Living in Ramhan Island, Abu Dhabi (2026): communities, access, villas and buying

Living in Ramhan Island means living on a natural island of bays and mangroves off the Abu Dhabi coast, in a waterfront villa community planned and built by one developer, Eagle Hills. This guide covers what daily life there will be like, when homes are due and how buying a villa works. See all projects and prices on our Ramhan Island page.

Ramhan Island is still being built, so this is a guide to a place in the making. It sets out what is on the masterplan, what is confirmed and what to ask before you commit.

Ramhan Island lies off the Abu Dhabi coast, east of Jubail Island and north-west of Yas Island, in the stretch of water between Saadiyat and Yas. Eagle Hills describes it as a natural island where waterfront homes, hospitality and the marina belong to one landscape.

In a straight line, the centre of the island is about 9 km from Saadiyat Beach, about 10 km from Yas Mall and Yas Marina Circuit, about 13 km from Louvre Abu Dhabi and about 15 km from Zayed International Airport, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Masdar City and The Galleria on Al Maryah Island.

Eagle Hills puts Yas Island about 10 minutes' drive away, Zayed International Airport and Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque about 15 minutes, Saadiyat Island about 18 minutes and Louvre Abu Dhabi about 20 minutes. These times depend on the island's new road link, described below, and on traffic.

By car, over a new road link to the main highway. On 27 October 2026, the Department of Municipalities and Transport announced that advanced works are under way on a network linking Ramhan and Jubail islands to Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Highway (E12).

The project costs AED 872 million and covers more than 166,000 sq m. It includes seven bridges, three tunnels, and a network of ramps, roads and utility corridors, with completion expected in 2027. The E12 runs between Abu Dhabi Island, Saadiyat, Yas and on towards Dubai, so the link connects the island to all of them.

Darb tolls. If you commute onto Abu Dhabi Island, your route will cross bridges with Darb toll gates. Since 1 September 2025, each crossing costs AED 4 from 7 to 9 am and 3 to 7 pm, Monday to Saturday, with no daily or monthly cap, and is free on Sundays and public holidays.

By boat. Ramhan Marina is planned with 170 boat berths and a yacht club, so boat owners will be able to keep a boat close to home. Ask Eagle Hills about berth allocation and charges.

Ramhan Island villas are sold to buyers of all nationalities, and you do not need to live in the UAE to buy. Abu Dhabi allows foreign freehold ownership inside its investment zones, recorded on DARI, the emirate's property platform.

Confirm the tenure of your own villa in the sale agreement and on DARI before you pay. Our guides to buying property in Abu Dhabi as a foreigner and can foreigners buy property in the UAE explain the zones and the law.

A waterfront villa island with a marina at its heart. Eagle Hills' fact sheet, which describes its figures as approximate, sets out the programme.

• The land. A development area of 6.5 million sq m, with 3.6 million sq m of developable land and 2.8 million sq m of water bodies.
• Villas. 1,060 standalone villas, spread across named island communities.
• Marina residences. 900 apartments around Ramhan Marina.
• Hospitality. A marina hotel with 120 keys and 120 serviced residences, alongside The Bristol Hotel & Residences.
• The marina. 170 boat berths, a yacht club and a 1.7 km retail promenade with waterfront dining.

Eagle Hills sells Ramhan Island villas by community name, not by number. Its masterplan names 16 communities: Infinity, Aura, Views, Waters, Cove, Breeze, Bay, Zen, Flow, Shores, Creek, Emerald, Crystal, Coral, Pearl and Marine.

Each community is a cluster of villas on its own part of the island, along the shoreline, a lagoon or an inner channel. Earlier releases have included communities such as Aura and Views, and Infinity is the latest release of private waterfront villas.

When you compare villas, compare the community first: its position on the island, whether villas face the open sea or an inner channel, and how far it is from the marina, the beach and the school sites. Then compare villa types within it.

Most homes on Ramhan Island are standalone villas with private pools and beach access. The marina adds apartments and hotel-serviced residences for buyers who want less to look after.

Villas. Infinity at Ramhan Island is listed with three to six-bedroom villas of 3,369 to 9,106 sq ft, from AED 6.4 million; confirm the price list with Eagle Hills. Each villa has a private swimming pool, floor-to-ceiling windows and access to a sandy beach and swimmable sea channels. The villa types are named Sky, Bliss, Glam, Vintage, Spark, Grace and Charm, with a Grand range on larger plots.

Marina apartments. Ramhan Marina begins with two towers on the inner channel with 187 apartments and 443 parking spaces, beside the yacht club and promenade, and with shops, restaurants and cafes at the base.

Hotel residences. The Bristol Hotel & Residences has 125 residences with one to four bedrooms beside The Bristol hotel. Residents have direct marina access and hotel services such as concierge, housekeeping and in-residence dining.

For villas across the UAE, see our villas and branded residences pages, and for budgets, AED 5 million to 10 million.

Quiet, outdoor and built around the water. Eagle Hills' masterplan places the marina, the promenade and the hotels at the centre, with villa communities spread around the island's shoreline and channels.

The beach and the sea. The masterplan lists a private sandy beach for each home, a community beach for residents with a beach bar and water sports, and swimmable sea channels between the communities.

Outdoors. Open green spaces, eco parks, picnic areas, bike tracks, jogging and walking tracks, children's play areas and outdoor sports facilities are all on the masterplan.

