Dubai Islands Area Guide (2026): Beach, Villas and Master Plan

About Dubai Islands

Dubai Islands (formerly Deira Islands) is a group of five man-made islands off the Deira coast, in northern Dubai, built by Nakheel. They sit just off Al Khaleej Street in Deira, across the water from Al Mamzar, about 18 km by road from Burj Khalifa. Nakheel is part of Dubai Holding Real Estate. For other parts of the city, see all our Dubai area guides.

Most of Dubai Islands is still being built. Nakheel's plan is for more than 230,000 residents in about 62,000 homes. Today only a handful of residential buildings are finished and lived in, so this guide says plainly what you can rent now and what you can only buy off-plan.

If you are thinking of buying, renting or simply visiting Dubai Islands, this Dubai Islands area guide gives you what you need: the projects and Bay Villas, what homes really sell and rent for, the beach, Souk Al Marfa and the marina, and how to get there.

*This guide was last updated on 3 November 2026, using Dubai Land Department records up to 31 October 2026. Dollar ($) and pound (£) amounts use AED 3.6725 to the US dollar and AED 4.9249 to the British pound (XE mid-market rate, 2 November 2026); your bank's rate will differ.

Dubai Islands Location and Map

Dubai Islands lie off the northern coast of Deira, between Port Rashid and the creek mouth on one side and Al Mamzar on the other:

• South: Deira's old waterfront and Al Khaleej Street, where the bridges reach the mainland.
• East: Al Mamzar and its beach park, across a stretch of water.
• West: the mouth of Dubai Creek and Port Rashid, where a new bridge from Bur Dubai is being built.
• North: the open sea.

By road, the middle of Dubai Islands is about:

• 5.2 km from Gold Souq Metro station.
• 9.5 km from Deira City Centre.
• 12.5 km from Dubai International Airport (DXB).
• 17.6 km from Burj Khalifa.

The first map shows where Dubai Islands is in Dubai.

The second shows the islands themselves, with Dubai Islands Beach, the Centara Mirage and Hotel Riu Dubai hotels, Dubai Islands Marina and, on the Deira shore, Waterfront Market.

Dubai Islands Highlights

Here is the short version, from what is built to how you get there.

Dubai Islands Projects and Villas

Dubai Islands has about 100 home projects, and almost all of them are still being built. In the last 12 months* 4,710 homes were sold here, and only 11 of them were already built. Two buildings are finished and lived in: Beach Walk Residences and Haven Living. Each card below shows what new tenants paid in the built ones, and what flats or villas sold for in the biggest off-plan projects.

Built and lived in today:

• Beach Walk Residences: flats by Imtiaz near the beach. The developer has handed over the first buildings, and tenants have moved in since June 2026.
• Haven Living: one 13-floor block of flats. Tenants have moved in since July 2026.
• Hotels: Hotel Riu Dubai and Centara Mirage Beach Resort Dubai, both on the beach.

Off-plan, being built: the biggest projects by sales are Ellington Sands, Hado by Beyond and The Meriva Collection. Other projects with many sales include LIV Oceanside, Samana Ocean Bay, Sunset Bay Grand, Seacliff, Silena Residences and Edgewater Residences. A Rixos hotel with residences is also being built; no opening date has been announced.

Bay Villas is the main place to buy a house. It is Nakheel's community of 636 villas and townhouses on Island B, and it had 105 sales in the last 12 months*. Nakheel is also building a new 320-metre beach next to it and reworking 3 km of the western shore, due by the end of 2027.

*This guide was last updated on 3 November 2026, using Dubai Land Department records up to 31 October 2026.

Dubai Islands Beach

Dubai Islands Beach is open every day from sunrise to sunset, and it is the beach most people mean when they search for Dubai Islands. It is next to the two big hotels, Centara Mirage and Hotel Riu Dubai, and within walking distance of the marina.

• Dogs: when Nakheel opened it in 2023, it was the first family beach in Dubai to let dogs swim. Rules can change, so read the signs at the entrance before you bring a dog.
• Things to do: beach volleyball and beach football.
• Blue Flag: in December 2023 Nakheel said beaches on Dubai Islands were among eight of its beaches given Blue Flag status, an international award for clean water and safety. The award is checked every year.
• Getting there: by car or taxi; there is no Metro station nearby.

Rent in Dubai Islands

You can rent on Dubai Islands, but the choice is very small. Only two buildings, Beach Walk Residences and Haven Living, had rent contracts in the last 12 months*: 17 in all. A one-bedroom flat rented for about AED 106,300 a year ($28,900 · £21,600) and a two-bedroom flat for about AED 153,200. There are no villas or townhouses to rent yet.

These figures rest on very few contracts, so treat them as a rough guide. About 64 flats were advertised for rent when this guide was last updated*, all in the same two places. Most flats in Beach Walk Residences come furnished and cost more. Haven Living's flats are mostly unfurnished and cheaper.

• Studios: only a few are advertised, all furnished, in Beach Walk Residences.
• Rooms and bed spaces: none that we could find. Sharing a flat in Dubai now needs a Dubai Municipality permit (Law No. 4 of 2026). For cheaper rooms nearby, look in Deira.

See homes for rent:

• Property Finder: apartments for rent in Dubai Islands

*This guide was last updated on 3 November 2026, using Dubai Land Department records up to 31 October 2026. Dollar ($) and pound (£) amounts use AED 3.6725 to the US dollar and AED 4.9249 to the British pound (XE mid-market rate, 2 November 2026); your bank's rate will differ.

