Any time you’re visiting a place you don’t live, you need to know how to get around that place. That might mean renting a car, renting a motorcycle or ATV, or hiring the local equivalent of Uber when you need a lift. Alternatively, it might mean making use of public transit, local taxis, or other means if they’re available. The specific method you take matters less than the knowledge of whether or not the method is reliable, cost-effective, or risky in some way.

This brings us to Dubai. Dubai is a tourist hub and destination unlike any other in the world, an oasis built of modern amenities in the midst of one of the least hospitable regions of the world. From the man-made palm and world islands to the world’s tallest building to the unique mixture of ultramodern design and historic districts, the city is a totally unique destination worth visiting at least once.

So, if you’re planning a trip to Dubai and you want to know the best way to get from the airport to your hotel, from there to various beaches, destinations, attractions, and elsewhere, what are your best options? Are there any you should avoid? Let’s talk about how to get around Dubai.

What Are Your Options?

Before digging into each of them, what are the general options you have available to you when you want to get around Dubai?

Your general options include:

• Traditional taxis, which work essentially like taxis anywhere else in the world.
• Ridesharing, which you’re familiar with if you’ve ever used Uber or Lyft.
• Trains, which run by the airport and through all the major sightseeing destinations.
• Bus lines, which cover 120 different routes and reach some places the trains can’t.
• Trams, which are relatively limited but can take you around a few areas that are commonly visited.
• Renting a vehicle, like a car, truck, or motorcycle.

To put it simply, there are a lot of possibilities. There’s also not really a wrong choice, just different choices that suit different needs. So, let’s talk about them in greater detail.

Rideshares and Taxis in Dubai

First, you have the rideshare, taxi, and similar options. When you want to go from one place to another, and you don’t want to deal with public transportation, a private vehicle taking you where you need to be will do the job.

Dubai has two major taxi services.

• RTA’s Dubai Taxi Company. This is the official taxi, operating 24/7 and available in the route planning apps as a spot-travel option.
• Hala. Hala occupies a niche as both a taxi company and a rideshare service; they’re officially taxis, but you can order them through the major rideshare apps, so they function in both ways.

Both of these have apps or are accessible through other apps. You can also call a taxi the old-fashioned way, via phone call, by talking to your hotel’s front desk, or just by waving one down.

RTA, by the way, is the UAE’s Roads and Transport Authority, which is basically their department of transportation. They manage the public transit, including trains, taxis, and buses. When we mention RTA later, that’s who we’re talking about.

As for rideshares, in addition to Hala, you can use apps such as:

• Careem. Careem is a “super app” that does ridesharing, but can also be used to order food delivery, as well as a handful of other services.
• S’hail, a multi-purpose transport app that has journey planning features, the option to top up Nol cards directly from your phone, and, of course, hailing a taxi.
• Uber. That’s right; Uber works in Dubai, so if you already use it elsewhere, you’re good to go.
• Other apps, like Bolt, XXRide, and Blacklane, which have different pros and cons, like a focus on luxury or the option to book a car you can drive yourself like a rental.

Generally speaking, taxis and rideshares are the most flexible on-demand option for travel around Dubai. The downside is they can be a bit more expensive than other options, and you always run the risk of no one being nearby (especially if you’re headed to some of the further-afield sights), so you’d have to wait for a ride to show up. But then, there’s no difference between using Careem in Dubai and using Uber in Los Angeles on that front, so it’s basically a wash.

Trains and Trams in Dubai

The Dubai Metro is a shining example of what public transit can be, even in a city with a lot of road-centric infrastructure. It’s maybe not as robust or as high-quality as what you might see in a place like Switzerland and its train tours, but it’s better than what just about every American city has and a lot of other places around the world besides.

Dubai does win out in one area: technological advancement. Their trains are actually driverless and fully automated.

The train and tram system has four lines:

• The Red Line, which goes from Centrepoint near the airport all the way to the southwest to the UAE Exchange.
• The Green Line, which essentially loops around the airport and hits a lot of areas nearby.
• The 2020 Extension, which branches off of the Red Line near the southwest end and leads to the Expo Center.
• The Tram, which is a separate line also in the southwest, covering the marina and surrounding areas.

You can see a semi-stylized but in-place map here and the official map with stop listings here.

If you just need to get from one side of the city to the other or get relatively close to a major destination, the Metro is a great way to do it. It’s pretty cheap and can be paid for with a Nol card (more on that later).

There are a couple of drawbacks. Obviously, schedules are an important factor, and they don’t necessarily run 24/7 the way taxis do. It can be crowded during peak hours, and while the trains are generally comfortable, some people complain that the HVAC is occasionally broken, so it can occasionally be unpleasant.

