140-Metre Jets, Completely Free
Do not pay for premium viewing. The public view is excellent, and this is one of the great free spectacles anywhere on earth.
: The Short Answer
The tallest performing fountain in the world — jets to 140 metres, choreographed to music against the lit Burj Khalifa.
- How much are Dubai Fountain Boardwalk tickets?: The official booking page lists the Dubai Fountain Boardwalk from AED 25 per adult, with the same price applying from age three upward, and gives daily opening of 10:00 am to 11:30 pm (experiences.visitdubai.com, read 17 August).
- How long is the Dubai Fountain show?: Each show lasts approximately three to five minutes, and every show is set to a different piece of music.
- What time is the Dubai Fountain show?: Afternoon shows run at approximately 1:00 PM and 1:30 PM (around 2:00 PM on Fridays), and evening shows run every 30 minutes from 6:00 PM until 11:00 PM, every day.
- Where is the best place to watch the Dubai Fountain?: The Souk Al Bahar bridge. It is the only free spot that frames the fountain and the full height of the Burj Khalifa together in one view.
- Is the Dubai Fountain ever cancelled?: Yes. Shows can be paused in high winds, because the jets are too powerful to run safely. Timings also change during Ramadan, when evening shows typically begin after iftar, and for National Day and New Year events.
- What is the best time of year to see the Dubai Fountain?: October to April is peak season with pleasant evenings and real crowds — arrive five to ten minutes early for a railing spot.
Everything we run in Dubai, with the price on the card
All prices are per car, not per person, unless the card says otherwise. You are booking the operator directly.
4 hoursHalf-Day Dubai City Tour
Burj Khalifa, the Dubai Frame, Old Dubai, the Creek abra and the Gold Souk in a private 4×4.
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Private vehicle, no other guests
- Morning or evening, same price
- Photo stops, not a drive-past
8 hoursFull-Day Dubai City Tour
New Dubai in the morning, Old Dubai in the afternoon — Palm Jumeirah, Marina, the souks and the Creek.
- The only route reaching both Dubais
- Up to 6 people in one car
- Lunch stop where you choose
- Ends at the Fountain show
4 hoursOld Dubai and the Souks
Al Fahidi wind-tower district, the AED 1 abra across Dubai Creek, the Gold Souk and the Spice Souk.
- Abra crossing costs AED 1 each
- Short, flat walking
- Best in the morning
- Car waits, you walk
4 hoursDubai by Night
The Fountain show, Downtown at full light, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai Marina, JBR and Bluewaters.
- Starts around 5:30 PM
- Fountain show every 30 minutes
- Most of the stops are free
- Good after a day out
6 hoursDesert Safari From Dubai
Dune bashing, camel ride, sandboarding, a Bedouin camp with BBQ dinner and live shows.
- Private 4×4, up to 7 guests
- Hotel pickup and drop included
- Camp is DTCM licensed
- Shared seats from AED 35 per person
Full dayDubai to Hatta Tour
Hatta Dam, kayaking, the heritage village and the Hajar Mountains. No passport, no border crossing.
- 90 minutes each way
- Kayak hire paid on site
- Best October to April
- You set the timings
One wayDXB Airport Transfer
Meet and greet with a name board at arrivals, flight tracking, luggage handled, one fixed price at any hour.
- Name board at arrivals
- Flight tracked, delays covered
- No surge at 3 AM
- Fixed price, per car
By the hourCar with Driver, As Directed
No fixed route. Your own car and driver by the hour — shopping, meetings, whatever the day needs.
- AED 250 per hour sedan or SUV
- AED 350 per hour Land Cruiser
- Four-hour minimum
- Wait time included
Per attractionDubai Attraction Transfers
A private car to Burj Khalifa, the Mall, the Frame, the Palm or the seasonal parks, with the driver waiting outside.
- Waiting time included
- Salik, fuel and parking included
- Tickets bought direct, not by us
- Child seats on request
Per rideQuad Biking
An automatic quad on a marked desert track with a guide riding ahead. The cheapest way to add adrenaline.
- AED 200 single rider
- AED 300 double
- Guide rides with the group
- No licence needed
30 min blocksDune Buggy
A Can-Am buggy on the dunes, booked by ride time. Sold as an add-on to the safari, not instead of it.
- AED 800 per 30 minutes
- Two-hour minimum
- Helmet and briefing included
- Decide before you arrive
Best Abu Dhabi desert safari from AED 35. Dune bashing, camel ride, BBQ dinner & live shows. Hotel pickup included. 5,000+ guests. Instant WhatsApp booking!
See Dubai Lit Up — Private Evening Tours
The Dubai Fountain is free — you do not need us for it. But if you want the Fountain, the souks, the Burj Khalifa and the Marina all lit up in one evening, a private 4×4 does that. Per car, not per person.
