Quad Bike Dubai short layover friendly trip

Sandboarding is a boardsport and extreme sport^[1] similar to snowboarding that involves riding down a sand dune while standing on a board, with both feet strapped in. Sand sledding can also be practised sitting down or lying on the belly or the back. It typically involves a sand sled, although it is also somewhat possible to use snow sleds or snowboards. The invention of modern sandboarding is largely attributed to Lon Beale, aka 'Doctor Dune', who began sandboarding in 1972 in California's Mojave Desert.

Sandboarding has adherents throughout the world, but is most prevalent in desert areas or coastal areas with beach dunes. It is less popular than snowboarding, partly because it is very difficult to build a mechanised ski lift on a sand dune, meaning participants must climb or ride a dune buggy or all-terrain vehicle back to the top of the dune. On the other hand, dunes are normally available year-round as opposed to ski resorts, which are seasonal.

The sandboard base is much harder than a snowboard, and is built mostly out of formica or laminex with special base materials now being made, that will slide on wet and dry sand. To glide in the sand, the board bottom is often waxed, usually with a paraffin-based sandboard wax, before a run. Afterwards, the bottom of the board may have a lightly sanded look to it. Most terrain sandboards are composed of hardwood ply, while 'full-size' sandboards are a wood, fiber glass, and plastic composite. However, a snowboarding base will sometimes work on steeper dunes as well.^[2]

Sandboarding is practised worldwide, with locations available on every continent except Antarctica. The World's Greatest Sandboarding Destinations lists sandboarding destinations in over 65 territories.^[3]

Sand boarding or sand sliding (Hawaiian: heʻe one) was a favourite beach pastime on the islands throughout the first half of the 20th century including the outbreak of World War II.^[4]

Drorbamidbar has sandboarding in Israel at Negev Desert not far from Ashalim in Ramat HaNegev.

Little Sahara on Kangaroo Island in South Australia is a sand dune system roughly covering two square kilometres (0.77 sq mi). The highest dune is approximately 70 metres (230 ft) above sea level.

Lucky Bay, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Kalbarri, in Western Australia, is another sandboarding hotspot. Sandboarding Tours are offered in the area.

The Stockton dunes, 2.3 hours north from Sydney. Stockton Bight Sand Dunes system is up to one kilometre (0.62 mi), 32 kilometres (20 mi) long, and covers an area of over 4,200 hectares (10,000 acres; 42,000,000 m²). The massive sand dunes climb up to 40 metres (130 ft) high. Located only minutes from the centre of Nelson Bay, it is the largest sand dune system in Australia.^[5]

Sandboarding sites in Egypt include the Great Sand Sea near Siwa Oasis واحة سيوة in Egypt's Western Desert, the Qattaniya القطانية sand dunes (1.5 h drive on/off-road from Cairo), El Safra الصفراء and Hadudah هدودة dunes midway between Dahab and St. Catherine in Sinai.

Namibia features sand-skiing, which is similar to sandboarding, performed with skis instead of a board. Most of the sand-skiing is performed in the Namib desert dunes around Swakopmund and Walvis Bay. With a special permit it is sometimes possible to sand-ski at the world's highest dunes in Sossusvlei.^[6] Henrik May, a German living in Namibia for some 10 years, set a Guinness World Record in speed sand-skiing on 6 June 2010. He reached a speed of 92.12 km/h (57.24 mph).^[7]

After some pioneers like Derek Bredenkamp who boarded Swakopmund around 1974, commercial operators in South Africa began offering sandboarding to tourists in 1994.^[8] In 2000 the Sandboarding South Africa league was established. Between 2002 and 2004 the South African Sandboarding League held competitions on the Matterhorn Dune located between Swakopmund and Walvis bay. Competition events included dual slalom, boarder cross and big air events. In 2005 and 2006 Alter Action held sandboarding competitions at Matterhorn but the competitions no longer formed part of the South African Sandboarding League during those years. The league collapsed, then the sport was revived again in 2007 with weekly sandboarding sessions in and around Cape Town and Gauteng.

Sand Master Park, located in Florence, Oregon is a dedicated sandboarding park and the first of its kind, featuring 200 acres (81 ha; 810,000 m²) of sculpted sand dunes and a full-time pro shop. Dune Riders International is the governing body for competitive sandboarding worldwide and sanctions events each season at Sand Master Park and around the world. Sand Master Park is also the factory outlet for the largest sandboard company in the world, Venomous Sandboards.

