by serviced
RAK NYE registration is free, opens on Sunday 15 November 2026 at raknye.com/register, and is required for every person going to Ras Al Khaimah's New Year's Eve festival at Jais Festival Ground on Thursday 31 December 2026, children and babies included. The plan was reported on 9 November 2026 from the official RAK NYE site, and it changes how the night works: last year only cars had to be registered and there were four car parks, while this year every guest registers and the only public car park is at Exit 122, with a free shuttle to the festival.
Last checked: 11 November 2026. We update this page when registration opens and when the parking and traffic plan is published.
There are three registration routes, depending on where you spend the night: the festival, a hotel or restaurant on Al Marjan Island, or a home on the island. Two ways of watching need none. Every row is as the official site states it.
| Your plan for 31 December | Register? Cost | Route, and who goes on it | Car and parking | Source (raknye.com page) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Going to the festival at Jais Festival Ground | Yes, every person. Free | Festival guest: you plus up to four others, children and babies included. A bigger group registers again | One car per registration. Free parking at Exit 122 from 10 am, first come, first served, not reserved; then the free shuttle | Register; Plan your visit |
| Going to the festival by taxi, ride-hailing or on foot | Yes: registration is for people, not cars. Free | Festival guest; skip the car step | Drop-off is at Exit 122 parking, and everyone in the car must be registered | Help; Plan your visit |
| Staying or dining at a hotel or restaurant on Al Marjan Island | Yes. Free | Hotel guest: the main guest adds everyone on the booking and uploads the booking confirmation | Up to one car pass per booking, subject to availability. If none are left, ask the hotel or take a taxi | Register; Help |
| Living on Al Marjan Island, visiting a resident, or staying in a holiday home there | Yes. Free | Al Marjan Island resident / guest: the main resident registers the household and every guest. Holiday-home and Airbnb guests are registered by their host, and each apartment number can be registered once | Two digital car passes per apartment, each for one entry. Guests without a pass arrive by shuttle or taxi | Register; Plan your visit |
| Watching the 9 pm fireworks from the Manar Mall promenade | No. Free | None. First come, first served | Park at Manar Mall | Where to watch |
| Watching the live stream at home | No. Free | None. The Sky Show streams on raknye.com from 11:50 pm to 12:05 am | Not needed | Where to watch |
No ticket is needed. Food and drinks are sold at the festival, by cash or card. Registering doesn't hold a parking space: the site says so twice.
Registration opens on Sunday 15 November 2026 at raknye.com/register and, the site says, stays open: you can even register on the day, although the organisers recommend doing it in advance. As of 11 November 2026 the form isn't live. Every button on the site reads "Registration opens 15 November", and no opening time is given.
The organisers, Marjan with the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA), set out the same steps for all three routes:
Save the QR code on your phone: no printout or ID is needed, and you show it before boarding the shuttle and at the entrance. You can log in to change names or the car, but a registration can't be transferred. The site doesn't say whether numbers are capped; we will add that once the form opens.
Yes. Every child, babies included, has to be added to an adult's registration, and each one counts towards the five people a registration covers. A family of six therefore needs two registrations, each made by an adult. Under-18s can't attend without an adult. Prams are welcome, the shuttle carries them, and baby food is exempt from the ban on outside food.
The only public car park is at Exit 122. It is free, opens at 10 am on 31 December and fills first come, first served, and a free shuttle runs between it and the festival from 4 pm until 3 am. Roads close from 7 pm, you can't drive to the festival, and roadside parking isn't allowed.
From Dubai, Sharjah and the northern emirates, the site's route is the E311 to Exit 119, then Al Shuhada Road and the first right onto Al Samil Road. Mind the numbers: the car park is called Exit 122, but those directions leave the E311 at Exit 119. Bags are checked at the car park before you board.
The site describes Jais Festival Ground as on the waterfront and tells Al Marjan Island residents and hotel guests that they can walk there. It gives no map pin for the venue, and you can't drive to it anyway. The pin it does give, and the destination to search for, is Exit 122 Parking.
