Getting around the UAE is easy, cheap by European standards, and mostly a matter of choosing the right tool for each leg. The country is compact, the roads are modern and fast, and the cities are linked by good public transport, so you can plan a full trip without ever touching a steering wheel if you prefer. In practice most visitors mix a few methods: the Metro and taxis inside Dubai, a hire car or a coach to cross between emirates, and the odd private transfer when it saves time.
The one thing worth understanding early is the geography. The seven emirates sit close together along the coast and into the mountains, and the two biggest cities, Dubai and the capital Abu Dhabi, are only about 140 kilometres apart. That means intercity hops are short, but there is no passenger railway between the cities yet, so those journeys are made by road. Within Dubai, on the other hand, the driverless Metro does much of the heavy lifting.
Below we cover each option in turn, from the Dubai Metro and its nol card to taxis, hiring a car with its tolls and speed cameras, and the practicalities of travelling between the emirates.
The Dubai Metro and nol card
The Dubai Metro is the backbone of getting around the city and one of the easiest systems any visitor will use. It is fully automated and driverless, with trains running frequently from early morning until past midnight, and later still at the weekend. There are two lines: the Red Line, which is the one most tourists ride, and the Green Line, which loops through the older districts around the Creek.
The Red Line is the useful one for sightseeing because it runs the length of Sheikh Zayed Road, the city’s main artery. Along it you can reach Dubai International Airport (DXB), the Downtown and Burj Khalifa area (the station is a short walk or free feeder to the Dubai Mall), the Mall of the Emirates, and Dubai Marina at the far end. Stations are air-conditioned, signposted in English and Arabic, and most trains have a designated Gold Class carriage and a women-and-children carriage.
You pay with a nol card, a rechargeable smart card that you tap on a reader as you enter and again as you leave. Fares are worked out by zone, so a short trip within one zone costs very little and the price rises as you cross zone boundaries. Buy and top up the card at any station, from a machine or the ticket window, and hold on to it, because the same nol card also works on the Dubai Tram, the city buses and the water bus.
Taxis and ride-hailing
Taxis are metered, regulated and everywhere, and they are one of the simplest ways to cover the short trips the Metro does not. In Dubai the official cabs are the familiar cream-coloured RTA taxis; in Abu Dhabi they are silver. Both run on the meter rather than a haggled fare, most take card as well as cash, and drivers are used to visitors and hotel names.
Ride-hailing works across the country. Careem, the home-grown app now owned by Uber, and Uber itself both operate in the main cities, letting you book and pay through your phone with the price set in advance. App cars are often the same regulated taxis, so you are not paying a premium for the convenience. Women travelling alone can also request a “pink roof” taxi, a cab with a female driver, which several emirates offer.
Hiring a car: tolls, cameras and the rules
Hiring a car makes sense if you want to explore beyond the city, reach the east-coast beaches, or link several emirates in a day. The roads are excellent and the practicalities are straightforward, but a few local rules matter.
Driving is on the right, in left-hand-drive cars, and the motorways are wide, fast and well maintained. Fuel is cheap by European standards, which makes longer drives painless. Most tourists will need an International Driving Permit alongside their home licence, so arrange one before you travel and check the exact rule with your hire company, as it depends on where your licence was issued.
Two things catch visitors out. The first is tolls: Dubai uses an automatic system called Salik and Abu Dhabi uses Darb, both charged by camera gates with no booths to stop at. Your hire car carries a tag and the rental firm bills you for the crossings, usually with a small admin fee. The second is enforcement. Speed limits are firmly policed by fixed and mobile cameras, fines arrive automatically, and there is zero tolerance for drink driving, meaning any amount of alcohol in your system is an offence. Drive to the posted limits, buckle up, and do not drink if you are behind the wheel.
Travelling between the emirates
Because the emirates sit close together, intercity travel is quick and cheap, and it is all by road for now. The busiest route is Dubai to Abu Dhabi, about 140 kilometres and roughly an hour and a half by car on the E11 motorway in normal traffic. Public intercity coaches run the same route frequently and cost only a few dirhams, with services such as the E100 and E101 linking the two cities’ bus stations. Similar cheap coaches connect Dubai with Sharjah, Al Ain and Ras Al Khaimah.
There is no national passenger railway yet. The government-owned Etihad Rail already runs freight the length of the country, and a passenger service is in planning that would eventually link the main cities, but until it opens the choices between emirates remain the car, the coach, and taxis or private transfers. For a small group, a taxi or booked transfer can be as sensible as the coach once you split the cost.
Here is a rough guide to distances and driving times from Dubai to the other main centres, in normal traffic:
| Route | Distance | Drive time |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai to Abu Dhabi | ~140 km | ~1 hr 30 min |
| Dubai to Sharjah | ~30 km | ~30 to 45 min |
| Dubai to Al Ain | ~130 km | ~1 hr 30 min |
| Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah | ~115 km | ~1 hr 15 min |
| Dubai to Fujairah | ~130 km | ~1 hr 45 min |
Times to Sharjah are the big variable: the two cities effectively merge, and rush-hour traffic on the shared road can stretch a short hop well beyond half an hour. If you are only crossing into Sharjah, the coach or a taxi can be less stressful than driving.
Putting a plan together
For a typical first trip, a workable pattern is to base yourself in Dubai, lean on the Metro and taxis for the city, and add a hire car or a coach day for Abu Dhabi or Al Ain. If your trip is city-only, you may not need a car at all; if you want the mountains and beaches of the east coast, a car becomes worth it. Budget travellers can do almost everything on the Metro and the intercity coaches for very little.
With the transport sorted, the rest is planning the trip itself. See getting to the UAE for flights and arrival, our guides to Dubai and Abu Dhabi for what to do at each end, and the budget guide to work out what it all costs.