Emirates Dubai 7s: How to Book a Yacht Charter Weekend

Emirates Dubai 7s is no longer “just a rugby tournament”. It’s a three-day sports and entertainment festival built around world-class rugby sevens, huge amateur tournaments, multiple music stages, and a full family village at The Sevens Stadium on the Dubai-Al Ain Road.

So your days are loud, packed and fun.

The question is what you do with the time in between.

You can spend it in malls and hotel bars like everyone else, or you can block out one slot in your Dubai 7s weekend to get out on the water - even if it’s just a three-hour yacht charter around Dubai Marina, JBR and the Palm. That one decision changes the whole feel of your trip. Suddenly, it’s not just “we went to Emirates Dubai 7s”; it becomes “we did 7s and we had our own yacht day”.

If this is your first time, here’s the quick version.

Emirates Dubai 7s is part of the HSBC SVNS series (World Rugby’s sevens circuit), which means you get international men’s and women’s teams playing at the very top level. At the same time, the event hosts huge invitational tournaments with hundreds of amateur rugby, netball, cricket and padel teams from around the world.

On top of sport, there are big-name DJs and artists on multiple stages, food villages, kids’ zones, fitness activities… basically a full mini-festival city built around the pitches.

It usually runs over three days on a late-November or early-December weekend, often coinciding with UAE National Day, which makes the whole city feel busy and celebratory.

The important logistics note for you: The Sevens Stadium is approximately 30–35 minutes by car from Dubai Marina in normal traffic, and longer when the event is in full swing.

So you naturally end up building your weekend around two hubs:

• The Sevens Stadium – where you watch, play, or host.
• Dubai Marina / JBR / Palm Jumeirah – where you stay, eat, go out, and, if you plan it well, sail.

By the time you’ve spent a full day at Emirates Dubai 7s, you know exactly how intense it can get.

You’re on your feet, in and out of the stands, moving between pitches, meeting people, dealing with desert heat and then staying on for evening headliners. That’s part of the fun, but it’s also exhausting.

A yacht charter gives you the opposite environment without losing the Dubai magic:

• Fewer people, all of them your people.
• A breeze that actually cools you down.
• Space to sit, lie down, and have proper conversations.
• A moving backdrop - Marina towers, JBR beach, Bluewaters, Palm Jumeirah, Atlantis.

If you’re a fan group, a yacht day turns the weekend into more than just “time in the stands”.

If you’re a team, it becomes your team-bonding or celebration moment - no extra travel, no big planning headache.

If you’re a sponsor or corporate host, it’s a way to thank guests properly, away from noise and branded backdrops, where people can actually talk.

It’s much easier to plan this when you see how it fits around the tournament. So imagine three different yous.

If You Are A Visiting Fan Group

You land, you check in somewhere around Dubai Marina or JBR, and your biggest decision is how to split your time between stadium and sea. A simple flow can look like this:

• Friday: Full day at Emirates Dubai 7s - matches, music, late finish.
• Saturday: Late start, then 3-4 hour yacht charter in the afternoon or around sunset, back in time if there’s a headliner you don’t want to miss.
• Sunday: Either back to the stadium for finals day or quiet brunch + airport.

You’re not trying to do everything. You’re just claiming one window for a Dubai Marina yacht cruise so the weekend feels balanced.

If You Are A Team Or Tour Group

When you’re playing, you have to think about recovery, sleep and food, so you can’t just throw in a random midnight yacht party.

Two moments usually work best:

• Before the tournament: A short, calm sunset cruise when everyone is fresh, with light food and soft drinks. Imagine your tour welcome meeting but with skyline views instead of a hotel function room.
• After your last games: A relaxed charter where you hand out fun awards, talk through the weekend, and decompress.

You’re using the yacht as a “moving clubhouse” instead of a nightclub.

If You Are A Sponsor Or Corporate Host

Here, your goal is slightly different. You want people to enjoy the tournament and also feel looked after.

One way to structure it:

• One day hosted at The Sevens Stadium - hospitality seats, branding, on-pitch moments.
• A separate half-day on a yacht from Dubai Marina - quieter, more private time with key clients, drinks, food and space for real conversation.

The main thing is that the yacht becomes part of your Emirates Dubai 7s weekend story, not a separate, random activity.

You don't need the biggest yacht in Dubai. You need the right one for your group and your schedule.

Start with how many people and what kind of energy you want:

• 6-10 friends or family: A 40-45ft yacht is usually perfect for a 2-3 hour cruise. Enough space to spread out, still intimate.
• Small corporate or sponsor group: A 50-65ft yacht with more deck space, better indoor seating and a bit more 'wow' factor when people step on board.
• Big mixed group: A larger yacht or catamaran where you can naturally split into zones - some people at the front with music, some at the back talking quietly, some inside.