AED 699 per carPrivate Evening City Tour
4 hours after dark — the Fountain, the Burj Khalifa lit, the souks and the Marina
- Private Air-Conditioned 4×4 + Driver
- Evening Tours — Same Price as Daytime
- Dubai Fountain Shows (Free)
- Burj Khalifa Lit Base to Spire
- Gold Souk at Night — Covered & Cool
- Dubai Marina Reflected in the Water
- Hotel Pickup Anywhere in Dubai
- Your Group Only — No Strangers
AED 899 per carFull-Day City Tour
8 hours — ends at the Marina in golden hour, then the Fountain after dark
- Burj Khalifa & Dubai Mall
- Al Fahidi Historic District
- Abra Ride Across Dubai Creek
- Gold Souk & Spice Souk
- Palm Jumeirah & Atlantis
- Dubai Marina at Golden Hour
- Dubai Fountain Shows to Finish
- Fuel, Salik Tolls & Parking
AED 1,199 per carLand Cruiser Full Day
Premium Land Cruiser — best for groups of 5–6
- Premium Toyota Land Cruiser
- Extra Legroom & Luggage Space
- All Major Dubai Landmarks
- Fully Customisable Route
- Hotel Pickup & Drop-off
- Evening Tours — Same Price
- 2 & 3-Hour Custom Tours
- Combo with Desert Safari
Quick Answer
The Dubai Fountain show runs at approximately 1:00 PM and 1:30 PM in the afternoon (2:00 PM on Fridays), and then every 30 minutes from 6:00 PM until 11:00 PM, every single day. It is completely free. It sits on the 30-acre Burj Khalifa Lake outside Dubai Mall, and it is the tallest performing fountain in the world — its jets shoot water as high as 140 metres, roughly the height of a 50-storey building, choreographed to music and light against the illuminated Burj Khalifa. Each show lasts around three to five minutes. The best free viewing spot is the Souk Al Bahar bridge, because it frames the fountain and the full height of the Burj Khalifa together — a paid restaurant terrace cannot better it. Do not pay for “premium viewing”; the public view is excellent and this is one of the great free spectacles anywhere on earth. Royal Arabian Safari runs private evening city tours from AED 699 per car. Book on WhatsApp +971 58 228 2683.
Full disclosure: the Dubai Fountain is free. We make nothing from it, there are no affiliate links on this page, and we are not trying to sell you a ticket to something that does not need one. We are a DTCM-licensed Dubai tour operator — we sell private cars with drivers. Everything below is simply what we would tell a friend.
What time is the Dubai Fountain show?
Afternoon shows: approximately 1:00 PM and 1:30 PM (around 2:00 PM on Fridays, after prayers).
Evening shows: every 30 minutes from 6:00 PM until 11:00 PM, every single day.
Each show lasts roughly three to five minutes, and every show is set to a different piece of music — so if you stay for two or three in a row, you get a different performance each time. Most people do exactly that, and it costs nothing.
Dubai Fountain Show Times in Full
| Day | Afternoon shows | Evening shows |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday – Thursday | ~1:00 PM & 1:30 PM | Every 30 min, 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM |
| Friday | ~2:00 PM (after prayers) | Every 30 min, 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM |
Timings shift. During Ramadan the schedule changes and evening shows typically begin after iftar. Shows can also be paused for high winds — the jets are simply too powerful to run safely — and adjusted for National Day, New Year and special events. Check on the day if you are making a special trip. Nobody else writing about this fountain tells you it can be cancelled for wind, and people are genuinely caught out by it.
Which show should you go to?
Go just after sunset. That is the single best piece of advice on this page. The Burj Khalifa’s lights come on, the sky still has colour in it, and the water catches both. An afternoon show in flat midday light is a fraction of the same experience — the fountain is lit from within, and in daylight you simply cannot see it.
Then stay for a second show. Different music, different choreography, thirty minutes later. It is free, and almost nobody does it.
The Best Places to Watch the Dubai Fountain (All Free)
This is what the official pages do not tell you — and it makes more difference than anything else.
1The Souk Al Bahar bridge — the best free view
Free. The single best spot, and it beats every paid seat.
The pedestrian bridge running from Dubai Mall across to Souk Al Bahar is, without question, the best place to watch the Dubai Fountain. And the reason is compositional rather than sentimental: from the bridge, you get the fountain and the full vertical height of the Burj Khalifa in a single frame.
From the waterfront promenade below, you are too close and too low — the tower runs out of the top of your photograph. From a restaurant terrace, you are paying a significant premium for a view that is, in most cases, worse.