Community. Mosques, community hubs, retail and dining hubs, and the 1.7 km promenade are planned, with the marina's shops and restaurants at the heart of the island.

What it will not have. Ramhan Island is a residential and resort island, not a business district. Expect to drive to work, to large malls on Yas and Saadiyat, and to hospitals on the mainland or Abu Dhabi Island.

Schools and a nursery are on the Ramhan Island masterplan but not yet open. Until they are, families will look at schools on Yas Island, Saadiyat Island and in Khalifa City.

Private schools in Abu Dhabi are licensed and inspected by the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK). Schools families in this part of Abu Dhabi commonly consider include Cranleigh Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island, and Raha International School and Brighton College Abu Dhabi in Khalifa City.

Treat this as a starting list, not a ranking. Before you buy for a school, check the latest ADEK rating, the fees, whether there is a place and whether a bus will serve the island. Ask Eagle Hills which school sites are planned near your community and when they are expected to open.

It depends on the community you buy in. Ramhan Island is being built in stages, with the road link, the marina and the villa communities on their own schedules.

Eagle Hills unveiled Ramhan Island in 2023. The main works contract for the first two Ramhan Marina towers was awarded on 8 September 2026, and the government's road link was announced on 27 October 2026 with completion expected in 2027. Infinity, the latest villa release, is listed for handover in Q4 2029.

Earlier communities may complete before Infinity, so ask Eagle Hills for the handover date of the specific villa you are buying, and what will be open around it on that date: roads, the marina, shops, the beach and schools.

Ramhan Island is regulated by the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC). You sign with Eagle Hills, the sale is registered through DARI on the Interim Real Estate Register, and your payments go into the project's escrow account.

1. Check the project on DARI. DARI shows a project's registration, completion progress and escrow account.
2. Choose a community and villa. Compare position, villa type, plot and the payment plan.
3. Reserve and sign. Pay the booking amount and sign the sale and purchase agreement, which sets the payment plan and handover date.
4. Registration. The sale goes onto the Interim Real Estate Register. Abu Dhabi's registration fee is 2%, split between buyer and seller unless the contract says otherwise.
5. Pay into escrow. Every instalment goes into the project's escrow account, supervised by ADREC.
6. Handover and title. At completion, the villa moves to the Real Estate Register and a title deed is issued in your name.

A worked example. Infinity is listed on a plan of 10% on booking, 40% during construction and 50% on handover. On a villa priced at AED 6.4 million, that is AED 640,000 on booking, AED 2.56 million spread through construction and AED 3.2 million at handover. Half of the price is due at the end, so plan how you will fund it, whether from savings, a sale or a mortgage.

Golden Visa. An Abu Dhabi property worth at least AED 2 million can support a ten-year Golden Visa. For an off-plan home, at least AED 2 million must already have been paid to the developer. In the example above, that point is reached during construction, once the booking amount and about AED 1.36 million of instalments are paid. Our Golden Visa guide explains the rules.

For the protections behind each step, see our ADREC guide, and for financing, off-plan mortgages in the UAE.

Yes, once it is complete. Leases in Abu Dhabi outside ADGM are registered in Tawtheeq, and Ramhan Island falls under ADREC's rules.

Since 2 June 2026, ADREC has held renewals at a 0% increase and re-lets at the previous contract's rent across the emirate outside ADGM. A new home's first rent is set by the market at handover, and the freeze matters at renewal if it is still in force. Our guide to Abu Dhabi rents by area explains how it works.

Ramhan Island suits buyers who want a large waterfront villa on a quiet island, and who can wait for handover. It suits less well people who need a home soon or want city-centre living.

All new homes on the island are by Eagle Hills, from villa communities to marina apartments and hotel residences. The table below is built from our project data and updates as we add or revise projects.

For other island villas near Abu Dhabi, compare Yas Island and Hudayriyat Island, and see our new launches for the latest releases.

Use this list on any Ramhan Island home:

1. The community. Note its name, position on the island and what it faces: open sea, a lagoon or a channel.
2. The handover date. Read the date in your agreement, and what happens if it slips.
3. What will be open. Ask which roads, shops, beach facilities and schools will be ready at your handover.
4. The road link. Follow progress on the E12 link, expected in 2027.
5. The payment plan. Plan how you will fund the handover payment, which is half the price on a 10/40/50 plan.
6. The project on DARI. Check registration, progress and escrow, and pay only into escrow.
7. Service charges. Ask for the expected master community and villa charges in writing.
8. The school run. Check ADEK ratings, fees, places and bus routes for schools on Yas, Saadiyat and in Khalifa City.

• Eagle Hills. The developer of Ramhan Island, its marina and its hotel residences.
• Community. A named cluster of villas on the island, such as Infinity, Aura or Views.
• ADREC. The Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre, which regulates property in the emirate outside ADGM.
• DARI. Abu Dhabi's property platform, used to check projects and register transactions.
• Interim Real Estate Register. Where off-plan sales are recorded until completion.
• E12. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Highway, which links Abu Dhabi Island, Saadiyat and Yas.
• Darb. Abu Dhabi's road toll system.

If Ramhan Island suits your plans, start with the project table above and the Ramhan Island page, then read our guide to off-plan payment plans before you choose a community. If you would like a shortlist of villas by community, size and handover date, ask us and we will send one.