Dubai Marina Area Guide (2026): Rent, Towers, Mall and Marina Walk

About Dubai Marina

Dubai Marina is a freehold district of high-rise flats, planned and started by Emaar around a man-made marina. It lies in Marsa Dubai, in the south-west of the city, between Sheikh Zayed Road (E11) and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Street. Its neighbours are JBR on the beach side, JLT across Sheikh Zayed Road, and Dubai Media City to the north. Downtown Dubai is about 21 km away by road. For other parts of the city, see all our Dubai area guides.

Whether you want to rent a flat in Dubai Marina, buy one or simply understand what living there is like, this Dubai Marina area guide covers it: the towers people ask about, what flats really rent and sell for, Dubai Marina Mall, Marina Walk, the beach, the Metro and tram, and who it suits.

*This guide was last updated on 26 October 2026, using Dubai Land Department records up to 25 October 2026. Dollar ($) and pound (£) amounts use AED 3.6725 to the US dollar and AED 4.9032 to the British pound (XE mid-market rate); your bank's rate will differ.

Dubai Marina Location and Map

Dubai Marina is a long strip of towers on both banks of the water. The marina runs from north-east to south-west, and the district has main roads and other areas on every side:

• East: Sheikh Zayed Road, with the Metro on it and JLT across it.
• West: King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Street, with JBR and the beach behind it.
• North: Dubai Media City, and the sea where the marina opens out.
• North-west, across the mouth of the marina: Dubai Harbour and Emaar Beachfront.
• South-west: the road junctions towards Jebel Ali and Ibn Battuta Mall.

By road, from the middle of the Marina, it is about:

• 2 km to The Walk and The Beach at JBR.
• 9 km to Mall of the Emirates.
• 21 km to Downtown Dubai.
• 36 km to Dubai International Airport.

The first map shows where Dubai Marina is in Dubai.

The second shows the Marina close up, with the mall, the Metro stations, the tram stops and the two mosques.

The red line on the second map marks only the east bank, between the water and Sheikh Zayed Road, but this guide covers both banks, including the marina itself and the towers along King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Street.

Dubai Marina Highlights

Here is the short version, from the towers and the water to the Metro and the beach.

Popular Buildings in Dubai Marina

Dubai Marina is a place of towers, so people search for the building, not the street. The towers below are the ones people look for most. Each card shows two figures for the same size of flat, so you can compare like with like: what new tenants paid a year, and what flats sold for, both in the last 12 months*.

Most cards show a one-bedroom flat, the home rented most here. 23 Marina has no one-bedroom flats, so its card shows a three-bedroom flat.

Our pick for value is Marina View. A one-bedroom flat there rents for about AED 82,700 a year, about AED 51,000 less than in Marina Gate. Princess Tower and Elite Residence are close behind, at about AED 80,600 and AED 83,200. You get a flat in one of the tallest towers in the Marina for one of the lowest rents.

If you want a newer building and can pay more, choose Marina Gate. Its three towers were finished between 2018 and 2020, so they are among the newest in the Marina.

East bank or west bank? Most of the towers on the cards, and Dubai Marina Mall, are on the east bank, close to the Metro. Botanica Tower, Park Island and Marina Promenade are on the west bank. From there the beach is closer, but the Metro is a longer walk.

*This guide was last updated on 26 October 2026, using Dubai Land Department records up to 25 October 2026.

Rent in Dubai Marina

Every home for rent in Dubai Marina is a flat, apart from a few villas. A one-bedroom flat, the most common home, rents for about AED 95,500 a year ($26,000 · £19,500). A studio costs less and bigger flats cost more. Rooms and bed spaces are easy to find too.

*This guide was last updated on 26 October 2026, using Dubai Land Department records up to 25 October 2026. Dollar ($) and pound (£) amounts use AED 3.6725 to the US dollar and AED 4.9032 to the British pound (XE mid-market rate, 26 October 2026); your bank's rate will differ.

Apartments for rent in Dubai Marina

There is a lot of choice: about 5,600 flats were up for rent when this guide was last updated*. Most landlords want the year's rent in cheques. Ask how many cheques they accept before you agree a price, because one or two cheques can get you a lower rent.

About half the adverts are for furnished flats. About 600 flats were offered by the month. A monthly flat costs far more than a yearly lease, so take one only for a short stay.

There are also about 90 penthouses for rent, at the top of the tallest towers.

See homes for rent:

• Property Finder: apartments for rent in Dubai Marina, furnished apartments, monthly apartments, penthouses

Studios for rent in Dubai Marina

Studios are fewer here than you might expect: fewer than one flat in ten rented is a studio. In Princess Tower, The Torch and Elite Residence, not one studio was let in the last 12 months. About 330 studios were up for rent when this guide was last updated.

