By Trekhops Editorial Team, Dubai Travel Specialist · Published Jan 12, 2026 · 10 min read
Let’s start with the correction most Palm Jumeirah guides still haven’t made: The Pointe is gone. The waterfront promenade facing Atlantis, its 80 restaurants, the cinema, and the Guinness-record Palm Fountain — all permanently closed, with a luxury development now rising on the site. If your itinerary was built from an older article, that whole evening needs replanning. The good news is that the island it sat on remains one of Dubai’s essential half-days: a monorail ride over the fronds, the Atlantis crown, an observation deck that finally shows you the palm shape, and a beach promenade that quietly inherited The Pointe’s role.
Key Takeaways
- Closed for good: The Pointe, the Palm Fountain (world’s largest), and The Pointe monorail station — The Palm Crown construction now occupies the site
- Very much open: the Palm Monorail, Atlantis + Aquaventure + Lost Chambers, The View at The Palm (level 52), Nakheel Mall, and Palm West Beach
- Monorail: ~AED 20 one-way / 30 return for the full Gateway–Atlantis run; under-110cm kids free; Nol cards accepted
- The View is the only ground-based way to actually see the palm shape — sunset slots cost more and sell first
- Public-transport chain: Metro → Dubai Tram → Palm Gateway → Monorail, all on one Nol card
- Palm West Beach is the free waterfront evening that replaced The Pointe’s role
First, the Correction: What Closed and What It Means for Your Plan
Between 2018 and 2023, the standard Palm Jumeirah evening was The Pointe: free entry, waterfront dining with Atlantis lit up across the water, and the Palm Fountain — certified the world’s largest — running shows every half hour. That era ended in stages: the fountain shut in May 2023, tenants were served notice the same month, the dedicated monorail station closed in August 2023, and by 2026 the site is an active construction zone for The Palm Crown, an ultra-luxury residential project. The promenade, the restaurants, the beanbags on the sand — none of it exists anymore.
Why lead a guide with a closure? Because the internet hasn’t caught up, and travellers still arrive expecting a fountain show that stopped years ago — the disappointed reviews are easy to find. The practical replacements: for a waterfront dinner with a view, Palm West Beach on the island’s western trunk edge now carries that role; for a world-class fountain, the free Dubai Fountain at Burj Khalifa (covered in our Downtown guide) remains untouched; and for the classic Atlantis photo, the monorail’s final bridge section and the public areas near the resort still deliver it.
The Palm Monorail: The Ride That Doubles as the Sightseeing
The monorail is Palm Jumeirah’s only public transport and, honestly, half the reason to come. A driverless train runs 5.5km along the island’s trunk on an elevated track, finishing across a sea bridge with Atlantis filling the windscreen — and since there’s no driver’s cab, the front window is open to whoever claims it first. Claim it.
Fares are distance-based: short hops from around AED 5-10, the full Gateway-to-Atlantis run about AED 20 one-way or AED 30 return, a family-of-four return pass around AED 99, and children under 110cm free. Nol cards now work as tap-and-go, tying the monorail into the same card that runs the rest of your trip per our Metro guide. Trains run roughly every 15 minutes from about 9am to 10pm, and Gateway station holds 1,600 parking spaces with three hours free on ticket validation if you’re driving.
The View at The Palm: The Only Way to Actually See the Palm
Here’s Palm Jumeirah’s inside joke: from the island itself, you can’t see the palm. The shape that made it famous only exists from above — which is exactly what The View at The Palm sells. An elevator inside Nakheel Mall takes you to level 52 of The Palm Tower, about 240 metres up, where the full frond-and-crescent geometry spreads out below with Atlantis at the crown and the Marina skyline behind. It runs roughly 9am to 9pm (last entry 8:30pm), with tiered pricing that climbs for the 4-7pm sunset window — the slot worth paying for, and the one that sells out first in winter. Book online with a time slot rather than walking up.
Honest positioning against Dubai’s other decks: the Burj is higher and the Frame tells a better story, but neither shows you this — and if Palm Jumeirah is on your itinerary anyway, adding The View turns a transit stop at Nakheel Mall into the island’s best half hour.
