Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat and Yas
A last morning on Yas Beach, and at the airport the engagement ring is missing
Yas Island is a short drive from Zayed International Airport, and the beach can be looked at after you have flown home.
An engagement ring that came off on a beach in Abu Dhabi can still be looked for once you are back home. What decides it is how closely you can place the moment it went, down to the lounger you used or the patch of water you swam in.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone in Abu Dhabi with a metal detectorist who can search there.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
This page covers Corniche Beach and the Corniche promenade, Al Bateen Beach and Hudayriyat Island across the water from it, the beaches of Saadiyat Island and Yas Island, and Ghantoot, halfway along the coast to Dubai.
Before the taxi to the airport
If you are still in Abu Dhabi, go back over the room and the beach bag first. Ask at the hotel reception and the beach desk whether anything was handed in. Then put two pins on a map, one where you sat and one where you went into the water, and write down the order of the day, including which way you walked back from the sand.
Corniche Beach lies on the city seafront, and Al Bateen Beach on its western edge. Hudayriyat is reached by a bridge near Al Bateen. Saadiyat and Yas are islands of their own, a drive from the city centre, and Ghantoot lies along the coast towards Dubai.
Places we cover in Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat and Yas
- Abu Dhabi Corniche
- Corniche Beach
- A'l Bahar Beach on the Corniche
- Al Bateen Beach
- Marsa Al Bateen
- Hudayriyat Island
- Hudayriyat Mar Vista Beach
- Saadiyat Island
- Saadiyat beaches
- Mamsha Al Saadiyat
- Mamsha Beach
- Hidd Al Saadiyat Marina
- Yas Island
- Yas Beach
- Yas Bay
- Yas Marina
- Ghantoot
- Ghantoot beaches
- Ras Ghanadah marine area, Ghantoot
- Mangrove National Park
- Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island
From the city seafront out to the islands and Ghantoot
City beaches and promenades first, then the islands and Ghantoot.
Yas Beach, Yas Bay and Yas Marina
Yas Beach has powdery white sand and clear water, with private chalets and beachfront restaurants, and mangrove forests nearby. Yas Bay has a promenade lined with entertainment, and Yas Marina sits at the heart of the island beside Yas Marina Circuit. Say which of them you visited that day, and in what order.
Saadiyat beaches and Mamsha Al Saadiyat
On Saadiyat Island, Mamsha Beach has soft white sand and clear water, with Mamsha Al Saadiyat, a beachfront strip of restaurants and cafés, beside it. At the quieter eastern edge of the island, Hidd Al Saadiyat Marina has calm water and moored yachts, looking out over the Al Jubail Mangroves.
Corniche Beach
Corniche Beach has soft white sand and turquoise water, a seaside boardwalk with gardens, and views of Lulu Island. Its sections are reached through numbered gates, and boats and jet skis can be hired off the Corniche. The gate you came in by is the first thing to tell us.
The Corniche promenade and A'l Bahar
The Corniche waterfront stretches for eight kilometres, with separate cycle paths and footpaths, and cafés and restaurants along the way. A'l Bahar is a beachfront development on the Corniche, with places to eat and shops along a stretch of beachfront. People walk, jog and cycle here, so tell us whether you were on foot or on a bike.
Al Bateen Beach, Marsa Al Bateen and Hudayriyat
Al Bateen Beach looks across to Hudayriyat Island and its bridge, with clear, tranquil water where people fish, swim and picnic, and a water sports centre for kayaking and paddling. Marsa Al Bateen, a marina with a promenade, lies on the same side of the city. Over the bridge, Hudayriyat Mar Vista Beach is a wide, open stretch of sand where people jet surf and eFoil.
Mangrove National Park and Jubail Mangrove Park
Mangrove National Park, beside the Eastern Ring Road, is a stretch of mangrove forest close to the city, and the best way through it is by kayak along its many channels. On Jubail Island, between Yas and Saadiyat, Jubail Mangrove Park has boardwalks floating just above the water among the trees, and kayaks go out among them, night tours included. Say whether it went from a kayak or on the boardwalk.
Ghantoot
Ghantoot is a waterfront area halfway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi city, with white sand and turquoise water. It has a resort and a marina, and people explore the shoreline by private boat. Offshore, in the Ras Ghanadah marine area, boats tie up at mooring buoys for diving, snorkelling and wildlife watching. Tell us whose beach you were on and whether you went out on the water.
