DUBAI INTERNATIONAL BOAT SHOW

Name: Dubai International Boat Show
Start: 2026-11-25
End: 2026-11-29
Location: Dubai Harbour

Late November · Dubai Harbour · Five Days · Since 1992 · The Water

Arranged by the Court

Visitors crossing onto the red-carpet pontoons past the show branding with yachts and the Dubai Marina skyline beyond at the Dubai International Boat Show — I · The Pontoons

Dates: 25 to 29 November 2026
WhereDubai Harbour, Dubai
DressYachting attire
AdmissionOpen to the public
The weatherIn November Dubai reaches about 31°C by day and 21°C at night, and rain falls on about one day in sixteen.
The tableThe Court dines afterwards at Zuma, Gate Village 06, DIFC (zumarestaurant.com).
Of noteThe show opens at three in the afternoon and closes at eight, or at nine on the Friday and Saturday.
In companyA member who means to go says so to the Secretary, and the Court seats its members together where the engagement allows.RSVP tells the Secretary that a member means to attend. Send passes the engagement’s name, its date and the address of its page to whomever the reader chooses, or, on a computer, copies the address; the Court itself sends and keeps nothing.RSVP

The Dubai International Boat Show is five days at Dubai Harbour at the end of November, and the largest yacht show in the Middle East.

It opens the Gulf’s boating season, as the heat breaks.

Visitors on a red-carpeted pontoon beside superyachts dressed with flags, the Dubai International Boat Show sign on the gangway and the Ain Dubai wheel beyond, in late-afternoon light — II · The Red Carpet

The Harbour

The first show was held in 1992 and was called the Watersports and Powerboat Show: some fifty exhibitors and three thousand visitors, indoors at the World Trade Centre. It moved to Dubai Creek, then back indoors, then in 2004 to a marine club at Mina Seyahi, and in 2021 to Dubai Harbour, which was built for it and for things like it.

That is the story of the show, and it is also the story of the city. Before oil, Dubai lived from the sea, from pearling and from the dhows that traded out of the Creek to India, Persia and East Africa. Now it builds marinas.

The yards that matter come, from Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. So does Gulf Craft, the region’s own builder, which is why the show is not simply an export market for Europe.

For most of its life the show was held in late winter. In 2026 it was set for April and was postponed, and its organisers moved it to late November; YachtBuyer has reported that it is to be held each November from now on, to open the season rather than close it.

The show halls and berths along the waterfront below the towers of Dubai Marina at the Dubai International Boat Show — III · Dubai Marina

Superyacht Avenue

Superyacht Avenue is the reason to go. The deep-water berths hold the largest vessels at the show, and selected yachts are opened for guided tours, which are the most popular thing on the site. Go early, or wait.

Around it: a marina of smaller boats, an equipment hall, a watersports programme, and an avenue of supercars, because this is Dubai. The industry half runs alongside in conference sessions and invitation-only receptions, and the brokers do their real work at those rather than on the pontoons.

An official party in Emirati dress touring the yacht berths with exhibitors at the Dubai International Boat Show — IV · The Tour

What to Know

This is a market rather than a display. Yards use it for regional premieres, and a good number of hulls change hands during the week.

The mistake is comparing it with Monaco. Monaco sells to people who already own boats. Dubai sells to a region buying its first ones, and the atmosphere is entirely different for it.

Dubai Harbour sits between the Palm and Dubai Marina, and the backdrop photographs better than anywhere else on this calendar.

Soft soles on every deck. Shoes come off at the passerelle of the larger yachts.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix falls at the same end of the year at Yas Marina, a short drive down the coast, and the two make one trip.

Questions

When is the Dubai International Boat Show 2026?

The organisers give 25 to 29 November 2026 at Dubai Harbour. As reported by Boat Industry, the show was postponed from April 2026; as reported by YachtBuyer, it is to be held each November from 2026 onward. The 2027 dates are to follow.

What are the opening hours of the Dubai International Boat Show?

For 2026 the organisers set the hours as 3pm to 8pm on Wednesday 25, Thursday 26 and Sunday 29 November, and 3pm to 9pm on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 November.

How much are tickets to the Dubai International Boat Show?

Public tickets for 2026 are sold through Platinumlist, the seller the organisers link to, which gives the prices. The organisers give free entry, after approval, to trade professionals, boat owners, captains, divers and accredited media.

How do you get to the Dubai International Boat Show?

Platinumlist’s 2026 listing says there is strictly no visitor parking at Dubai Harbour. The organisers list free shuttle buses from Al Khail Metro Station, the Nakheel monorail parking and Mina Seyahi tram station, and ride-hailing discounts for trips to Dubai Harbour.

A stilt performer in feathered costume crossing the lawn between the stands at the Dubai International Boat Show — V · The Entertainment

The Court

The Dubai International Boat Show is not the Court’s own. Tours aboard particular vessels, introductions to the yards and brokers, and places at the receptions are sought on a member’s behalf, and the Court arranges the whole of it: getting there, where to stay, and the table afterwards. The Court checks conditions in the region before arranging any travel there.

How one becomes a member is set out under Admission.