Arrive five minutes before a show in peak season (October–April) to get a spot at the railing. In summer it is far quieter.
2The Dubai Mall waterfront promenade
Free. Closest, and good for children.
Right at the water’s edge, directly outside Dubai Mall. You are close enough to feel the spray on a windy evening, which children adore. The trade-off is that you cannot fit the Burj Khalifa into the shot. As an experience it is excellent; as a photograph it is compromised.
3Souk Al Bahar’s own terraces
Free to stand. Paid if you sit and eat.
The souk itself has open terraces overlooking the lake. You can stand and watch for nothing. The restaurants here charge a real premium for a fountain-view table — and the free bridge, thirty seconds away, has the better angle.
4From across the lake — the wide shot
Free.
Walk around the lake toward the far side and you get a wider, calmer view with fewer people, the whole fountain in frame, and the Burj Khalifa behind. Fewer visitors bother. It is the photographer’s choice.
5From a Burj Khalifa observation deck
Honest verdict: it is worse. From Levels 124/125 you look down on the fountain, so it becomes a small pattern of light rather than a 140-metre wall of water. And — the obvious point that nobody says out loud — from inside the Burj Khalifa you cannot see the Burj Khalifa, which is half of what makes the view work.
Go up the tower for the city view, by all means. Do not go up expecting the fountain to be better from there. It is not.
What Is the Dubai Fountain?
The Dubai Fountain is a choreographed water, light and music installation on the Burj Khalifa Lake — a 30-acre man-made lake at the foot of the tower, outside Dubai Mall. It opened in 2009 alongside the Burj Khalifa itself, and it was designed by WET Design, the California firm behind the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas.
It is the tallest performing fountain in the world. Its jets shoot water as high as 140 metres — that is roughly a 50-storey building — and they do so in patterns choreographed to music, lit by thousands of individual lights and projectors that turn the water itself into a screen.
How it actually works
The system uses banks of high-pressure water jets and “shooters” that fire columns of water vertically, and oscillating nozzles that can swing and sweep, which is what produces the swaying, dancing motion the fountain is named for. Compressed air is used to launch the tallest jets — the sharp crack you hear at the peak of a show is that air being released.
The beams of light are what make it visible at all. In daylight, you see water. After dark, you see architecture made of water — which is exactly why the evening shows are the only ones worth planning around.
The music
Each show is set to a different track, and the range is deliberately wide — classical Arabic music, opera, Bollywood, contemporary pop, and orchestral pieces. Arabic tracks are the ones to catch if you can; the choreography for them is generally the most dramatic, and they suit the setting in a way a pop song does not.
Because every show is different, staying for two or three in a row genuinely gives you three different experiences. It costs nothing to stay.
Is the Dubai Fountain Free?
Yes. Completely, entirely free. There is no ticket, no barrier, no reservation and no queue.
We labour this because a surprising number of visitors arrive expecting to pay, and because a great deal of what is sold around the fountain is designed to make you feel that the free view is the inferior one.
It is not. The best view of the Dubai Fountain is free, and it is on a public bridge.
What to Skip at the Dubai Fountain
| What | Why skip it |
|---|---|
| “Premium” or “VIP” viewing packages | The public view from Souk Al Bahar bridge is better composed than most paid seating. You are paying for a chair. |
| Fountain-view restaurant tables (for the view alone) | A significant premium, and you are lower and closer than the bridge. Eat where the food is good; watch from the bridge. They are thirty seconds apart. |
| Going up the Burj Khalifa to see the fountain | From above it shrinks to a pattern of light — and you cannot see the tower, which is half the view. |
| The Dubai Fountain Boardwalk | A paid walkway out onto the lake. It is genuinely close and rather good — but it is an extra, not a requirement. Do the free view first and decide. |
| The lake boat ride | Same principle. Pleasant, unnecessary. The bridge is free and the angle is better. |
The pattern: almost everything sold at the Dubai Fountain is a way of charging you for proximity to something that is already free and already better from a public bridge. Every affiliate page ranking for this search has a commercial reason not to say that. We do not.
Best Time to See the Dubai Fountain
Time of day
Just after sunset — this is not close. The tower lights come on, the sky retains colour, and the water is lit from within. The 6:00 PM or 6:30 PM show in winter, or around 7:00 PM in summer, is the one to aim for.
Afternoon shows (1:00 PM / 1:30 PM) are worth catching only if you happen to be there. In full daylight the lighting is invisible and you are watching water.
Time of year
October to April is peak season. Evening temperatures are pleasant and the crowds are real — arrive five to ten minutes early for a railing spot.
May to September is hot, but here is the thing: the fountain is an evening attraction, so summer barely hurts it. By 7:00 PM it is bearable, the crowds are far thinner, and you can walk straight to the bridge railing. Summer is genuinely a good time to see the Dubai Fountain.