Then think about duration:

• If you're squeezing it between match days: 2-3 hours is ideal.
• If you've kept one whole day free during or after Emirates Dubai 7s: Go for 5-8 hours with time to swim, eat and slow down.

In practical terms, you want:

• Shade on deck (you'll be grateful, even in winter).
• A good sound system.
• Indoor seating and cabins if people are coming straight from the stadium or might want to lie down for a bit.
• A professional crew that knows how to pace the trip so you feel looked after, not rushed.

At Saibo Yachts, this is exactly where the fleet mix works in your favour - intimate yachts for smaller groups and larger options for teams and corporates, all set up for comfortable daytime or sunset cruising around Marina, JBR and the Palm

Once you know who’s coming and how long you have, you can pick a route that fits the mood.

Short Reset Cruise Around Dubai Marina, JBR And Bluewaters

This is your easy win route.

You leave from Dubai Marina, glide through the canal with towers on both sides, then head out towards JBR beach and Bluewaters Island. You get Marina skyline shots, beachfront views and Ain Dubai in one loop.

For a weekend built around Emirates Dubai 7s, this route works brilliantly as:

• A morning reset before another day at the stadium.
• A pre-sunset cruise on the one afternoon you’ve kept free.

It’s short, it’s iconic, and it doesn’t take huge planning.

If you’ve decided to give yourself one proper off day, this is where you go.

You depart from Marina, head towards Palm Jumeirah, cruise along the trunk or around the crescent, and make sure you spend some time with Atlantis and the outer resorts in the background.

• Drop anchor in an approved area to swim.
• Have lunch or an early dinner on board.
• Cruise back past JBR while the sun dips.

For teams and sponsor groups, a Palm Jumeirah yacht tour gives you the classic postcard version of Dubai in one go, without bouncing between taxis and venues.

If you’re in Dubai for longer than just the Dubai 7s weekend, you can stretch things.

A longer charter might take you further along the Jumeirah coastline, out towards the World Islands, or into more of a “day at sea” mode with extra swimming and slow cruising.

This feels less like a break in your tournament schedule and more like a bookend:

• A calm pre-tournament retreat day.
• Or a proper post-tournament decompression where you let your voice, legs and head recover.

The main mistake people make is leaving yachts to the last minute.

Emirates Dubai 7s pulls in big numbers. Flights, hotels and event tickets get tight, and so do good yacht slots around the same weekend.

So the safest flow for you is:

• Confirm your Dubai 7s dates and tickets.
• Lock in your accommodation (often around Marina or JBR).
• Immediately block a yacht slot once you can see where your free windows are.

When you speak to a charter company, share:

• Your dates in Dubai and which days you'll be at the stadium.
• Group size and type (fans, team, corporate, family).
• What you prefer: morning reset, afternoon charter, full off-day at sea.
• Whether you want food handled on board or you'll keep it simple.

Also, respect the distance: The Sevens Stadium is a solid drive from the coast. On big-event weekends, give yourself generous buffer time between kick-off and casting off, so you're not staring at your watch on the yacht or sprinting from the marina to the gates.

You don't need to overthink this, but a little planning goes a long way.

Bring:

• Light, breathable clothes and something a bit warmer for breezy evenings.
• Comfortable, non-slip footwear.
• Sunscreen, cap, sunglasses - even in winter, the sun reflects off the water.
• A small bag with your essentials from the stadium, so you're not dragging half your weekend with you.

If you're a player, you might also pack:

• Slides or comfortable recovery footwear.
• Compression shorts or leggings.
• Any light physio tools you actually use.

On the tech side, a power bank and a simple waterproof pouch for your phone and passport keep you relaxed. You'll take a lot of photos; you don't want to spend half the cruise guarding your stuff.

You’re already doing the hard part: organising time off, flights, tickets, accommodation and getting yourself or your team to Emirates Dubai 7s. That alone makes it a big trip.

Adding one well-timed yacht charter doesn’t complicate that plan; it completes it.

Instead of spending every free hour in lobbies, taxis and queues, you give yourself one stretch of time where Dubai slows down around you. You see the city you’ve been driving past all weekend from the water, with nothing between you and the skyline except sea and air.

At Saibo Yachts, the whole idea is to build those kinds of event-linked experiences properly - from Emirates Dubai 7s weekends and boat shows to F1 and New Year’s. The team helps you pick a yacht, route and time slot that actually fits your match schedule and your group, then layers on the details that matter to you: food, music, decor, even onboard celebrations if you’ve just finished your games.

So when you start planning your next Dubai 7s weekend, don’t just ask where you’re sitting in the stadium. Ask yourself one more question: which day do you want to remember from the water? Once that’s clear, the rest of your yacht charter weekend falls into place.