Sir Bani Yas is a 90 km² desert island off the western coast of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, about three hours' drive from the city plus a short ferry crossing. It was the personal nature reserve of Sheikh Zayed, the founding father of the UAE, who from the 1970s introduced Arabian oryx, gazelles, giraffes, cheetahs, and more than 40 other species to the island — a Noah's Ark experiment that has grown into one of the largest wildlife reserves in Arabia.
The Arabian Wildlife Park covers most of the island and supports the largest free-roaming herd of Arabian oryx in the world, along with cheetahs, giraffes, hyenas, and Arabian gazelle. You explore it on guided game drives, nature walks, mountain-bike rides, and kayak trips that thread through inland salt-water creeks lined with mangroves. The animals roam freely rather than being penned, so sightings depend on patience and luck — which is part of the appeal.
The island also holds a remarkable piece of history. Excavations have uncovered a 7th-century Christian monastery, the only known pre-Islamic monastery in the UAE, which you can visit on a tour. It is a reminder that the Gulf was a crossroads of faiths long before oil.
There are three Anantara hotels on the island, and while excursions are possible as a day trip from Abu Dhabi, the long drive and ferry really merit an overnight stay. Plan ahead: access is managed, and most activities and the ferry need to be booked in advance.