Shared tour or private van?

Shared tour or private van: the short answer

For one to three people, a shared coach tour is usually the lower-cost way to see Abu Dhabi, Al Ain or the east coast from Dubai. From about five people, a private van often costs the same or less per head: our Abu Dhabi day starts from AED 550 for a 13-seater van with driver and fuel, there and back, and that price is for the whole van.

Price is only half of it, though. The two are different products, and a family with a toddler and a company with guests will want different things from the day.

What you are actually buying

A shared tour sells you a seat. The coach collects passengers from several hotels or a meeting point, follows a set route and a set timetable, and usually has a guide on board who talks between stops. Some tours include lunch or entry tickets; many add them as extras. Check what is in the price before you compare.

A private day trip, from us, sells you the vehicle and the driver for the day. The price covers the vehicle, the driver, fuel and road tolls. We don’t include a guide, entry tickets or meals: you book those yourself, which keeps our part of the bill simple. The driver collects your group from one address, waits at every stop and goes where you want, in the order you want.

Side by side

The sum, per person

Here is what our starting prices work out at per person, for two of our published day trips. Compare the right column with the per-seat price of the shared tour you are looking at, then add whatever the shared tour charges extra for.

These are our starting prices, for a full day there and back with driver and fuel; your written quote confirms the figure for your date and hours. A family of four will often pay a little more privately than on a shared coach. A group of ten almost never will.

When the shared tour is the better choice

We would book a shared tour ourselves in a few situations, and it would be odd to pretend otherwise.

• You are travelling alone or as a couple, and the per-seat price is lower than any private option
• You want a guide talking you through the history all day, and you don’t want to arrange one
• You are happy to follow someone else’s timetable and meet new people on the way
• The tour includes tickets you would have bought anyway, at a price that beats buying them yourself

When a private van wins

A private day is worth it when the group has needs a coach timetable can’t meet. Small children who nap after lunch. Grandparents who can manage the Grand Mosque courtyard but not a long walk back to a coach park. A company hosting overseas guests who should not spend the first hour of the day collecting strangers from other hotels.

It also wins on the longer trips. Al Ain spreads its sights across the oasis, the town and the mountain road up Jebel Hafeet, and a day on the east coast is four hours of driving before anyone gets out. On days like that, choosing your own stops and leaving when you are ready makes the biggest difference.

And it wins when the plan is unusual: sunset at Jebel Hafeet, a Friday that needs the mosque visit moved around prayer times, or two families with a teenager who wants Ferrari World and a grandmother who wants the Louvre. A shared tour can’t split. A private driver can drop one half, take the other on, and collect both.

Costs that don’t show in the headline price

On a shared tour, look for optional extras sold on the day, lunch at a fixed restaurant, and pick-up limited to certain hotels or areas. On a private day, the headline price is the vehicle, so budget separately for tickets, meals, a guide if you want one, and extra hours if you stay for the evening. Parking and waiting beyond the booked hours are listed on our quote before you confirm.

Which trips suit which

• Abu Dhabi city tour: both work; private wins from about five people or with small children
• Hatta: private, because the kayaks and the dam need time you set yourself
• Fujairah and Khor Fakkan: private, because of the distances between stops
• Ras Al Khaimah: private, as shared tours to Ras Al Khaimah are less common
• Ferrari World and Yas Island: a private drop-off and collection, or a shared shuttle if one runs from your hotel

All of our trips, with drive times and starting prices, are on the day trips from Dubai page.

Booking a private day trip

Send the date, the number of people, the pick-up address and the places you want to see through the booking form or by email to info@emiratesbushire.com. We reply with a written quote showing the vehicle, the hours and what is included. We don’t sell shared seats, so if you are one or two people, we may tell you a shared tour is the better deal.

Related: Day trips from Dubai · Abu Dhabi tour from Dubai · Al Ain day trip · Ferrari World from Dubai · Dubai to Hatta · Get a quote

Keep reading

• Abu Dhabi tour from Dubai: A private Abu Dhabi city tour from Dubai in your own car, van or coach: the Grand Mosque, the palace, the Louvre or Yas, at your pace.
• Van & minibus rental with driver: V-Class, HiAce and Sprinter vans plus 30-seat minibuses, each with a driver, for Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah and the rest of the UAE.
• Van rental Sharjah: A 13-seater HiAce, a 7-seat Mercedes V-Class or a 16-seat Sprinter with a driver, for families, crews and day trips from Sharjah.
• Day trips from Dubai: Every private day trip we run from Dubai: Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Hatta, Jebel Jais, the east coast and more, with drive times and prices.
• 15-seater van rental: Fourteen or fifteen passengers? We send a Mercedes Sprinter with driver, which seats up to sixteen.
• Al Ain day trip: A private Al Ain day trip from Dubai: the oasis, the forts, the zoo and the road up Jebel Hafeet, with your own driver all day.