Desert Islands Resort & Spa by Anantara
Sir Bani Yas Island, Abu Dhabi — Anantara Hotels and Resorts
Sir Bani Yas Island sits in the Arabian Gulf 250 kilometres southwest of Abu Dhabi. Sheikh Zayed developed it as a private nature reserve from 1971 onward. Today the island holds over ten thousand free-roaming animals across 87 square kilometres — Arabian Oryx, cheetah, hyena, giraffe, gazelle, ostrich and many more. It is the only place in the UAE where cheetah and hyena move freely outside a zoo or enclosed sanctuary. Consequently, Desert Islands Resort & Spa by Anantara offers something that no other luxury property in the Emirates can claim — a genuine wildlife experience within the country’s borders that operates on an African safari model rather than a zoo visit.
Anantara manages the resort within the island’s conservation framework. Guided wildlife drives depart at dawn and dusk in the same format as East African game drives. Furthermore, the island’s coastal environment adds snorkelling, diving and kayaking over coral reefs that receive far less visitor pressure than the UAE’s more accessible dive sites. The combination of land wildlife and marine environment in a single island destination is rare anywhere in the Arabian Peninsula.
The Wildlife and Conservation History
Sheikh Zayed’s original vision for Sir Bani Yas was a personal conservation project at island scale. He introduced species that had disappeared from the Arabian Peninsula and allowed the island to become a refuge over several decades before public access opened. The Arabian Oryx population here descends directly from those original conservation herds. Cheetah — locally extinct across the Gulf for generations — roam the island’s rocky interior. Giraffe move through the acacia woodland in the island’s centre. Additionally, the island holds pre-Islamic historical sites including the remains of a Nestorian Christian settlement and one of the oldest church structures found in the Arabian Gulf region — a dimension of the island that wildlife-focused visitors frequently overlook.
Accommodation
Desert Islands Resort offers 64 rooms, suites and overwater villas. Beach rooms face the Gulf directly. Overwater villas extend over the shallow water on stilts and include glass floor panels for viewing marine life below. All rooms include private terraces, Arabian-influenced décor and the Anantara standard of service. Moreover, the resort’s small scale relative to the island’s 87 square kilometres means the environment surrounding the accommodation feels genuinely vast. Anantara manages the property consistently with the brand’s standard of warm, culturally aware hospitality throughout.
Activities
Wildlife drives depart at dawn and dusk with naturalist guides who track the island’s free-roaming animals through the interior terrain. Mountain biking trails cross the island’s varied landscape from beach to rocky escarpment. Snorkelling and diving access the offshore coral reefs directly from the resort beach. Additionally, kayaking moves through the island’s coastal mangroves where seabirds and marine life concentrate in the shallow channels. Archery, tennis and the Anantara Spa complete the in-resort offer for guests who want activities beyond the wildlife programme. Therefore, the island suits families, couples and multi-generational groups equally — the wildlife drives appeal across ages while the water sports and spa provide independent options for different members of the same party.
Dining
Desert Islands Resort operates three restaurants. Anantara’s signature all-day dining venue serves a broad Arabic and international menu. The beach restaurant provides casual outdoor dining directly on the Gulf shore. In the evenings, private wildlife picnics move guests into the island interior for dinner as the animals become most active at dusk. Furthermore, all meals use regional ingredients with clear sourcing connections to the Abu Dhabi food system. The service style throughout reflects Anantara’s approach — warm, knowledgeable and unhurried rather than formal or transactional.
Getting There
Sir Bani Yas Island sits 250 kilometres from Abu Dhabi city. A twenty-minute flight from Abu Dhabi International Airport reaches the island directly. Alternatively, a two-hour ferry crossing from Jebel Dhanna on the mainland connects road travellers to the island without requiring a flight. The distance from the city is a feature rather than a complication — it places the island genuinely beyond the Abu Dhabi urban environment and removes it from the day-tripper traffic that affects more accessible wildlife destinations. Additionally, the crossing by sea gives the first sighting of the island from the water, which is the most effective way to understand its scale and position within the Gulf.
Combining Desert Islands with Other Destinations
Desert Islands Resort works as two to three nights within a wider UAE or Arabian Peninsula journey. Abu Dhabi provides the cultural and urban context before or after the island stay. Additionally, combining Sir Bani Yas with Al Maha Desert Resort near Dubai gives two contrasting wildlife experiences within a single UAE journey — island conservation reserve in the Gulf on one side and continental desert conservation on the other. For travellers extending into Oman or Saudi Arabia, the island serves as a composed and restorative opening chapter before the wider regional circuit begins.
For the UAE: UAE
For Al Maha: Al Maha Desert Resort
For the full Arabian Peninsula: Arabia by Oloi Shorua
If you are considering Desert Islands Resort as part of a private Arabian journey, we would be pleased to begin with a conversation.
Desert Islands Resort & Spa by Anantara — anantara.com
Sir Bani Yas Island — sirbaniyas.ae