Dubai Safari Park With Kids: Opening Season, Tickets, Child Prices, Time and How to Reach

Six questions decide whether Dubai Safari Park belongs in your family’s Dubai trip. This page answers them in the order you will need them, from the park’s own pages, RTA, the Dubai Media Office, two news reports on the season date, this site’s climate figures and journey times we read on Google Maps on Oct. 1, 2026.

Quick facts

What parents ask	Answer, as of Oct. 1, 2026
Opening date	Closed on Oct. 1. Season 8 opens Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, at 9 a.m.
When does it close for summer?	Last season it closed on June 1, 2026. The park has not published Season 8’s closing date
Timings in October	9 a.m. to 6 p.m., last entry 5 p.m., per the park’s home page; another park page gives different hours
Ticket price (Season 8, announced, not yet on sale)	Safari Park Pass from AED 50; Safari Bundle AED 117
Children	No child rate published. Under 3 and People of Determination enter free; everyone else aged 3 and over pays the same price
How long to allow	About four to five hours, per the park
Where	Al Warqa 5, on the E44 Hatta Road, opposite Dragon Mart
Nearest Metro	Centrepoint (R11), at the end of the Red Line, then a bus
Parking	Free
Who to ask	dubaisafari.ae or +971 800 900; for buses, RTA’s journey planner

Season 8 tickets were not on sale on Oct. 1. The park’s ticket page said: “All current ticket sales are temporarily unavailable until Season 8 opens.”

1. Is Dubai Safari Park open on our dates?

Only in season. The park closes for the summer, “usually June to September” in its own words, and reopens in October. This year it reopens on Oct. 12.

• Season 7 ended with the summer break. The park’s own blog said: “The park will officially close for the summer on June 1, 2026.”
• Season 8 opens on the date the park’s home page gives: “Dubai Safari Park reopens on 12 October 2026 at 9:00 AM.” Khaleej Times and Gulf News reported the same date on Sept. 14, 2026.
• Season 8’s closing date is not on the park pages we read. If last season is a guide, plan on the park being shut from June, and confirm in spring.

The park gives its own reason. Its plan-your-visit page answers “Are you open during the summer?” with: “No, Dubai Safari Park closes during the peak summer months (usually June to September) due to the extreme heat.” Gulf News reported a second reason: “the seasonal closure allows the park to focus on animal welfare, including climate-controlled habitats and veterinary care…”

Which months suit a family?

Opening is not the same as comfortable. The figures below come from the 1991 to 2020 climate normals for Dubai International Airport, which the site sets out month by month in Dubai’s monthly heat for an outdoor day.

Travel period	Park status	Mean daily maximum	What it means for a family
June to September	Closed last season	39.5 to 41.9 degrees Celsius	Do not build a day around it
October	Opens Oct. 12	35.9 degrees; every day reaches 30	Open, but hot. Arrive at 9 a.m.
November	Open	30.7 degrees	Workable, mornings best
December to February	Open	24.4 to 26.5 degrees	The easiest months for a long outdoor visit
March	Open	28.9 degrees	Good
April	Open last season	33.7 degrees	Warm; start early
May	Open last season; closed for summer from June 1	38.2 degrees	Hot; go at opening time

An Indian family travelling in the summer break should check the closing date before anything else, along with which Dubai attractions shut for the summer and when each one reopens, since several outdoor sites follow the same pattern. A family travelling between Oct. 12 and the spring, including the December holidays, should find it open; check the closing date for any trip after March.

The park opens two days before Global Village this year, and Global Village’s Season 31 dates are worth checking alongside it if you are timing a trip around both.

2. How long do we need?

The park says to “expect to spend about 4 to 5 hours”.

The hours set a hard edge. With last entry at 5 p.m. and closing at 6 p.m. in October, a family that wants the full four to five hours needs to be through the gate by 1 p.m. The park’s home page also prints a seasonal table with “Winter (November – March): 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM”, and its zones page says “9 AM – 5 PM daily”. The pages do not agree, so check the day’s timings before you set out.

