Dubai to Yas Island, for the whole group.

Dubai to Yas Island with a group

Families and groups visiting Dubai often add Yas Island to the trip. It is where Ferrari World, Yas Waterworld, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi and Warner Bros. World are, and it is also home to Yas Marina Circuit, Yas Mall and the Etihad Arena. Most visitors stay in Dubai and go for the day.

The question is how to get there. Eight people in two taxis means two drivers, two arrival times and an argument about who pays. A school year group is a different problem again. One vehicle with one driver solves most of it: everyone leaves from the same place and arrives at the same gate, and the same driver brings everyone home.

We collect from any address in Dubai and drive to Yas Island with a professional driver. Your written quote lists the vehicle, fuel, any Salik tolls and the waiting time, and nothing is charged until you accept it. This page covers groups. For a lone traveller heading to the airport nearby, see our Dubai to Abu Dhabi Airport transfer.

The drive from Dubai

You leave Dubai on the E11 or the inland E311, then follow the signs for Abu Dhabi and Yas Island. Yas sits on the Dubai side of Abu Dhabi island, so the drive does not go through the city. That also means most runs avoid the Darb toll gates on the island bridges. The Salik and Darb guide explains both systems.

• Dubai Marina, JBR and Palm Jumeirah: around 1 hour 10 minutes
• Downtown Dubai, DIFC and Business Bay: around 1 hour 20 minutes
• Al Barsha, Dubai Hills and Al Quoz: around 1 hour 15 minutes
• Deira, Dubai Creek Harbour and the DXB area: around 1 hour 30 minutes

These are off-peak figures. A weekday morning on Sheikh Zayed Road can add 30 minutes or more, and the roads around Yas Island itself fill up on big event days. We build the margin into the pick-up time.

What the group does on the island

The parks and attractions are a few minutes apart by road, and the island is flat and easy to navigate. Most groups choose one or two. A family with young children usually does one park properly. Teenagers and adults often manage two in a day, or one park and the waterfront in the evening.

Ticket prices and opening times change by season and by day, so check them with the park. Book your tickets yourself. Our job is the road, and we are happy to build the timings around whatever hours the park gives you.

If your group has a mix of ages, agree a meeting time and place before you split up. The driver waits at a fixed point, and the group leader should have the driver’s number on their phone.

Day return or one way?

For a day trip, the usual booking is a return with waiting. The driver stays on the island, parks the vehicle and is at the pick-up point at the time you set. You do not have to carry everything round the park. A bag with spare clothes, towels and snacks can stay in the vehicle.

One way works for groups that are going on to something else. Examples are a team that finishes the day at a hotel on the island, or a family transferring to Zayed International Airport after the park. The airport is on the same side of Abu Dhabi as Yas and the two are about 15 to 20 minutes apart.

A round trip from Dubai to Yas Island and back is about three hours of driving. Inside a ten-hour day, that leaves around seven hours on the island, less the pick-up and drop-off time. For a bigger window, book a longer day or choose an overnight stay and two one-way transfers.

Choosing the vehicle

Seven people or fewer fit in a Mercedes V-Class, with room for strollers. Up to 13 go in a 13-seater van, the right size for a large family or two families together. For up to 16, the Mercedes Sprinter has individual seats and standing headroom.

From 17 to 30, the mini coach is our usual choice. Above 30, the 50-seater coach keeps a school year group or a company outing in one vehicle. Child seats are free on request in our cars, SUVs and vans. For coaches, tell us the age of the youngest children and we confirm in writing what we can arrange.

Our honest view: for 14 people, take the mini coach, not two vans. One driver, one timetable, and nobody waiting for the second vehicle to turn up.

Event days on Yas Island

Yas Island hosts large events, from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend to concerts at the Etihad Arena. On those days the roads and car parks work differently, with closures, set drop-off points and long queues leaving at the end. Tell us the event and the date when you book, and we plan the arrival and the departure around the event’s traffic plan.

For the biggest nights, expect to leave later than you planned. Waiting 30 to 45 minutes after the end of the show for the crowd to clear is often quicker than joining the first rush out.

Prices for Dubai to Yas Island

A Yas Island run is an intercity journey, so it is quoted for your date, route and waiting, not from the Dubai day rate. Our starting day prices are AED 900 for the 13-seater van, AED 1,100 for the mini coach and AED 1,450 for the 50-seater, each for up to 10 hours within Dubai with driver and fuel. For the nearby Abu Dhabi runs, a sedan from Dubai to Zayed International Airport starts from AED 300 one way.

Four things move the price. The vehicle size. The waiting time on the island. The hours, if the day runs past the booked window. And the tolls on your route, which are listed rather than added later. We do not add surcharges for weekends, late nights or public holidays.

Example: a family of 11 from Dubai Marina, one 13-seater van, collected at 8am, driven to Yas, waiting through the day and home by 8pm. Send those details and the quote comes back in writing, usually within the hour.

Examples

Example 1: two families, 12 people, Dubai Marina. A 13-seater van leaves at 8am, reaches Yas around 9.15am and brings everyone home after dinner on the waterfront.

Example 2: a school year group of 46, Al Barsha. One 50-seater coach leaves at 7am, drops at the park entrance and waits in the coach parking. The group leader counts heads at the meeting point at the end of the day.

Example 3: a team of 20 finishing at a hotel on Yas Island. A mini coach takes them one way from Dubai the evening before, and a second one-way run brings them back after the weekend.

Booking the transfer

1. Send the date, the head count, the pick-up addresses and the time you want to be on the island, using the booking page.
2. Tell us whether the driver should wait or return, and mention strollers, wheelchairs and child ages.
3. A written quote lists the vehicle, tolls and waiting. Reply to confirm, and changes and cancellations follow the terms on your written quote.
4. We send the driver’s details before the day.

Building a longer Abu Dhabi programme with the Grand Mosque or the Louvre? Our Abu Dhabi and intercity transfers page and the Grand Mosque day trip cover those, and all our routes are listed together.

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 to Abu Dhabi Airport (AUH) · Abu Dhabi & Intercity · Grand Mosque trip from Dubai · All routes · Get a quote

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