Family holiday in Dubai.

The short answer

Hire a driver for the long days and the airport days. Use taxis, the Metro or your hotel’s shuttle for short hops in the same neighbourhood. Most families end up booking a van with a driver for two or three days of a week, not all seven.

The reason is simple. A driver is worth the money when the day has several stops, a long drive, small children or heat. It is not worth it for a 10-minute run from the hotel to the beach.

Sorting your holiday into driver days and taxi days

If you want one driver for the whole stay, see our personal driver page. For an itinerary built round a single day, a car with a driver for the day is the product you want.

Which vehicle for which family

Count heads, then luggage. A family of four with two large suitcases fits an SUV or the Mercedes V-Class comfortably. A family of five to seven, or two couples travelling together with children, is the V-Class’s sweet spot because it seats seven in captain’s chairs.

Three generations on one trip is a different job. Grandparents, parents and three children need the 13-seater van, which has room for everyone and for a stroller, a cool bag and shopping. You will not regret the spare seats.

Taxis in Dubai are mostly four-passenger cars. Five people means two cars, two fares, and two groups arriving at slightly different moments. That is a bigger factor than most families expect, especially with young children who should not be split up.

Children, heat and the small things

Child seats are free on request in our cars, SUVs and vans. Tell us each child’s age when you book and the right seat is fitted before the driver arrives. In a taxi, you take your chances.

Between May and September the car park to the door can be a hard few minutes for a toddler. A driver who drops you at the entrance and waits in the shade, with the air conditioning already running, is the difference between a happy afternoon and an early end to it. Chilled water in the vehicle is standard for our cars. Ask when you book if you want more for the children.

Nap times matter too. A van gives a sleeping child a place to lie across a seat, and a driver who does not mind waiting ten extra minutes in the car park.

A simple way to work out the cost

We cannot offer a calculator, but the sum is short. Take the number of driver days, multiply by the day price of the vehicle, and add anything your quote lists separately, such as trips outside Dubai or extra hours.

Starting prices are shown in the table further down this page. They are for a full day of up to 10 hours within Dubai, with driver and fuel. Your written quote confirms the figure for your dates.

Example: a family of six books a V-Class for arrival day, a theme park day and the departure transfer. That is three driver days at the V-Class day price, or less if the airport runs are quoted as short jobs. The rest of the week they use taxis and the Metro. They pay for convenience only on the days that need it.

Example: three generations of eleven people book the 13-seater van for two days, one in Dubai and one for a trip to Abu Dhabi. The Abu Dhabi day goes on the quote as a trip to another emirate, so the figure will differ from the starting price.

What an easy week looks like

• Day 1: arrival. Driver meets you at arrivals and takes you to the hotel. Rest.
• Days 2 and 3: hotel, beach and mall, by taxi or hotel shuttle.
• Day 4: theme park or Dubai Parks. The Legoland and theme park guide explains the gates and drop-off.
• Day 5: Abu Dhabi. The Grand Mosque in the morning, lunch, the Corniche and back. See the Grand Mosque day trip.
• Day 6: free day, pool, souk and an evening cruise by taxi.
• Day 7: airport transfer, with time for a late lunch before checking in.

Add an evening in the desert and you have a fourth driver day. Our guide to desert safari transport explains the pick-up options.

Booking tips for families

Give us the number of children and their ages, the number of bags and any stroller. Name the hotel rather than the area, so the driver knows the entrance. Tell us the plan for each day, even roughly: a day with a nap break and an early dinner is quoted differently from a day with eight stops.

Keep the plan loose. Children get tired, and the best use of a driver is that the day can change. If you want a sense of the road costs on longer trips, read about Salik and Darb tolls. To compare against taxis, see Dubai taxi fares vs a private car.

Related: Personal driver Dubai · Car with driver for a day · Van with driver · Taxi fares vs private car · Dubai airport transfer for groups · Get a quote

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• Dubai transport costs: What it costs to get around Dubai by Metro, bus, taxi, app, private car, van or coach, with per-person sums for families and groups.
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