Events · GREAT FOR KIDS
Maritime Heritage Festival 2026
Abu Dhabi Corniche
Dates & times
- Fri 20 Nov4pm–12am
- Sat 21 Nov4pm–12am
- Sun 22 Nov4pm–12am
"Pearl divers, dhow builders and a market on the Corniche. Ten nights, from 4pm."
Abu Dhabi's maritime past takes over the Corniche for ten days, and the centrepiece is a dhow you can walk through rather than admire from the outside. This is the fifth edition of the Maritime Heritage Festival, and it puts craftspeople to work in front of you: boat building, rope work, the skills that used to pass between generations on the water.
There are traditional Emirati games that will hold children longer than you expect, a maritime operetta, and reenactments on the water. Fann Al Soot and Jalasat bring the music and the sitting rooms that went with the pearl trade.
Doors open at 4pm daily, closing at 11pm Monday to Thursday and midnight Friday to Sunday.
“Do the dhow immersive experience first, while it is still light, then work back through the craft stalls as the Corniche cools down.”
“Under-5s, over-60s and People of Determination get in free, but only at the on-site box office with proof. Everyone else pays from AED 12. Only water, medicine and baby food can be taken in, so eat before you go.”