Yas Island facts for kids
View of Yas Island as seen from the sky (2010)
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United Arab Emirates
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Yas Island (Arabic: جزيرة ياس) is a special island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It covers a total area of 25 square kilometers. It's a fun island and one of the biggest tourism projects in Abu Dhabi.
Yas Island is home to the Yas Marina Circuit. This track has hosted the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix car race since 2009. It also has Ferrari World, a theme park with Formula Rossa, the fastest rollercoaster in the world.
In November 2009, Yas Island was named the world's best tourism project at the World Travel Awards.
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Building Yas Island
Work on Yas Island started in 2006. The goal was to make it a place for fun, shopping, and entertainment. The plan was to build it in different stages until 2018. There was also a chance to add new attractions later on.
Fun Places to Visit
Ferrari World Theme Park
Ferrari World opened in November 2010. It is a very popular theme park.
Formula Rossa is one of the park's most famous rides. It is the fastest rollercoaster in the world. It can reach a speed of 240 kilometers per hour!
Yas Waterworld Park
Yas Waterworld is a huge water park on Yas Island. It has a special slide called Surf's up! Bubbles' Barrel. This is the biggest surf-able sheet wave in the world.
The park won the Leading Edge Award in 2012 from the World Waterpark Association. In 2013, the Los Angeles Times named it one of the top 20 water parks globally. CNN also listed it as one of the top 12 water parks in the world. It won the Middle East's Leading Tourist Attraction award in 2013.
Yas Waterworld has won over 35 awards. It was voted the Middle East's Leading Waterpark at the World Travel Awards. In 2018, it added Cinesplash, which is the first 5D water adventure in the region.
Warner Bros. World Theme Park
Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi is also on Yas Island. It is close to Ferrari World and Yas Waterworld. This park has six themed areas. These include Gotham City, Metropolis, Cartoon Junction, Bedrock, Dynamite Gulch, and Warner Bros. Plaza.
Metropolis and Gotham City are based on the cities of DC Comics superheroes like Superman and Batman. You can see DC Comics heroes like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman here. Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters are in Cartoon Junction and Dynamite Gulch. Bedrock features characters from The Flintstones. Warner Bros. Plaza looks like old Hollywood.
The park opened on July 25, 2018. It is the third Warner Bros. theme park in the world. Visitors can explore the bright city of Metropolis. Here, they can enjoy the heroic spirit of the Justice League. This group includes Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and The Flash.
SeaWorld Abu Dhabi
In December 2022, a new SeaWorld park was announced for Yas Island. It opened in May 2023. This SeaWorld is special because it is the first one without orcas.
The park covers a large area of 183,000 square meters. It is divided into eight zones. These zones feature more than 100,000 marine animals. Visitors start at Abu Dhabi Ocean. From there, they can explore other areas like Micro Ocean, Endless Ocean, Tropical Ocean, Rocky Point, and Polar Ocean. The Polar Ocean has areas for Arctic and Antarctic animals.
CLYMB Abu Dhabi
CLYMB Abu Dhabi opened in November 2019. It has the world's tallest indoor climbing wall. This wall is 43 meters tall. It also has the world's widest vertical wind tunnel. This tunnel is 10 meters wide.
Sports and Fun Events
Yas Marina Race Track
The Yas Marina Circuit is 5.554 kilometers long. It can be set up in five different ways for various car races. It is the only motorsport venue in the world with covered and shaded grandstands. Its pit lanes also run partly under the track. It has hosted the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since 2009.
You can also take boat trips from Yas Marina. Seawings offers flights from Dubai to Yas Marina. They also have 20-minute tours of Abu Dhabi from Yas Marina.
Cycling on Yas Island
Yas Island has been part of major road cycling races. These include the Abu Dhabi Tour and later the UAE Tour. These races are part of the UCI World Tour.
Yas Links Golf Course
Yas Links is a golf course designed by Kyle Philips. It was ranked among the top golf courses outside the USA in 2018. A lot of material was used to build the 18-hole golf course. It also has a golf club, a golf shop, a pool area, and meeting rooms.
Since August 2019, Troon International manages Yas Links Abu Dhabi.
Yas Beach
Yas Beach is a beach on Yas Island. It is near Yas Links. The beach is surrounded by mangroves. You can take a mangrove tour from Yas Beach with the Noukhada Adventure Company.
Concerts and Events at du Arena
The du Arena is a large outdoor concert area in Yas Bay. It used to be called "Yas Arena." It opened in 2009. Depending on how it's set up, it can hold up to 35,000 people.
Many famous international musicians have performed here. These include Beyoncé, Madonna, the Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson, Black Sabbath, Eric Clapton, Kylie Minogue, Shakira, Linkin Park, Nickelback, Eminem, Rihanna, Andrea Bocelli, Metallica, The Weeknd, Kanye West, Enrique Iglesias, and Sting. It has also hosted the Creamfields dance music festival with DJs like Tiesto and David Guetta.
The du Arena was also the venue for the Middle East's first KCON event. This event featured many K-pop artists like BTS and Taeyeon in March 2016.
The "du Forum" is an indoor event venue. It can seat up to 4,500 people.
Etihad Arena
Etihad Arena is a large indoor arena in the Yas Bay area. It can hold 18,000 people. It opened in January 2021.
Ultimate Fighting Championship Events
Yas Island has hosted many Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events. These include UFC 112 in 2010 and UFC 242 in 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the UFC used Yas Island as a special "Fight Island" bubble. This allowed fighters who couldn't travel to the U.S. to compete. These events were mostly held without a crowd at the du Forum. In January 2021, the UFC started having events with a small number of fans at the new Etihad Arena.
Places to Stay
Yas Island has nine different hotels. They offer choices for all kinds of visitors and budgets. You can find affordable 3-star hotels and luxurious 5-star hotels.
Yas Plaza Hotels Yas Plaza has six hotels:
- Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi Yas Island
- Staybridge Suites Abu Dhabi Yas Island
- Radisson Blu Abu Dhabi Yas Island
- Park Inn by Radisson Blu Abu Dhabi Yas Island
- Rotana Yas Island
- Centro Yas Island
Other Yas Island Hotels There are four other hotels on the island:
- Hilton Yas Bay
- The WB Abu Dhabi
- W Hotel Yas Island
- Doubletree by Hilton Yas Island
Getting Around
Yas Express Shuttle
The Yas Express Saadiyat route is a shuttle bus service. It connects St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort and Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi with Yas Island's attractions. This shuttle runs every day. It takes guests to Ferrari World Abu Dhabi and Yas Waterworld, and then back.
Shopping on Yas Island
Yas Mall
Yas Mall is a very large shopping mall on Yas Island. It is one of Abu Dhabi's biggest malls. In January 2017, Forbes listed Yas Mall as one of the top five shopping malls in Abu Dhabi.
Close to Yas Mall, you will find IKEA. This IKEA store is 33,000 square meters. It is the largest IKEA store in the MENA region. It moved to Yas Island because it needed more space. There is also an ACE Hardware store nearby. This ACE Hardware is the second largest in the UAE. It has 5,200 square meters of shopping space.
See also
In Spanish: Isla de Yas para niños
