Dubai Airport to Downtown, without the queue.

Dubai Airport to Downtown Dubai by booked transfer

Downtown Dubai, with Business Bay and DIFC beside it, is where most business travellers and a lot of city-break visitors stay, and it is the closest of the big hotel districts to DXB. Outside the peaks you can be in the lobby 15 to 25 minutes after leaving the terminal. That makes it the easy run, and it also makes it the one where a bad hour costs the most: the same trip can take double the time on a weekday evening.

A booked transfer is built around that. The driver tracks your flight and waits in the arrivals hall. The vehicle is sized to your party and the price is fixed in writing before you travel. If you are weighing it against the Metro, a taxi and an app ride, our guide to getting from Dubai Airport to your hotel goes through each, and the Uber vs taxi comparison has rough fares. This page is for those who would rather have it arranged.

The drive: crossings, peaks and Salik

DXB is on the Deira side of Dubai Creek, and Downtown is on the other. The trip is one of crossing the Creek, by one of several bridges and tunnels, and heading south-west to the towers. Which crossing is quickest depends on the hour and on the accidents, and the driver chooses on the day. Several of the Creek crossings carry Salik gates, so you may pass one or two. They are listed on your quote and included in the total.

Rough timings by time of day:

• Early morning and midday: around 15 to 25 minutes to most Downtown hotels
• Weekday morning peak, roughly 7am to 9:30am: allow 30 to 45 minutes
• Weekday evening, from about 4:30pm until around 8pm: allow 40 minutes to an hour, sometimes more
• After 10pm: around 15 to 20 minutes

Friday and Saturday evenings add a different kind of traffic. The Dubai Mall, the fountain show and the restaurants around Burj Park draw cars from all over the city, and the last kilometre to some hotels is slow. The timings are guides, not promises. If you are landing at a bad hour, we say so, and the driver is already in the hall.

Where the driver drops you

Downtown is a cluster of towers and hotels around the Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa Boulevard and the lake. Some of them, such as the Address hotels, the Armani Hotel inside the Burj Khalifa and the Palace Downtown, have their own arrival drives, while others sit on a street and drop you at the door. Business Bay is the towers along the canal and the Al Khail Road side, and DIFC is the financial district, with its own entrances and security around the Gate buildings and the offices. Which door the car uses for your hotel changes now and then, and the hotel knows best.

Give us the hotel’s full name and, if you have it, the tower or the entrance. In Downtown and Business Bay a handful of hotels have near-identical names. On big nights such as New Year’s Eve, roads around Burj Khalifa and the Boulevard close from the afternoon, and the drop-off point is a walk from the hotel. If you are travelling then, tell us the date and we plan around the closures and say so in the quote.

For a lone traveller to a DIFC meeting, our DIFC chauffeur service adds a driver for the day, and a car waiting at the gate between meetings.

Which vehicle for your party

Seats are passenger seats. Bags are medium suitcases.

A short trip with a big party is where one vehicle beats several taxis most clearly. A team of nine with luggage needs three taxis, three fares and three arrival times for a 20-minute drive. One van does it once. When a few of the party are VIPs, a car can run alongside the bus on the same quote.

What the transfer costs

We do not publish a fixed one-way fare for this route. The price depends on the vehicle, the hour and the number of stops, so it is quoted per vehicle: the whole car, van or coach with the driver, fuel, any Salik on the route, airport parking and the waiting allowance, all written on the page. You are not charged per head and there is no meter. Nothing is charged until you reply to confirm.

A day rate applies if you want the vehicle for the day rather than a single run, for example an arrival followed by a morning of meetings. It starts from AED 900 per day for the 13-seater van and from AED 2,450 per day for the Mercedes Sprinter, with driver and fuel for up to 10 hours within Dubai. Our bus rental price guide explains what each price includes.

Here are three illustrations of how we would plan. They are not quotes.

Example: one business traveller, 11pm landing. A sedan with the driver in the hall, a 15 minute drive on empty roads, and a hotel that knows to expect you.

Example: a delegation of 12 for a conference at the World Trade Centre. They land across two terminals within the same hour. A 13-seater van waits for both flights, the waiting time is on the quote, and the luggage goes in the back.

Example: a family of six in the evening peak. The trip is short but the traffic is not. A luxury SUV takes them and their bags, and we give a realistic arrival time, not the quiet-hour one.

Business Bay, DIFC, the Dubai Mall and the Creek side

Downtown is not the only part of Dubai people mean by “the city”. The neighbouring areas are close, and the journey times are similar:

• Business Bay and the canal: around 15 to 25 minutes outside the peaks
• DIFC and Sheikh Zayed Road: around 20 to 30 minutes
• Deira, Bur Dubai and Al Garhoud hotels: often 5 to 15 minutes
• Jumeirah and Al Safa: around 25 to 35 minutes

If your hotel is further west, our Palm Jumeirah transfer page covers Atlantis, the Marina side and the Palm. For the Dubai World Trade Centre, Expo City Dubai and other event venues, ask for a quote that includes the whole programme.

Arrivals, terminals and late nights

DXB has three terminals. Terminal 2 is on the far side of the airfield from Terminals 1 and 3, so confirm which one your flight uses. Our guide to meeting your driver at DXB shows where the driver waits at each. The driver holds a name board in the public hall, past customs, and walks you to the vehicle with the trolley.

Many flights land between midnight and dawn, when the Metro is shut and the taxi queue is long. At that hour a booked car is the easiest way, and Downtown is about as close to DXB as a hotel district gets. Check-in time at the hotel is the remaining issue. If your flight lands at 4am, ask the hotel about holding a room from the night before.

Going back to the airport

Downtown to DXB is short, but the margin is not. Most airlines ask for around three hours before an international flight, and the evening peak can double the drive. A pick-up around three and a half to four hours before departure is a sensible starting point, a little earlier if your flight is on a weekday evening. The driver is at the hotel ten minutes early.

Tell us the flight time, terminal and hotel entrance. For a group, ask the hotel to bring the luggage down in advance, so loading happens while people check out.

What to send us

• Names, flight numbers, terminals and landing times
• The hotel name and, if you know it, the tower or entrance
• The luggage, counted, plus prams, golf bags and equipment
• Children’s ages, if you want child seats (free on request in our cars, SUVs and vans)
• The return flight, if you want both journeys on one quote

Use the quote card on this page or the booking page, or send the details on WhatsApp to +971 54 126 1681 or by email to info@dubaibusservices.com. Changes and cancellations follow the terms on your written quote. Planning a large arrival? Our group airport transfer page explains split flights and luggage vans.

Prices for these vehicles

Starting prices with driver and fuel, within Dubai. Hourly hire has a minimum number of hours, confirmed on your quote. Monthly prices are for a daily staff route; the route, hours and working days are confirmed on your quote. Your written quote gives the exact price for your date and route.

Related: Dubai Airport to Palm Jumeirah · Dubai airport transfer for groups · Dubai Airport to your hotel · DIFC chauffeur service · 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.
• 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.
• Al Maktoum Airport (DWC) transfer: Groups landing at Al Maktoum International (DWC): the one terminal, drive times to the Marina, JLT, Expo City and Downtown, and the right van or coach.
• Dubai to Abu Dhabi Airport (AUH): From any Dubai address to Zayed International, timed back from your flight and quoted in writing.
• Dubai Airport to Palm Jumeirah: From DXB to Atlantis, the Palm’s crescent hotels and its villas: drive times, drop-off points and a vehicle sized to the bags, quoted per vehicle.
• Dubai to Sharjah Airport (SHJ): Around the Dubai-Sharjah traffic to Sharjah Airport, with the pick-up timed to your flight.