The complete guide to driving to Dubai, UAE
Hello all,
I'm fairly new here in Doha, and one of the things I missed, in order to get settled in, was Ikea. I've searched this forum and although there are a few threads, they were pretty outdated and some of the advise is outright wrong (or again - outdated). I decided to jump in with both feet and do the drive to Duabi with the family. In order to help others, I'll give you all the facts you need to consider.
First of all, Visa:
One of the older threads had a list of travel agents that can help you with visa for Saudi Arabia (KSA). I rang them all and only found one where they spoke good english. I was very impressed with their service. I handed over the passports for my family and me on Sunday evening and picked them up again Wednesday evening. 3 days for getting the KSA transit visa - and that was during Ramadan. The total cost was 395 QR for all three visa's. If you want to use them, the name is: Al Medadi Company. The important thing to note though, is that the shop front actually says "Al Kanz Rent A Car". The phone number is: 568 7179. They are located in the Al Gharraffa Area. Make sure to check the visa rules for your nationality. I hold an EU passport and we didn't need a visa for UAE, as we would get that upon arrival. Other nationalities might need to get this in advance. The travel agent will be able to tell you. The visa we got, was valid for 60 days. This means that you can use your visa for ONE return trip in 60 days. When you enter KSA, you can stay for 3 days, before you have to leave. When you return through KSA, you can stay for 3 additional days, should you so wish.
The next thing to consider was the problem with availability of fuel and the conditions of the road. I drive a 4x4, but there's absolutely no problem in driving a normal sedan. The road through KSA is, contrary to what I've read, a 4-lane highway all the way. The drive through KSA was exactly 1 hour. If you're not a complete moron, you will not run out of fuel. I was VERY conservative on the drive to UAE. I'd say, to stay on the safe side, you should consider taking the next gas station you see, when you are at about half a tank left. Price in KSA seemed a bit cheaper, but who cares. Gas in the UAE is exactly double of Qatar. At the end of the trip, we'd spent about 3-400QR in gas.
If you don't wanna get all the different currencies, just bring some Qatari Rial along. They were accepted in both KSA and UAE at an exchange rate of 1:1.
Other costs for the trip was: 70 QR for the insurance in KSA. It's valid for 10 days, so if you only spend a few days in UAE, you can use the same insurance for the return. At the KSA/UAE border, you need to pay 100 Dihram for the UAE insurance. When leaving UAE, you have to pay 25 Dihram per person for leaving the country. Make sure you bring cash for all of this and for the fuel, as they don't accept credit cards.
The distance is just shy of 700 KM to Dubai and it took us 6 hours 40 minutes actual driving time (I was driving between 130-160 KM/h). The border took maybe 30 minutes total. For those of you who bring your wife, we found that a cheap but respectful abaya and headscarf was welcomed. All in all, people were VERY friendly. I guess a white haired 1 year old on the backseat helped as well. ;-) All in all, it was a very pleasant experience, and I believe we will do it again.
Total cost for the trip: 3-400 for fuel
Visa for 3 people for KSA: 395
Visa for UAE: 0
Insurance for KSA: 70
Insurance for UAE: 100
Charge for leaving UAE: 75 (25 per person)
Driving time: 6 hours 40 minutes
Road conditions. Perfect
Recommendations: Bring lots of water, just in case your car breaks down. Although there is a huge amount of trucks travelling on that road, you just never know. Paint your car with paint protection. We didn't travel through any heavy sand storm. Just mild ones, but I was still pretty glad we did painted it. Leave it on while in UAE as it seems they have never heard of it in UAE, thus the stuff is pretty hard to come by.
That's all the info I can think of right now. Feel free to comment on this or ask questions, if there's anything I've forgotten. Have a safe and pleasant trip...
Important issues and saving tips:
1- Instead of protection paint for the front of the car, a mechanic told me to use dish-washing liquid soap (detergent). Just buy one large bottle and apply it with a dry sponge on the front and front-side areas of your car. After arriving in Dubai get a car wash. Do the same on the return trip...
2- After entering the KSA border you go straight ahead and find a roundabout. The direction to UAE is to your left. If you take right, you can find a gas station after 700 meters to your left side. You can fill up there, make a U-turn and go straight forward to the UAE border. When you come back from KSA to Qatar, you will find the same roundabout with the Qatari border to your right. Go straight forward and the gas station will be at your left side, fill up your tank, make a U-turn, go back to the same R/A and the Qatari border is to your left...