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, near Kanab, Utah, permits sandboarding on roughly 2,000 acres of sand dunes within its boundaries.^[9] Utah also contains sand dunes near Salt Lake City, Lake Powell, and Moab. Additionally, the company Slip Face Sandboards is based in Provo, Utah.

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve near Alamosa, Colorado has sandboarding on what it calls the tallest dunes in North America.^[10] Sandboarding and skiing are permitted anywhere on the dunefield away from vegetated areas.^[11][12]

Peru is known for having large sand dunes in Ica, some reaching up to 2 km (1.2 miles). Duna Grande in Ica is the largest sand dune in the world. The Copa Sandboarding Perú (Peru – Sandboarding Cup) has been held near Paracas every year since 2009. Since 2017 the Sandboard World Cup is hosted in the region of Ica by InterSands.^[13] There are also great dunes near the capital city (Lima) in Chilca.

In Chile, sandboarding is practiced throughout the north of the country, including the Medanoso dunes in Copiapo (where the Dakar rally takes place), Puerto Viejo beach in Caldera, excellent dunes in Iquique, and some near Viña del Mar.

Nicaragua is home to Cerro Negro, the youngest volcano in Central America. Since it has steep slopes and volcanic sand, it is possible to sandboard down this active volcano.

A rather small sand mountain is the Monte Kaolino in Hirschau, Germany. Equipped with a 120-metre (390 ft) lift, it was the host of the annual Sandboarding World Championships until 2007.

The Dune of Pilat in France is an hours' drive from Bordeaux; it is the tallest dune in Europe, measuring 3 kilometres across, 500 metres wide and between 100 and 115 metres tall depending on the year.^[14]

Amothines is a small desert five kilometres (3 mi) from Katalakkos village in Limnos, Greece. There are many sand dunes there, where people can practice sandboarding.

Wales is home to the village of Merthyr Mawr that is 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) from the town of Bridgend, the village is close to a beach and it is home to the "Big Dipper", the second largest sand dune in Europe.^[15]

Holywell, Cornwall is also home to a beach with a complex of sand dunes; in the summer and during peak times, local shops that cater for beach goers also sell sandboards.

The Braunton Burrows sand dunes on the Devon coast, was the filming location for where Alex Bird became the first sandboarder to be towed by a car on British shores.^[16]

In the North East region of the United Kingdom, there is a small beach at Seaton Sluice where people can sandboard. This is a good alternative to sledding, as there is insufficient snow to support sledding there, even though the UK has a rather cold climate, with chilly winters and cool summers.

Sandboarding in Russia began to develop and popularize in the village of Shoyna in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Local entrepreneur and public figure Fedor Shirokiy is a pioneer in this development. The Shoyna sand dunes are located above the Arctic Circle, offering a unique opportunity to master this sport in the extreme Arctic conditions.

• Sandboarding World Championship – The SWC was held annually in Hirschau (until 2007), Germany at Monte Kaolino, currently also the site of Europe's largest sand hill. Riders can board down dunes over 90 m (300 feet) tall, riding into a water landing site at the base of the hill. It has a sand lift, the only one in the world. Events include slalom (akin to snowboarding's parallel giant slalom), freestyle (similar to freestyle snowboarding) and sandboard cross (cf. snowboard cross).
• The current Sandboard World Cup is hosted in Ica - Peru every two years.
• Sand Master Jam – Annual sandboarding event that takes place in Florence, Oregon at Sand Master Park. This event occurs in late spring or early summer. The Sand Master Jam has been held since 1996.
• Pan-American Sandboarding Challenge – This event takes place in July in Aquiraz, Ceara, Brazil at Prainha's Beach. It features amateurs and professionals who wish to compete in freestyle and jump events.
• Sand Sports Super Show – Annual outdoor event for all sand sports, including sandboarding. This three-day event takes place in September in Costa Mesa, California at the Orange County Fair and Expo Center.
• Sand Spirit - Annual event that takes place at Monte Kaolino, Germany.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sandboarding.

