Dubai or Abu Dhabi: pick a base

The decision

A group that wants the Louvre, the Grand Mosque and Yas Island as well as Downtown, the Marina and the old creek faces a choice. Do you stay in one place and drive, or move halfway through? The answer depends on hotel costs, the programme and how much time the group is willing to spend on the road.

We drive groups in both directions every season, so this page draws on how the days really run. It does not recommend a hotel, because we do not sell rooms. It sets out the logic.

The distance in plain terms

Dubai to Abu Dhabi takes about 1.5 hours by road in normal traffic. That is the figure to use for planning. Rush hour, Friday afternoons, weather and holiday periods can add to it. Within each city, a cross-town drive is often 30 to 45 minutes or more.

The round trip for a day out is therefore about three hours of driving, before the time spent within the other city. That is the number to hold against the programme. It is a long day, but a comfortable one in a coach, and many groups do it happily once. Doing it three days in a row is a different matter.

Base in Dubai

Dubai has more hotels, more variety and often more choice for large groups. It is the usual choice if the programme is mostly Dubai, with one or two Abu Dhabi days.

• Strengths: a wide range of hotel types, more restaurants and evening options, and the main airport, DXB, a short drive away.
• Cost: a day trip to Abu Dhabi takes about three hours of driving, and the group sleeps in a different emirate from the Grand Mosque and Yas Island.
• Fits: groups with 3 or more days in Dubai and 1 or 2 in Abu Dhabi.

Our Grand Mosque day trip shows how an Abu Dhabi day from Dubai is paced.

Base in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi can suit groups whose programme is centred on the capital: government and business meetings, Yas Island, the cultural district. Abu Dhabi hotels can be a good fit for such groups.

• Strengths: shorter drives to Abu Dhabi venues, a calmer pace, and Yas Island close by if the programme includes it.
• Cost: Dubai days now need the 1.5 hour drive each way, and a long evening in Dubai means a late return.
• Fits: groups with most of the programme in Abu Dhabi and a single Dubai day.

If your group is coming for an event on Yas Island, read the Dubai to Yas Marina page too, since event days change the road.

Hotel pricing logic

Hotel prices change with the season, the day of the week and local events, and the two cities do not always move together. In one week, a group might find Abu Dhabi cheaper than Dubai. In another, an event in Abu Dhabi can push rates the other way. We cannot quote hotel prices, because we do not sell rooms.

What you can do is compare for your own dates. Ask for group rates in both cities for the same nights, and then add the cost of the road. A cheaper hotel 1.5 hours from the programme may cost more once you add a coach day. The transport cost is easy to estimate. Starting prices are on the price page, and your written quote confirms the exact price for the date, route and hours.

The daily loop table

Road times are rough figures in normal traffic. Your own times depend on the hour you leave and the day.

The split stay

Splitting the stay means a hotel change in the middle, with a coach transfer of about 1.5 hours and the bags to move. That is more work for the group leader, and the hotel change costs part of a day. In return, nobody sleeps in the wrong emirate.

Plan the move for a day with a light programme. Do the sightseeing in the first city in the morning, travel after lunch, and arrive in time for dinner. The coach carries the bags and the guests together. Our luggage guide explains the counting, and the Abu Dhabi transfers page covers the road.

A worked example, labelled as an example

A group of 45 visiting for six nights

The leader wants three days in Dubai, two in Abu Dhabi and a free day. Option A is a Dubai base for all six nights, with two Abu Dhabi day trips of three hours on the road each. Option B is three nights in each city, with one 1.5 hour transfer between them. Option B saves one long road day and lets the group walk to dinner in Abu Dhabi on its evenings, but it adds a hotel change and a second set of bags to move.

The group leader asks for both costed. We quote the 50-seater for each plan. The written quote shows each day separately, so the comparison is on the page. The hotel prices for each city are the part you get from the hotels.

How to decide

1. List the places the group must see, by city.
2. Count the days that fall in each city.
3. Get group hotel rates in both for the same nights.
4. Add the road: one long day, or a transfer.
5. Ask the group leader how much time the group wants in a coach.

When you have a shortlist, ask for a quote for each option. The coach itinerary guide gives sample plans, and the same-day business trip guide covers a shorter version.

Related: Abu Dhabi & Intercity · Grand Mosque trip from Dubai · Dubai to Abu Dhabi Airport (AUH) · Dubai to Abu Dhabi taxi cost · Get a quote

Keep reading

• Abu Dhabi day trip: A coach day from Dubai to Abu Dhabi for groups of 13 to 100: the mosque, the Corniche, the return drive and the buffers that keep the evening on time.
• Same-day Abu Dhabi business trip: Meetings in Abu Dhabi and back in Dubai by evening: how to time the day, what to ask of the driver, and why a car with a driver beats a rental for this trip.
• Dubai to Abu Dhabi Airport (AUH): From any Dubai address to Zayed International, timed back from your flight and quoted in writing.
• Dubai to Abu Dhabi taxi cost: Metered taxi, Uber or Careem, the intercity bus or a private car: what each costs and when it makes sense.
• Grand Prix chauffeur from Dubai: A private car and driver from your Dubai hotel to Yas Marina Circuit and back: timing, cars and the late return.
• Grand Prix from Dubai for India visitors: A Dubai base and a race day at Yas Marina for Indian families and groups.