$5,500 for 90 minutes of surfing: Abu Dhabi’s artificial wave craze
A new craze has hit the UAE, and it’s a little more energetic than pistachio-filled chocolate.
It seems that the UAE is the place to be if you want to start a craze. At first we had green chocolate, which I still haven’t tried. And now, on an island just off Abu Dhabi, a new kind of surfing craze is, ahem, making waves.
Surf Abu Dhabi, a huge facility on Hudayriyat Island, has become the centrepiece of the region’s push to attract visitors from all over the world.
The star attraction, filled with 80 million litres of sea water pumped in from the Arabian Gulf, is a record-breaking wave pool powered by Kelly Slater’s surf technology. At the push of a button, it pumps out two-meter-high waves that mimic the ocean’s most iconic creations.
However, as you may imagine with the luxuries of the UAE, catching a wave doesn’t come cheap. A shared beginner lesson costs about €150 for 12 waves, averaging €12.50 per ride. And the price climbs quickly: private sessions with coaching and video analysis exceed €500, while high-end “tube sessions” hover around €880 for 90 minutes. “We’ve adopted a quality over quantity methodology,” Ryan Watkins, general manager at Surf Abu Dhabi, told CNN. “We run the best waves in the world; we definitely don’t run the most waves.”
If you want to make a splash and rent out the entire pool, that will set you back around €5,500, which translates to as much as €175 per wave if you’re the only one riding.
Now, the spotlight is about to grow even brighter. The World Surf League (WSL) has added Surf Abu Dhabi to its 2025 Championship Tour calendar, making it the first artificial venue of its kind to join a circuit traditionally dominated by legendary ocean scenery.
But is on board. As expected, some argue that mechanical waves dilute the essence of surfing, removing raw connection to nature that defines the sport. As well as that, questions have also been raised about taking high-profile competitions to a Gulf state where it is illegal to be gay or where women need permission from a man to travel. Of course, it makes sense for the UAE to push the money button once again, as they are eager to polish the global image through sport for when the time comes and oil money is not as reliable as it is today.
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