Getting around Dubai: Taxi, Metro, Bus, Abra

A wide variety of choices to choose from when travelling in Dubai: Taxi, metro, bus, Abra, private jet, helicopters...

Taxi:
Taxi is not expensive at all, especially when travelling as a group (bear in mind that a big car accommodating 6 people may actually cost the same as a small car accommodating 4). For a group of 6, average cost per person per journey is around 8 AED.

However, regular size taxis are more widely available; you will need to look harder and ask around a bit more for the bigger cars.

Metro:

The Dubai metro website provides extensive information on the metro system.
There are mainly 2 lines, the green line and the red line.

http://dubaimetro.eu/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/routemap1.jpg

The green line surrounds the airport and occupies the Deira area, where a lot of the traditional, cultural sites are.

The red line takes you south-west to the malls and Burj.

Dubai metro green line:

View Dubai Metro green line in a larger map

Dubai metro red line:

View Dubai Metro red line in a larger map

• Ticket Offices are available in all Metro stations and some Bus stations

• Ticket Vending Machines are available in all Metro and Bus stations and some Bus stops, as well as other popular places such as shopping malls and airports.

• Authorized Sales Agents will be announced by RTA later on. In the future, auto-top-up service will be offered to automatically top-up your Nol card using your credit/debit card when your Nol Card goes below a specified amount.

Nol Card Types

• Nol Silver Card is an ideal starter card that has been designed for use by the occasional traveller.

• Nol Gold Card is the same as the Silver Card but allows its holder to travel in designated Metro Gold Class cabins by paying a premium fare.

• Nol Blue Card is a personalised Nol card that carries an image of the card holder. It has been designed for use by regular users and for people who are entitled to concessionary travel.

• Nol Red Ticket is a paper-based card that can be bought from any ticket vending machine or ticket office for only AED 2.00. It can be loaded with up to 10 Trips. It is perfect for use by tourists and visitors to Dubai. However, ticket can only be used for one mode of transport at a time (e.g. on Dubai Metro only or on Dubai Bus only).

Fares vary based on the number of zones passed, but generally for cards, the fares range from AED 1.8 for a short trip (less than 3 km) to AED 5.80 (for an all zone trip), with a maximum daily cap of AED 14.00. When using the Nol Red Ticket, the prices are slightly higher. Please refer to the Fares Table.

Regarding tickets and prices:

Nol Cards are used for public transport, bit like the London oyster card.

You can buy and top up your Nol Card at ticket offices, ticket vending machine, authorized sales agents, and online (www.nol.ae)

There are different types of cards; each has been designed for a specific type of public transport user.

Personally, I went for the silver card for the convenience, cheaper fares and the fact that I can use it again for my future trips to Dubai. The Nol Silver Card costs AED 20 which includes an initial e-purse value of AED 14.

Opening times:
I couldn't find the relevant info on the official metro site, but found this 2011 timetable from elsewhere.

For more info, please go to this site (Link).

Abra (sea bus):

There are boats that are part of the public transport system and can be paid for by using your silver Nol card.

There are also the smaller, more exotic choice which many of the locals use, costing only 1 AED per trip.

By Plane or Helicopter:
For those of you that are more adventurous and have a bigger budget, you can check out the the Scenic Seaplane Tours or the Helicopter Fun Ride for around 200 USD.

The sky view of Dubai is guaranteed to be stunning, especially the sun set view near dusk and the evening night view.

Buses:

For just 20 AED per person, the Downtown Dubai Trolley Bus can take you to: The Dubai Mall, The Address, Souk Al Bahar, The Pavilion, Burj Khalifa.

It is a hop on/ hop off service, with 4 pick-ups per hour. 

If you need to travel back and forth between several points with the heart of the city, this would can be convenient.

The operating hours are: 

10am-10pm on weekdays.

10 am to 12 midnight on weekends

Tickets can be purchased on the bus. Children below 12 years of age accompanied by their parents can travel for free.

As in many other major cities around the world, it would be hard to miss the Big Bus Tours.

Bit more expensive, but the Big Bus Tours is not just a means of transport, it provide more comprehensive tours around the city, with recorded commentary in 8 different languages. This is also a hop on and hop off service, providing access to most must see sights around the city.

Tickets can be purchased from:

- Any Big Bus stop

- From Hotels

- online www.bigbustours.com

- or by telephone +971 4 3891600

You can choose the 24 hours tickets or the 48 hours tickets.

Your ticket also include many discounts and free entries to other sights and activities, such as museums..etc. For more information, visit their website.

For more up-to-date information: