A fishing trip from Dubai Marina is a 4-hour private charter on one of three sports boats, Uno at 35 ft or Dos and Tres at 40 ft, with the tackle and bait, the captain, fuel, water, ice and soft drinks included and up to 9 or 10 guests. The boats leave from Al Majara Tower in Dubai Marina, run a morning or an afternoon slot, and the usual catch off this coast is hamour, kingfish and queenfish. The fishing price depends on the date, the boat and the group, so we quote it on WhatsApp. Here is how to choose the boat, the slot and the season.
By SB Excursions · Published 15 September 2026 · Updated 23 October 2026
Tour on this route: Dubai Marina Shared Yacht Tour — From $32 per person, 1 hour.
How much does a fishing trip from Dubai Marina cost?
The fishing charter is quoted on WhatsApp for your date, boat and group, because the 4-hour package includes the tackle and bait as well as the captain, fuel, water, ice and soft drinks. For reference, the same three boats charter for sightseeing from AED 400 per hour with a 3-hour minimum, for the whole boat and up to 9 or 10 guests. We confirm the boat with the marina and the total before any payment.
This guide also answers:
- How long is a fishing trip from Dubai Marina?
- Which boats run fishing trips in Dubai Marina?
- Do I need to bring my own fishing gear in Dubai?
The three fishing boats and the two slots
#1
Uno, 35 ft
A high-powered Gulf Craft sports cruiser with a wide beam and an open cockpit lounge that makes her feel bigger than 35 feet. She runs the morning and afternoon fishing trips with the tackle and bait on board, and for a group of 2 to 5 anglers she is the boat to ask for first; for sightseeing the same boat charters from AED 400 per hour with a 3-hour minimum.
#2
Dos, 40 ft
A Silvercraft 40 hard-top from Gulf Craft, built for fishing and family cruising: the shaded hard top matters on a 4-hour afternoon slot between April and October, and the toilet on board matters on any 4-hour trip. Hamour, kingfish and queenfish are the usual catch off this coast, and Dos is the boat we suggest to people who have never held a rod.
#3
Tres, 40 ft
A 40 ft sports boat with three 350 hp engines, seating fore and aft, cushioned sides all round and a washroom on board. The high sides make her the easy choice when children or non-anglers come along, and with 10 guests she is the largest of the fishing boats; children under 10 wear life jackets on deck, and everyone removes shoes before boarding.
#4
The morning slot
Leaving the Marina as the sun comes up means the coolest 4 hours of the day on the water, which from May to September, when the afternoon reaches 38-45°C, is the difference between fishing and enduring. In winter the morning is 20-30°C and clear, and you are back at the pier with the whole afternoon free for JBR or the Palm.
#5
The afternoon slot
From November to March an afternoon charter fishes in 20-30°C and returns along JBR and the Marina towers as the light turns gold, which for many guests is half the point. Between April and October it means 30-38°C or more for 4 hours, so it is a hard-top-and-sunscreen decision: Dos for the shade, or move to the morning.
Fishing from Dubai Marina: the short version
Three boats in the fleet run fishing charters: Uno, a 35 ft sports cruiser for up to 9 guests, and two 40-footers, Dos for up to 9 with a hard top and Tres for up to 10 with high sides. A fishing trip is 4 hours with the tackle and bait on board, plus the captain, fuel, water, ice and soft drinks that come with every private charter in the fleet. You bring sunscreen, snacks and a copy of your passport on your phone.
The boats leave from Dubai Marina at Al Majara Tower, the same place as our sightseeing charters, and run a morning or an afternoon slot. From May to September book the morning without thinking about it; from November to March either works and the afternoon ends with the sunset over the skyline. The usual catch off this coast is hamour, kingfish and queenfish, and the captain picks the spot on the day.
The fishing price is not the AED 400 per hour sightseeing rate of the same boats: it is a separate 4-hour charter with the gear and the bait built in, and it depends on the date, the boat and the group size, so we quote it on WhatsApp and confirm the boat with the marina before you pay anything. Below: the three boats compared, the slots by season, what is included, what to bring and how the booking runs.
The three fishing boats compared
All three are open sports boats with one crew member, no cabins and a 3-hour minimum when they charter for sightseeing at AED 400 per hour. For fishing they run the 4-hour format. The choice between them is about shade, space and who is on board.
| Boat | Length | Guests | On board | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uno | 35 ft | 9 | Gulf Craft sports cruiser, wide beam, open cockpit lounge | 2-5 anglers who want the smallest, quickest boat |
| Dos | 40 ft | 9 | Silvercraft 40 hard-top, shaded, toilet on board | Afternoon slots, sun-shy guests, first-timers |
| Tres | 40 ft | 10 | Three 350 hp engines, seating fore and aft, high sides, washroom | Families and mixed groups with non-anglers |
All three depart from Dubai Marina at Al Majara Tower; sightseeing rate from AED 400 per hour with a 3-hour minimum; the 4-hour fishing charter is quoted separately on WhatsApp.
