Abu Dhabi city tour, from Dubai.

Short answer: From AED 550 per day for the 13-seater van, with driver and fuel. Tell us the date and group size and we send a fixed price in writing.

A private Abu Dhabi city tour from Dubai, planned around you

Most Abu Dhabi tours sold in Dubai are shared. You join a bus with thirty strangers, follow a set timetable and spend part of the morning collecting other people from other hotels. That suits some travellers. It doesn’t suit a family with young children, a couple who want two hours in the Louvre, or a company bringing visitors.

With an Abu Dhabi city tour from Dubai in your own vehicle, the day belongs to your group. You choose the stops and how long to stay. You eat where you like. If the mosque runs late, nothing else breaks.

We are a transport company. We provide the car, van or coach and an experienced driver for the whole day, and we time the route around your plan. Tickets and guides you book directly, which keeps the costs clear.

How the day works

Pick-up is from your hotel, home or office anywhere in Dubai, usually between 07:30 and 08:30. Leaving earlier gets you clear of the morning traffic on Sheikh Zayed Road and into Abu Dhabi before the heat builds.

The drive down the E11 takes about an hour and a half from central Dubai. It is quicker from Jebel Ali or Dubai Marina, slower from Deira or Sharjah. The driver stays with the vehicle at each stop and keeps it cool, so you walk out of the mosque and straight into an air-conditioned seat.

Most groups are back in Dubai by about 18:00. If you want sunset on the Corniche or dinner on Yas Island, tell us when you book and we add the hours to the quote. Changing your mind on the day is usually fine too, as long as the driver’s hours allow it.

Choosing your stops

Abu Dhabi spreads across several islands, so two or three main stops plus lunch make a comfortable day. These are the ones people ask for most:

• Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque: allow at least 90 minutes. Visits are booked through the mosque’s official website, there is a strict dress code, and since September 2026 visitors pay for entry, so check the current rules before you go
• Qasr Al Watan, the presidential palace, open to visitors with its own ticket
• Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island, which needs two hours if you like art and one if you don’t
• Yas Island: Ferrari World, Warner Bros. World, Yas Waterworld or SeaWorld, each of which is really a day on its own
• The Corniche, the Heritage Village and Emirates Palace for a slower afternoon

Our advice for a first visit is the mosque in the morning, lunch, then the Louvre or the palace in the afternoon. It keeps the walking in the cooler part of the day and the indoor stop for the hottest hours. Groups who want a theme park should read our Ferrari World and Yas day trip page instead, because the timings are different.

A sample day for a family of five

This is an example, not a fixed itinerary. A family staying in Dubai Marina books a 7-seater van.

• 08:00, pick-up at the hotel
• 09:15, arrive at the Grand Mosque, with time to change into the right clothes in the car park
• 11:00, drive to Qasr Al Watan, about 15 minutes away
• 12:45, lunch near the Corniche
• 14:15, Louvre Abu Dhabi, the indoor stop for the hottest part of the day
• 16:30, leave Saadiyat for Dubai
• 18:00, back at the hotel

That is a full day with plenty of driving. With small children, drop one stop and add a long lunch. Nobody has ever complained that they saw too little of Abu Dhabi on a relaxed day.

Which vehicle for your group

For one to three people, an executive car is the comfortable choice. Families and small groups of up to six travel well in a 7-seater SUV or a 7-seater van, with room for prams and shopping.

Groups of 7 to 13 go in a 13-seater van, and up to 16 in a Sprinter minibus, which has more legroom for a long road day. Above that, a 30-seater bus, a 35-seater coach or a 50-seater coach. The larger coaches have a microphone for your guide and luggage holds for bags and cool boxes.

Not sure? Tell us the headcount and the stops and we suggest the size. Our bus size guide explains the trade-offs.

What an Abu Dhabi city tour from Dubai costs

Our published starting price for the day is from AED 550 for a 13-seater van with driver and fuel, there and back, for up to 10 to 12 hours. The typical market range for the same day is AED 600 to 800.

Cars, SUVs, Sprinters and coaches are quoted for your day. What changes the price is the vehicle, the number of hours, how far you go once you are in Abu Dhabi (Yas and Saadiyat add distance) and if you stay for the evening. Salik and Darb tolls are included in our quotes. Entry tickets and guides are not.

Example: 12 people in a 13-seater van at the starting price works out at about AED 46 each for the transport, for the whole day.

Example: a school group of 45 needs a 50-seater coach. That is quoted for the route and the hours, with the coach parking at each stop checked before we confirm.

For a breakdown of what goes into a bus quote, see our UAE bus rental prices page.

Private tour or shared coach tour?

A shared tour is cheaper per head for one or two travellers. A private day starts to win from about four people, and it is the only sensible option for a family with small children, a company with guests or a group that wants to choose its own stops.

There is a practical point too. On a shared tour you go at the pace of the slowest stop for forty people. In your own vehicle, a 20-minute delay at the mosque costs you 20 minutes, not an hour of waiting for everyone else.

Heat, dress and timing

From May to September, Abu Dhabi is as hot as Dubai and the mosque courtyards have little shade at midday. Start early, keep outdoor stops short and put the Louvre or the palace in the middle of the day. The driver keeps cold water in the vehicle on request.

For the mosque, women need long sleeves, ankle-length clothing and a headscarf, and men need long trousers. Bring what you need rather than relying on borrowing on the day.

Fridays change the mosque’s visiting hours around midday prayers. If your only free day is a Friday, tell us and we plan the order of stops around it.

Booking

Send the date, the number of people, your pick-up point and the stops you have in mind through the booking form or to info@emiratesbushire.com. We reply with a written quote that shows the vehicle, the hours and what is included. Winter weekends book up first, so a week or two ahead is wise for those.

Planning more than one day out? Our day trips from Dubai page lists every trip we run, from Hatta to the east coast.

Prices for these vehicles

Starting prices with driver and fuel, within Dubai (a day in Sharjah or the northern emirates is quoted for its route). 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: Day trips from Dubai · Ferrari World from Dubai · Al Ain day trip · Bus size guide · Bus rental prices · Get a quote

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