Kayaking at the Louvre Abu Dhabi
I do love any excuse to be out and about doing something different in Abu Dhabi, and Kayaking at the Louvre caught my eye as something quite unusual that looked like a lot of fun! So just before the summer, I grabbed a friend and off we went early one Friday morning to try it I do love any excuse to be out and about doing something different in Abu Dhabi, and Kayaking at the Louvre caught my eye as something quite unusual that looked like a lot of fun! So just before the summer, I grabbed a friend and off we went early one Friday morning to try it out.
The kayaking is run by Seahawk Abu Dhabi, and the meeting spot is just outside the main entrance to the Louvre. Once the group has gathered, and all the payments have been taken, the guide leads the group round the corner to where the kayaks are waiting, and after a quick safety briefing it's time to go! Both single and double kayaks are available for use. Not sure how strong the current would be or how hard the one hour trip would be, my friend and I opted for sharing the load in a double kayak.
We start out slowly as we all get the hang of it, and the guide leads the way, stopping at various points to give us some information about the waters and the building of the Louvre.
I really enjoyed getting to see the Louvre from the water, and not limited to just kayaking around the outside, you do get to go in under the dome at several spots around the building.
Whether you can get the whole way round the building or not depends on the tide, and there are some pretty small spaces to navigate your way through at times!
I loved being able to explore the building from angles that tourists don't usually see, and it was a lot of fun too. Of course though the main highlight was definitely kayaking in under the rain of light and being able to sit and bask in that for a while.
The whole trip around the outside takes around an hour, though it depends on the speed of the group. There's actually no route around the building that allows you to get right back to where you started, so often the trips will end on the other side of the starting point (it's almost a full loop, just the last part isn't connected by water), or if there's enough time and the group has enough strength left, you may be able to return the way you came to reach the starting point. It actually wasn't as taxing as we'd expected, so luckily we were able to do the loop back round to the starting point.
We went in the morning around 9am, though now the trips seem to be running in the afternoons and evenings only. But it does seem to change periodically so do check out the Seahawk website for the latest info.
Water is provided and dry bags are available if you have valuables that can't be left elsewhere. There are changing rooms near the meeting point but I found it easier to turn up ready to go. Definitely wear swimwear or clothes you don't mind getting wet in!
The trip is a very reasonable Dhs126 (inc VAT) per person and is suitable for everyone aged 6 and above (kids aged 6-12 must be accompanied by an adult).
I absolutely loved it and would definitely recommend it! Going back at a different time of day would be great to see the place in a different light again.
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