Guest numbers are the legal maximum, not the comfortable number of rods. On a 35-40 ft boat, 4 to 6 people fishing at once is comfortable and 9 or 10 works when some of the group are along for the ride, the swim afterwards or the photographs. If everyone in a group of 10 wants a rod in the water for the full 4 hours, tell us and we will suggest two boats rather than one.
None of the three has a cabin, which matters for one rule: on a private charter babies under 2 stay in the saloon or a cabin with a parent, so a fishing boat is not the trip for a baby. Children under 10 wear life jackets on deck and in the water, and under-21s stay with an adult. Tres, with her high sides, is the boat we suggest when children come along; the family detail is in yacht charter with kids.
What is included, and what to bring
Every private charter in the fleet includes the captain, crew, fuel, water, ice and soft drinks, and on the fishing boats the tackle and bait are on board as well, so a first-time angler arrives with nothing but a hat. What is not included is food beyond snacks, and a spare layer of sunscreen; the list below is what the guests who enjoy the trip most bring with them.
- Documents: a copy of a passport or Emirates ID on the phone for every guest, which is UAE law, and a card for the security pre-authorisation of AED 2,000-15,000 (it depends on the boat) held at check-in and released after the trip.
- Sun kit: high-SPF sunscreen reapplied every 2 hours, sunglasses, a hat that stays on at speed and a long-sleeved shirt. Dos is the one with the hard top; on the other two, dress for full sun.
- Food and drinks: dry food such as sandwiches, snacks and pizza on disposable plates, and your own drinks, alcohol included for guests of legal drinking age, 21+. Water, ice and soft drinks are on the boat; BBQ meat to cook on board is not allowed.
- Socks, because shoes come off before boarding on every boat in the fleet, and deck shoes that are already off are the ones you do not lose overboard.
- Seasickness tablets 30 minutes before boarding if you are prone to it. The Marina canal is flat; the open water where the fishing happens moves more, and 4 hours is long enough to notice.
- A towel and swimwear if the plan includes a swim at the end: swimming is in daylight, at anchor, within 3 metres of the boat, and the Coast Guard closes it around 7 PM in summer and 5 PM in winter.
- A cool bag if you hope to keep what you catch; the boat carries ice for the drinks, and we will tell you when you book how the catch is handled on that boat.
Leave behind pets, which are not allowed on any boat, and cigarettes for inside, where smoking is not permitted. The clothing detail by season is in what to wear and bring on a yacht.
Morning or afternoon: which slot, by season
The three boats run a morning and an afternoon slot, and the season decides which one to book. Dubai's water year has two halves: November to March, with 20-30°C days, 14-20°C nights and the sea at 20-24°C, and May to September, with 38-45°C afternoons, 30°C+ nights, heavy humidity from July and the sea up to 33°C. April and October sit between at 30-38°C.
| Months | Sunrise and sunset | Morning slot | Afternoon slot |
|---|---|---|---|
| November to March | Sunrise about 7 AM in January; sunset about 5:30 PM in December | Cool, clear, back by early afternoon | Mild, ends with the sunset over the skyline; a layer for the return |
| April and October | Between the winter and summer times; check the day's sunset | The better choice: out before the heat builds | Workable on Dos under the hard top; sunscreen every 2 hours |
| May to September | Sunrise about 5:30 AM in June; sunset about 7:10 PM | The only sensible slot: 4 hours before the 38-45°C afternoon | Hard going for 4 hours; move to the morning |
Times are approximate and shift through each month; we confirm the departure time with the marina when we confirm the boat.
In winter the afternoon is the more popular of the two because it ends with the return past JBR and the Marina towers in gold light, and the same evening still has time for dinner on Marina Walk. In summer the morning is not a preference but the plan: the boat leaves at first light, fishes in the coolest 4 hours of the day and is back before the afternoon peak. Month-by-month conditions for the whole trip are in best time to visit Dubai.
Weather is the one thing nobody controls. If the Coast Guard issues a warning for your slot, you get a new route, a new date or a full refund free of charge; sea conditions decide, and the captain's call is final. Final guest numbers are confirmed with us the evening before, which is also the moment to ask us about the forecast.
What you catch, honestly
Hamour, kingfish and queenfish are the usual catch off this coast, and that is the honest scope of the promise: the boat, the tackle, the bait and a captain who knows where the fish were last week. Nobody guarantees a fish, and anyone who does is selling something else. The 4-hour format exists because it is long enough to run out from the Marina, work a spot or two and come back, and short enough that the sun and the sea do not turn the trip into an endurance test.
The captain chooses the spot on the day based on the sea and the season, and the crew help with the rigging and the bait for anyone who has not done it before; if you have your own rod and want to bring it, tell us when you book. If the group is half anglers and half company, Tres with her seating fore and aft keeps the two halves apart without anyone feeling in the way, and a swim at anchor at the end, in daylight and within 3 metres of the boat, finishes the morning for the non-fishing half.
