Enjoy water-based adventures for the whole family at this popular water park, with thrilling drop rides, high-speed slides and a beach.

Treat the family to a day of water-based fun and send your bodies racing through rapids, down slides and under water. Aquaventure is a colossal water park spread out over 42 action-packed acres (17 hectares).

Summon up the courage for Ziggurat, the park’s centerpiece. This Mesopotamian-style tower reaches 98 feet (30 meters) into the sky and has several slides attached to it. The most daring of these is The Leap of Faith. This is a nine-story near-vertical drop that shoots riders down into a transparent tube, which passes through a shark-infested lagoon. The tower’s water coasters propel riders down into dark tunnels before they emerge into the theme park’s river.

Pick up an inner tube and jump into The Rapids, a 1-mile (1.6 kilometer) ride with fast-flowing multi-level rapids, wave surges and waterfalls. This is also part of a transportation system that delivers you to the slides without you having to get off your tube.

Younger children can dive into Splasher’s, a water playground with gentler rides and slides. Water games, climbing structures, rope bridges and tipping water buckets will keep them occupied for hours.

Swim and snorkel with sharks, rays and tropical fish in the Shark Lagoon. These animal experiences are popular, but space is limited. For booking details and prices check the park’s official website.

If you just want to enjoy a relaxing time by the water, Aquaventure has two pools and its own private beach.

Located in the Atlantis Resort on the outer rim of the man-made Palm Jumeirah Island, Aquaventure is approximately 30 minutes by car from downtown Dubai. The most convenient way to get there is by taxi.

Aquaventure is open every day. Operating hours change depending on the time of year check the website for a current schedule.