| Cheap Flights | From |
| Dubai | 13 Aug$513 |
Getting around in Dubai
-
Car Rental / Private Car
For exploring outside of Dubai hiring a car is highly recommended. Self-drive cars are available from a range of local and internationally renowned rental companies who offer a wide selection of models. You can hire any model from a small economical car to a large 4×4 off-road vehicle. Most rental companies will deliver and collect the car from your hotel or apartment.
To hire a car you must be in possession of a valid international driving licence. If you don’t have an international driving licence you can obtain a temporary one as long as you hold a valid national licence from the United Kingdom or Ireland. Your passport, valid national licence and two photographs are also required.
Companies such as Netflights and Holiday Autos offer fully inclusive car hire in Dubai. With a range of cars from quality suppliers to a wide network of rental locations including airport, downtown and hotel pick-up points, great travel deals can be booked quickly, easily and securely online.
Salik is a tolling system without toll collectors or gates allowing traffic to move freely. Motorists pay in advance to enter a Salik zone and each time a vehicle passes through the toll, Dhs4 is deducted. An orange sticker on the front windshield of the car represents the Salik system. When hiring a car, ensure the car has the Salik sticker. Passengers travelling in Dubai registered taxis are exempt from paying the Salik road toll. -
Taxis
Taxis are the most common way of getting around Dubai and there are a number of metered cabs in the city which operate 24 hours a day. The fare starts at Dhs3 for a pick-up (Dhs3.50 from 10pm to 6am), followed by Dhs1.80 per km.
Dubai Taxi Corporation cars also operate a service from the airport. The pick-up fee starts at Dhs20. It is also possible to hire a taxi for travel within Dubai only at a fixed rate of Dhs500 for 12 hours or a mini-bus at Dhs600.
Ladies taxis or cabs driven by female taxi drivers were introduced in January 2007. Distinctive with their pink roofs and pink seats, the pink taxis are used especially for ladies and children. These taxis are available seven days a week and can be booked in advance.
Dubai has a number of reliable and safe taxi companies that you can use during your visit:
1. Al Marmoom Taxi – 009714 3476656
2. Cars Taxi Services Co. – 009714 2692900
3. Dubai Taxi Agency – 009714 2641111
4. Emirates Taxi – 009714 2080808
5. Metro Taxi – 009714 2673222
6. National Taxi – 009714 3390002 -
Tours
Dubai’s inbound tour operators offer a wide range of services including city, mountain and desert expeditions. In addition, comprehensive destination-management services cover accommodation, airport transfers, ground transport together with daily tours and activities.
Dubai’s major inbound tour operators offer a range of tours including the following: Click here for more -
Buses
Dubai offers an efficient and well-maintained bus service that operates throughout the city. The Public Transport service has introduced a computerised ticketing system and the ‘smart card system’. New bus services are also planned to include VIP inter-city transport, inter-emirate transport and Emirate Express. As part of its long-term strategic plans, the Public Transport service has started introducing air-conditioned bus shelters across Dubai. This project is the first of its kind in the world.
Most of the buses have a capacity of 51 seating and 10 standing passengers. Bus fares are flat and cheap (Dhs2 per journey) and are paid to the driver on boarding. At the bus stops, timetables provide running times and destinations.
There is also a bus service to and from the Dubai International Airport Terminal 1 which runs every 30 minutes. For just Dhs3, the service runs through the Dubai City Centre terminating at Al Sabkha bus station or Al Ghubaiba bus station. Connecting buses can be obtained to travel to other destinations. -
Metro
As part of an overall plan to update Dubai’s transportation structure, work has begun on a new 70km twin-line light railway. The first two lines will run underground in the city centre and on elevated viaducts elsewhere. The Red Line will run between Salahuddin Road and the American University in Dubai while the Green Line will be from Al Qussais 2 to Jeddaf 1.
Designed to carry approximately 1.2 million passengers every day, the metro will be fully integrated and ‘Park and Ride’ services will be organised around the rail system, extending access into all areas of the Emirate. Scheduled to open on 9 September 2009, Dubai Metro will be the longest fully automated and driverless rail system in the world.
