Living on The World Islands, Dubai: homes for sale, access and completion (2026)

Living on The World Islands means living on a man-made island about 4 km off the Jumeirah coast, with the Dubai skyline across the water and no road to the mainland. The homes on sale sit inside resort destinations, beside hotels, beach clubs and attractions, and every trip to work, school or the shops starts with a boat.

The archipelago was created by Nakheel and has 260 islands in seven groups that represent the continents. Islands are developed one by one by their own developers, as resorts and residences. Many have not yet been built on.

This guide covers what island life involves and how buying works. For the area overview and every project we track there, see our The World Islands area page.

The World Islands lies in the Arabian Gulf off the Jumeirah coast of Dubai, about 4 km offshore, between Jumeirah and Port Rashid. Seen from the air, the islands form a rough map of the world.

Each island is named after a country, city or region. The archipelago added nearly 232 km of beachfront to Dubai's coastline. From the mainland, the nearest districts are Jumeirah 1, Al Satwa and the new towers of Dubai Maritime City, several of which look out over the islands.

Do not confuse The World Islands with Dubai Islands. Dubai Islands is a separate group of five islands off Deira, joined to the mainland by three road bridges.

By boat only. There is no bridge or causeway, so there are no cars, taxis, buses or Metro on the islands, and every journey starts at a mainland marina or jetty.

The Heart of Europe describes itself as about 15 minutes from Dubai. Hotel guests and residents travel on the destination's boats from a mainland departure point; ask which marina, how often the boats run, the last boat at night and whether there is a charge.

Samana Collecta plans yacht shuttles to mainland Dubai every 30 minutes, with the embarkation points to be announced closer to launch. Samana also plans the island's own marine transport service.

Your own boat. Some island homes come with or offer a private berth. Ask whether a berth is included, leased separately or not available, and where you can keep a boat on the mainland side.

Weather. In strong winds or high seas, small boats may not run. If you need to be somewhere at a fixed time, such as a flight or a school run, build in a margin. Ask the operator how often crossings have been cancelled in a typical year.

On the mainland side. Once ashore, you are back on Dubai's road network. Jumeirah Beach Road, Sheikh Zayed Road, the Green Line Metro at Al Ghubaiba and Dubai International Airport are all reached by car from the coast.

The main way to buy into The World Islands today is a villa or hotel residence at The Heart of Europe. Samana Collecta, a branded residential island, has been announced and is due to launch later. Both are part of a wider resort, so you buy into a destination as well as a home.

The Heart of Europe

The Heart of Europe is a destination of six themed islands by Kleindienst Group: Europe Island, Honey Moon Island, Switzerland Island, Sweden Island, Germany Island and The Floating Venice. Europe Island, the largest, has 13 hotels and resorts, a 1 km climate-controlled street with light rain showers every 30 minutes and a snow plaza.

The homes to buy are on the smaller islands and in the hotels:

• Germany Island. 32 contemporary beachfront and lagoon villas on a horseshoe-shaped island.
• Sweden Island. Six-storey beachfront villas with Bentley Home furnishings and a 24-hour concierge.
• Switzerland Island. Lagoon villas with private pools and direct beach access.
• Honey Moon Island. The Buddha-Bar Hotel and beach, with Buddha-Bar floating villas.
• The Floating Venice. An underwater resort with 475 land and underwater units.
• InterContinental The Heart of Europe. Suites and Portofino Residences at the first InterContinental resort on the archipelago.

Hotel rooms and suites are also sold in the Côte d'Azur complex, which groups voco Dubai Monaco, voco Nice, Hôtel Cannes and St. Tropez Hotel, and at the Marbella Resort Hotel. Hotel units are usually bought to be let through the hotel rather than lived in, so read the management agreement closely.

Samana Collecta

Samana Collecta is the first project of Samana Developers' premium brand, announced in October 2026 and not yet on sale. Plans can change before launch. It plans 840 branded residences from studios to four bedrooms, all with sea views, plus seven floating villas and two tree villas.

Entry prices are below AED 2 million, and premium homes are priced at about AED 3,000 per sq ft. The island is planned with several beaches, a lagoon, pools, a beach club, water sports, a spa, gyms, co-working space and shops. Samana will build the island's own power, water, sewerage and waste services.

Samana Collecta is an upcoming project on our site. The payment plan is on request; register on the project page to hear when sales open.

Completion dates are set project by project, and for most island homes they are on request. The date that binds the developer is the one in your sale and purchase agreement.

Samana Collecta. Samana's contractual commitment is delivery four years from the start of construction, with an internal target of about 39 months. The start date has not yet been set, so ask for the expected construction start and the completion date written into the contract. Samana also says core amenities will open from the first handover.

The Heart of Europe. The destination is being built out island by island, and each hotel, villa group and residence has its own timetable. Ask Kleindienst Group for the completion date of the specific villa or unit, and whether the hotel or resort it belongs to is already open.

Why the date matters more here. On an island, completion is not only about your building. You also need the jetty, the boat service, utilities and the island's shops and restaurants to be working. Ask which facilities will be open on the day you get the keys.

