Transport
Getting around
Dubai
A driverless metro, a tram through the Marina, and taxis everywhere. What works, where it runs, and what to know at the airport.
Metro and tram
The rail network
The Red Line runs the length of the city, from Al Rashidiya to Jebel Ali. It stops at the airport (Terminals 1 and 3), in Downtown for the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall, at Mall of the Emirates and in the Marina.
The tram has 11 stops across the Marina, JBR and JLT. It connects to the metro, and to the Palm monorail through a covered bridge.
The metro is clean, air-conditioned and cheap, and it is often faster than a car along the main corridor. What it does not do is reach most beaches and resorts, which is where a taxi becomes necessary.
Tickets
The Nol card
Travel on the metro, tram and public buses uses a Nol card, bought and topped up at any station. One card can cover a whole family.
Fares are by zone, and the Gold cabin at the front of the train costs roughly double the standard fare for a noticeably emptier carriage at rush hour.
Taxis and the airport
Cars and arrivals
RTA taxis run on the meter. The Careem app books an official RTA taxi without surge pricing; Uber also operates in Dubai.
At DXB, Terminal 3 is Emirates and Terminal 2 is flydubai — worth checking before you set off, because the terminals are far apart and moving between them takes time.
If you would rather not deal with any of this on arrival, we arrange private transfers with a driver waiting for you at the gate, priced by vehicle rather than per person.