The short answer
Abu Dhabi's Zayed International Airport (AUH) sits on the Dubai side of Abu Dhabi island, about 100 kilometres from Dubai Marina. A pre-booked chauffeur, a taxi or a bus can take you on to Dubai; this guide covers the route and its tolls, the timing, and travelling with family and luggage.
Flying into Abu Dhabi for Dubai
Abu Dhabi’s airport, renamed Zayed International Airport in February 2024 and still coded AUH, is the home of the capital’s national airline and a convenient arrival point for many visitors to Dubai, because of the airline, the fare or the timing. It sits between the two cities, on the Dubai side of Abu Dhabi island, which helps: the drive to Dubai Marina is around 100 kilometres and to Downtown Dubai around 115 to 120. In normal traffic that is an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half to the Marina, and up to two hours to Downtown, Deira or Dubai International at the evening peak. The question is how to make that drive after a flight, and the answer depends on how many of you there are, how much you carry and when you land.
The route and its tolls
From the airport, the road to Dubai is the E11, which runs along the coast past Ghantoot and becomes Sheikh Zayed Road at the Dubai border. Since May 2026, the Integrated Transport Centre’s Darb gate at Ghantoot, on the main road between the two emirates, charges at all hours, every day. Once in Dubai, the road passes Salik gates on Sheikh Zayed Road, and how many you cross depends on where you are going. The airport is not on Abu Dhabi island, so a trip from the terminal straight to Dubai doesn’t cross the island’s bridge gates. In a taxi, tolls are added to the fare; with a drivoo chauffeur, Darb and Salik pass through at cost, with no markup, itemised on your receipt.
A pre-booked chauffeur
A chauffeur booked before you fly meets you at Zayed International and drives you to your door in Dubai. Your flight is tracked and the pickup is timed from its actual arrival, with free waiting time to clear immigration and baggage reclaim. With Meet & Greet, added when you book where it is offered, the chauffeur waits inside the arrivals hall with a name board and helps with your bags. The fare is fixed before you book, with the cross-emirate surcharge in it, and you choose a class with a car that takes your party and luggage, adding a child seat if you need one. For a long drive after a long flight, this is the most comfortable option, and you can book a transfer from Abu Dhabi Airport with Dubai as your destination.
A taxi from the airport
Licensed taxis wait outside arrivals and will take you to Dubai on the meter. It is a long metered ride, so the fare depends on the distance and on the traffic at the Dubai end, and tolls are added. You can’t choose a larger car in advance, and you need your own child seat for young children. For a solo traveller with light luggage who lands outside the rush hours, a taxi is straightforward. For a family, a group with luggage, or anyone who wants to know the cost before setting off, compare it with a chauffeur’s fixed fare, which you can see before you book.
Buses
Public intercity buses run between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and they are the cheapest way to make the trip. From the airport, the airport coach runs to Ibn Battuta in Dubai; from there, or from any other bus stop, you will probably need a taxi or the metro to your hotel, so the journey takes longer and involves more changes with your bags. Timetables, stops and payment are set by the transport authorities in each emirate, the Integrated Transport Centre in Abu Dhabi and the RTA in Dubai, so check their current information before you rely on a bus, especially if you land late in the evening.
Timing your journey
The E11 itself usually flows; the time is lost at the Dubai end. Sheikh Zayed Road through Al Barsha, Downtown and the business districts is slow at the morning and evening peaks, and slower still before a public holiday weekend. If you land in the late afternoon and are staying in Downtown or Deira, allow for two hours. If you are staying in Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Lakes Towers or Dubai South, you are on the near side of the city and the trip is shorter. Arriving very late at night, the roads are clear and the drive is at its quickest, but that is exactly when a car already waiting matters most.
Families, groups and luggage
A long drive makes the right car more important. Enter every passenger and bag when you book, including strollers and golf bags, and the booking offers only the classes with a car that takes them; a family or group with many cases can choose drivoo Van when one fits, so nobody splits into two cars. UAE traffic rules require a child seat for children under four, and children aged ten or under, or shorter than 145 centimetres, may not sit in the front, so add a child seat for each young child. Our guide to child seats in UAE cars has the details.
Staying in Abu Dhabi first?
If you are spending a night or two in the capital before Dubai, book the airport transfer to your Abu Dhabi hotel, then the Abu Dhabi to Dubai ride as its own booking for the day you move on. If your hotel is on the main island, that leg crosses one of the bridges with a Darb gate, which charges at the morning and evening peaks. For a day trip from Abu Dhabi into Dubai and back, a chauffeur by the hour in Dubai stays with you all day; distance beyond the allowance for your hours is charged per kilometre. Our page on chauffeur service in Abu Dhabi covers the capital itself.
Which option to choose
A bus suits a light traveller with time to spare and a daytime arrival. A taxi suits someone alone, with little luggage, landing outside the peaks. For families, groups, business travellers, late arrivals and anyone with heavy luggage, a pre-booked chauffeur is the simplest way to cover the distance: met at arrivals, one fixed fare before you fly, and driven to the door. If you are still choosing your airport, our guide to DXB and DWC arrivals compares Dubai’s own two airports.
