School bus rental for UAE trips.

School bus rental in the UAE, for trips and fixtures

For most teachers, school bus rental in the UAE means one thing: a safe bus with a punctual driver for a day out. That is what we do. Emirates Bus Hire supplies seat-belted mini coaches and coaches with drivers for school and university trips, sports fixtures, competitions and graduation days, and we collect from campuses in Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah just as readily as from schools in Dubai.

One thing this page is not about. The daily home-to-school run in the UAE uses dedicated school buses that must meet separate rules in each emirate, and schools arrange it with a licensed school transport provider. If your trip leaves the school gate and comes back to it, the same day or a few days later, you are in the right place.

What you get when you hire a bus for a school trip

You hire the whole vehicle and its driver, not seats on a shared bus. The written quote includes the driver, fuel and Salik tolls, and lists waiting time, parking and extra hours before you confirm, so the bursar can approve it in one go.

• A seat and a seat belt for every pupil and every adult, so nobody stands or shares
• Air-conditioning checked before the trip, in a vehicle cleaned since its last job
• Coach drivers with heavy-vehicle licences who plan the route, drop-off and parking in advance
• The driver’s name and phone number sent to the trip lead the day before
• Live updates from the driver and our team on the day

Nothing is charged until you reply to confirm.

Which size of bus for a class, a year group or a phase

Count pupils and adults together. Teachers, assistants, the school nurse and parent helpers all need a seat, and they often push a class from one size to the next.

Starting prices are for a full day (up to 10 hours) within Dubai, with the driver and fuel. Trips that start in Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain or Ras Al Khaimah are quoted for the actual route.

For 14 to 16 people, the 30-seater usually costs less than a Sprinter and leaves room for bags, so we quote both. The typical market range for a full day is around AED 650 to 750 for a 30-seater, AED 750 to 1,050 for a 35-seater and AED 699 to 800 for a 50-seater; a price far below that deserves a question about what has been left out. Our bus size guide covers luggage and access.

School trips from Sharjah

Sharjah has more good trip venues than most schools get round to. The Museum of Islamic Civilization sits on the Corniche, the Aquarium and the Maritime Museum are side by side at Al Khan, Al Noor Island has its butterfly house, and the Heart of Sharjah surrounds Al Hisn Fort. Inland, the Mleiha Archaeological Centre and the Sharjah Desert Park on the Al Dhaid road make a full day for older pupils.

The transport is mostly about timing. Al Wahda Street, Al Ittihad Road and the roads around University City are at their worst during the morning school run and again from mid-afternoon. Leave at about 9:30, get back before the pick-up queue forms at your own gate, and you skip most of it. Heritage areas have narrow lanes, so the coach drops at the edge and the group walks in. For other group travel in the emirate, see bus rental in Sharjah.

School trips from Ajman and Umm Al Quwain

Schools here have short local trips on the doorstep and Sharjah close by. The Ajman Museum in the old fort, the mangroves at Al Zorah and the fort and old town of Umm Al Quwain all suit history and environment topics. Sharjah’s museums are usually 20 to 40 minutes away.

Dubai is a different matter. From Ajman a Dubai museum visit is typically 50 to 80 minutes each way, depending on the traffic through Sharjah, and a tight return trip tends to end with pupils running for the bus. We would book a full day. We collect from campuses across Ajman, including Al Nuaimiya, Al Rawda, Al Jurf and Al Hamidiya, and from Umm Al Quwain town. For Ajman group travel outside school, see bus rental in Ajman.

School trips from Ras Al Khaimah

For schools in Ras Al Khaimah, the issue is distance. The trips pupils remember (Dubai’s museums, the Sharjah Corniche, the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi) mean around an hour and a half on the road to Dubai and closer to three hours to Abu Dhabi. Those are full days: ten-hour hire with the driver waiting, an early start, a comfort stop each way and a firm time to leave for home.

Closer to home, the mountain, the forts and the coast make strong half-day trips. Our Ras Al Khaimah bus rental page covers local destinations, and the Jebel Jais page has a sample mountain day. Schools in Dubai or Sharjah heading north can check drive times to the resorts and the city on our Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah transfers page.