Most new studio contracts in the latest records were between AED 45,000 and AED 70,000 a year. The cheapest are in Marina View and Botanica Tower. In Marina Gate a studio costs much more.

See homes for rent:

• Property Finder: studios for rent in Dubai Marina

One- and two-bedroom flats for rent in Dubai Marina

Four flats in five rented here have one or two bedrooms. Rents depend a lot on the tower. In the latest records, most one-bedroom flats let for between AED 68,000 and AED 140,000 a year, and most two-bedroom flats for between AED 90,000 and AED 190,000. A marina view, a high floor and a newer tower all push the rent up.

About 2,200 one-bedroom and 2,000 two-bedroom flats were up for rent when this guide was last updated*. Compare the same size in two or three towers on the cards above before you choose.

See homes for rent:

• Property Finder: one-bedroom flats, two-bedroom flats, three-bedroom flats

Villas and townhouses for rent in Dubai Marina

Dubai Marina has no ordinary villas or townhouses. A few towers, such as Marina Gate, have villas built into the base of the tower, and only 11 were let in the last 12 months*. For a house close by, look at Jumeirah Park or JVT.

Rooms, partitions and bed spaces in Dubai Marina

Rooms are easy to find in Dubai Marina, but most adverts are for a private room, not a bed space. About 220 rooms were advertised when this guide was last updated*. Many adverts say the room is near the Metro, and some are for women only or men only.

What the words mean:

• Bed space: a bed in a room you share with others.
• Partition: a part of a room closed off with a light wall.
• Private room: a room of your own in a shared flat.

Sharing a home is now regulated. Dubai's shared housing law, Law No. 4 of 2026, came into force on 8 September 2026. These are its four main rules:

Dubai Marina is not one of the example areas named so far. Before you pay for a room, a partition or a bed space:

• Ask the person letting it whether the flat has a shared housing permit.
• See the room before you pay anything.
• Do not pay a deposit until you have a written agreement.

See rooms for rent:

• Dubizzle: rooms, partitions and bed spaces in Dubai Marina

*This guide was last updated on 26 October 2026, using Dubai Land Department records up to 25 October 2026.

Property for Sale in Dubai Marina

A one-bedroom flat in Dubai Marina sells for about AED 1.77 million ($482,700 · £361,500), and a two-bedroom flat for about AED 2.99 million. A flat here earns about 5.9% of its price in rent each year, before costs, a little below the Dubai flat average of 6.2%. Nine in ten homes sold in the last 12 months* were already built.

*This guide was last updated on 26 October 2026, using Dubai Land Department records up to 24 October 2026. Dollar ($) and pound (£) amounts use AED 3.6725 to the US dollar and AED 4.9032 to the British pound (XE mid-market rate, 26 October 2026); your bank's rate will differ.

Apartments for sale in Dubai Marina

Price per sq ft is the price divided by the size of the home, so you can compare homes of different sizes. About 3,750 flats were for sale when this guide was last updated, 385 of them studios. In the last 12 months about 2,200 homes were sold here, so it is easy to check what flats in the same tower sold for before you make an offer.

Off-plan: 213 of the 2,182 homes sold in the last 12 months* were not built yet, about one in ten. Most were in Marina Shores, and the rest in new towers such as Liv Lux, Aeternitas Tower, Kempinski Marina Residences and Six Senses Residences. About 660 off-plan flats were advertised. Read our guide to off-plan or ready property in Dubai before you choose.

Hotel apartments are sold too, mostly in Ciel Tower, where they sold for about AED 992,000 on average in the last 12 months*. A hotel company runs them, so you cannot live in one the way you live in an ordinary flat.

See homes for sale:

• Property Finder: apartments for sale in Dubai Marina, studios for sale, penthouses for sale

Villas and townhouses for sale in Dubai Marina

There are almost no villas to buy in Dubai Marina: only four sold in the last 12 months*, all at the base of towers. For a house close by, look at Jumeirah Park or JVT.

Restaurants in Dubai Marina

Dubai Marina is one of the easiest places in Dubai to eat out: Pier 7 and Dubai Marina Mall alone give you dozens of choices, from a coffee to a rooftop dinner. More cafés line Marina Walk, and JBR and Bluewaters are a short walk or drive away.