Days and events
Friday and Saturday evenings are the busiest. Weekday evenings are noticeably calmer. During National Day, New Year and Ramadan, schedules change and special shows run — spectacular, and extremely crowded.
How to Get to the Dubai Fountain
| How | The reality |
|---|---|
| Metro (Red Line) | Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall station. But it is a 10–15 minute walk through a covered link bridge to reach the mall, then more walking through the mall itself to the waterfront. Budget 25 minutes from the platform. People miss shows because of this. |
| Taxi | Easy to arrive. Slow to leave — after an evening show, several thousand people want a taxi at once. Expect a wait. |
| Driving | Dubai Mall parking is free and enormous, but fills on Friday and Saturday evenings. Note your level and zone. |
| Private car with driver | Drops you at the door and collects you away from the crush. The post-show taxi scramble is precisely where this earns its money. |
Nobody warns you about this: the Metro station is not at the fountain. It is a 10–15 minute covered walk to the mall, and then a further walk through one of the largest buildings on earth to reach the waterfront. If you arrive at 5:55 PM for a 6:00 PM show, you will miss it. Allow 25–30 minutes from the Metro platform.
Photographing the Dubai Fountain
- Shoot from the Souk Al Bahar bridge. It is the only spot that gets the fountain and the full Burj Khalifa in one frame.
- Go just after sunset, when there is still colour in the sky. Full darkness is harder — the contrast between the lit tower and black sky is brutal.
- Video beats stills. The fountain is choreography. A still photograph of water is a photograph of water; a fifteen-second clip is the actual experience.
- Turn the flash off. It will do nothing except annoy the people beside you.
- Brace on the railing. Low light plus no tripod means shake. The railing is your tripod.
- Stay for the second show and shoot that one. The first is for watching; the second is for shooting. You already know what is coming.
- Wide angle. The jets reach 140 metres. A standard phone lens will not contain them from close range.
The Dubai Fountain With Kids
It is one of the most reliable wins in Dubai with children, and it costs nothing.
- It is free, so there is no sunk cost if a toddler loses interest after ninety seconds.
- Each show is only 3–5 minutes. That is well within a small child’s attention span — unlike almost every paid attraction in Dubai.
- The waterfront promenade is better than the bridge for young children — closer, and on a windy evening they will feel the spray, which is the entire point as far as they are concerned.
- The bang of the tallest jets is loud. Sensitive children may be startled by it. Stand further back the first time.
- Buggies are fine on the promenade and the bridge.
- It is a genuinely good end to a long day — see our Dubai with kids guide.
What Else Is at the Fountain
The fountain sits in the middle of the highest concentration of things to do in Dubai, and most of them are free too.
- The Burj Khalifa — 828 metres, directly behind. The free view from across the lake is better composed than the paid one from inside it.
- Dubai Mall — the free Dubai Aquarium viewing panel, the three-storey waterfall, the ice rink. See our Dubai Mall guide.
- Souk Al Bahar — restaurants, a heritage-style souk, and the best free fountain view in Dubai from its bridge.
- Dubai Opera — the dhow-shaped opera house, a short walk away and striking from outside.
- The Downtown Boulevard — a pleasant free evening walk with the tower lit overhead.
You could spend an entire evening here and spend nothing but dinner money. It is one of the best free evenings available in any city in the world, and almost nobody frames it that way — because there is no commission in saying so.
A Perfect Dubai Fountain Evening
| Time | What you do | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 4:30 PM | Arrive at Dubai Mall. The free aquarium viewing panel. | Free |
| 5:15 PM | The Dubai Waterfall, then out to the waterfront | Free |
| 5:45 PM | Walk to the Souk Al Bahar bridge. Get a railing spot. | Free |
| 6:00 PM | First fountain show — just after sunset, tower lit | Free |
| 6:30 PM | Second show — different music. Film this one. | Free |
| 7:00 PM | Dinner at Souk Al Bahar, with more shows every 30 min | Your call |
| 9:00 PM | Walk the Downtown Boulevard under the lit Burj Khalifa | Free |
Total unavoidable spend: nothing.
Seeing the Fountain on a Private Evening Tour
You do not need us for the Dubai Fountain. It is free, it is walkable from the Metro, and we have just spent 3,000 words telling you not to pay for a better view because there is not one.
What a private evening tour does give you is the rest of Dubai on the same night. Because here is the thing about Dubai after dark: it is the better version of the city, and almost nobody sees it. The Burj Khalifa lit from base to spire. The Gold Souk, covered, cool and spectacular under lights. Dubai Marina’s towers doubled in black water. Al Fahidi’s lanes, empty and shadowed. And then the Fountain to finish.
