SIR BANI YAS ISLAND

A bit of the Caribbean transplanted to the Arabian Gulf, the island of Sir Bani Yas - about 150 miles west of Abu Dhabi - is the site of the only private beach for cruise ships in the region. It provides a welcome alternative to the shopping malls, large mosques, theme parks, and dunes that are the focus of excursion programs in other Gulf ports.

Natural geological forces created the salt dome island millions of years ago, and it was named after the Bani Yas tribe that first inhabited Abu Dhabi. A ruined Nestorian Christian monastery dating back to 600 AD is the oldest of 42 archaeological sites on the island.

The Sheriff of Abu Dhabi and founder of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed, established a nature reserve on the island in 1971 and began work that involved planting several million trees and introducing species including the giraffe, cheetah, hyena, ostrich, and oryx.

The 16-square-mile Arabian Park occupies about half the island and now contains thousands of farm animals.

MSC Cruises has been closely associated with the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Cultural Authority for the creation and construction of facilities on the island which houses a wildlife park for a collection of endemic Arabian species. The other tourist facilities on the island are only three luxury hotels and a small airstrip.

The beach resort was built on an artificial sand spit connected to the main island by a short road along the lagoon. It houses the only facilities - apart from shore excursions - for visiting cruisers. There are about 2,000 deckchairs in total.

The main season for cruises in the Gulf runs from December to March. MSC and Costa visit every week during this period. There are visits from other cruise lines during the season, including Celebrity, Hapag-Lloyd, Seabourn, and Silversea. There is never more than one ship per day at the resort - which is definitely a bonus for most visitors.