3- Before entering the KSA-UAE border, there is a gas station to your left. You can fill up your car there as fuel prices in the UAE are twice as expensive! You can also find a small coffee shop and a medium sized supermarket.
4- After entering the UAE, you will have to travel about 370km in Abu Dhabi. The speed limit signs show "100" and you have a thousand radars on the way! Don't worry... the speed limit is actually 140km. So you can easily travel at 130km without having to worry about speeding tickets. THIS ONLY APPLIES TO THIS MAIN ROAD IN ABU DHABI EMIRATE GOING TO DUBAI.
5- When you enter Dubai, it is advisable to follow the speed limit signs, although you will find that many of them are incorrect too! But since you have a million radars there, don't take the risk. It is not worth it!
6- If you intend to use Sheikh Zayed road (which is almost a must) since it is the main road going to and through Dubai, you have to buy an electronic Pass Sticker called "SALEK". Stop at the nearest gas station after entering Dubai and ask for this (You will find extra large signs telling you to do so). It will cost 100 Dirhams (= 100 Riyals) for the 1st time. It is charged with a deposit amount of 50 Dirhams. Each time you take Sheikh Zayed Road, you are charged 4 Dirhams. The sticker should be placed just under your rear view mirror on the front glass of your car. Several radars are placed just below the different cross-walk bridges that detect this sticker. If you don't have the sticker or are out of deposit you can be fined with up to 2,000 Dirhams. If you intend to stay in Dubai up to a week, the first deposit (50 Dirhams) will be enough. This is an extra cost not accounted for in Cargodog's post... Don't try to remove the sticker, especially if you intend to go back to the UAE, as it will damage the electronic chip inside and you loose 50 Dirhams.
Bon Voyage...
BTW, one more thing: try to get a GPS (Garmin Nuvi 205 or 255 with GCC Map costs around 600-700 QAR). It will be very helpful to get to places there...
I visited like 20 locations in 4 days and made the best out of time with the aid of my Garmin Nuvi 255W...
I bought it for 900 QAR but it proved to be worth 9000...!
You can get Garmin software on your mobile device if it has a GPS receiver. Most Nokia "E" series and almost all Pocket PC's running Windows Mobile have GPS.
I have it installed on my HTC (running WM6.1) and it works perfectly well...
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Obstacles are what you see when you set your eyes off the goal.
thanks for sharing such a great info dude..its really very informative..keep posting ..
I don't like the drugs,but the drugs like me. :D
very nice post and very informative. Thanks for sharing cargodog. Next destination, Bahrain!
very much informative...
Glad you had a good trip. ;-) It's good fun to do it, I think.
If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough...
We had a pleasant journey last week. Thanks cargodog
hiiiiiii h r u........
yes kanmano
Are Abaya and headscarf must for women travelling thro'Saudi
cargodog and alchemy thanks for the information
thanks for the information.
Kanmano: In KSA it's only a 1 hour drive from entering here in Qatar till driving into UAE. So gas stations are not really a factor. But I saw at least two gas stations in KSA on that stretch. You can expect to spend about 3-3,5 hours driving in UAE, if you're going to Dubai. QR are excepted in both UAE and KSA at, a 1:1 exchange rate.
Alchemy, Thanks for pitching in, but I wrote everything down during the trip to avoid the misunderstandings given in the previous threads. Again, I don't know if there are any variables with regards to nationality or the car, but the amounts mentioned above are exactly what we were charged.
Cheers...
If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough...
good post,but some corrections
10 days insurance is for 100 riyals(tawooniya) in saudi,
and UAE insurance is 200 riyals,
and lastly distance between doha and dubai is about 850 KMS.
Very informative. Is gas stations available in between KSA & UAE border. What will be the approximate distance between fuel station. Is QR acceptable for KSA & UAE Insurance.
Roughly how many hours journey in Qatar, kSA and UAE
Exit permit is needed, as it is every time you leave Qatar - to the best of my knowledge. I have a multiple exit permit, so I'm not exactly sure how it works, if you don't have that.
If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough...
Is exit permit from the employer needed on the border?...or just the passport.... thanks..
Did the trip two years ago, gonna do it again this coming EId.
The cost for Saudi Transit visa is standard QR125 which has an element of Agents fees built in it.
Other information is Good.
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HE WHO DARES WINS
Thanks for the superb info !!