Our evening tours run at exactly the same price as daytime — no night supplement. AED 699 per car for 4 hours, priced per car and not per person. The hop-on hop-off bus cannot do this at all: its service stops around 5:00 PM, which is precisely when Dubai becomes worth seeing.
And after a show, when several thousand people are simultaneously trying to find a taxi, your driver is waiting where you agreed. That is not a small thing.
The Dubai Fountain vs the Bellagio Fountains
The comparison is unavoidable, because the same firm designed both — WET Design of California built the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas in 1998, and the Dubai Fountain in 2009.
| Dubai Fountain | Bellagio Fountains | |
|---|---|---|
| Opened | 2009 | 1998 |
| Designer | WET Design | WET Design |
| Maximum jet height | 140 m | Roughly 140 m class, but a smaller lake |
| Lake size | 30 acres | 8.5 acres |
| Backdrop | The Burj Khalifa — the tallest building on earth | The Bellagio hotel façade |
| Cost to watch | Free | Free |
The honest verdict: the choreography is comparable, and the setting is not. Dubai’s advantage is entirely the backdrop. When 140-metre jets rise in front of an 828-metre tower lit from base to spire, the scale does something the Bellagio simply cannot. If you have seen Las Vegas and are wondering whether Dubai is worth the walk — yes, and it is the tower that makes it so.
Common Mistakes at the Dubai Fountain
- Arriving from the Metro five minutes before a show. It is a 25–30 minute journey from platform to waterfront. This is the single most common way people miss it.
- Going to an afternoon show and being disappointed. In daylight you cannot see the lighting. The fountain is an evening attraction.
- Standing on the promenade and wondering why the tower will not fit in the photo. Go to the bridge.
- Paying for a fountain-view table for the view. The free bridge has the better angle.
- Watching one show and leaving. They run every 30 minutes with different music, and they are free. Stay for two.
- Assuming it always runs. High winds pause the shows. Ramadan shifts the schedule.
- Booking the Burj Khalifa observation deck specifically to see the fountain. It is worse from up there.
- Trying to get a taxi immediately after a show. Walk five minutes away first, or have a driver waiting.
Is the Dubai Fountain Worth It?
Yes — unreservedly, and more so than most things in Dubai that cost money.
We are a tour operator. We have every commercial incentive to steer you toward things we sell, and none whatsoever to spend three thousand words explaining how to enjoy a free attraction without buying anything. So take this as it is meant.
The Dubai Fountain is the best free thing to do in Dubai. It is genuinely world-class — the tallest performing fountain on earth, choreographed by the people who built the Bellagio, staged against the tallest building humans have made, and lit like a piece of theatre. It runs every thirty minutes. It costs nothing. And the best seat in the house is a public bridge.
Compare that with the paid attractions around it. The Burj Khalifa observation deck is expensive, takes ninety minutes with queuing, and gives you a view in which you cannot see the Burj Khalifa. The aquarium tunnel shows you fish you can already see for free from inside the mall. The premium fountain seating gives you a worse angle than the bridge.
The best thing in Downtown Dubai is the one that does not charge you. That is not a criticism of Dubai — it is one of the more admirable things about it, and it deserves to be said plainly by someone with nothing to gain from saying it.
Why Trust This Guide?
Before writing this page we read the ones currently ranking above it. The #1 result is an official tourism page of barely sixty words — it does not give you the show times, the height, where to stand, or even state clearly that it is free. The others are ticket-affiliate pages, which have a commercial reason to make the free view sound inadequate.
We earn nothing from the Dubai Fountain. There is no affiliate link on this page and there is nothing here to buy. Royal Arabian Safari is a DTCM-licensed Dubai tour operator with a 4.9-star rating from more than 5,000 guests — we sell private cars with drivers, and we have told you plainly on this page that you do not need one to see the fountain.
Everything above is simply what we would tell a friend arriving in Dubai: go to the bridge, go just after sunset, stay for two shows, and do not pay anybody a dirham for the privilege.
The Dubai Fountain in Ramadan and at New Year
Two periods change the fountain meaningfully, and almost nobody writing about it says so.
During Ramadan
The schedule shifts. Afternoon shows are typically suspended or reduced, and evening shows generally begin after iftar rather than at 6:00 PM. The atmosphere afterwards is genuinely lovely — Downtown fills with families breaking their fast, the temperature has dropped, and the crowd is in a very good mood. Check the timings on the day, because they move.
New Year and National Day
The Burj Khalifa fireworks and light show at New Year is one of the largest in the world, and the fountain plays a part in it. It is spectacular and it is extraordinarily crowded — roads close, the Metro is overwhelmed, and you will need to arrive many hours early for any kind of view.
