An hour on the water is a completely different way to see Dubai, and at sea level rather than from a tower. You are fitted with safety equipment and given a briefing by professional instructors before setting out, and the kayaks are stable sit-on-top boats that suit complete beginners as readily as people who have paddled before. From the water the city arranges itself at its own scale - the skyline stacked up behind the shore, the light coming off the water, and a quiet you would not associate with Dubai. Instructors stay with the group the whole way, which makes this an easy choice for families and for anyone trying kayaking for the first time. Sessions run a full hour: long enough to cover real distance, short enough that nobody finishes exhausted. The session launches from Jumeirah Beach Road on Dubai's open Gulf coastline, so this is sea paddling along the shore rather than flat water inside a marina.