• Sand-boarding.com

Dubai Marina مرسى دبي
District
Marsa Dubai
Dubai Marina skyline
Interactive map of Dubai Marina
Coordinates: 25°4′52.86″N 55°8′38.67″E / 25.0813500°N 55.1440750°E / 25.0813500; 55.1440750
Country	United Arab Emirates
Emirate	Dubai
City	Dubai
Established	2003; 23 years ago (2003)
Area
• Total	4.9 km2 (1.9 sq mi)
Population  (2024)[1]
• Total	70,550
• Density	14,000/km2 (37,000/sq mi)
Community number	392
Website	www.bayut.com/area-guides/dubai-marina/

Dubai Marina (Arabic: مرسى دبي), also known as Marsa Dubai, is a district in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is built around an artificially constructed canal along a 3-kilometre (2 mi) stretch of the Persian Gulf shoreline. In 2024 it had a population of 70,550.^[2][3]

The district can accommodate over 120,000 people,^[4] and is located on Interchange 5 between Jebel Ali Port and the area which hosts Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, and the American University in Dubai. The Dubai Marina was inspired by the Concord Pacific Place development along False Creek in Vancouver, Canada.^[5] There have been many instances of marine wildlife, especially whales and sharks, entering the marina because of its proximity to the open sea.^[6]

To create the marina, the developers brought the waters of the Persian Gulf into the site of the Dubai marina, creating a new waterfront. There is a large central waterway excavated from the desert and running the length of the 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) site.^[4] More than 12% of the total land area on the site has been given over to this central public space.^[4] Although much of this area is occupied by the marina water surface, it also includes almost 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) of landscaped public walkways.^[4]

The marina is entirely human-made and has been developed by the real estate development firm Emaar Properties of the United Arab Emirates and designed by HOK Canada.^[4] There is a publicly accessible foreshore-way around the marina and some sections of public ocean way along the beach with views to Palm Jumeirah. Its largest development is the Jumeirah Beach Residence. In October 2013, Dubai Marina opened its first mosque, Masjid Al Rahim, which is situated at the southern end of the Marina; its second mosque, Mohammed Bin Ahmed Almulla Mosque, opened in December 2016.^{[citation needed][7]}

The first phase of Dubai Marina covers 10 hectares (25 acres), which includes six freehold apartment buildings called the Dubai Marina towers. Phase I of Dubai Marina cost more than AED 1.2 billion.^[4] Three of the towers are named after precious stones: Al Mass, Fairooz, and Murjan; the other three are named after Arabic scents: Mesk, Anbar, and Al Yass. The scheme was designed by HOK and the contractors were Al-Futtaim Carillion and Nasah Multiplex.^[4]

Phase II of Dubai Marina consists of high rise buildings which are mainly clustered into a block, known as Tallest Block in the world,^[8] with the majority of the skyscrapers ranging between 250 metres (820 ft) to 300 metres (984 ft) in height. This includes Cayan Tower,^[9] Ocean Heights,^[10] Marina Pinnacle,^[11] Sulafa Tower,^[12] and Ciel Dubai Marina which rises to 366 metres (1,201 ft).

The Walk at Jumeirah Beach Residence is a 1.7-kilometre (1.1 mi) strip at the ground and plaza level of the complex, developed by Dubai Properties. Completed in 2007, since opening officially in August 2008^[13] it has become a tourist attraction.^[14]

Al Sahab is a residential high-rise development that consists of two towers; the complex is on the waterfront and directly overlooks the largest bay of water at Dubai Marina.^[15] The buildings are in the northern end of the marina across from the Al Majara towers near the Marina Quays.^[16]

Marina Quays is a complex designed by Arif & Bintoak, also responsible for the Concorde Tower. As of 2016^[update], luxury penthouses in the buildings have sold for more than 10 million Dirham.^{[relevant?][17]} In 2018, 5 million tonnes (11 billion pounds) of rock was added to create a breakwater for Marina Quays.^[18]

Dubai Marina Mall is a shopping mall located in the centre of Dubai Marina. It features 140 retail outlets, spread over 3.6 hectares (9.0 acres) of gross leasable space. Opened in December 2008, the mall is linked to the 5-star JW Marriott Hotel Marina.^{[19][citation needed]}

Sobha Realty (شوبا العقارية), originally called Dubai Marina, then Damac Station, is a rapid transit station on the Red Line of the Dubai Metro in Dubai. It was opened on 30 April 2010 as part of an extension to Ibn Battuta. Sobha Realty is located near Interchange 5 of Sheikh Zayed Road, around 20 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of downtown Dubai; to the east of the northern half of the Dubai Marina and the west of the northern portion of Jumeirah Lake Towers. The elevated station lies on a viaduct paralleling the eastern side of Sheikh Zayed Road.^[20] Pedestrian access to the station is aided through walkways above Sheikh Zayed Road, connecting to developments on either side of the road. In September 2014, it was renamed to Damac Station.^[21] The station's name was changed back to Dubai Marina in November 2020,^[22] before it was renamed to Sobha Realty on August 9, 2021.^[23]