Our honest advice: if you are in Dubai for New Year and you want to see it, commit properly — arrive early, accept the crowds, and plan how you are getting home. If you are lukewarm about it, watch from further out, or skip it and see a normal show on a normal evening, which is a far more pleasant experience.
UAE National Day (2 December) brings special shows and fireworks too, with the same crowd caveat.
Dubai Fountain Show: Key Facts
| Cost | Free. No ticket, no reservation, no queue. |
|---|---|
| Afternoon show times | ~1:00 PM and 1:30 PM (~2:00 PM on Fridays) |
| Evening show times | Every 30 minutes, 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM, daily |
| Length of each show | Approximately 3–5 minutes |
| Maximum jet height | 140 metres — roughly a 50-storey building |
| Claim to fame | The tallest performing fountain in the world |
| Location | Burj Khalifa Lake (30 acres), outside Dubai Mall, Downtown Dubai |
| Opened | 2009, alongside the Burj Khalifa |
| Designed by | WET Design — the firm behind the Bellagio fountains, Las Vegas |
| Best free viewing spot | The Souk Al Bahar bridge — frames the fountain and the full Burj Khalifa together |
| Best time to go | Just after sunset, when the tower lights come on |
| Best for children | The waterfront promenade — closer, and they feel the spray |
| Music | A different track each show — Arabic, classical, opera, Bollywood, pop |
| Can it be cancelled? | Yes — high winds can pause shows. Timings also change during Ramadan. |
| What to skip | Premium viewing packages, fountain-view tables bought for the view alone, going up the Burj Khalifa to see it |
| Metro | Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall (Red Line) — allow 25–30 min from platform to fountain |
| Private evening tours | AED 699 per car (4 hrs) — same price as daytime, per car not per person |
Quick Summary
Dubai Fountain show at a glance: The Dubai Fountain is a choreographed water, light and music show on the 30-acre Burj Khalifa Lake outside Dubai Mall in Downtown Dubai. It is the tallest performing fountain in the world, with jets reaching 140 metres — roughly the height of a 50-storey building — and it was designed by WET Design, the firm behind the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas. It opened in 2009 alongside the Burj Khalifa. Shows run at approximately 1:00 PM and 1:30 PM in the afternoon (around 2:00 PM on Fridays), and then every 30 minutes from 6:00 PM until 11:00 PM every day. Each show lasts three to five minutes and is set to a different piece of music. The Dubai Fountain is completely free — there is no ticket, no reservation and no queue. The best free viewing spot is the Souk Al Bahar bridge, because it frames the fountain and the full height of the Burj Khalifa in a single view; paid premium viewing packages and fountain-view restaurant tables offer a worse angle for a significant premium. The best time to go is just after sunset, when the Burj Khalifa’s lights come on. Shows can be paused for high winds, and timings change during Ramadan. From the Metro station, allow 25–30 minutes to reach the fountain. Royal Arabian Safari runs private evening city tours at AED 699 per car — the same price as daytime, priced per car rather than per person. Book on WhatsApp at +971 58 228 2683.
Dubai Fountain Show: Frequently Asked Questions
What time is the Dubai Fountain show?
Afternoon shows run at approximately 1:00 PM and 1:30 PM (around 2:00 PM on Fridays), and evening shows run every 30 minutes from 6:00 PM until 11:00 PM, every day. Each show lasts about three to five minutes.
Is the Dubai Fountain free?
Yes, completely. There is no ticket, no reservation and no queue. It is one of the great free spectacles anywhere in the world, and the best viewing spot — the Souk Al Bahar bridge — is free public access.
Where is the best place to watch the Dubai Fountain?
The Souk Al Bahar bridge. It is the only free spot that frames the fountain and the full height of the Burj Khalifa together in one view. The waterfront promenade is closer but too low to fit the tower in shot, and paid restaurant terraces generally give a worse angle for a significant premium.
How high does the Dubai Fountain go?
Its jets shoot water as high as 140 metres — roughly the height of a 50-storey building. It is the tallest performing fountain in the world.
How long is the Dubai Fountain show?
Each show lasts approximately three to five minutes, and every show is set to a different piece of music. Because they run every 30 minutes in the evening and cost nothing, most people stay for two or three.
Do I need a ticket for the Dubai Fountain?
No. The Dubai Fountain is entirely free to watch from public areas. Paid options exist — a boardwalk out onto the lake, a lake boat ride, premium restaurant seating — but none of them is necessary and the free view from the Souk Al Bahar bridge is better composed than most of them.
Is the Dubai Fountain worth paying for premium viewing?
No. The public view from the Souk Al Bahar bridge is better composed than most paid seating, and it costs nothing. Eat where the food is good and watch from the bridge — they are thirty seconds apart.
