Opened in October 2017, La Mer is a beautifully designed, hipster-chic pedestrian beachfront area packed with amazing restaurants and cafes. It was the only spot on our entire Dubai trip that felt like it hadn't been completely taken over by tourists yet!

We happened to visit on a Sunday afternoon, and there were so many locals out for a stroll with their families!

The street in the photo below is exactly what sparked my interest in La Mer! A pathway beautifully decorated with draped fabrics and string lights—isn't it incredibly romantic?

And La Mer absolutely did not disappoint! Every single corner offered a gorgeous view! 😍

The hipster vibes are completely off the charts!

LA MER BEACH

★ 【Shop Hours】 Monday - Saturday: 10:00am - 12:00am ｜ Sunday: 10:00am - 10:00pm
★ 【Restaurant Hours】 Monday - Sunday: 10:00am - 12:00am
★ 【Official Website】 https://www.lamerdubai.ae/en

La Mer also features an industrial-style water park called Laguna Water Park. Unfortunately, we just didn't have enough time. Since Dubai has countless water parks 😆, we specifically wanted the transparent water slide where you can see sharks, so we opted for Atlantis Aquaventure Water Park instead. (Read more: Aquaventure Water Park)

The beach is filled with creative landscaping and art installations too!

How can you visit a beach without thinking of surfboards? The ones painted with "La Mer" fit the tropical beach setting perfectly~~~

The two of us tourists spent ages taking photos next to these surfboards. It was only later, when we took a closer look, that we realized they were actually displaying beach safety rules… Hahaha! ORZ The local Emiratis nearby must have thought we were so silly! 😆😆😆

These dreamy, colorful little huts by the sea look a bit like the ones at Brighton Beach in Melbourne, and they are incredibly photogenic!

Set against the evening sunset, the beach was stunning and radiated a perfectly relaxed vacation vibe~

Adding to this laid-back atmosphere, a signpost showing the distances to world-famous vacation spots feels so appropriate~~~ The Maldives, Sydney, the Bahamas—they all made the list! I wonder where you'd like to travel next?

La Mer is quite massive, with an incredible variety of restaurants and shops! If you're looking for a nice place to grab a bite or sip some tea, you can use the map below as a reference~

The entire street is strung with light bulbs, which must look absolutely breathtaking at night! Sadly, we had already booked a dinner cruise at Dubai Marina for that evening, so we missed out on seeing it lit up after dark~

You can really tell the whole area was designed with such care and intention—even the restrooms are fully stylized! ↓↓↓ Plus, every single person I bumped into in the restroom that day was a local! It seems La Mer Beach, with its laid-back vibe, great food, and family-friendly spaces, has truly won the hearts of the locals~~~

We visited on December 30th—just one day before New Year's Eve! There were billboards everywhere advertising La Mer's New Year fireworks, and the restaurants were all promoting their special New Year's Eve set menus.

The biggest flaw of La Mer is that the taxi queue area is incredibly poorly designed. If you plan to take a taxi from here, do not book your following itinerary too tightly… We were rushing to get to our Dubai Marina dinner cruise and desperately wanted to get back to our hotel quickly. Even though the crowd wasn't massive, we still ended up waiting 30 minutes for a taxi…

The line was split into two: one for families with children and one for those without. Prioritizing kids makes total sense to me, but the queuing area had zero dividing lines and absolutely no signs… Besides a bunch of unruly people blatantly cutting in line, the taxis themselves were out of control, frequently bypassing the front to pick up passengers way at the back of the queue!

Those of us waiting patiently just got cut in front of again and again and again… I was burning with anxiety and absolutely furious!! (But I'm a bit of a coward—being in a foreign country, I didn't dare confront the line-cutters…) Many of the Western tourists around us were clearly fuming too but didn't say a word!

