Dubai driving

[np115]

Any experiences of renting and driving in UAE? We fly into AUH and will be staying in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. I’m wondering about renting a car to get to our hotels and back to the airport. The car will work out cheaper than transfers for 5 pax but I’ve heard mixed views on driving in UAE.

[SamG]

If you’re a confident driver and used to city driving styles you’ll be OK I’d say. But unless a big saving personally I wouldn’t do it – have you priced up Uber & Careem vs pre booked transfers?

[np115]

Yes, used to big cities in UK and US. Uber works out about same price as car hire just for the transfers but then we would have the car to use for rest the week. Not heard of Careem but will take a look.

[aq.1988]

Sorry to hijack but I’m in a similar predicament. But, we fly into DXB and home from AUH (staying on Yas Island).

The cost of hiring does seem pretty attractive compared to transfers. My only concern is that I’ve never driven a LHD car on the right before…is UAE a good place to start??

And what’s the parking situation like? I’ve read you have to use a local SIM to pay by SMS?

I’ve been UAE several times before but always just used taxis, but like the idea of having the car for freedom.

[BBbetter]

The idea of having the car for freedom is irrelevant in Dubai / Abu Dhabi as taxis are plenty including uber. We got a car allocated in uber within seconds, especially Abu dhabi as its a small city. Even Yas Island is easily navigable with taxis, except peak periods like in the evening when everyone leaves the theme parks at the same time. Even then its just a matter of minutes. Even the cars were of high quality – many of the ubers in Abu dhabi were lexus.
Dubai is one of the worst places to drive for a first time visitor, let alone driving LHD first time. Some take the risk, but as a holiday, I feel I want to relax than get stressed about driving in a new place with unfamiliar signs and directions.

[The real Swiss Tony]

Just to add my +1 to not hiring a car. The quality of the driving is abysmal, traffic can be chaotic off the main roads at times but taxis are cheap and plentiful. Careem is a great app – the local version of Uber.

If you want to save money getting between Abu Dhabi and Dubai there are buses and another option apparently is to get the metro from Dubai to the south end of the line then cab from there, although with 5 of you I doubt it would make sense.

And if you have a booking on Yas Island it appears that you can get a free bus from Dubai, although they are morning departures to allow people time in the parks. https://www.yasisland.com/en/directions

[bigsi]

I always hire a car when I go and it is no harder than driving anywhere else imo. In fact the hotels almost all offer free valet parking which is great. I generally would not take the car out if just going out and about locally and get ubers / careem. The drive from AUH to Dubai is almost all motorway driving. The petrol is vey cheap and every station I have been to has workers to fill the car (they don’t let you do it!). Loads of cameras so watch your speed if you do hire a car.

[NorthernLass]

We usually hire a car on holiday but thought driving was something to watch rather than participate in in Dubai! Definitely not somewhere we’d want to risk getting caught up in an accident or unwitting traffic violation. We were also very impressed with the price and service of Uber.

[aq.1988]

Thanks for your comments. I’ll probably avoid hiring then, and my wife will be glad, as she wanted to stick to taxis/careem.

Sorry once again OP, although hopefully the feedback also helps you make your decision.

[TJ]

As a few have stated, driving in DXB and AUH is relatively straightforward if you are an experienced driver. But I would really only recommend it if you are travelling further afield, e.g. Al Maha or RAK. The biggest hassle, I find, is the pick-up and drop-off experience at DXB which can be excruciatingly slow and frustrating (AUH is a bit better).

[np115]

aq.1988 wrote:

Thanks for your comments. I’ll probably avoid hiring then, and my wife will be glad, as she wanted to stick to taxis/careem.

Sorry once again OP, although hopefully the feedback also helps you make your decision.

No worries, it’s all helpful. Do you know who is best to use for a local SIM?

[BBbetter]

One of the operators has managed to tie up with immigration agency and you get a free sim while you clear immigration. You can activate it anytime and given data for a short period before you buy a plan.

Better still, get an eSIM like nomad.

[NorthernLass]

We tried the free SIM but the internet reception was terrible so we gave up and just used wifi, which was pretty ubiquitous.

[The real Swiss Tony]

The free SIM is only at Dubai I think, not AUH. And +1 for Nomad – very easy to use. At the old AUH terminal I was able to book a Careem using their free wifi inside then once it had arrived, walk out to find it, but I don’t know how the new terminal is set up.