Good to know:

• A drink with dinner: Pier 7 is where most of the licensed places are, including Bedrock, Mama Zonia and Atelier M.
• Late at night: the Atelier M lounge stays open until 2 or 3 am, and the Mama Zonia bar until 1 or 2 am. Check the hours before you go.
• Cheaper food: for a quick, low-cost meal, cross Sheikh Zayed Road to JLT.

Dubai Marina Mall

Dubai Marina Mall is the Marina's own shopping centre, on the east bank of the water. Emaar built it and runs it. It has more than 140 shops over four floors, a Waitrose supermarket and Reel Cinemas. Pier 7, the tower of restaurants, stands next to it. This is what it gives you:

Most shops open from about 10 am to 10 pm, and to 11 pm at weekends. Hours change, so check the mall's website before you go.

Parking at the mall:

• Free time: the first three hours from Monday to Friday, and the first four hours at weekends.
• After that: AED 20 an hour.
• Free with a spend: spend AED 250 or more and show your receipt at Guest Services on the Ground Floor.
• No overnight parking.

There is no Apple Store here. For one, go to Mall of the Emirates, about 9 km away. Make sure you search for "Dubai Marina Mall": Marina Mall is a different mall in Abu Dhabi.

Marina Walk

Marina Walk is the promenade that runs round the water, a loop of about 7 to 8 km. It is free and open to everyone, and it is where people in the Marina walk, run, push a pram or sit at a café by the boats. The stretch on the west bank is called Marina Promenade.

What you find along it:

• Cafés and restaurants: most with tables outside facing the water.
• Water taxis: RTA boats stop at Marina Promenade, Dubai Marina Mall, Marina Walk and Marina Terrace. A trip costs AED 7 for each stop you travel.
• The ferry: Dubai Ferry boats leave from the Dubai Marina Mall marine station.
• Al Rahim Mosque: at the south end of the walk.

Marina Walk gets busy on cool evenings and at weekends. Early in the morning it is quiet and good for a run.

Dubai Marina Beach

The beach for Dubai Marina is the free public beach in front of JBR, a short walk across King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Street. It is the same stretch of sand, so people call it Marina Beach or JBR Beach.

• Cost: the public beach is free.
• Swimming: in daylight only. Dubai allows night swimming only at three beaches in Jumeirah and Umm Suqeim, not here.
• Parking: at The Beach, the shopping strip behind the sand, it costs AED 20 an hour. Spend AED 100 at a shop or restaurant there and the first three hours are free.
• Running: The Beach has a 600 m running track.

For the cafés, shops and cinema by the sand, read our JBR area guide.

Supermarkets, Clinics, Mosques and Gyms in Dubai Marina

Most daily needs are in Dubai Marina Mall, on Marina Walk or on the ground floor of the towers. You can do most of them on foot.

Supermarkets in Dubai Marina

Waitrose in Dubai Marina Mall is the big supermarket in the Marina. Other choices:

• Waitrose: Dubai Marina Mall, P-Level.
• Choithrams: DEC Tower 2, ground floor, at the south-west end.
• Spinneys: Emaar Towers, on Marina Walk at the north end.

Clinics in Dubai Marina

There are several clinics inside the Marina, but no hospital with an emergency department. Clinics:

• King's College Hospital clinic: The Residences at Marina Gate, first floor. Open 8 am to 8 pm every day.
• Medcare Medical Centre Marina: Sukoon Tower, Al Marsa Street.
• Emirates Hospital Clinic Dubai Marina: Al Habtoor Business Tower, on the west bank.

For an emergency at any hour, King's College Hospital in Dubai Hills is about 17 km away by road.

Pharmacies:

• Boots and Super Care Pharmacy: Dubai Marina Mall.
• Life Pharmacy: many branches, including 24-hour ones at Princess Tower and Marina Wharf 2.

Mosques in Dubai Marina

Dubai Marina has a mosque at each end of the marina.

• Al Rahim Mosque: on Marina Walk at the south end, right on the water, so it is easy to reach on foot.
• Sheikh Rashid bin Mohammed Mosque: on King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Street at the north end. It opened in 2025, holds about 1,650 worshippers and has a women's prayer hall and its own car park.
• Parkin's parking zones by mosques are paid at all hours, so check the sign before you leave your car.

For other faiths, the churches in Jebel Ali are the nearest.

Gyms in Dubai Marina

Fitness First at Marina Gate is the big gym in Dubai Marina. Your options:

• Fitness First: at Marina Gate.
• Barry's: at Trident Grand Mall.
• Outdoors: Marina Walk for running, and the 600 m track at The Beach, JBR.
• In your tower: ask the agent whether the tower has a gym and a pool for residents.

Dubai Marina has no big park. Marina Walk and the beach are where people go for fresh air.

