Sir Bani Yas Island (UAE private island)

Sir Bani Yas island is a private island vacation destination located approx 170 km (110 mi) southwest of the UAE's capital Abu Dhabi.

Private island Sir Bani Yas (UAE)

In June 2016, MSC Cruises (subsidiary of MSC "Mediterranean Shipping Company" / one of the world's largest container ship companies) announced that their "beach oasis" on Sir Bani Yas island is available exclusively for MSC passengers on the ship MSC Splendida. In July 2016, this UAE private island cruise destination was also included in Costa Cruises roundtrips from homeport Dubai (season 2016-2017) as 1-day stopover / port of call on Costa neoRiviera itineraries. In 2017-2018, neoRiviera was replaced by Costa Mediterranea.

The 2,5 km (1,5 mi) stretch of land on Sir Bani Yas island features shaded cabanas, hundreds of palm trees and over 2,000 sunbeds across 36,000 m2 (387,500 ft2) of sand beaches, food and drinks bars, sports facilities, MSC Aurea Spa area (wellness complex), family and kids playground area, Bedouin tent (selling hand-made local arts-crafts), lounge space (live music, full-service bar), exclusive beaches (with VIP areas and cabanas).

MSC worked closely with ecologists and the Abu Dhabi Port Authorities for over 2 years to develop the island and support the ongoing preservation work. The isle is one of the region's largest wildlife reserves due to decades of conservation works and ecological investments to maintain its biodiversity. The "Arabian Wildlife Park" on the main island is home to over 13,000 endangered and indigenous animals, as well as millions of plants and trees.

The Sir Bani Yas "cruise island" was inaugurated on December 15, 2016. The ever first cruise ship visit to the island was by MSC Fantasia (December 5) as call port on a 7-night roundtrip Dubai itinerary (prices started from USD 720 per person). This new exclusive port destination is open for MSC passengers when their ship stops here as part of its roundtrip Dubai cruise.

The island's first visit (Costa neoRiviera) was on December 20, 2016. Costa passengers have access to a private (Costa exclusive) beach with VIP areas with cabanas.

Among the island's shore excursion options are jeep safaris in the wildlife park, sea kayaking, diving and snorkeling tours.

During season 2016-2017, Sir Bani Yas was visited by cruise ships 39 times, During its first cruising season (2015-2016), the island was visited by 60,000+ passengers.

On February 14, 2022, was officially inaugurated Abu Dhabi Ports Co's cruise jetty at Sir Bani Yas Beach. The docking facility has capacity to berth two large ships simultaneously and is equipped with 8x mooring dolphins. The ceremony was attended by Hamdan bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (Abu Dhabi ruler's representative) and Falah Mohammed Al Ahbabi (AD Ports' Chairman) and held during the visit of MSC Virtuosa. Before the Pier's construction, ships anchored ~1 km offshore and their passengers were ferried via tender boats.