and pets on a wadi hike in Fujairah. Gemma White for The National

If you’re wadi-walking newbies like us, I recommend going with someone who knows the route and terrain, so I enlisted my aforementioned camping expert chums to guide us. We headed out early to Fujairah to a well-worn, but not overly popular route.

Needless to say, climbing the rocky outcrops was the big hit of the day. While we didn’t walk as far as we might have done on an adults-only hike, seeing the children running around outside in the fresh air and getting a bit grubby was its own reward. Free-range parenting at its best.

Grand Souq, Old Town and Al Shindagha Historic District, Dubai

Indiana at the Grand Souq in Deira. Gemma White for The National

Al Shindagha Museum is also in this historical district but., because you need to pay to get in, we bypassed it on this occasion for a stroll around outside. Not that this mattered because the narrow walkways, shaded courtyards and twisty alleyways provided plenty of intrigue and fun for the little ones. After visiting there, I must confess to maybe cheating just a little, because to get across to the souq requires either a Dh1 abra ride or getting everyone back into the car to drive across the river. What’s a dirham or two between friends, I figured, and we hopped on an abra and headed across to the souq.

The children loved the hustle and bustle, exploring the alleys and chatting with the storekeepers about the spices and teas. The return abra journey for five cost a grand total of Dh10 (but I’m not counting that!).