Dubai transport costs, mode by mode.

How much does transport cost in Dubai?

Public transport in Dubai costs a few dirhams a trip on a Nol card, depending on how many fare zones you cross. A taxi from Dubai Airport to Downtown is roughly AED 60 to 90 on the meter, and to Dubai Marina roughly AED 100 to 140. For a group, a van with driver starts from AED 900 per day and a 50-seater coach from AED 1,450 per day, for up to 10 hours within Dubai with driver and fuel.

Those numbers answer different questions. The rest of this page puts each way of getting around side by side, then does the per-person sums for families and groups, which is where most visitors get the answer wrong.

Every option on one table

Public transport and taxi fares are set by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and change from time to time, so we don’t print the tariff. Check the RTA website or app for today’s fares. Our own prices are starting prices for a full day of up to 10 hours within Dubai.

Metro, tram and buses

The Metro is clean, cool and cheap. The Red Line runs along Sheikh Zayed Road from the airport, with stations at Terminals 1 and 3, through Downtown to the Marina and on towards Expo City. The Green Line covers Deira and Bur Dubai. The tram loops around Dubai Marina and JBR and links to the Palm monorail.

You pay with a Nol card, topped up at machines and counters in the stations. Fares go by the number of zones you cross, and Gold Class carriages cost more. For one person going from a station to a station, nothing is cheaper.

The catch is the last kilometre. Many hotels, villas and offices are a long, hot walk from the nearest station, and in summer that matters. The Metro also does not like big suitcases at rush hour. Our guide to getting from Dubai Airport to your hotel covers the airport stations in detail.

Taxis and ride-hailing

Taxis are metered, easy to find at malls, hotels and Metro stations, and fair for short trips. A ride that starts at the airport costs more than one hailed in the street, and Salik toll gates are added to the meter. A standard taxi takes four passengers.

Ride-hailing apps show the fare before you book, and offer both taxis and private cars at different prices. At busy times app prices go up. Our guides to Dubai taxi fares and to Uber, taxi or private transfer from DXB give rough fares for common trips.

Private car, van or coach with a driver

A booked vehicle is priced per vehicle, not per person, and that is the whole point for a group. Our starting prices for a full day within Dubai, with driver and fuel:

• 13-seater van from AED 900 per day
• Mini coach, 22 to 30 seats, from AED 1,100 per day
• 50-seater coach from AED 1,450 per day
• Mercedes V-Class from AED 1,150 per day, luxury SUV from AED 1,100 and executive sedan from AED 950

The quote lists Salik and Darb tolls, airport parking and the waiting allowance, so the total is fixed before you travel. Every vehicle is in our bus rental price guide, and what a driver costs on its own is explained in how much is a driver in Dubai.

Per person: families and groups

Here is where the cheap option stops being cheap. A Metro fare is tiny for one person, but seven people with a pram, three changes of line and a walk at each end is a different day. These examples use our starting prices; they are examples, not quotes.

Example: a family of seven for a day of sightseeing. Seven people need two taxis for every trip, and a day of five or six trips adds up quickly. A Mercedes V-Class with driver takes all seven, from AED 1,150 for the day, about AED 164 each, with the bags and the pram staying in the car between stops.

Example: a group of 12 friends on a weekend away. A 13-seater van from AED 900 per day is about AED 38 each. Three taxis for every trip would cost more after two or three rides.

Example: a tour group of 25 for a city day. A mini coach from AED 1,100 per day is about AED 44 each. Moving 25 people through the Metro means losing someone at every change.

Example: 45 delegates to a conference. One 50-seater coach from AED 1,450 per day is about AED 32 each, and everyone arrives at the same time. Our guide to a city tour by private minibus shows how a group day is planned.

Leaving Dubai: Abu Dhabi and the other emirates

For one person on a budget, the intercity bus to Abu Dhabi is the cheapest way, at around AED 25 one way at the time of writing, paid with a Nol card. A taxi between the city centres is roughly AED 250 to 350 plus tolls. Our sedan to Abu Dhabi Airport starts from AED 300 one way for the whole car, so for three or four people sharing it is often the better deal.

The Dubai to Abu Dhabi taxi cost guide compares those options, and Salik and Darb tolls explains the road tolls on the way.

What is the cheapest way to get around Dubai?

For one or two people with light bags: the Metro and buses, with a taxi for the last stretch when it is hot. For three or four people: taxis are usually fine and fairly priced. From about seven people upwards: a vehicle with a driver for the day often costs less per head than taxis, and it saves the group a lot of waiting.

Send us the group size and the plan, and we will tell you honestly if the Metro makes more sense for your day.

Related: Taxi fares vs private car · Uber vs taxi vs transfer at DXB · Dubai Airport to your hotel · Bus rental prices · How much is a driver in Dubai? · Get a quote

Keep reading

• How much is a driver in Dubai?: What a driver costs in Dubai with a car, a van or a bus: our day prices and the per-person sums for groups.
• Staff transport cost per employee: How to work out what a staff bus costs per employee, with day-rate arithmetic, four worked examples and the levers that move the figure.
• Staff transport Dubai: Vans, minibuses and 50-seat coaches on planned routes for hotel, office, site and shift teams, quoted per route.
• 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.
• School trip bus cost: What a field trip bus costs a Dubai school, what pushes the price up, and how to turn it into a cost per pupil for the parents’ letter.
• Dubai Airport to your hotel: Metro, bus, taxi rank, app ride, hotel transfer or a driver in arrivals: how to reach your hotel from DXB, area by area.