Bus Trip from Dubai to Abu Dhabi

Bus trip from Dubai to Abu Dhabi on RTA. Sorry about the dirty window!

During my stay in Dubai, I decided to make a bus trip to Abu Dhabi. The distance from Dubai to Abu Dhabi is about 160 km and a ride on the bus shouldn't take more than two hours.


There is a very good bus service available between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. You can take either the Emirates Express or one of the buses operated by RTA (Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority). The buses depart every 30 minutes or sooner, if the bus gets filled with passengers.



I took a RTA coach from the Al Ghubaiba bus station in Bur Dubai which took me to the Municipal Bus Station in the center of Abu Dhabi. I must say that the buses are very comfortable and clean, if you don't count the dirty window! There is also air conditioning and you can even follow the road on a screen via a camera on the front of the bus. Bus fares are low. The one way fare from Dubai to Abu Dhabi costs justs 20 dirhams or less than 5 euros. The return trip costs the same.

Roads in the United Arab Emirates are also very good. The E11, the road connecting Dubai and Abu Dhabi, has five lanes and is the most heavily traveled road in the United Arab Emirates.

E11 - the road between Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

An extravagant round building with a futuristic aluminium and glass exterior along the road to Abu Dhabi. This must be the only round building in the Middle East and one of the very few in the world. The building is the Aldar Properties headquarters.

Aldar Properties headquarters in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

I was a little disappointed. I expected that the road between Dubai and Abu Dhabi runs straight through the desert. However, there are trees, shrubs and various smaller towns along the road.

Near Abu Dhabi.

The municipal bus station in the center of Abu Dhabi. Actually, this is the main bus station in Abu Dhabi.

The main bus station in downtown Abu Dhabi. The Emirates Ministry of Identity is behind it.

In case you are interested in exploring the United Arab Emirates on the bus, visit the RTA Portal for more information about the available bus services and schedules.