For the wider market, see upcoming projects and new launches, and our guide to the off-plan handover process.

The table below lists the off-plan projects on The World Islands that we track as on sale. It updates as we add projects, so it always shows our current list. Announced projects such as Samana Collecta have their own pages until they launch.

If you are interested in a Heart of Europe villa or another island project not shown here, tell us what you are looking for and we will check what is available and the completion date for each unit.

There are no schools on The World Islands. The nearest KHDA-rated schools are on the mainland in Jumeirah 1, Al Satwa and Al Raffa, so a school day starts with a boat crossing and a drive.

For a family living on an island full time, the boat timetable decides the school day. Ask the operator about early-morning and late-afternoon crossings, and how cancellations in bad weather are handled. KHDA resumes school inspections in 2026-27, so check each school's current rating and fees on its directory profile.

There is no hospital on The World Islands. For anything beyond basic first aid, you cross to the mainland, where the nearest hospitals and clinics are in Mankhool, Al Satwa, Jumeirah and Umm Hurair.

Ask the resort or developer what medical cover is on the island itself: a clinic, a nurse or a first-aid point, and how emergencies are handled at night. Ask too whether an emergency boat is on call. These answers matter more for older residents and families with young children.

On the islands, daily life revolves around the resort facilities. Off them, you have the whole of Dubai a boat ride and a drive away.

• On The Heart of Europe. Hotels, restaurants, beach clubs, the Raining Street, a snow plaza, a coral institute, spas, gyms and a kids' club.
• At Samana Collecta. Beaches, a lagoon, pools, a beach club, water sports, a spa, gyms, co-working space, shops and a floating Italian restaurant.
• Across the archipelago. Nakheel lists private beaches, beach clubs, hotels and resorts, restaurants and cafés, wellness facilities and marinas. Anantara World Islands Dubai Resort operates on one of the islands.
• Groceries. Weekly shopping means the mainland, or delivery to the jetty. Ask whether the resort or building offers a delivery service to the door.

Expect higher running costs than a comparable mainland home. On top of the usual service charge, island homes can carry marine transport fees, resort or hotel fees and the cost of the island's own utilities.

Service charges. Once a building is registered, its RERA-approved service charge is published on the Dubai Land Department's Service Charge Index and paid through Mollak. For homes still being built, ask the developer for the estimated rate per square foot in writing, and what it covers.

Transport. Ask whether the boat service is included in the service charge, billed per trip or charged as an annual fee, and whether guests and domestic staff can use it.

Utilities. Where an island runs its own power, water and sewerage plants, ask how residents will be billed and who maintains the plant after handover.

Hotel-managed homes. If your unit is part of a hotel rental programme, the operator usually takes a share of rental income and charges for furnishing and replacement. Read the management agreement before you book, and ask for the term and how you can leave it.

Buying fees are the same as on the mainland: the 4% Dubai Land Department registration fee plus smaller registration and administration fees. Our guide to the true cost of buying off-plan in Dubai lists them.

Yes, but the rules depend on the project. Many island homes are designed for holiday letting, either through the hotel operator or through a licensed holiday home company. Short-term letting in Dubai needs a holiday home permit from Dubai's tourism authority.

Long-term tenancies are registered on Ejari like any other Dubai lease. Because every commute involves a boat, island homes are generally planned around holiday guests rather than year-round tenants. The Dubai Land Department's rental index gives average rents by building once tenancies are registered there.

Ask the developer, in writing, whether you may let the home yourself, whether you must use the hotel's rental programme and whether there are minimum stay rules.

The World Islands suits buyers who want a resort home or a holiday base on the water and are happy with life organised around a boat timetable. It suits a full-time family home less well.

The usual Dubai off-plan checks apply, plus a set of questions that only matter when a home can only be reached by sea.

Then the standard checks:

1. Check the registration. Confirm that the project is registered with the Dubai Land Department and that your payments go into its escrow account. Our guide to checking an off-plan project and developer shows how.
2. Confirm the ownership type. Ask what title you will receive on completion and how it is registered.
3. Read the payment plan against the timeline. If the completion date runs from the start of construction, map each instalment to a stage rather than a calendar date.
4. Check the Golden Visa position. A property worth at least AED 2 million can support a ten-year Golden Visa application. Homes with entry prices below that figure would not qualify on their own; see our Golden Visa guide.
5. Plan your finance. Lenders treat off-plan and resort property differently, so ask a bank early if you will need a mortgage.

Our step-by-step guide to buying off-plan property in Dubai covers every stage, from reservation to the title deed.

• Nakheel. The master developer that created The World Islands, part of Dubai Holding.
• The Heart of Europe. Kleindienst Group's six-island resort destination on The World Islands.
• Branded residence. A home in a project carrying a hotel or luxury brand, often with that brand's services. See branded residences.
• Hotel rental programme. An arrangement in which the hotel operator lets your unit to guests and shares the income with you under a management agreement.
• Oqood. The Dubai Land Department's interim register for off-plan sales.
• Holiday home permit. The licence needed in Dubai to let a home for short stays.