At the tip of a frond at the very exterior of UAE’s Palm Islands is the holiday resort of Atlantis the Palm. It is in this reinterpretation of the Old World that the largest water park in the Middle East and Europe is hidden away. Staggering drops, lengthy tunnels and artificial pumps recreating the heart pumping rapids of the wild are found at every turn throughout the enclosure, a bewildering tangle of pipes to navigate. It’s hardly a surprise if you’re stopped short, unsure of where to begin.

You might choose to start with the Aquaconda, the inadvertent screams escaping your mouth as you hurtle down an impossibly long tunnel in the world’s largest slide tube. Or for those who boast of nerves of steel, how about beginning with an unexpected drop 75 feet in the air? You will have your heart clawing up your throat down the rapid descent of Poseidon’s revenge where one second your feet are firmly planted on a hinged board and the next you’re falling through thin air. Place bets with your friends as you race against time and each other at the Slitherine, a confusing casing of a tube ride within another tube slide and the first of its kind ever seen. The faint hearted aren’t left out of the fun however, with gentle slides and toys fit for a child at the kids’ zone and private beach. At the Aquaventure, you can be sure to have a splashing good time, brave hearted or not.