The day runs from 8 am, when access to Al Marjan Island is first monitored, to the last shuttle at 3 am. The site marks the programme as subject to change and the Sky Show times as provisional.
| Time on Thursday 31 December 2026 | What happens | Who it matters to | Source (raknye.com page) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 am | Road access to Al Marjan Island starts being monitored | Island residents, hotel and restaurant guests | Plan your visit |
| 10 am | Exit 122 car park opens. Free, first come, first served | Festival guests who drive | Plan your visit |
| 2 pm | Every car entering Al Marjan Island needs a valid registration pass | Island residents, hotel and restaurant guests | Plan your visit |
| 4 pm | Festival opens. Free shuttles start between Exit 122 and the festival. Food, drinks and games run until 2 am | Festival guests | Home; Plan your visit |
| 7 pm | Roads close. Be parked at Exit 122, or on the island, before this | Everyone, including taxis and food deliveries | Home; Plan your visit |
| 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30 pm | Three parades through the festival | Festival guests | Home; About |
| 9 pm | Separate fireworks over the RAK Corniche, opposite Julphar Towers, seen from the Manar Mall promenade. No registration | Anyone in the city | Where to watch |
| 11:50 pm to 12:05 am (provisional) | RAK NYE Sky Show of fireworks and drones, also streamed live on raknye.com | Festival guests and anyone online | Home; About; Where to watch |
| 3 am, 1 January | Festival ends. Last shuttle leaves for Exit 122 | Festival guests | Home; Plan your visit |
| Not published yet (as of 11 November 2026) | Exit 122 parking map and capacity; shuttle frequency and pick-up point; the traffic plan; the shuttle for island residents' guests | Everyone | Plan your visit, marked as pending from Marjan |
The site also doesn't say which roads close at 7 pm. We have not filled these gaps from last year's arrangements or from press guesses, because the venue and the parking have both changed.
Yes, in two ways. A separate display is planned for 9 pm over the RAK Corniche, opposite Julphar Towers, and you can watch it from the Manar Mall promenade and the waterfront without registering. The midnight Sky Show is also streamed live on raknye.com from 11:50 pm to 12:05 am.
The Exit 122 car park is not a viewing area, and the site says there are no other official public viewing areas this year. Watching from a hotel or restaurant on Al Marjan Island takes a confirmed booking and the hotel-guest registration.
Nearly everything about getting in. For 31 December 2025, RAKTDA's press release of 11 December 2025 described a free festival at Al Hamra from 2 pm, several parking zones with a camping area, and compulsory registration of vehicles. This year, by the official site's own comparison, every guest registers and four car parks have become one. Tents are on the banned list.
The same release counted 13 Guinness World Records titles for Ras Al Khaimah over the past seven years. For this year the site promises fireworks and drones lighting 5 km of coastline; as of 11 November 2026 it gives no drone count and announces no record attempt. Its sponsorship page puts the 2025 public event at more than 92,000 visitors.
Very little. Bags are checked, and prohibited items can't be stored, so going back to the car means another shuttle trip.
One night at a festival doesn't need a monthly apartment. A longer stay fits a family spending the school winter break in the emirate (14 December 2026 to 3 January 2027 on the Ministry of Education calendar) or relatives visiting for the winter. 1 January 2027, a Friday, is a public holiday.
We list only a few apartments in Ras Al Khaimah, in Al Hamra and Mina Al Arab, mostly for monthly stays, so we can't promise a room for 31 December: check the Ras Al Khaimah page and our monthly offers for what is open.
None of them is on Al Marjan Island, so guests going to the festival register as festival guests and use Exit 122 like everyone else. By our own measurement, the car park is about 8 km in a straight line from Al Hamra Residence and about 7 km from Mina Al Arab; the drive is longer.
Our guide to living in Ras Al Khaimah covers the areas and getting around. Visitors can check how long tourists can stay in the UAE, families hosting relatives the visit visa for parents, and anyone booking a hotel apartment what check-in involves.
Yes. Registration, entry, parking at Exit 122 and the shuttle are free, and no ticket is needed, according to raknye.com. Food and drinks are sold on site, by cash or card.
On Sunday 15 November 2026, at raknye.com/register. The official site says registration then stays open and that you can register on the day, though it recommends registering in advance.
Yes. This year registration is for people, not cars, so everyone needs one whether they drive, walk, take a taxi or stay at a hotel on Al Marjan Island. Last year only cars were registered.
Five: the person registering plus up to four others, children and babies included, and one car. A bigger group, or a second car, needs another registration.
At Jais Festival Ground in Ras Al Khaimah on Thursday 31 December 2026, from 4 pm to 3 am. The Sky Show of fireworks and drones is planned for 11:50 pm to 12:05 am, and the organisers call those times provisional.
No. You park at Exit 122, which is free and opens at 10 am, and take the free shuttle from 4 pm. Roads close from 7 pm and roadside parking isn't allowed.
Planning a winter month in Ras Al Khaimah? See the apartments we list there and send your dates through a listing's Request to Book. Festival registration is separate, and it is done only on the official site.
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