Travel to United Arab Emirates

Flying to United Arab Emirates

Flights to the UAE are operated by the national airlines Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com). Low-cost carriers Flydubai (www.flydubai.com) and Air Arabia (www.airarabia.com) also fly between the emirates and neighbouring countries.

British Airways (www.ba.com), Qantas (www.qantas.com) and Virgin Atlantic (www.virgin-atlantic.com) all offer direct flights to the UAE from the UK.

Major airports are: Abu Dhabi International Airport, Dubai International Airport and

Flight times

To DubaiAbu Dhabi: from London - 7 hours; New York - 13 hours.

Departure tax

Included in the air fare.

Travelling to United Arab Emirates by Rail

There are currently no international rail links with the UAE. However the Etihad Rail network (www.etihadrail.ae) will expand from cargo services into passenger transportation across UAE by 2020 with a view to expand and introduce rail links with neighboring countries.

Driving to United Arab Emirates

Border crossings between Saudi Arabia and Oman are easy and quick with your passport. You can enter the UAE via the border town of Sila from Saudi Arabia or Hili in Al Ain from Oman and Hatta from Oman. Note that you must pay a departure tax when leaving by road.

Driving note

Make sure you have your car insured for the UAE, Oman or Saudi before you cross the road border. You can buy insurance at select border crossings.

Getting to United Arab Emirates by boat

Cruise ships

Cruises regularly call in at Abu Dhabi and the cruise terminal in Dubai, and there are passenger services to the USA, the Far East, Australia and Europe. There are also regular sailings between Sharjah and Bandar-é-Abbas (Iran).

Ferry operators

The first daily passenger and vehicle ferry service between Qatar and Bahrain is expected to launch mid-2017. The route will link Al Ruwais port in northern Qatar to Khalifa bin Salman port in Bahrain with an estimated journey time of 2 hours.