Booking and the price: why we quote on WhatsApp
Send us the date, the slot you prefer, the number of guests and how many of them will fish. We check the boat with the marina and come back with the confirmed time and the total before any payment; the fishing charter is priced as a 4-hour package with the tackle and bait, separately from the AED 400 per hour sightseeing rate of the same boats, and it depends on the date, the boat and the group. The reference table for the rest of the fleet, from the 31 ft Sealine to the superyachts, is in yacht rental prices in Dubai.
Check-in is at the marina lounge on the marina level of Al Majara Tower, Dubai Marina, 20-30 minutes before departure, where the security pre-authorisation is held on a card and released after the trip. The nearest Metro station is DMCC on the Red Line, then a short taxi or the tram and a walk; Dubai Marina Mall offers 3 hours of free parking, which does not cover a 4-hour charter plus check-in, so a taxi is simpler. The arrival guide is in how to get to the yacht pier.
The charter runs on the booked slot: a late arrival shortens your 4 hours rather than moving them, and if the fish are biting and the boat is free afterwards, an extension on the day is possible and paid to the captain. Your own cancellation keeps 50% of the price up to 48 hours before and 100% within the last 24 hours, so fix the date once the rest of the week is settled; a Coast Guard weather warning costs you nothing.
Fishing as part of a Dubai trip
A fishing morning pairs well with the rest of the Marina. Non-anglers in the family can take the 1-hour shared yacht tour from $32 a seat, which leaves from the same tower every hour and takes all ages past JBR, Bluewaters and Ain Dubai, while the anglers are out; both groups are back at Al Majara Tower for lunch. The next day the full-day desert safari from $45 collects everyone at the hotel with no prepayment, and the Marina evening is Marina Walk, a 7 km loop past the boats you fished from.
All three fishing boats leave from the Marina, not from Dubai Harbour, which is where the largest superyachts in the fleet berth next to Bluewaters; the difference between the two departure points is in Dubai Marina vs Dubai Harbour. If fishing is only part of what you want from a day on the water, the fleet's other 27 boats, from a 48 ft yacht with a cabin from AED 800 per hour to a 150 ft superyacht, are on the yacht rental page, and a 3-hour sightseeing charter on the same Uno, Dos or Tres at AED 400 per hour is the cheaper way to get the skyline and a swim without the rods.
FAQ
How much does a fishing trip from Dubai Marina cost?
The fishing charter is quoted on WhatsApp for your date, boat and group, because the 4-hour package includes the tackle and bait as well as the captain, fuel, water, ice and soft drinks. For reference, the same three boats charter for sightseeing from AED 400 per hour with a 3-hour minimum, for the whole boat and up to 9 or 10 guests. We confirm the boat with the marina and the total before any payment.
How long is a fishing trip from Dubai Marina?
4 hours on the water, in a morning or an afternoon slot, plus check-in 20-30 minutes before departure at the marina lounge on the marina level of Al Majara Tower, Dubai Marina. A late arrival shortens the 4 hours rather than moving them, and if the boat is free afterwards an extension on the day can be paid to the captain.
Which boats run fishing trips in Dubai Marina?
Three sports boats: Uno, a 35 ft Gulf Craft cruiser for up to 9 guests; Dos, a 40 ft Silvercraft hard-top for up to 9 with a toilet on board and shade; and Tres, a 40 ft sports boat for up to 10 with high sides and a washroom. All three leave from Dubai Marina at Al Majara Tower with one crew member and the tackle and bait on board.
Do I need to bring my own fishing gear in Dubai?
No. The 4-hour fishing charters on Uno, Dos and Tres include the tackle and bait, and the crew help with the rigging for anyone who has not fished before. If you have your own rod and want to bring it, tell us when you book. What you do bring is sunscreen, a hat, snacks and your own drinks; water, ice and soft drinks are already on the boat.
Is morning or afternoon better for fishing in Dubai?
From May to September, morning only: the boat leaves at first light, around 5:30 AM in June, and fishes before the 38-45°C afternoon. From November to March either slot works in 20-30°C, and the afternoon returns with the sunset over the Marina skyline at about 5:30 PM in December. In April and October the morning is cooler, or take Dos for the hard top in the afternoon.
What fish can you catch off Dubai?
Hamour, kingfish and queenfish are the usual catch off this coast. The captain picks the spot on the day according to the sea and the season, the crew handle the bait and rigging, and nothing is guaranteed; a 4-hour trip is long enough to work a spot or two from the Marina and be back before the heat or the dark.
Can I bring food and drinks on the fishing boat?
Yes. Dry food such as sandwiches, snacks and pizza on disposable plates, and your own drinks, including alcohol for guests aged 21+, are allowed on a private charter; water, ice and soft drinks are included. BBQ meat to cook on board is not allowed, there is no smoking inside, and no pets. Shoes come off before boarding, so bring socks.
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