Then add the journey. From Al Rigga Metro station in Deira, Google Maps gave 1 hour 18 to 1 hour 19 minutes one way by Metro and bus at midday on a Thursday, and 26 minutes by car. By public transport both ways, the day runs 6 hours 36 minutes to 7 hours 38 minutes, station to station.

Your family	Plan for
Toddlers, plus a stroller	Less than the full four to five hours, with a long lunch and a rest; skip the Explorer upgrade
School-age children	Arrive at 9 or 10 a.m.; time the day around the shows and the safari slot
Wanting every experience	Most of the day, with the Safari Bundle
Short on time	A half day works only if you accept missing some zones, shows or the Explorer safari

3. What will the children cost?

The park publishes no child ticket price. Its ticketing site, which carries no date, lists the Safari Park Pass in a single band, “3 Years and above”, at AED 50. A 4-year-old and a 40-year-old pay the same. Any child price you see on a reseller’s or an older page is not on the park’s Season 8 pages.

• Under 3: “Children under 3 and People of Determination enter free of charge,” says the park.
• Age checks: “Age verification may be requested at the gate.” Carry your children’s passports.
• Supervision: “Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.”

Free entry for People of Determination: which ID?

The park’s terms add “(valid ID required)” and name no document a visitor can show.

For a grandparent or child with a disability, the instrument built for visitors is the Sanad Tourist Card for visitors with a disability, applied for through the Dubai Now app with a medical report or an official disability card from home; for an Indian family, that page reads this as a disability certificate or UDID card, or a doctor’s report. A first-time visitor applies after landing.

Carry the Sanad card, or the UDID card and a medical report, and ask the park which it accepts before you go. Last season’s FAQ gave free entry to People of Determination “with one companion”; the current pages do not mention a companion.

What a family actually pays

At the Season 8 starting prices on the park’s home page:

Family	Safari Park Pass	Safari Bundle
Two adults, children aged 5 and 9	4 x AED 50 = AED 200	4 x AED 117 = AED 468
Two adults, children aged 2, 6 and 10	4 x AED 50 = AED 200 (the 2-year-old is free)	4 x AED 117 = AED 468
Two adults, two grandparents, one child of 7	5 x AED 50 = AED 250	5 x AED 117 = AED 585

The park’s terms and FAQ list no senior rate.

Why “Kids Go Free” will not help you

The park’s terms still list a Kids Go Free offer, which belonged to last season. It ran from April 24 to May 31, 2026, for UAE and GCC residents only, with a maximum of two free children aged 12 and below per family.

It has expired, and an Indian tourist family was never eligible. The park’s home page carried no Season 8 offer on Oct. 1. Every Dubai venue draws its own line, so check the under-3 and child cut-offs at other Dubai venues before you assume one park’s rule applies at the next.

4. Which ticket, and what does each include?

The park’s home page puts it in one sentence: “The Safari Park Pass starts from AED 50, and the Safari Bundle, which adds a safari journey, is AED 117.”

	Safari Park Pass, AED 50	Safari Bundle, AED 117
All six zones	Yes	Yes
Arabian Desert Safari, “15 min tour”	Included	Included
Explorer Safari Tour, “35 min tour” through the big-cat and hippo habitats	Not included	Included
Live animal presentations	Included	Included
Kids workshops and wildlife talks	Included	Included
A complimentary animal encounter	Included	Included
Park train	The park’s pages disagree	Paired with the Explorer upgrade on the ticketing site
Parking	Free	Free

The six zones, as the park names them, are African Village, Asian Village, Explorer Village, Arabian Desert, Kids Farm and Al Wadi.

The included Arabian Desert Safari is a 15-minute tour of the park’s own Arabian Desert zone. It is not the dune-driving desert safari that tour operators sell, which is a separate outing with its own age questions, set out in an evening of dune driving with young children.

