Before you plan anything around La Mer Beach Dubai, read this first: the La Mer that most online guides describe no longer exists in that form. The original family beachfront destination closed at the end of 2022 for redevelopment, its waterpark is permanently closed, and visitor reports from late 2025 describe the old boardwalk as shut, with no open restaurants or cafés. This guide explains what La Mer was, what has replaced parts of it, and what to check before you go.
| Detail | La Mer Beach Dubai |
|---|---|
| Location | Jumeirah 1, Dubai, between Pearl Jumeirah and Jumeirah Bay |
| Beach access today | Check before visiting — the old destination is under redevelopment |
| Entry fee | Check before visiting |
| Timings | Check before visiting (old guides disagree) |
| Laguna Waterpark | Permanently closed |
| Boardwalk shops and restaurants | Closed, according to visitor reports from late 2025 |
| Southern stretch | Now J1 Beach, a separate luxury beach-club destination |
| Nearest metro | None close by — car, taxi or bus is the practical option |
La Mer Beach Location: Jumeirah 1, Dubai
La Mer sits in Jumeirah 1, on Dubai’s Jumeirah coastline between Pearl Jumeirah and Jumeirah Bay, along Jumeirah Beach Road. By car it is roughly fifteen minutes from Downtown Dubai, which helped it feel like a neighbourhood beach: a low-rise district of painted buildings facing the sand.
Getting there has always been easiest by car or taxi, since there is no metro station close by. Public transport has always meant a bus along Jumeirah Beach Road followed by a short walk. Older guides name buses 8, 9 and 88 for this stretch, but routes change, so check the current position before you set out rather than relying on an old timetable.
La Mer Beach Closed? Current Status & Redevelopment
The honest answer has two parts, and confusing them is how visitors get caught out. First, the destination called La Mer — the lifestyle district with its boardwalk, shops, restaurants, cinema and waterpark — closed at the end of 2022 to make way for a transformation of the whole beachfront. That is recorded in a May 2026 developments round-up, which then tracks what replaced each part of it.
Second, the geography has been split up rather than simply shut. The southern stretch was reimagined as J1 Beach, a high-end coastal destination of beach clubs and restaurants that opened gradually from October 2024. The central area, where the cinema and waterpark once stood, is making way for a large residential development. The Port de La Mer area has become a seafront residential district arranged around a marina, with apartments, shops and cafés. Two further hotel projects are reported for the area, but neither is visitable today.
On the ground, visitor reports from late 2025 are consistent and blunt: the old boardwalk was closed indefinitely, everything had been closed for months, and one visitor was told by boardwalk security that the area would probably be torn down. A December 2025 report calls the area abandoned and under renovation, with no open restaurant or café and dirty bathroom facilities, while a May 2025 report found closed-up buildings but a great, clean beach with kiosk vans selling food and drinks. The shoreline exists, but the destination around it does not.
La Mer Beach Timings and Entry Fee: Check Before Visiting
This section is kept deliberately short, because most competing guides are at their least trustworthy here. Old guides disagree with each other: some say the beach was open around the clock, others give 10 AM to 10 PM on weekdays and 10 AM to midnight at weekends, and others split the week differently again. None of those figures can be presented as today’s position: they describe the old destination, and no current official source was found to replace them.
The same caution applies to money. The beach at La Mer was historically a free public beach, with charges only for extras such as sunbed hire, cabanas, water sports and waterpark entry. Those extras no longer have a verified current price, so old figures are not repeated here as if they still applied. Treat timings and fees as “check before visiting”.
La Mer Facilities and Dining: What Is Closed & What Is Open
What La Mer was known for is worth recording, because it explains why the name still gets searched — but everything in this section is historic unless stated otherwise. The old district was a low-rise promenade of restaurants, cafés and shops facing the sea, famous for its large painted murals. Its restaurant and shop lists once ran to dozens of names. None of that list should be read as currently open.
Two facilities deserve separate, current statements. Laguna Waterpark, the beachfront waterpark inside the old La Mer complex, is permanently closed as part of the redevelopment, and its old ticket prices and opening hours are no longer valid — do not buy tickets for it from any reseller page that still lists them. The Rove La Mer Beach hotel, by contrast, is listed as active and operating. It is a hotel at the beachfront, not the old boardwalk destination itself, so its being open does not mean the boardwalk is open.
Things to Do at La Mer Beach Now: Shoreline, J1 Beach & Jumeirah Coast
With the old destination closed, the honest list of things to do divides into three separate places that share one name. First, the shoreline itself: swimming in the sea was still possible according to a September 2025 visitor, who found the water great even while nothing else was open. If you go for the sea alone, bring everything you need — water, shade and food — because you cannot rely on buying refreshments there.
Second, J1 Beach, on the southern stretch, is a different kind of visit altogether: a luxury beach-club destination with restaurants and clubs, where entry and minimum-spend arrangements vary by venue and change often. It is not a free public beach day, and it should not be confused with the old La Mer. If J1 is what you actually want, research its current venues individually before you go, because venues there have opened and closed within the past year. Third, the wider Jumeirah coastline, including the Port de La Mer marina area, is still there to enjoy — but treat any walk as a look at a changing coastline, not a visit to a finished attraction.
La Mer Beach Tips for Families and Expats: Better Alternatives & What to Check
If you live in Dubai and are choosing a beach day, the most useful advice in this guide is simple: do not make La Mer your first choice for a normal public beach day until its redevelopment is complete and its new facilities are verifiably open. For a working beach day right now, the stronger options in the same city are Kite Beach, JBR Beach and Mamzar Beach, each of which still operates as a public beach with facilities.
If you still want to see the shoreline, go prepared: travel by car or taxi, since there is no nearby metro; carry water, sun protection and food; wear swimwear only on the beach itself; and check the latest visitor position within days of travelling. Do not pay in advance for anything sold under the old La Mer name, especially waterpark tickets, without confirming from the venue itself that it is operating.
FAQs About La Mer Beach Dubai
Is La Mer Beach Dubai closed?
The original La Mer destination is closed for redevelopment — it said goodbye at the end of 2022, and visitor reports from late 2025 describe its old boardwalk as shut, with no open restaurants or cafés. The southern stretch is now the separate J1 Beach destination. Check the current position before you visit.
Is La Mer Beach free to enter?
The beach at La Mer was historically a free public beach, with charges only for extras such as rentals, water sports and waterpark entry. Because the old destination is under redevelopment, today’s access arrangement cannot be stated as a fact here — check before you visit.
Is Laguna Waterpark open?
No. Laguna Waterpark at La Mer is permanently closed as part of the redevelopment, and its old tickets and opening hours are no longer valid. Do not buy tickets for it, and do not plan a family day around it.
What is J1 Beach, and is it the same as La Mer?
J1 Beach is the luxury beach-club destination built on La Mer South, the southern part of the old La Mer beachfront. It opened gradually from October 2024. It is not the old family-friendly La Mer, and its venues change often, so research individual venues before you go.
Can you still swim at La Mer Beach?
Visitor reports from 2025 say the sea itself was still swimmable — one September 2025 visitor found the water great even though nothing else was open. That is not a guarantee of lifeguard cover or safe conditions on any given day, so swim cautiously and check the latest position before you go.
How do you get to La Mer Beach?
La Mer is in Jumeirah 1, on Jumeirah Beach Road between Pearl Jumeirah and Jumeirah Bay, roughly fifteen minutes by car from Downtown Dubai. There is no metro station close by, so car or taxi is easiest; older guides name buses along Jumeirah Beach Road plus a short walk, but check current routes before travelling.