Comparison · two cities
Dubai
or Abu Dhabi?
Two cities ninety minutes apart, with completely different characters. What each one has, who each one suits, and how to combine them.
The difference
Two neighbours, two styles
Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the two largest emirates in the UAE and they sit along the same coast. From the outside they look similar, but anyone who spends a day in each feels the difference quickly.
Dubai is a city of superlatives: the tallest building in the world, enormous malls, artificial islands and nightlife. It has the most attractions, the most hotels and the most to do in the evening. It suits a first visit, younger couples, and anyone who wants to fit a lot in.
Abu Dhabi is the capital, larger in area but quieter in its streets. Its strength is culture: the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the Louvre, the presidential palace and the newer museums on Saadiyat Island. Yas Island also concentrates several large theme parks within minutes of each other.
Both
How to combine them
The drive is about an hour and a half each way, which makes a day trip from Dubai entirely reasonable — and the most common way people see Abu Dhabi.
If the theme parks on Yas Island are the point of the trip, a night in Abu Dhabi saves you three hours in a car and a tired evening. For the mosque and the Louvre alone, a day trip is enough.
We arrange the transfer and the tickets as one booking, so the day does not depend on finding a taxi at the right moment.