The train needs a question at the counter. The ticketing site lists “Add Safari Explorer + Unlimited Shuttle Train Access” as an add-on, which appears to be what the Bundle adds to the Pass. The park’s safari-journeys page lists “Standard Entry: AED 50 (6 zones access, unlimited train)”. Ask which applies to the Pass before you pay.

Choose the Pass if your youngest is a toddler, you have less than five hours or the big cats are not the draw. Choose the Bundle if your children can sit through a 35-minute drive and the big cats are the point of the day. If someone in the group cannot walk far between zones, ask which ticket includes the train before you choose.

The Bundle costs AED 67 more per person, AED 268 more for a family of four. The Explorer safari carries a “Limited Slots” label, so take an early slot. Last season the park sold the Bundle as an “Online Exclusive”, so check whether the gate sells it.

Shows. The home page says “Five live animal presentations run every open day between 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM”. Its plan-your-visit page lists three: Birds Kingdom at 11:30 a.m., Echoes of the Wild at 2 p.m. and Birds of Prey at 4 p.m. Check the day’s schedule at the gate.

What each age gets from it

The park’s safari-journeys page gives no age or height rule for either safari. These rows match published items to ages; they are not ratings.

Age	Published items that fit	Ticket	Allow
Under 3	Kids Farm, the 15-minute Arabian Desert Safari, the Birds Kingdom show	Free entry; parents on the Pass	Less than the full four to five hours, with a rest
3 to 6	Kids Farm and goat feeding (AED 20), kids workshops, one show	Pass	The park’s four to five hours, with breaks
7 to 12	The 35-minute Explorer Safari, all three listed shows, giraffe feeding (AED 20)	Bundle	The park’s four to five hours
13 and over	Explorer Safari, lemur feeding (AED 75)	Bundle	Most of the day, as for a family wanting every experience

What costs extra

• Animal feeding: giraffe AED 20, goat AED 20, lemur AED 75, on the park’s experiences page, which carries no season label.
• Private packages for groups, from AED 1,275 to AED 2,500 on the ticketing site, all for ages 3 and above, with no season stated.

Feeding, food inside and a taxi each way can add more to the day than the tickets; for the charges that sit on top of a whole trip, such as the Tourism Dirham and hotel deposits, see the extra charges a family trip to Dubai quietly collects. If you buy anywhere other than the park’s own site, check which seller owns the promise on a resold ticket first.

5. Is it workable with toddlers and grandparents?

Yes, with planning. The park lists these on its plan-your-visit page, except where noted:

• Strollers: “baby strollers are available for rent”, and “Rental fees apply”, with no price given. Bring your own if you can, because the rental price is unknown until you reach the gate; where a pram works around Dubai weighs the same choice across the city.
• Getting between zones: the home page says “Air-conditioned shuttles connect the zones.” It does not say whether these are the park train, or whether the Pass covers them.
• Wheelchairs and scooters: “Manual wheelchairs and electric scooters are also available.” Last season’s FAQ said strollers and wheelchairs were “available for rent at the main entrance”, so ask whether there is a charge.
• Baby care: baby-changing facilities “in all major themed villages”, and nursing spaces “near the restrooms”.
• Also listed: prayer facilities for men and women, medical stations, lockers and free Wi-Fi.

If this is one of several attraction days, planning for days out with a child under 3 in Dubai and how baby rooms and lockers compare at other Dubai attractions cover the rest of the week.

Food is the question to settle first. The current plan-your-visit page says: “No outside food and beverages are permitted.” It names no exception, for baby food or for water.

Last season’s FAQ said outside food was not permitted “except for baby food and water”. Call the park before you pack formula, water bottles or a lunch box. The home page says there are “restaurants and kiosks across the park, especially in African Village and Al Wadi”. Families who need Jain or pure vegetarian food should read how to find a strictly vegetarian meal inside a Dubai attraction before relying on the kiosks.

