Family Easter Holiday - Ras Al Khaimah

On Saturday 6th April, my family and I took the Emirates flight overnight from Manchester to Dubai for our Easter holiday in Ras Al Khaimah, for a 10 nigh stay in resort.

Ras Al Khaimah is one of the seven-member states that make up the UAE – United Arab Emirates it is the fourth largest Emirate and is in the Northern part of the UAE bordering Oman.

Distance wise traffic permitting travel time from Dubai airport can range between 45 minutes to one hour 15 minutes, depending on the traffic.

For our holiday we had planned to stay at three different hotels in various locations across Ras Al Khaimah as follows: - • Two nights at the 5* Hilton Ras Al Khaimah

• Two nights at the 5* Ritz Carlton, Al Wadi Desert Resort

• Six nights at the 5* Doubletree by Hilton Marjan island

We had a fabulous time at all three properties in very different locations.

The Ritz Carlton Al Wadi desert resort was amazing, on our first night we attended the Bedouin Oasis camp night (this located just outside the hotel, with sand-surfing, a jeep desert safari, camel rides henna painting and fabulous food and entertainment.

During out stay in the luxury villas with private pool at the Ritz Carlton, we also managed to take in a falconry show and a fabulous family sunset camel rides for all the family!

On our last six nights we stayed at the fabulous DoubleTree by Hilton Marjan Island, this is a great family orientated hotel with lots of repeat guests, with a water pontoon, water sports on the beach, we enjoyed, jet skis, water skiing and a sea bob too.

The hotel also has a small waterpark complex and a range of restaurants to dine at too, we opted for the dine around all-inclusive option.

During our holiday we also did a fabulous trip to the Pearl farm just near the Oman border, this involved a boat trip int the Mangroves and a visit to the Pearl farm via a floating pontoon, our girls were able to choose an oyster and the youngest picked one with a pearl in it, which of course we had to buy, a thoroughly enjoyable trip and experience for all the family.

Sadly our excursion to Jebel Jais – the highest mountain range in the UAE and home to the now infamous “world’s longest zipwire” was cancelled due to bad weather. I’m not sure if my husband was happy or sad about missing out on that, with speeds of up to 90MPH over a two mile wire!

Our girls were able to experience some fabulous water sports they had never done before, the pearl farm, the falconry show, the various camel rides and the henna tattoos, so all round it was a brilliant cultural experience for them in the sunshine.

One huge advantage in my opinion of RAK as a destination for families is the fact that (unlike Dubai) a huge proportion of the hotels are all-inclusive basis which is great for families and a wonderful guaranteed alternative Winter sunshine destination within 7 hours flying time of the UK.