Getting from Dubai to Abu Dhabi takes about an hour and a quarter by car and roughly three hours by public bus. Since Wednesday 30 September 2026 there is a fourth option, because Etihad Rail opened its Dubai station that day.
That date matters more than any fare on this route. Guides written before that date describe a route with no train.
| Option | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Drive | About 1h 16m | Fuel and tolls, roughly $16 to $22 |
| Bus E101, from Ibn Battuta | 2h 51m | Widely listed at AED 25 |
| Bus E100, from Al Ghubaiba | 3h 16m | Widely listed at AED 25 |
| Taxi | As for driving | AED 220 to 400, sources disagree |
| Etihad Rail, since 30 Sept 2026 | 1h 4m | From AED 39 Comfort |
| Etihad coach | About 75 minutes | Free on an Etihad ticket |
| Distance by road | About 136 km, or 84.6 miles | |
Times and prices were checked on 21 September 2026, with the train details refreshed on 1 October 2026.
The train has run since 30 September 2026
Etihad Rail began carrying passengers on 30 June 2026, between Abu Dhabi and Fujairah. The Dubai station, named Al Yalayis, opened on Wednesday 30 September 2026, alongside Al Dhaid in Sharjah. The first train left Dubai at 06:14 and reached Abu Dhabi at 07:18.
Both Khaleej Times and Gulf News published the same schedule in June. Al Dhafra follows on 30 December, and Sharjah on 30 March 2027.
The Dubai numbers landed on 22 September, eight days before the station opened. Khaleej Times reported tickets that “start at Dh39 per person in the Comfort class and Dh109 on the Premium class”, with the trip “expected to be completed in one hour and four minutes”. Five services run in each direction, and the first left Dubai at 06:14. The published timetable gives 64 minutes for every one of the ten.
That beats the intercity bus by well over an hour, at a fare sitting between the bus and a taxi. Gulf News’s launch-day report tied the AED 39 Comfort fare to the 17:14 and 18:14 departures, so it may not apply to every train. The full station list, and the date each one opens, is in our guide to Etihad Rail stations. For the Dubai station itself, the Etihad Rail Dubai station guide has the full timetable, parking prices and the Metro link. Tickets are sold through the Etihad Rail website and its mobile app.
Dubai to Abu Dhabi by bus, the cheapest way
The RTA runs two intercity routes on this corridor. On its own intercity page it lists E101 as “Ibn Battuta ↔ Abu Dhabi bus station” and E100 as “Ghubaiba ↔ Abu Dhabi Bus station”. A third route, E102 from Al Jafiliya, is reported by UAE listing sites but does not appear on that page.
E101 is the faster of the two. Rome2rio times it at 2 hours 51 minutes from Ibn Battuta, against 3 hours 16 minutes for E100 from Al Ghubaiba. If you are choosing on time alone, that is 25 minutes in E101’s favour.
Ibn Battuta sits on the Dubai Metro Red Line, which is why the metro-plus-bus combination is the standard advice for anyone without a car. Fares are paid by Nol card. The figure quoted almost everywhere is AED 25 one way, although the RTA page itself does not publish it.
Booking online is worth the effort. The RTA lists three benefits for e-tickets: “Convenience of online booking”, a “Dedicated lane at the stations for speedy boarding”, and an “Exclusive seating area at the station”.
At the Abu Dhabi end, most services terminate at the Central Bus Station. For onward travel within the emirate, our guide to Mussafah Bus Station covers the local network.
By car
The road distance is about 136 kilometres, which rome2rio gives as 84.6 miles, and it quotes the drive at 1 hour 16 minutes.
Hiring a car starts from around AED 130 a day, according to emirates.estate, before fuel and parking. That is the option that makes sense if the day includes Yas Island or somewhere else outside the city centre.
By taxi
Taxi pricing is the one figure where the ranking pages contradict each other. emirates.estate puts a Dubai to Abu Dhabi taxi at “220–300 AED”, while rome2rio quotes $85 to $110, which works out at roughly AED 312 to 404.
Agree the fare before you set off. When the two best-ranked sources disagree by almost AED 200, a quoted price beats an assumption.
The free coach, if you are flying
Etihad runs a coach between Dubai and Zayed International Airport, and its own page calls it a free shuttle service. The catch is who qualifies for it.
Coverage of the service reports that it is free only to passengers holding an Etihad-operated ticket, with a flight number beginning EY, travelling to or from Abu Dhabi the same day. Codeshare tickets sold by partner airlines are reported not to qualify.
Booking closes 24 hours before departure, and the Dubai pick-up point is the parking area behind the New Safestway Supermarket on Sheikh Zayed Road. The run takes about 75 minutes.
Common questions
What is the cheapest way to get from Dubai to Abu Dhabi?
The intercity bus, at a fare widely listed as AED 25 one way. Rome2rio reaches the same conclusion, putting the metro and bus combination at $8 to $14 and 2 hours 51 minutes. Nothing else on this route comes close, unless you hold an Etihad ticket and qualify for the free coach.
How far is Dubai from Abu Dhabi?
About 136 kilometres by road, given by rome2rio as 84.6 miles. The driving time it quotes is 1 hour 16 minutes.
Is there a train from Dubai to Abu Dhabi?
Yes, since 30 September 2026. Etihad Rail’s Dubai station at Al Yalayis opened that day, and the Abu Dhabi station has been running since 30 June 2026. Before that date the answer was no, which is why older guides still say so.
Which bus station do I use in Dubai?
Ibn Battuta for E101, or Al Ghubaiba for E100. Ibn Battuta is the quicker of the two by roughly 25 minutes and sits directly on the Metro Red Line.
Is Abu Dhabi worth a day trip from Dubai?
The travel maths works. Under 90 minutes each way by car leaves most of the day in the city, which is enough for the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque plus one more stop such as teamLab Phenomena. By bus the round trip absorbs close to six hours, so a single destination is the realistic plan.
One last point about timing. The standard answer to this route changed on 30 September 2026, and every guide written before then is out of date on the one question readers ask most.