Thank goodness our persistence finally paid off and we managed to get a taxi! Thankfully, our driver zoomed back at top speed, otherwise we would have missed our dinner by just a hair. Sitting in the taxi and looking back out at the chaotic "Battle for the Taxi" still gives me lingering anxiety… Despite the less-than-perfect taxi queue experience at the end, it really doesn't diminish my love for La Mer. I genuinely recommend stopping by for a stroll when you're in Dubai!

We have even more articles about Dubai and Abu Dhabi below, covering must-visit attractions, hotel reviews, transport guides, full itineraries, and more. Keep reading! 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

Dubai Travel Guide

★ 【Transport】Dubai Hop-On Hop-Off Sightseeing Bus
★ 【Passes】Klook Pass Dubai
★ 【SIM Cards】UAE 5G eSIM
★ 【Observation Decks】Burj Khalifa｜Dubai Frame｜The View At The Palm｜Sky Views Observatory
★ 【Theme Parks】LEGOLAND Dubai｜Atlantis Aquaventure Water Park
★ 【Desert Tours】Morning Desert Safari｜Evening Desert Safari｜Camel Trekking｜Hot Air Balloon
★ 【Abu Dhabi】Abu Dhabi Day Tour｜Abu Dhabi Travel Guide
★ 【Dubai Guides】Dubai Itinerary & Guide｜Where to Stay in Dubai｜Top 10 Attractions

For more essential travel info and must-visit spots in Dubai, check out 👉🏻 【Dubai Independent Travel】30 Attractions Map, Transport, Hotels, Itineraries & Visas | The Ultimate Guide

More Dubai Articles

[Dubai Travel Guide] Map of 30 Attractions, Transport, Hotels, Itinerary & Visa | Ultimate Guide + Cheatsheet
[Dubai] Top 11 Must-Visit Attractions in Dubai | Essential Guide for Independent Travelers!
[Dubai Travel Guide] Quick Guide to Dubai Transport | Metro & Bus 'nol card' | Taxi & Uber Tips
[Dubai] A Must-Visit for Dubai Travelers ☆ Slide Through a Shark Lagoon at Atlantis Aquaventure Waterpark
[Dubai] Atlantis, The Palm ☆ Complete Transport Guide ☆ The Palm Atlantis
[Dubai] You Haven't Been to Dubai Until You've Visited This! The World's Tallest Building, Burj Khalifa
[Dubai] The World's Largest Picture Frame | Dubai Frame | A Must-Visit Attraction
[Dubai] Jumeirah Abra Tour | The Best Views of Burj Al Arab & Madinat Jumeirah
[Dubai] An Unmissable Dubai Aquarium | The Mysterious Lost Chambers Aquarium
[Dubai] The World's Largest! Where to Start at The Dubai Mall? | Check Out Our Navigation Guide Here! Dubai Mall
[Dubai] The Dubai Fountain | Spectacular Water & Light Show Schedule and Surrounding Walkways | Dubai Fountain
[Dubai] How to Explore Old Dubai? | Complete Water Taxi Guide | Old Dubai
[Dubai] Speedboat Tour Around Dubai Marina | Easy Views of Atlantis & Burj Al Arab
[Dubai] Burj Al Arab Underwater Restaurant ☆ A Golden Tunnel Leading to a Gorgeous Marine World
[Dubai] Must-Do Dubai Desert Safari | How to Avoid Bad Tour Groups? | Desert Safari

Abu Dhabi Attractions & Transport

[Abu Dhabi Ultimate Guide] Top 10 Attractions ★ Includes Maps, Transport, and Itineraries
[Abu Dhabi] Transport Guide from Dubai to Abu Dhabi ☆ Must-Read for UAE Travelers
[Abu Dhabi] Highly Recommended Attractions for Your Abu Dhabi Trip ☆ Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque + Emirates Palace + Etihad Towers

Other Travel Guides

★ Middle East: Doha｜Dubai｜Abu Dhabi
★ Europe: Finland｜UK
★ USA: New York｜San Francisco｜Las Vegas
★ Islands: Tahiti｜Maldives｜Fiji
★ Southeast Asia: Bali｜Phu Quoc｜Koh Samui