Can you see the Dubai Fountain from the Burj Khalifa?
Yes, but it is worse. From the observation decks you look down on the fountain, so it shrinks to a pattern of light rather than a 140-metre wall of water — and from inside the Burj Khalifa you cannot see the Burj Khalifa, which is half of what makes the view work.
Is the Dubai Fountain ever cancelled?
Yes. Shows can be paused in high winds, because the jets are too powerful to run safely. Timings also change during Ramadan, when evening shows typically begin after iftar, and for National Day and New Year events. Check on the day if you are making a special trip.
What music does the Dubai Fountain play?
A different track each show — classical Arabic music, opera, Bollywood, orchestral pieces and contemporary pop. The Arabic tracks generally have the most dramatic choreography and suit the setting best.
How do I get to the Dubai Fountain?
The Metro Red Line stops at Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall station, but allow 25–30 minutes from the platform: it is a 10–15 minute covered walk to the mall and then a further walk through it to the waterfront. People miss shows because of this. Taxis are easy to arrive by but very slow to leave by after an evening show.
What is the best time of year to see the Dubai Fountain?
October to April is peak season with pleasant evenings and real crowds — arrive five to ten minutes early for a railing spot. Summer barely hurts it, though: the fountain is an evening attraction, and by 7:00 PM it is bearable and far less crowded.
Is the Dubai Fountain show free to watch?
Yes. Emaar, which runs it, states you can enjoy the Dubai Fountain free of charge from the promenade (emaar.com, read 17 August). The waterfront promenade at Dubai Mall, Burj Park and the Souk Al Bahar terraces are all listed as viewing spots with no ticket needed. Paid options exist, but what they buy is proximity, not access. If money is tight, watch free from the promenade and spend nothing — no operator, ourselves included, should sell you entry to something the owner publishes as free.
What time does the Dubai Fountain show start and finish at night?
Evening performances run daily from 6:00 pm at thirty-minute intervals. Here the official sources disagree: Emaar’s own fountain page says evening shows run 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm (emaar.com, read 17 August), while The Dubai Mall’s listing says 6:00 pm to 11:30 pm (thedubaimall.com, read 17 August). We trust the Emaar page, because Emaar operates the fountain itself rather than the mall around it. Plan to be in place by about 10:45 pm if the last show matters to you.
How often does the Dubai Fountain show run?
Every thirty minutes through the evening. Visit Dubai describes it as shooting water at Burj Lake every thirty minutes from 6 pm (visitdubai.com, read 17 August), and Emaar gives the same thirty-minute intervals (emaar.com, read 17 August). Neither Emaar nor The Dubai Mall publishes how many minutes a single performance lasts, so we will not put a number on it — the figures you see on blogs are not from the operator. Each slot is one piece of music, so it is short.
Is there a Dubai Fountain show during the day?
Yes, but only two afternoon performances. Emaar lists them at 1:00 pm and 1:30 pm from Saturday to Thursday, and at 2:00 pm and 2:30 pm on Friday (emaar.com, read 17 August). That is easy to miss if you drift into Dubai Mall mid-afternoon without checking. Daylight also flattens the lighting, so the afternoon slots are worth it mainly if your schedule cannot stretch to the evening or you want the promenade far less crowded.
How high does the Dubai Fountain shoot water?
Visit Dubai describes the world’s tallest performing fountain shooting water 140 metres high at Burj Lake (visitdubai.com, read 17 August). The Burj Khalifa site calls it the world’s tallest dancing fountain and puts it on a 30-acre Burj Lake (burjkhalifa.ae, read 17 August), while The Dubai Mall calls it the world’s largest choreographed fountain show (thedubaimall.com, read 17 August). Nozzle counts, light counts and water volumes circulate widely online but are not on these official pages, so we are not repeating them.
Where is the best place to watch the Dubai Fountain for free?
Emaar names the waterfront promenade at Dubai Mall, the Souk Al Bahar terraces and Burj Park as viewing places, with only the Boardwalk ticketed (emaar.com, read 17 August). The promenade gives the classic head-on view with the tower behind, and costs nothing. Souk Al Bahar sits across the water and is usually calmer. Turn up a good while before a show if you want the front rail — the free spots fill first precisely because they are the good ones.
How much are Dubai Fountain Boardwalk tickets?
The official booking page lists the Dubai Fountain Boardwalk from AED 25 per adult, with the same price applying from age three upward, and gives daily opening of 10:00 am to 11:30 pm (experiences.visitdubai.com, read 17 August). Visit Dubai’s attraction listing also says boardwalk tickets from AED 25 (visitdubai.com, read 17 August), so those two agree. Prices can move and timeslots sell by slot, so check the official page on the day rather than trusting any figure quoted second-hand.