They also don’t take you right to where you want to go, and there are significant areas of the city where you would then need to hop onto a bus or taxi anyway to get where you want to be. If that’s fine, or you don’t mind a bike or a walk, then the train is a great option.

The Bus in Dubai

In addition to a taxi service and trains, RTA operates over 120 different bus routes throughout Dubai. Bus routes are divided into zones, and the fee – also payable with a Nol card – depends on how many zones you cross.

On top of that, there are a few special express bus routes, as well as specific night bus lines that cater to the nightlife after the trains have stopped for the evening.

There’s not a lot to say about Dubai’s bus network that wouldn’t be familiar to you if you’ve spent time in really any major metropolitan area. There are bus stops that range from a sign and some marked sidewalk to air-conditioned enclosed bench-and-map stalls to full stations. The buses themselves are modern and well-equipped but also worn from consistent use, as you might expect from a well-run metro transit system.

Do be aware that there are fines for violating rules, which can include fare evasion, usage of fake or invalid cards, littering, drinking on the journey, or causing inconvenience to other users of the bus lines. They aren’t steep fines – they’re something like $30-$60 per instance – but you don’t want to be in the position of having to pay one regardless.

Boats in Dubai

Worth mentioning in brief, there are two instances where you might want to take a boat as part of your travels. One is if you’re traveling along or off the coast, such as to or from the marina or the islands. The other is if you need to get across Dubai Creek (which is really more of a river) and don’t want to detour to a bridge.

RTA also runs boats called abras that can ferry you across. They aren’t the most comfortable, but they are cheap and fast, so you don’t need much more.

Should You Rent a Car in Dubai?

For a lot of places we visit, we recommend renting a car. Having a car to call your own gives you a lot of flexibility, whether you’re exploring Iceland’s Ring Road, taking a road trip in Europe to see the castles, or just want to have more control over your own movement.

In Dubai, it’s generally a lot less of a good idea.

Basically, it all comes down to three things, which are really all just one thing: congestion, construction, and parking. While the roads are well-maintained and well-marked, they’re also crowded, and the constant construction all around the city means it’s less reliable than you might have hoped to take the roads in a timely manner. And, of course, finding a place to park at your destination can be a journey itself.

What Else Should You Know About Transportation in Dubai?

With the more detailed analysis out of the way, are there other general tips and tricks you should know? Of course!

Get a Local SIM

If you’ve done any real travel before, you probably don’t need us to tell you this, but a local SIM card for your phone is a must-have pretty much anywhere you go.

In Dubai, a local SIM makes it a lot easier to connect to local cell service (instead of relying on occasionally spotty Wi-Fi) and thus makes sure you have easier and more reliable access to a lot of the options on the list above. We wrote a whole guide to internet and data access abroad a while back, so give it a look.

Get a Nol Card

Nol cards are travel cards produced and managed by RTA. In fact, many means of transportation managed by RTA don’t accept cash anymore, so you need some kind of payment method, and a Nol card does the job. Credit cards, apps like Apple Pay, and similar methods can also work, but cash is less likely to get you where you need to be.

Nol cards come with a bunch of benefits. One card acts like a transportation-focused debit card and can pay for travel and parking without having to worry about cash, change, or other considerations. Some cards have special benefits as well, like access to special cabins on some transportation types or special fares for certain people like senior citizens.

Generally speaking, the silver card is good enough for most people. The gold card comes with added benefits and perks, but if you plan to mostly just use transportation as a means to get to your destinations and don’t care about a little less luxury along the way, you shouldn’t need it.

Consider Avoiding Peak Hours

Dubai has very good public transportation, but it’s also a very densely packed city full of both residents and tourists, which means that peak hours (morning and evening rush hours) can be intensely unpleasant due to crowding.

You aren’t quite on India-level “people hanging off the top of the train” conditions, but it can still be pretty bad.

Get the App

Another nice option available to you is the Wojhati app. This app is also provided by RTA and allows you to pick a destination and a time to plan a journey throughout Dubai.

It’s available as a website or as an app for most mobile devices. It makes it a lot easier to plan a route and make sure you’re getting on the right buses at the right time.

Enjoy Dubai

We don’t need to tell you, but a trip to Dubai is a fascinating, incredible, once-in-a-lifetime kind of trip for most people, and it’s an astonishing place to visit.

Getting around the city is just one hopefully small aspect of it. The smoother you can make the travel, the more time and energy you have for everything else.