UAE summers > winter almost everywhere else…

A large part of the way you experience life, along with the meaning and enjoyment you extract from it, comes down to perspective. You can actively choose the lens through which you encounter events and emotions, you can always make a conscious decision to opt for love, light, positivity or tacos. And so, with our rose-tinted sunnies firmly on, we’re going to wax whimsical about what we love most about Dubai summers.

The green miles

With morning school runs stemmed to a trickle, a significant chunk of the country’s workforce on summer holidays, and fewer than usual mass-attended events – the UAE’s road network can be cheerily quiet over the summer months. Even the infamous DIFC restaurant rush hour is given a stopwatch reprieve, and you genuinely can get pretty much anywhere in the city within that oft-quoted journey time of 30 minutes. Google Maps is light on those triggering red lines, vehicle pollution rates are cut, and parking becomes significantly less of a combat sport.

Mosquito nett

If you’re one of those people reading this and thinking “but there aren’t any mosquitos in the UAE” how does it feel to be the universe’s favourite? Because there are mosquitos, there quite demonstrably are and that will likely be confirmed by the poor soul standing next to you with a plague-aesthetic carpet of itchy bumps on their arms and ankles. But the summer temperatures seem to force them into aestivation (the summer version of hibernation, the more you know…), or maybe they fly north for the season to go and bug their European neighbours. And it’s not just mozzies that buzz off, the same can be said for the country’s other flying (still admittedly less numerous than most other warm-climate regions) mini-beasts. All hail the no-fly zone.

The quick dry effect

Four words, one hyphen. Temperature-controlled outdoor pools. Whether you’re chilling in the shallows with a good book; casually propped against the swim-up bar of some bougie resort; or gently drifting along the weaving rapids of a waterpark’s lazy river – there are few summer leisure pleasures quite as exquisite, as those found in the cool of the pool. The added bonus of peak dip season, is the speed at which you dry off after exiting the pool, especially on low humidity days, the atmospheric conditions behave in much the same way as one of those Dyson AirBlade hand dryers.

Shopping run

They say only mad dogs and foolish men run in the midday sun. Which is why Dubai’s jogging community take their PB-chasing indoors for the summer months. Last year’s hugely popular, inaugural Mallathon took place across multiple retail hubs in the city, allowing everyone, of all ages, abilities, split times and Whoop recovery scores to run inside before the shops of the mall opened. Courses are set up to allow easy distance tracking, and weekly timed competitions. Casual runners can choose their own distance goals, from a journey of a few steps to an undercover ultra. The great news is that it will return for a thrilling, second billing in 2026 now bigger, longer and (unless you miss a few corners) relatively uncut. Precise details of the participating malls are still under wraps for the moment, but we do know its expected to be a multiple month affair between June and September.

Inbox relief

As with highways, so with the Information Super Highway. That’s what they used to call the internet right? And just so we’re clear, we’re not talking about the whole internet – although, those scary summer engagement figures… Amirite marketing managers? We’re speaking specifically about the blissful drop in the number of emails landing in our inbox in the hope of finding us well, enquiring about our meeting availability, or attached to hyperbolic press releases.

Stay less

You know when you hit the supermarkets just before they close, and you walk around picking up all those wild discounts? 12kg of sweetcorn for Dhs20? Don’t mind if I do. Well it appears to be the same pricing model that the UAE hotels base their summer deals on. You can pick up some scandalously good rates on international class, five-star, leisure palaces and all within an easily commutable distance. The same is also true for…

Beach please

We haven’t done an audit of the number of beach clubs in Dubai, but it certainly feels like no exaggeration to say, if you ranked UAE population composition by ethnic group, beach clubs could make it into the top 10. Despite the density of this diaspora, the UAE’s near-perennial sunshine and sheer volume of sun-seeking sojourners, ensures lounger occupancy rates remain high for most of the year. But as the mercury rises, the shoreline sun traps that remain open are compelled to lure in prospective punters with more persuasive packages. Prices are slashed, redeemables are made yet more  (often fully) redeemable, and freebies are frisbee’d into waiting tote bags.

Board meetings

Morning water sports without the ice bath if you capsize. The UAE’s summer sea temperatures aren’t the ideal salve for midday’s solar scorch, but they’re the perfect crash mat for early birds catching currents on stand up paddle boards. These sunrise SUP sessions are a popular pursuit during this time of year, burning calories, exploring waterways and allowing you and your trusty paddle to farm zen straight from the briny blue below.

The joy of AC

Wait. Hear me out. That moment you hit the AC’s invisible breeze after being out in the big scorch, is the most rapturous sort of joy. The flood of dopamine, the prickle of glistening sweat, the choir of saintly voices soaring in your frontal lobe. Light can only exist with the express blessing of dark.

Prized Surprises

The annual retail and entertainment festival where the city goes full Oprah Winfrey – you get a sale, you get a discount, you get some prizes, everybody gets a car (not legally binding, please see terms and conditions for full giveaway details). This year, Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) began putting smiles on faces on July 2, and the big finalé is due to take place on August 30. Dubai-wide sales have seen outlets offering up to 90 per cent off every conceivable item from fresh sneakers to stereo speakers; there have been shop-and-win promotions where cards charged with Dhs10,000 worth of spending have been given away every day; the return of Modhesh World and the bingeable bargains of Restaurant Week; kids go free promotions; and concerts from international recording artists (@Davido). DSS really has been our favourite summer fling.