Falling for Fujairah

The first glimpse of the sea as I arrived at my destination used to be my trigger for getting into holiday mode.

But since living in Dubai, that had to change or every day would be an endless round of ice lollies, beach volleyball and lazing by the pool and I would never get any work done.

Arriving at the hotel in Fujairah, I found my new trigger.

The song of the cicadas in the trees overhead as we reached the car park was overwhelming and brought me back to holidays spent sunning myself in Spain.

The fun begins

Fujairah is about a 90-minute drive from Dubai (unless you take a wrong turning trying to get on to Emirates Road and drive around Jebel Ali Free Zone for 40 minutes) but it feels as if you have crossed a border into somewhere more peaceful, traditional and full of nature.

With its long stretches of coastline, rocky mountains and nearby wadis, it makes a great adventure weekend.

When my friend and I checked in, our thoughts were far from an action-packed break.

Instead, we headed straight for the huge pool for some tasty mocktails (including Shirley Temple's, which a confident boy of about eight years came to order two of from the counter, making us giggle).

The resort is fairly family-orientated but kids tend to stay in the shallow pools while adults head for the deeper areas or to the quiet beach section.

So it's easy to avoid the crowds.

Early evening I headed for an Ayurvedic massage so that I would be relaxed and ready for a blissful sunset-watching dinner.

The treatment was so incredible that I actually missed the second half after drifting into a deep snooze that lasted until I was nudged awake by the amused therapist at the end of my session.

I woozily thanked her, washed off the excess oil and headed up the lift in my robe and slippers.

Stunning views

I missed the sunset too — still a bit too relaxed from the spa treatment — but I'm told by my friend that it looked wonderful from one of the balconies overlooking the Indian Ocean.

Every room in the hotel has a direct sea view, so the vistas are stunning, whichever room you book.

I felt conscious enough for dinner at 7.30pm, so we opted for the Thai restaurant Taste.

I chose vegetable spring rolls and a Thai green vegetable curry.

The curry wasn't on the menu but that wasn't a problem for the helpful staff.

The lighting was low and the atmosphere relaxing — there was no sign of the kids from the pool here.

We lingered over our meals until we were roused out of our reverie by the arrival of a lively band.

The atmosphere took an instant upward turn as diners handed in requests to the musicians and tapped their feet.

A lovely rendition of Louis Armstrong's What A Wonderful World was my favourite.

The efforts of a long day in the sun meant we were ready to head for an early night, followed by an early morning, so we could make the most of the buffet breakfast and another long day by the pool.

After dreaming for hours about the prospect of a hotel breakfast (who wouldn't be excited about the prospect of rounds of pain au chocolat, Belgian waffles with hot chocolate sauce and an English breakfast with extra hash browns and baked beans?), we rose at 8am for a slightly more restrained breakfast in Views restaurant, overlooking the hotel's colourful gardens and the sea beyond.

After a few more hours in the pool, playing a spot of water volleyball, a poolside game of table tennis and even contemplating a game of chess on the hotel's oversized board, we headed to Gonu, the resort's open-air beach-hut restaurant.

Despite the greed of breakfast, I guzzled down a sizeable veggie sandwich and chips while my pal opted for an enormous hunk of steak.

The menu is typical beach fodder — ideal for the relaxed location and informal setting next to the on-site Al Boom Diving Centre, where wet-suited divers trudge back and forth to the beach every few minutes.

We were told they were part of the regular sea clean-ups that take place.

Boat to Thrillville

Feeling ready for a bit of sea action ourselves, we headed to Al Boom after lunch for what we imagined would be a relaxing afternoon of snorkelling. Not so.

As we hopped aboard our boat, I was a little anxious to be handed a life jacket.

Our guides soon revealed themselves to be speed demons, whisking us off to Dibba Rock in mere minutes in what was a thrilling, if a little bumpy and wet, journey.

One of the guides even lost his cap in the process.

Feeling exhilarated, we hopped off the boat in our snorkels and flippers for an hour of exploring the coral reefs.

Unfortunately, the recent red tide has taken its toll on the marine life in the area but we still saw several schools of colourful fish (I'm afraid my marine-life knowledge isn't sufficient to elaborate), a few baby reef sharks and the first turtle I've ever seen in the wild.

After an equally adrenalin-fuelled trip back to dry land, we decided we still weren't quite ready to bid farewell to the resort.

It had been a good few hours since our last meal, so we ordered a pizza by the pool, which we munched on as we watched the Sun set behind the Hajar Mountains.

It doesn't get better than that.