Three rules that catch families out:

1. “Once you exit, you cannot be re-admitted on the same ticket.” No going back to the car for lunch.
2. “Dress Code: Modest. Shoulders and knees covered.” The park does not say whether that covers children, and what modest dress means for a family day out in Dubai finds no published rule for children city-wide, so ask the park if yours will be in shorts.
3. The terms ban bicycles, scooters and balls, so leave the child’s scooter at the hotel.

The park’s terms say tickets are non-refundable.

6. How do we get there from Deira or Bur Dubai?

The park sits on the E44 Hatta Road, opposite Dragon Mart: 21.6 km from Al Rigga in Deira on Google’s fastest route, and 22.8 km to 27.7 km from Burjuman on Google’s two quickest routes.

Our recommendation: with a toddler, a stroller or a grandparent, go by car, and pre-book one with a child seat if you have a toddler. Otherwise the Metro and bus cost less but take 52 to 58 minutes longer each way on Google’s times.

By Metro and bus

The Metro leg is simple. Centrepoint (R11) is at the end of the Red Line, the station the park also calls Rashidiya.

• From Deira: City Centre Deira (R16), Al Rigga (R17) and Union (R18) are all on the Red Line, so you ride straight to Centrepoint.
• From Bur Dubai: Burjuman is both a Green Line (G26) and a Red Line (R19) station, so from there you ride straight to Centrepoint. From Al Gubaiba (G24) or Sharaf DG (G25), change to the Red Line at Burjuman.
• Sunday: the Metro opens at 8 a.m., per RTA, three hours later than on Friday.

The bus leg is where the sources disagree.

• The park says: “Take the RTA Bus #F10 service from Centerpoint Station directly to the park gates.”
• RTA extended route F10 to the park in November 2022. On Jan. 9, 2026, RTA cancelled one F10 stop, “Al Warqa’a E21”. That notice does not say whether the park stop changed.
• Google Maps, on Oct. 1 while the park was closed, returned buses 310 and 36B from Centrepoint, taking 49 and 52 minutes in total, and offered F10 only on longer routes.

Check the bus in RTA’s journey planner on the day you go. For the train itself, riding the Red Line with children explains the cabin set aside for women and children.

What it costs. Everyone over 5 needs a nol card or a Red Ticket, so sort out travel cards for the family before the first ride at your first Metro station. RTA’s standard-class fare for more than two zones is AED 8.50 on a Red Ticket and AED 7.50 on a Silver Card, and children 5 and below travel free. We did not establish how many zones this trip crosses, so treat those as ceilings. RTA’s fare rules also say a change between two modes “must be done within 30 minutes”, so board the bus promptly.

By taxi or car

RTA’s street taxis start at AED 5 between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The park gives an estimated taxi fare of “AED 60-80” without saying where from, so treat it as a rough guide. A Dubai street taxi carries no child seat as standard, so read the restraint law for children in cabs and pre-book a car with a seat if you have a toddler.

For the trip home, the park says it is “Easily accessible via all official RTA Taxis”. Book your ride back before you finish rather than looking for a car at the gate at closing time.

If you drive, the park offers free parking across three car parks, with EV charging at P1.

Deira against Bur Dubai, on Google’s times

Google Maps, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, about 12:45 p.m.:

From	By car	By Metro and bus	Best for
Al Rigga, Deira	26 minutes, 21.6 km	1 hour 18 to 1 hour 19 minutes	Families on a budget with children who travel well
Burjuman, Bur Dubai	28 to 30 minutes, 22.8 to 27.7 km	1 hour 23 to 1 hour 26 minutes	Families near Burjuman’s Red Line platform; others take a taxi

Neither base wins outright. From Al Rigga or Burjuman the Red Line runs straight to Centrepoint, and both face the same bus question. By car, the round trip is 1 hour 44 minutes to nearly two hours shorter; when a taxi beats the Metro for a family sets out how group size changes that sum. If you have not booked yet, choosing a base between Deira, Bur Dubai and the Marina weighs the journey against everything else.