Drive times for cross-emirate school trips

A rough guide outside the rush hour. A trip that crosses between Sharjah and Dubai in the morning peak can take far longer, so we set the pick-up time from the real traffic on your date.

For a short visit near school, a return trip with a fixed collection time can cost less than a half day. The quote shows both.

University and college trips

Universities book differently: smaller groups, dates spread through the semester, longer trips. Departments at University City in Sharjah and campuses in Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah use us for geology days in the Hajar Mountains, coastal fieldwork on the east coast, archaeology at Mleiha, industry visits to ports and free zones, and student society weekends. A multi-day field course can keep one vehicle and driver for the whole trip.

Model UN events, competitions and graduations in another emirate usually run late, so we time the return to the programme. See school and university trips for the short version of the service.

Sports fixtures and competitions

Inter-school leagues cross emirate borders all the time, and an away fixture in Dubai for a team from Ras Al Khaimah takes the whole afternoon. With kit bags, a 35-seater or 50-seat coach is the better choice because the bags go in the under-floor holds and the aisle stays clear. A small squad fits a 13-seater van. Matches overrun, so the vehicle waits on site. More on match days on our sports team transport page.

Worked examples

How we would size some typical requests. Examples, not quotes.

• Example: a Year 4 class in Muwaileh, Sharjah (24 pupils and 4 adults) visiting the Sharjah Aquarium for the morning. One 30-seater on a half day, leaving after the school-run peak.
• Example: two Grade 8 classes from Ajman, 46 pupils and 6 adults, going to the Dubai Frame and the Museum of the Future. That is 52, two over a 50-seat coach, so we would send two 30-seaters, each class with its own adults.
• Example: a geography group of 36 pupils and 4 staff from a Ras Al Khaimah school heading up Jebel Jais. One 50-seat coach, unless the planned stops have tight parking, in which case two smaller vehicles. We check when we quote.
• Example: a university society of 15 spending a weekend on the east coast. A Sprinter or a mini coach for the transfer each way. Our Dubai to Fujairah transfer starts from AED 550 one way in a 14-seater van.
• Example: a basketball squad of 12 players and 2 coaches going to a tournament in Dubai. Fourteen people is one too many for a 13-seater, so a Sprinter or a mini coach.

Trip approvals and paperwork

Every school follows its own approval process and the rules of the education authority for its emirate. Those rules change, so confirm the current requirements with the authority rather than relying on last year’s form. Our part is the transport detail. Tell us what your forms ask for when you book and we will confirm in writing what we can provide, from the vehicle type and seat count to the driver’s details before the day.

If the approval deadline comes weeks before the trip, ask for the written quote early so the file has the vehicle, timings and price.

How to book a school bus

Send the date, the campus and the gate, the destination, departure and return times, the number of pupils and adults (separately), any pupils with additional needs and any kit or luggage. Use the booking form, email info@emiratesbushire.com or message us on WhatsApp at +971 54 126 1681.

October to April is the busy season for trips, so book two to four weeks ahead then, and earlier if you need several vehicles. Planning a whole term? Send the fixtures and outings together and we will price them in a single written quote. First-time trip leads will find a step-by-step checklist in our school trip transport guide.

Related: School & University Trips · School trip transport guide · 30-Seater Bus · Bus rental Sharjah · Bus rental Ajman · Get a quote

Keep reading

• School trip transport guide: A step-by-step guide for trip leads: headcounts, ratios, timings, seat belts and the day itself.
• Bus rental Umm Al Quwain: Vans, minibuses and coaches with drivers for staff routes, Dreamland and lagoon trips, weddings and airport runs from Umm Al Quwain.
• Bus rental Ras Al Khaimah: Vans, minibuses and coaches with drivers for Jebel Jais trips, resort transfers, weddings and staff routes in Ras Al Khaimah.
• Bus rental Ajman: Vans, minibuses and coaches with drivers for staff routes, university trips, weddings and airport runs from Ajman.
• Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah by bus: The public intercity bus between Dubai, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah: how it works, roughly what it costs, and when a private bus makes more sense.
• Bus rental Sharjah: Vans, minibuses and 30 to 50-seat coaches with drivers, collecting from anywhere in Sharjah.