One Day, Two Beaches : Off to Al Bateen Beach, Abu Dhabi

Unlike the rest of the world, Friday is an off day in the United Arab Emirates. It's a day dedicated for rest, leisure, and recreation for most people, after a full week of work.

The restrictions due to the covid19 pandemic have slightly eased in Abu Dhabi and the UAE as a whole, and as a result, people have started to visit the malls, parks, and beaches. In my previous post, I mentioned that we were supposed to go swimming at the Al Hudayriat Beach for a much needed vitamin "sea" and D. However, the crowd is limited to 40% capacity, so we decided to transfer to another nearby beach.

_{Location: Al Bateen, Khalifa Al Mubarak Street, Off Al Khaleej Al Arabi Street}

The Al Bateen Beach is at the Abu Dhabi Southern Island coastline, overlooking the beautiful Al Hudayriat Bridge. Like the Al Hudayriat Island, there is no bus line going to this area so you would need to have your own car or get a cab to come here.

We prefer going here since it is nearer to our residence, and we do not need to walk too far for the parking. Having said this, parking (which is free) can be a bit difficult during holidays because there are limited spaces and cars would need to park near the residence area across the street.

There are two entrances to the Al Bateen Beach -- the public beach entrance and the family beach entrance. Though both are interconnected, basically, bachelors cannot go through the second entrance. The entrance to the beach is free.

There are not that much shade in this beach, just a few open huts like the above. Since these huts are situated a bit far off the water, most beach goers prefer to spread out their mats nearer the water.

Lifeguards are stationed every few meters (100 meters, I presume), and floaters line the water to indicate up to where the people can go.

There is not much water activities here, but I reckon enthusiasts can rent out jetskis for some added fun.

As for us, we are content to just playing sand by the shore, especially that we have small kids.

Going to the Beach During the Pandemic

It took a while before things reverted to a bit of normalcy in Abu Dhabi. When the number of cases have slowly reduced and the government have gained a bit of footing against the virus, most public places have reopened in order to bring back balance to the economy and life in general.

The UAE carries a tagline, "We Are All Responsible" and in line with this have imposed some added precautions when going to public places. This includes the beach.

Your temperature will be checked.

There will only be one entrance per gate, and expect that a security personnel will be present to take your temperature. This hardly takes time and once cleared, you may proceed to take your own space by the beach.

There are also signs that are put up in several spots inside the beach to give reminders to the visitors of the precautions that need to be observed all the time.

Maintain Distance

You will notice that there are "rings" scattered along the beach. This serves as a boundary of where each family/group can stay when not in the water.

The showers and changing rooms are open, and visitors are encouraged to still keep distance when using the facility.

Remember to still wash your hands frequently!

Playgrounds are Closed.

This playground is one of the reasons why my kids love to come to this beach. After swimming, on better days, we used to hang out here for some time before heading home.

"For your safety, the playground is closed." Little Miss read the sign that has been put at the gate. She let out a small frown.

Kids cannot enjoy such facilities all over the city just yet. It is frustrating for the kids, but we just need to remind them that the coronavirus has not gone and we need to keep that in mind all the time for our own safety.

We are still at the peak of summer and temperatures can still reach above 45 degrees C at mid-day. The beaches are open from sunrise to sunset, and it would be better to come early, or late in the afternoon in order to avoid the scorching heat.

By the way, the sunset at this beach is marvelous. It would be a good idea to stay just a few minutes more and watch as the sun disappear from the horizon.

The times may have changed in terms of how we would spend our vacations and weekends, but that doesn't mean that we stop living altogether. We just have to "be responsible", and always think, "safety first".