Atlantis: What Day Visitors Can Actually Do
You don’t need a room at Atlantis to use it. Three things sell to day visitors: Aquaventure, the vast waterpark whose slide count leads the world (pricing is dynamic and seasonal — check current rates and book online, where it’s consistently cheaper than the gate); The Lost Chambers, the Atlantis-ruins-themed aquarium with some 65,000 marine animals across its chambers — the themed sibling of the Dubai Mall aquarium we covered in the Dubai Mall guide; and the resort’s restaurant collection, where a booking gets you inside the building without any ticket at all.
The free tier matters too: riding the monorail to Atlantis station, walking the public boardwalk stretches, and photographing the pink arch from the approach costs nothing beyond the fare. Next door, the newer Atlantis The Royal — the skyline-block tower that hosted the world’s most publicised hotel opening — is photogenic from outside and, like its sibling, accessible to non-guests through its restaurants.
Palm West Beach: The Evening That Replaced The Pointe
On the trunk’s western edge, Palm West Beach has grown into the island’s social waterfront: a long promenade of beachfront restaurants and lounges, swimmable sand, paddleboard rentals, and the Marina skyline as the sunset backdrop. It’s free to walk and free to swim on the public stretches — you pay only if you settle into a venue — and in the evening it delivers a fair share of what The Pointe used to: dinner by the water, lights across the bay, no ticket required. The monorail’s Golden Mile Galleria station puts you a short walk away, or taxis drop directly along the strip.
For a proper beach day rather than an evening, this stretch competes with JBR and Kite Beach — a comparison we’ll settle properly in our Jumeirah beaches guide — but as the Palm’s own sunset spot, it now stands alone.
Putting It Together: The Half-Day That Works
The sequence that uses the island’s geography instead of fighting it: arrive mid-afternoon via Metro Red Line → Dubai Tram → Palm Gateway (one Nol card end to end), ride the monorail full-length to Atlantis for the bridge approach and the arch photo, double back one stop to Nakheel Mall for a sunset slot at The View, then finish at Palm West Beach for dinner as the lights come on. Total transport cost: a monorail return plus tram fare — pocket change. Total time: four to five hours, which is why the Palm slots into our 5N/6D itinerary as a half-day rather than demanding a full one. Families adding Aquaventure should flip the plan: waterpark from opening, then The View and the beach evening after.
For the exact Metro-tram-monorail chain on video, costs included:
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Pointe in Dubai still open?
No. It closed permanently — restaurants, cinema and shops shut, the Palm Fountain stopped in May 2023, and the monorail station there closed in August 2023. The Palm Crown development now occupies the site. Any guide still recommending it is out of date.
How much is the Palm Monorail ticket?
Short hops from around AED 5-10; the full Gateway–Atlantis run is about AED 20 one-way / AED 30 return, with a family-of-four pass around AED 99. Under-110cm kids ride free; Nol cards are accepted.
Can you visit Atlantis without staying there?
Yes — Aquaventure, the Lost Chambers aquarium, and the restaurants all take day visitors, and the monorail-and-boardwalk photo run costs nothing beyond the fare.
What is The View at The Palm?
An observation deck on level 52 of The Palm Tower (~240m), entered through Nakheel Mall, open roughly 9am–9pm. It’s the only ground-based way to see the palm shape — sunset slots cost more and sell first.
Is Palm Jumeirah free to visit?
The island itself, yes — arriving, walking the boardwalks, and Palm West Beach’s public stretches cost nothing. The monorail, The View, Aquaventure, and beach clubs are the optional paid layer.
How do I reach Palm Jumeirah by public transport?
Metro Red Line to DMCC or Dubai Marina, Dubai Tram to Palm Jumeirah station, then the Palm Gateway Monorail down the island — all on one Nol card.
The Bottom Line
Palm Jumeirah in 2026 is a better half-day than its outdated reputation suggests — just a different one than the guides written before 2023 describe. Skip the ghost of The Pointe, ride the monorail for the approach it was built for, pay for the sunset slot at The View, give Atlantis whatever tier of your budget it deserves (from a free photo to a full Aquaventure day), and let Palm West Beach close the evening. The island rewards sequencing more than spending.
Want it pre-sequenced? Our Dubai tour packages build the Palm half-day in with monorail timing and View slots handled — and current, which on this island turns out to be the rarest feature of all.
Trekhops Editorial Team is a Dubai Travel Specialis, who has re-planned more Pointe-based itineraries than he can count.