What happens once you write
Leaving soon
If you fly out of Abu Dhabi in the next day or two, say so in your first message. The questions that need you near the beach come first, and the rest can be answered from home.
One name in your phone
Every message you send goes to the same person, who also briefs the detectorist and reports back to you.
What the detectorist gets
Your pins, your photos of the spot and the item, and where you went that day, set out in order.
Before you commit
We explain the costs before any search is booked. Nothing about them is left for later.
Calm water with promenades close behind
Abu Dhabi's waters are calm, and cafés, marinas and paths sit close to the sand.
Calm, clear water
Al Bateen Beach has clear, tranquil water, and the water at Hidd Al Saadiyat Marina is calm. If you were in the sea when it happened, note what was on the shore straight in front of you at the time.
Jet skis, boats and eFoils
Jet skis and boats are hired off the Corniche, and people eFoil and jet surf from Hudayriyat Mar Vista Beach. Something lost far out on one of those rides is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first. Closer in, tell us where on the beach the ride began.
Sand, path and table
On the Corniche and at Mamsha, the beach, the promenade and the restaurants sit side by side. List every place you stopped that day, even the ones that seem unlikely.
Questions about Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat and Yas
We had a last swim at Yas Beach before our flight, and the engagement ring did not make it to the airport.
Yas Island is a short drive from the airport, so the ring could be in the car that took you there as well as on the island. Go through your luggage and contact the taxi or hire car company first. Then pin your spot on Yas Beach. A lounger on the open sand and one of the private chalets are different places to start from, so say which you had, and mention any beachfront restaurant you ate at. Send a photo of the ring that shows the setting.
We went in at one of the numbered gates on Corniche Beach. Does the gate help?
Yes. The 2 km beach is split into sections, each reached through its own numbered gate, so the gate you used narrows down the stretch of sand at once. A pin for your spot on the sand comes next, with a word on whether you went in the water. If you walked along the boardwalk afterwards, tell us in which direction and how far you went before you noticed.
I noticed my watch was gone after cycling along the Corniche.
The Corniche runs for eight kilometres, with cycle paths separate from the footpaths, so the two points that matter most are where you picked up the bike and where you handed it back. Mark both, then any place you stopped, such as a café or a bench in the gardens. Ask at the rental station as well, in case someone handed the watch in.
A phone slipped out of my pocket while I was paddleboarding at Al Bateen Beach.
Kayaking and paddling at Al Bateen Beach start from the water sports centre on the beach, so mark the point where you carried the board into the water. Then describe what you could see on shore when the phone went, such as the bridge over to Hudayriyat Island, and whether you had paddled straight out or along the beach.
My metal-framed sunglasses came off during an eFoil ride at Hudayriyat Mar Vista Beach.
Hudayriyat Mar Vista Beach is a wide, open stretch of sand on the island across the water from Al Bateen, and people eFoil and jet surf off it. Ask whoever ran your session to mark the route on a map, with where it began and ended. If the frames went while you were still close to the sand, pin that spot and send a photo of the same model.
A bracelet went missing between dinner on Mamsha Al Saadiyat and a walk on the sand.
Mamsha Al Saadiyat is a beachfront promenade of restaurants and cafés beside Mamsha Beach, so the bracelet may be at your table or on the sand. Ring the restaurant first. Then pin the table and the part of the beach you walked, and say whether it was a chain or a bangle.
We spent one day on Saadiyat and the next on Yas, and cannot say which day the necklace went.
Then give us both days. Open the photos from each day and check the location your phone saved with them: a picture with the necklace in it tells us the island, and often the beach. Saadiyat and Yas each have their own beaches and waterfronts, so knowing the island decides where the detectorist starts.
Somewhere between the sunbed and the sea at Ghantoot, my Oura ring went missing.
Ghantoot is a whole waterfront area, so start with the name of the resort or marina where you spent the day, then mark your sunbed on a map. A boat trip that day widens the picture, so mention one if you took it. A photo of the ring, or of the box it came in, shows the detectorist its finish.
Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat and Yas
Send it from home or from the departure gate
Where you are now does not change how a search is planned.
Send a WhatsApp message saying what you lost and on which beach. If you are still in Abu Dhabi, put your flight date in that first message, and the pins and photos can follow from home.