The 10 best summer camps for kids in the UAE this summer

Dubai: School is out and the UAE’s long summer break is underway. For working parents, the same question arises every year: what do you do with children for eight weeks, with temperatures exceeding 40°C outside?

The answer, for a growing number of families, is summer camp. Options now extend far beyond the traditional daycare model, ranging from art studios and children’s museums to snow parks, soccer fields and golf greens. Here are 10 summer camps worth knowing about this year, across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

Dubai’s summers are relentless, so Ski Dubai takes the complete opposite approach: swap the heat for snow. Days are spent shuttling between snow park rides, a ski or snowboard entry and the resort’s Penguin program, with hot chocolate, meals and snacks packed into the schedule. It’s one of the newest ways to keep youngsters cool and busy during July and August.

Age: 4 to 10 When: June 29 to August 21, from 09:00 to 17:00 Where: Ski Dubai, Mall of the Emirates Price: Dh399 per day, or Dh1,500 per week (includes lunch and snacks)

For a more relaxed and hands-on summer, the Tashkeel Young Artists Club is running a two-week summer camp led by artists based in the United Arab Emirates. Kids move through a different craft each day, from personalizing a suitcase and shaping clay creatures to building a light-up animal lamp, a moon or galaxy lamp, a RISO mini zine, a 3D paper scene, a wearable sticker design and a Picasso-inspired cardboard face sculpture made from recycled materials.

Age: 4 to 12 (divided into 4 to 6 years and 7 to 12 years) When: July 13 to 17 on Alserkal Avenue; 20 to 24 July in Nad Al Sheba. Youth sessions run daily from 10am to 12pm, older sessions from 1.30pm to 3.30pm Where: Tashkeel Makerspace, Warehouse 89, Alserkal Avenue (first week); Tashkeel Nad Al Sheba (second week) Price: Dh190 (plus VAT) per session or Dh900 (plus VAT) per week

Wellfit, part of the UAE’s largest fitness collective, Formative, is running an eight-week multi-sport camp in three locations in the UAE, each with its own formation. Meydan covers swimming, football, athletics, boxing, Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu along with obstacle formats such as Blackout and Wallbusters, plus team games such as dodgeball and hide and seek tag. JVC leans towards martial arts, ninja challenges and mini marine training, while Madar in Sharjah adds padel to the mix. Non-members can join through weekly or daily passes.

Age: 5 to 12 When: 6 July to 28 August, from Monday to Friday, from 8.30 am to 1.45 pm Where: JVC and Meydan (Dubai), and Madar in Aljada (Sharjah) Price: Packages vary by location; day passes and weekly registration available to non-members

Emirates Park Zoo and Resort in Abu Dhabi has built its Future Heroes summer camp around role-play, letting kids step into the shoes of a zoologist, biologist or vet for the day. Expect animal encounters, wildlife and conservation lessons, pool time and recreational activities on three themed learning trips, all in an air-conditioned, supervised environment, with the eight weeks culminating in a Graduation Week with presentations and awards.

Age: 4 to 14 When: July 6 to August 28; ends with a Graduation Week Where: Emirates Park Zoo and Resort, Abu Dhabi (optional transport available) Price: Up to 40 percent early bird savings for early registration; limited places

Kids drawn to sports storytelling have Drama Camps at the Courtyard Playhouse, divided by age into role-playing and theater games for younger children and full productions inspired by popular books and movies for older children. The focus is on improvisation, performance and communication skills, and works equally well for complete beginners as well as young actors.

Age: 4 to 7, 8 to 11 and 12 to 14 (grouped by age) When: July 6 to August 28, 9am to 12pm or 1pm to 4pm Where:The Courtyard, Al Quoz, Dubai Price: Dh1,315 per week

Inside its Al Quoz galleries, OliOli Children’s Museum is running four themed weeks this summer: Wonder Camp for hands-on experiments, Jurassic Camp for dinosaur-led adventures, Mess Camp for endless messy play and Space Camp for a cosmic, hands-on look at the universe. Campers also have daily access to the museum’s permanent galleries and its Kids At Work exhibit.

Age: 3 to 10 When: July 6 to August 28 Where: OliOli Children’s Museum, Al Quoz, Dubai Price: From Dh690 per week (afternoon) to Dh990 per week (morning); morning, afternoon and all-day options available; 10 percent discount for siblings

For a sport that is steadily gaining a new following in the UAE, the Tommy Fleetwood Academy in Dubai Golf organizes a three-day golf camp over three separate weeks in July, mixing professional training with multi-sport activities. Smaller group sizes mean more individual attention, whether a child has never picked up a club or is already hooked on the game.

Age: 6 to 14 When: July 8 to 10, July 16 to 18, or July 23 to 25, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Where: Tommy Fleetwood Academy, Dubai Golf Price: Dh900 for members, Dh1000 for guests

Built by a female mechanical engineer who wanted to bring her path to STEM to more kids, Elite Engineer Summer Camp is aimed at slightly older kids who want to build, not just watch. For five days, participants take on engineering challenges and hands-on experiments, and each camper leaves with a certificate of completion.

Age: 9 to 16 When: July 13 to August 28, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Where: C3, Expo City Dubai Price: From Dh1,499 per week

For kids who can’t sit still, Bounce’s holiday camp channels that energy into trampolines, tricks, obstacle-style challenges and team games, with coaches and food included, across venues in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Full-day and half-day options make it easy to fit around a family’s schedule.

Age: 3 and up When: July 6 to August 28, Monday through Friday (end dates may vary slightly by country); half day 08:00-13:00 or 13:00 to 17:00, full day 08:00-17:00 Where: Dance venues across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah Price: Full day Dh300 per day or Dh1100 per week; half day Dh210 per day or Dh840 per week

Rounding things off on a futuristic note, the Pure Minds Academy summer camp, now in its 12th year, covers coding, robotics and AI across five Dubai venues, including sessions linked to the Museum of the Future. Younger kids build robots and pick up startup coding, while a new AI Bootcamp gives teens a project-based look at how AI engineers and professionals work, right up to pitching a Shark Tank-style business idea on the final day.