Property for Sale in Dubai Islands

A one-bedroom flat on Dubai Islands sells for about AED 2.34 million ($638,100 · £475,900), a two-bedroom flat for about AED 3.60 million, and a villa or townhouse for about AED 9.95 million. Almost every one of these sales was off-plan, so you pay the developer in stages and get the keys later. There is no rental yield to quote yet, because too few homes are let.

Sales have slowed sharply. Between November 2025 and April 2026, about 570 homes were sold here each month. From August to October 2026 it was about 160 a month.

*This guide was last updated on 3 November 2026, using Dubai Land Department records up to 31 October 2026. Dollar ($) and pound (£) amounts use AED 3.6725 to the US dollar and AED 4.9249 to the British pound (XE mid-market rate, 2 November 2026); your bank's rate will differ.

Apartments for sale in Dubai Islands

Price per sq ft is the price divided by the size of the home, so you can compare homes of different sizes. About 2,650 flats were advertised for sale when this guide was last updated*, most of them resales of off-plan flats.

Flats here cost much more than the Dubai average for new flats. An off-plan one-bedroom flat on Dubai Islands sold for about AED 820,000 more than the Dubai average for an off-plan one-bedroom flat (AED 1.52 million) in the last 12 months*. You pay for the sea, the beach and a central location close to the old city.

The first built flats changed hands in October 2026, in Beach Walk Residences: five one-bedroom flats sold for about AED 2.08 million on average. That is too few sales to compare built and off-plan prices yet.

See homes for sale:

• Property Finder: apartments for sale in Dubai Islands, one-bedroom flats

Villas and townhouses for sale in Dubai Islands

Most houses sold here are in Bay Villas, which had 105 of the 134 house sales in the last 12 months. Property Finder records the townhouses here as villas, so both are in the figures above. About 220 villas and 76 townhouses were advertised for sale when this guide was last updated.

See homes for sale:

• Property Finder: villas for sale in Dubai Islands, townhouses for sale in Dubai Islands

Souk Al Marfa, the Marina and the Night Souk

The marina is open, Souk Al Marfa has mostly emptied, and the night souk has never opened.

Souk Al Marfa opened in August 2021 as a big indoor market of about 400 shops near the bridges. By April 2024 most shops had closed and few people came, and Nakheel's new plans for the islands left it out. Check that a shop is open before you go. When it opened, the RTA also started abra and ferry trips from the old souks to Souk Al Marfa; check the RTA's S'hail app before you rely on them.

Nakheel Marinas Dubai Islands opened in 2023, within walking distance of Dubai Islands Beach.

It also has a car park, showers and washrooms for boat owners.

The Deira Islands Night Souk was planned in 2014 as a waterfront market of about 5,000 shops along 1.9 km of the islands. We found no sign that it has ever opened, and no opening date has been announced.

Getting to Dubai Islands

You reach Dubai Islands by car or taxi, over the bridges from Deira. The main roads:

• Al Khaleej Street: three bridges at the junction with Abu Baker Al Siddique Road carry traffic on and off the islands. Al Khaleej Street runs along the Deira waterfront to the Infinity Bridge, for Bur Dubai.
• The Bur Dubai bridge: a new 1.4 km bridge over the creek mouth, with four lanes each way, is being built from the Bur Dubai side. The RTA's target was 2026; it had not opened when this guide was last updated.

These are distances, not times. At rush hour Al Khaleej Street and the Deira roads get busy, so allow extra time.

There is no Metro on Dubai Islands, and no planned line goes there. The nearest station is Gold Souq, on the Green Line, about 5.2 km by road, so most people take a taxi for that part. Al Ras station is about 6.8 km away. For buses, check the RTA's S'hail app before you rely on one.

Parking: the beach, the marina and the hotels have car parks. If you rent or buy, ask how many parking spaces come with the flat, and get it in the contract.

Is Dubai Islands a Good Place to Live?

Not yet for most people, but it can be a good buy if you can wait. Today Dubai Islands suits people who want a new flat by the sea close to old Dubai, and buyers who will hold for years. It does not yet suit families who need schools and shops nearby, or anyone who needs a Metro station.

Daily life, for now, happens on the Deira mainland:

• Food: the restaurants open on the islands are mostly in the hotels. Centara Mirage has places such as Waves Beach Bar, Suan Bua and UNO MAS. Hotel Riu Dubai is all-inclusive and mainly for its guests.
• Shops: for a big weekly shop, drive to the malls in Deira, such as Deira City Centre (9.5 km).
• Clinics, mosques and gyms: we found none open to residents on the islands that we could check. Ask your building what it has, and plan to use those in Deira.
• Schools: there is no school on the islands. The nearest are in Deira, Al Mamzar and Hor Al Anz, for example Al Ittihad Private School (American, Al Mamzar), Sabari Indian School (Deira) and Pearl Wisdom School (Indian, Hor Al Anz), all rated Good by KHDA in 2023-24. Most children would go by car or school bus.

Three bills to ask about before you sign:

• Chiller: in many new buildings the air conditioning is billed apart from DEWA. Ask: "Is the cooling in the DEWA bill, or is there a separate chiller bill?"
• DEWA: you pay DEWA, the water and electricity bill, yourself.
• Service charges: owners pay a yearly charge for the building and the community. Read our guide to service charges in Dubai to see what is fair.

If you are buying, remember that almost everything here is off-plan and resale prices are not yet tested by built sales. Compare prices in Deira, Dubai Creek Harbour and Dubai Maritime City before you decide. To compare areas, read our guide to rental yield by area in Dubai. Before you make an offer, use our guide on how to check property value in Dubai.