Family reunion in Dubai: moving 15 to 40.

Do the sum before the plan

Write down two numbers for each relative or family: heads and bags. Include babies, who need a seat plan, and anyone who joins late. Seats are passenger seats and the driver is not counted. Bags are medium suitcases. Then work out which limit runs out first, because that decides the vehicle.

The mini coach is listed as 22 to 30 seats, and the count depends on the vehicle assigned. Ask the quote to state the number. The suitcase guide shows what happens when cases outnumber the bag places, and the 17 to 30 people guide works through the hardest case.

Job one: arrivals

Reunions rarely land together. Half the family comes from New York, a branch from London and an uncle from Sydney. Treat each flight as its own small job, and read the big group arrival guide for the hall and the meeting point.

• Allow 60 to 90 minutes from landing to the vehicle for a big group. Immigration and bags are the slow parts.
• If two flights land within about two hours, one vehicle can wait. If the gap is longer, send the first group on and bring the second separately.
• On a heavy day, vehicles can leave the airport at set times, such as every ninety minutes, and each relative takes the next one after landing.
• Check the terminal on every ticket. Terminal 2 is on the far side of the airfield from Terminals 1 and 3.

Pre-booked vehicles generally cannot wait at the arrivals kerb, so your confirmation says where the group will be met. Our Dubai airport transfer page explains split arrivals in more detail.

Job two: the main event

This is the one evening or day that everyone attends, and it is the only job where all 15 to 40 people move at the same time. Decide the shape first.

If the family stays in one hotel, a single vehicle does a loop and the sum above applies. If they stay in three, run the vehicles in parallel, one per hotel, meeting at the venue. Allow around ten minutes per pick-up without luggage. Where the venue is a villa or a private gate, ask whether a coach can enter. A mini coach fits where a 50-seater cannot turn, but ask the venue in writing.

For a day out, the drive to Abu Dhabi is about 90 minutes each way, so plan a comfort stop. A desert evening works with a mini coach, and the desert safari transport guide lists what to ask the camp. The vehicle waits for the agreed finish, and the waiting allowance is on the quote.

Job three: departures

Departures are arrivals in reverse, with less patience. People fly on different days and at different hours, so you need a list, not a headcount. Group relatives by flight time, then by hotel.

Most airlines ask you to be at the airport around three hours before an international flight. Check your own airline, and tell us the departure time so we build the pick-up from it. Dubai to the airport takes around 15 to 25 minutes from Downtown and 35 to 45 minutes from the Marina outside the peaks. Allow 15 to 20 minutes per hotel pick-up when suitcases go into the holds.

Elders, hosts and children

A car often runs beside the bus. The V-Class or the luxury SUV suits the hosts or the family elders, and it keeps the large vehicle for the main group. If anyone has a mobility need, tell us before booking and we confirm in writing what we can arrange.

Child seats are free on request in our cars, SUVs and vans. Give each child’s age and the vehicle they travel in. Babies go on the list too, so nobody is missed.

The organiser’s sheet

Keep one spreadsheet and send it with the request. A plain table is fine.

• Name, flight number, terminal and landing time.
• Number of bags, with anything oversized marked.
• Hotel, by name, with the check-in and check-out dates.
• The age of each child.
• One contact for the whole group, with a phone that works in the UAE.

With that, we plan the vehicles and send a pick-up plan back.

Asking for the quote

Put every leg on one request: arrivals, the main event and departures. Ask for the options in the table priced side by side. We reply with a fixed written quote that lists each day and vehicle, the seat count, the waiting allowance, airport parking and any tolls. Send it through the booking page.

Related: Big group arrival at DXB · How many suitcases fit in each vehicle · Coach rental Dubai · Dubai airport transfer for groups · Minibus rental Dubai · Get a quote

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• Transport for 9 to 13 people: Nine to thirteen people and their suitcases: when the 13-seater van is enough, when the bags tip you into a bigger vehicle, and when two vehicles beat one.
• Transport for 31 to 50 people: Thirty-one to fifty people on one coach: what a 50-seater carries, how leaders and guides eat into the seats, and the places a full-size coach cannot go.