Is the Dubai Fountain Boardwalk worth paying for?
Only if you want to be right on top of it. Emaar describes the Boardwalk as a floating walkway bringing you within nine metres of the show (emaar.com, read 17 August), while the official booking page says only ten metres from the fountains (experiences.visitdubai.com, read 17 August) — a small conflict we would trust the operator’s own page on. Honestly, for most visitors the free promenade is enough, and we do not resell Boardwalk tickets, so buy direct rather than through any middleman.
How much is the abra boat ride on Burj Lake?
The official booking page lists the abra ride from AED 75 per adult, age three and up, as a thirty-minute ride on Burj Lake open 10:00 am to 11:30 pm (experiences.visitdubai.com, read 17 August). Note that Visit Dubai’s attraction listing quotes lake rides from AED 73 (visitdubai.com, read 17 August). Where the two disagree we trust the booking page, because that is the screen you actually pay on. Tickets are collected from the At The Top counter on the mall’s LG level.
Which metro station is closest to the Dubai Fountain?
Emaar directs visitors to Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall Station on the Metro, with parking at Dubai Mall as the alternative (emaar.com, read 17 August). RTA publishes metro station hours as 5:00 am to midnight Monday to Thursday and Saturday, 5:00 am to 1:00 am Friday, and 8:00 am to midnight Sunday (rta.ae, read 17 August). That matters: if you stay for a late show, the walk back plus the ride cuts things fine against a midnight close, so check the return before you settle in.
Can I see the Dubai Fountain on an Abu Dhabi desert safari?
No, and we would rather say so than take the booking. The fountain sits at the foot of Burj Khalifa beside Dubai Mall (emaar.com, read 17 August), which is in Dubai, a different emirate from where our safaris run. Our desert safari does not pass it and we will not pretend otherwise. If the fountain is the thing you came for, build a separate Downtown Dubai evening around it, go by metro, and watch it free from the promenade.
What time does Dubai Mall close if I want dinner after the show?
The Dubai Mall publishes retailer hours of 10:00 am to 12:00 am every day, with restaurants and food courts running to 12:00 am most days and to 1:00 am on Friday and Saturday (thedubaimall.com, read 17 August). The fountain sits on the Lower Ground Floor side of the mall, with P1 Cinema Parking listed as the nearest parking. So a late show followed by a sit-down meal works on a Friday or Saturday, and is tight on other nights.
Do I need to book Dubai Fountain tickets in advance?
Not for the free promenade view — you simply turn up. For the ticketed Boardwalk and abra, the official booking page runs timed slots and gives a full refund only if you cancel at least twenty-four hours before your slot, with no refund for no-shows or late arrival and converted vouchers non-refundable (experiences.visitdubai.com, read 17 August). Our own tours work differently: no deposit and no booking fee, payment on the day, and free cancellation up to twelve hours before pickup.
Can children go on the Dubai Fountain Boardwalk and the abra?
Yes, with an adult. The official booking pages state that children up to and including eleven years old may only enter if accompanied by an adult aged eighteen or over, and that the adult price applies from age three upward on both the Boardwalk and the abra ride (experiences.visitdubai.com, read 17 August). Life jackets are provided for children under six on the boat. On our own private tours the price is per vehicle, so children add nothing to what you pay us.
Is the Dubai Fountain area wheelchair accessible?
The Dubai Mall lists wheelchairs among its visitor services alongside prayer rooms for men and women (thedubaimall.com, read 17 August), and the promenade is reached through the mall. What is not published on the official Boardwalk or abra pages is any wheelchair access statement, so we will not claim one — ask the operator directly before booking those. For our own transfers, a foldable wheelchair travels in the Land Cruiser boot if you declare it at booking; powered or non-folding chairs cannot be carried.
Can I do a desert safari and the Dubai Fountain show on the same evening?
Realistically no, and that is the honest answer even though it costs us a booking. Evening fountain performances run from 6:00 pm through the late slots at thirty-minute intervals (emaar.com, read 17 August) — exactly the hours an evening desert safari occupies, and from a different emirate. Choose one per night. Do the safari with us on one evening, and give the fountain its own Downtown Dubai evening, where the promenade view costs nothing and you can stay until the last show.
Sources & Official References
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The Fountain Is Free. The Rest of the Night Isn’t Obvious.
Dubai after dark is the better city — the Burj Khalifa lit base to spire, the Gold Souk cool and glowing, the Marina doubled in black water, then the Fountain to finish. Private evening tours at the same price as daytime: AED 699 per car for 4 hours. Per car, not per person. And your driver is waiting when three thousand people want a taxi.
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