Stopping on the way from the airport.

The short answer

A stop is a normal request, and we want to hear about it before you fly. The driver follows the route agreed for your booking, so a stop that is on the booking is easy and one invented at the airport is not. Put it in the notes when you ask for the quote.

There is a catch worth knowing early. The number of stops is one of the things that sets the price of an airport transfer, together with the vehicle, the airport and the hotel area. So a stop is never free, and it is never a surprise either, because it appears on the written quote before you confirm.

What kinds of stop people ask for

These are the requests we see most from visitors arriving on long flights from the USA, Europe, the UK, Australia and Japan:

• A SIM card or an eSIM top-up, so the phone works before the hotel.
• Cash, from a machine on the route.
• A pharmacy, for something forgotten or a child who needs it.
• Water, snacks or a few groceries for a family.
• A second hotel, or a colleague waiting somewhere other than the airport.

A stop on the way, at a pharmacy, a florist or a viewpoint, can go in the booking notes. We do not list particular shops, kiosks or machines here, and we do not know opening hours for your arrival time. So name the type of stop and, if you can, the place or the area, and we confirm in your written quote what we can do.

How a stop changes the quote

A transfer is priced per trip for the whole vehicle. Four things move the figure: the size of the vehicle, the airport, the hotel area and the number of stops. Each extra hotel adds a stop and time. A pharmacy stop is a smaller version of the same idea.

Ask for a fixed written quote with the stop on it. The quote also lists airport parking, any Salik tolls and the waiting allowance. If you want to see what a stop costs, ask for two versions, one direct and one with the stop, and compare them. We do not put a figure on this page, because it depends on your vehicle and route.

Airline delays do not count against the waiting allowance. How time at a stop is handled is set out on your quote, so say in the notes how long you expect to be.

At the airport or on the way?

Where the stop sits changes how simple it is. A stop inside the terminal, before you meet the driver, is nothing to do with the transfer. You walk out of customs and do your errand. The driver tracks the flight and waits in the arrivals hall. A stop on the road is part of the transfer and goes on the quote.

At DXB the driver waits in the public arrivals hall with a name board, and pre-booked cars generally cannot wait at the arrivals kerb, so the car is a short walk away in the terminal car park. Our DXB arrivals guide covers the walk. If you want to do an errand in the hall first, message us rather than disappearing.

Terminal 2 is on the far side of the airfield from Terminals 1 and 3, so check the terminal on your ticket. The airport to hotel guide has the distances by area.

When to book hours instead of a transfer

One quick stop is a transfer with an extra line. Three errands, a lunch and a tour of the area is a different job. From four hours within Dubai, the car and driver stay with you between stops, and extra hours are charged at the rate on your quote. See hourly chauffeur hire.

This also suits a family who land early and cannot get into the hotel yet. Drop the bags, do the errands and come back. Our Dubai airport transfer page explains the choice between a transfer and a day when you land before check-in.

Taxi, app ride or booked car for a stop

Rank taxis run on the meter. In an app you see the price before you confirm, so a change of route is something to check in the app first. Compare the options in our guide to Uber, taxi and private transfer from Dubai Airport.

A booked car with a driver has the stop on the paper before you land. That is the main reason to ask. You are not negotiating after a long flight, and the driver has been told what to expect.

What to put in the booking notes

• The type of stop: SIM, cash, pharmacy, water or groceries.
• Where, if you know: near the airport, near the hotel, or a named area.
• How long you expect to be, as a guess.
• Whether you want the driver to wait or to drop you and return.
• Anyone staying in the car, such as a sleeping child, and any luggage on board.

For the luggage and the sleeping child, we do not state a rule here. Tell us and we confirm the arrangement in your written quote. Use the booking page for the request.

Related: Dubai airport transfer for groups · Airport Chauffeur · Meeting your driver at DXB · Chauffeur by the Hour · Dubai Airport to Downtown Dubai · Dubai Airport to your hotel · Get a quote

Keep reading

• Dubai airport transfer for groups: Vans, Sprinters, mini coaches and 50-seat coaches for groups landing at DXB or DWC, with the luggage and the split flights planned.
• Airport transfer or day hire?: One airport ride and one tour day in Dubai: when two separate bookings make sense, when one driver for the day does, and what to ask for in the quote.
• Airport transfer for 2 to 6 passengers: A couple, a family of four or six friends: which private car to book from Dubai Airport, the sedan, the luxury SUV or the V-Class, and how the bags decide.
• Dubai Airport to Downtown Dubai: From DXB to Downtown, Business Bay and DIFC hotels: the crossings, the rush hours, the drop-off at each tower and a vehicle sized to your bags.
• Multi-hotel shuttle loops: Four hotels, one venue: how to group hotels into loops, which order to stop in, and a stop-by-stop morning timetable for 200 riders with a stress test.
• 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.