Fitting it into the trip

Give it a day on its own. Four to five hours in the park plus up to three hours of travel leaves no room for a second major attraction. Plan the evening near your hotel, weigh it against family days in Dubai built around children, and use the day-by-day shape of a five-night stay to decide which day the park replaces.

Arrive at opening. In October and from April onward, the site’s heat rule puts outdoor time before 10 a.m., and the park opens at 9 a.m. Being at the gate at 9 a.m. also leaves the most time before last entry.

Two day shapes, on Google’s midday Thursday times:

• By taxi: leave Deira about 30 minutes before 9 a.m., spend four to five hours inside, and book the ride back for 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
• By Metro and bus: leave Deira about 1 hour 20 minutes before you want to arrive. On a Sunday the Metro does not open until 8 a.m., so a 9 a.m. arrival by public transport from Deira is unlikely.

If your trip falls between June and early October, leave the park out until it confirms the next season’s dates. When to visit Dubai from India is the better starting point for those dates.

Mistakes to avoid

1. Booking a summer trip around it. The park closes “usually June to September”.
2. Using last season’s offers. The headline prices match 2025-26; Kids Go Free does not apply.
3. Expecting a child rate. Apart from People of Determination, everyone 3 and over pays the same.
4. Assuming the train is in either ticket. The park’s pages disagree, so ask.
5. Packing lunch or water without checking. The current rule names no exception.
6. Arriving after 1 p.m. in October. With last entry at 5 p.m., you lose part of the four to five hours.
7. Pairing it with another big attraction. The travel alone takes up to three hours.
8. Missing the shows. The plan-your-visit page lists three, at 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.; check the day’s schedule and plan lunch around it.
9. Leaving the stroller behind. Rental fees apply and the price is not published.
10. Trusting one bus number. Check RTA’s journey planner on the day.

Quick answers for parents

Is Dubai Safari Park open in summer?
No. Last season it closed for the summer on June 1, 2026. Season 8 opens on Oct. 12, 2026.

What age is free?
Under 3. People of Determination also enter free with valid ID. Everyone else aged 3 and over pays the full price.

Is the safari included?
Every ticket includes the 15-minute Arabian Desert Safari. The 35-minute Explorer Safari Tour comes with the AED 117 Safari Bundle; the ticketing site also lists an Explorer add-on, with train access, to the Pass.

Can we take food or water in?
The current page bans outside food and drink with no stated exception. Call the park about baby food and water.

How do we get there from Deira?
Red Line from City Centre Deira, Al Rigga or Union to Centrepoint, then a bus. From Al Rigga, Google gave about 1 hour 20 minutes, against about 26 minutes by car.

Is there a Metro station at the park?
No. The nearest is Centrepoint, at the end of the Red Line, then a bus.

Can a half day work?
Only if you accept missing parts. The park’s own guidance is four to five hours.

Decide in one minute

Include the park if all five are true:

• Your dates fall between Oct. 12 and the end of May, and you have checked this season’s closing date.
• Your children like animals and outdoor time.
• You can give it most of a day, travel included.
• You are happy to reach Al Warqa 5 by Metro and bus or by taxi.
• The Pass or the Bundle covers what your children want to see.

Think twice if:

• Your trip falls between June and early October.
• You have only a few hours, or want only indoor attractions.
• You are trying to fit two big attractions into one day.

Take with you: the children’s passports for the age check, any disability ID, your own stroller and a nol card for each person over 5.

Before you book, check the park’s site at dubaisafari.ae or call +971 800 900 for the season dates, the ticket page and the food rule, and check the bus in RTA’s journey planner. If you would rather hand that to someone else, Dubai family holidays from Indian cities take it on.