Nurai Island

Prices, rents and yields in Nurai Island

Nurai has residential villas, including water and estate villas described by Aldar. The prices section shows current asking prices from our listings when available. The individual home, its features and the terms of sale matter when comparing an asking price.

About Nurai Island

Nurai Island and its surroundings

The island combines registered villa projects with a hotel, while Saadiyat provides the shore connection and nearby services.

• Nurai Island villas

  The ADREC directory classifies the original Nurai Island project as residential villas and names Tasameem Real Estate as developer. Its record shows 100% progress at the October 2026 reading. Aldar described water villas and estate villas under third party ownership when it acquired the resort. A home purchase concerns the individual villa and its own title, rather than the hotel acquisition.

  Source: ADREC project register, Zaya and Aldar, October 2026.

• The later phase

  Phase 3 is a separate residential villa project under Tasameem Real Estate. Its ADREC entry showed a new status and 0% progress in October 2026. The existing island setting combines privately owned villas with a hotel, and access is by sea. A buyer looking at a particular villa should establish its project and title.

  Source: ADREC project register, Zaya and Aldar, October 2026.

• Nurai Island Hotel

  Aldar acquired the island resort in 2022 and described it as distinct from the privately owned water and estate villas. Its announcement described the hotel’s beach, pool and spa at that time. The hotel now reports a temporary closure for transformation and says its booking system is unavailable.

  Source: Aldar, Nurai Island Hotel and Saadiyat Island FAQs, October 2026.

• Saadiyat shore

  Saadiyat Island is the shore connection for Nurai. The Saadiyat visitor site describes a welcome centre on its shoreline and a 15 minute resort boat journey. That published visitor information is useful for understanding the route, although the hotel closure makes current resident arrangements a separate question. On Saadiyat, Mamsha brings together shops, dining and beach facilities.

  Source: Aldar, Nurai Island Hotel, Saadiyat Island FAQs and Mamsha Al Saadiyat, October 2026.

Who Nurai Island suits

• Island home buyers

  The private island setting brings water and estate villas together with a sea crossing to Saadiyat. It suits a buyer who wants a villa away from the road network and can plan journeys around reaching the shore by boat. The hotel is distinct from the privately owned homes.

• Families

  The island offers a residential villa setting, and Cranleigh School on Saadiyat follows a British curriculum. NYU Abu Dhabi also has its campus on Saadiyat, while Burjeel by the Beach provides medical services there. School and clinic journeys involve leaving Nurai by sea before travelling onward.

• Owners seeking coastal living

  Aldar described privately owned water and estate villas, some then included in the hotel rental pool, in its 2022 announcement (Aldar, July 2022; read October 2026). Kai Beach on Saadiyat offers a separate beach destination with changing and shower facilities.

• Saadiyat services

  A home on Nurai combines a separate island setting with access by sea to Saadiyat. Cranleigh and Burjeel by the Beach are on Saadiyat, along with the university campus and beach destinations. This suits buyers who value the island setting and can plan regular trips to those services.

Living in Nurai Island

Schools, health, shopping, outdoors and how you get around.

• Getting around

  Sea crossing

  Nurai is accessible by sea; arrange the crossing as part of a journey to services on Saadiyat.

  Bus 94

  Abu Dhabi Mobility’s timetable lists stops at Mamsha Al Saadiyat and Saadiyat Louvre, on the Saadiyat side.

  Etihad Rail

  The Abu Dhabi passenger station is in Mohamed bin Zayed City; reaching it from Nurai requires a separate sea and road journey.

  Source: Aldar, Saadiyat Island FAQs, Abu Dhabi Mobility and Etihad Rail, October 2026.

• Schools

  Cranleigh Abu Dhabi

  A British curriculum school on Saadiyat Island, across the water from Nurai.

  NYU Abu Dhabi

  The university’s Saadiyat campus combines teaching, research and residential spaces.

  Source: ADEK inspection report for Cranleigh, NYU Abu Dhabi and Aldar, October 2026.

• Health

  Burjeel by the Beach

  A medical clinic on Saadiyat with several specialties.

  Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi

  A multispecialty hospital on Al Maryah Island.

  Source: Burjeel and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, October 2026.

• Shopping

  Mamsha Al Saadiyat

  A Saadiyat waterfront destination with shops and places to eat.

  The Galleria

  A shopping and dining destination on Al Maryah Island.

  Source: Mamsha Al Saadiyat and The Galleria, October 2026.

• Beaches and parks

  Kai Beach

  A Saadiyat beach with loungers, showers and dining facilities.

  Mamsha Beach

  A beach at Mamsha Al Saadiyat, with nearby dining and shops.

  Source: Experience Abu Dhabi and Mamsha Al Saadiyat, October 2026.

Buying in Nurai Island: rules and costs

• Ownership

  Aldar described privately owned water and estate villas, separate from the resort acquisition. Nurai is not among the investment zones named in the Masterpiece Property guide to buying property in Abu Dhabi as an expat. A foreign buyer should confirm with ADREC that the title of the specific villa can pass to them before paying.

  Source: Aldar and Masterpiece Property guide to buying property in Abu Dhabi as an expat, October 2026.

• Registration

  ADREC registration rules allow the Executive Committee to set the sale registration fee within 1% to 4% of the transaction, shared equally by seller and buyer unless they agree otherwise. An off-plan sale in the initial register carries a 2% fee, shared equally, capped at AED 2,000,000 per transaction.

  Source: ADREC registration rules, October 2026.

• Off-plan purchases

  ADREC maintains an initial register for dispositions of units sold off plan. The buyer’s payments go into the project escrow account, and the rules restrict how its funds can be used. A register entry for Phase 3 is not itself an offer for sale or a payment plan.

  Source: ADREC registration rules and Masterpiece Property mortgage guide, October 2026.

• Mortgage

  The Masterpiece Property mortgage guide explains that lending is assessed against the bank valuation, and a buyer covers any gap where the valuation falls below the agreed price. The Down Payment and the loan terms depend on the borrower and lender. A buyer using finance should allow for the bank’s valuation and approval process.

  Source: Masterpiece Property mortgage guide, October 2026.

• Golden Visa

  ICP, the federal authority that issues it, gives real estate investors a 10 year Golden Residency when one or more properties in the UAE are worth at least AED 2,000,000 in total, fully owned and registered in the investor’s name. A property financed by an approved local bank qualifies, and so do off-plan units worth at least AED 2,000,000 bought from an approved developer. ICP decides each application.

  Source: ICP, UAE Golden Residency, updated September 2026.

• Service charges

  The Masterpiece Property guide to buying property in Abu Dhabi as an expat explains that service charges contribute to shared property and community costs. The amount for a particular home is part of its ongoing ownership costs, alongside the purchase and any financing costs. Ask for the current statement for the villa.

  Source: Masterpiece Property guide to buying property in Abu Dhabi as an expat, October 2026.

Pros and cons of Nurai Island

Source: Aldar, Aldar Arabic acquisition announcement, Nurai Island Hotel, Cranleigh inspection report, Burjeel, Experience Abu Dhabi, Mamsha Al Saadiyat and Abu Dhabi island villas comparison, October 2026.

Nearby communities

• Saadiyat Island
• Jubail Island
• Yas Island
• Al Reem Island
• Al Maryah Island

Questions about Nurai Island