Schools in Dubai Marina

There is no school inside Dubai Marina, JBR or JLT. Children here go to schools 5 to 10 km away by road, in Al Sufouh, Emirates Hills, The Meadows, The Springs and Al Barsha. Several of them are rated Outstanding.

KHDA is the Dubai government office that inspects private schools. Its top ratings are Outstanding, Very good and Good. Most ratings below come from the 2023-24 inspections, because KHDA paused most full inspections after that.

You can find every school's fees on the KHDA school directory. To compare family areas on schools, safety, space and cost, read our guide to the best areas to live in Dubai for families.

Nurseries in Dubai Marina

There are nurseries inside Dubai Marina, and more next door in JBR. In the Marina:

• The House of Learning: Emaar 52|42 towers.
• Raffles Early Childhood Centre Dubai Marina: on Marina Walk.
• JBR: several more nurseries in the JBR towers, a short walk away.

Getting Around Dubai Marina

Dubai Marina is one of the few areas of Dubai where you can live without a car. It has two Metro stations, three tram stops and water taxis. If you drive, most trips start on one of these roads:

• Sheikh Zayed Road (E11) runs along the east side. It takes you north-east to Dubai Internet City, Al Barsha and Downtown Dubai, and south-west to Jebel Ali and Abu Dhabi.
• King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Street runs along the west side, past JBR, towards Palm Jumeirah.
• Al Marsa Street runs along the east bank, past Dubai Marina Mall.

These are distances, not times. Roads inside the Marina have one-way loops, and traffic is heavy at office hours, so allow extra time.

Metro stations near Dubai Marina

Dubai Marina has two Red Line stations, both on Sheikh Zayed Road on the east side:

• Sobha Realty: by the middle of the Marina. It opened as Dubai Marina station in 2010, was later called DAMAC Properties, and took its present name in August 2021.
• DMCC: at the south end, between the Marina and JLT. It was called Jumeirah Lakes Towers until 2018.

From most towers on the east bank, a station is about 1 km away in a straight line. From the west bank it is a longer walk, so most people take the tram to the Metro. For buses, check the RTA's S'hail app before you rely on one.

Dubai Tram stops in Dubai Marina

The Dubai Tram runs through the Marina and links it to the Metro, JBR and Palm Jumeirah. Its stops in and around the Marina:

• Inside the Marina: Dubai Marina Mall, Dubai Marina and Marina Towers.
• Next door: Jumeirah Beach Residence 1, Jumeirah Beach Residence 2 and Jumeirah Lakes Towers.
• Change for the Metro: at Dubai Marina stop for Sobha Realty station, and at Jumeirah Lakes Towers stop for DMCC station.
• Change for the Palm Monorail: at Palm Jumeirah stop, further north.

The tram runs from 6 am to 1 am from Monday to Saturday, and from 9 am to 1 am on Sunday. You pay with a Nol card, the same card as the Metro.

Parking in Dubai Marina

Parking is the hard part of living here, so sort it out before you move in.

• At home: parking comes with the flat, not the street. Ask how many spaces come with yours, and get it in the contract.
• On the street: public parking is run by Parkin and is paid from 8 am to 10 pm, with higher prices at the busiest hours. It is free on Sundays and public holidays. Check the zone number on the sign.
• Visitors: Dubai Marina Mall gives three hours free on weekdays.

Is Dubai Marina a Good Place to Live?

Dubai Marina is a good place to live if you want city life by the water and can pay for it. It suits singles, couples and people who work in Dubai Media City, Internet City or JLT. It does not suit anyone who wants a garden, a quiet street, a school close by or a low rent.

On average, a new tenant paid about AED 9,400 a year more for a one-bedroom flat here than in JLT across the road, which shares the same two Metro stations, in the last 12 months*. It costs about AED 16,000 less than in JBR, right by the sand. The extra money over JLT buys you the marina, the mall and a shorter walk to the beach.

Three bills to ask about before you sign:

• Chiller: we could not confirm which towers bill the air conditioning separately from DEWA. Ask the agent: "Is the cooling in the DEWA bill, or is there a separate chiller bill?"
• DEWA: you pay DEWA, the water and electricity bill, yourself. Ask to see last summer's bills for the flat.
• Service charges: owners pay a yearly charge to run the tower. If you are buying, ask the seller for the latest bill, and read our guide to service charges in Dubai.

If you are buying, the yield here is a little below the Dubai average for flats, but flats are easy to let and to sell, because so many people want to live here. The main risk is paying too much, because prices change a lot from tower to tower and floor to floor. 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.