[UAE] My Day Trip to Abu Dhabi From Dubai

11:08 Travel Bunny 0 Comments

Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. There are plenty reasons to visit this Emirate. It has the largest and most beautiful mosque in the UAE (Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque), the largest art museum in the Arabian peninsula (Louvre Abu Dhabi), the largest indoor theme park and the first Ferrari-branded theme park in the world (Ferrari World), the most expensive hotel to ever be built (Emirates Palace) and etc. It is also easy to do a day trip from Dubai.

Transportation for day trippers:

There are several ways to do a day trip from Dubai to Abu Dhabi. You can either take public transportation, hail a taxi, join a tour group or self-drive. Currently the only option is to travel by road.

Public transportation:

Intercity bus is the cheapest way to travel between the two cities. From Dubai, you can take a bus either at Al Ghubaiba bus station in Bur Dubai (Route 100) or at Ibn Battuta Mall (Route 101). The bus fare is about AED 25. 

Take note that from Abu Dhabi bus station, you still need to take a local bus to visit the various attractions such as Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Take bus 094 if you want to go to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque or The Louvre. Local bus charge a flat fare of AED 2.

Taxi:

You can hail a metered taxi or hire a private driver from Dubai to downtown Abu Dhabi. It is likely to cost you AED 350 - 500 depending on type of taxi booked and time of the day. To book a taxi in Dubai, call RTA on 04-2080808 or book through the Careem app. To book a taxi in Abu Dhabi, call TransAD on 600535353 or book through the Abu Dhabi Taxi app. 

Join a Tour Group:

This was the option I chose since I was travelling with a child and it is hassle-free. The tour cost me about AED 535. The journey between the cities was about 1.5 hour. Check out Klook for their offer.

Self Drive:

You will need to hire a car if you're self-driving to Abu Dhabi. This option has the most flexibility. Do check whether overseas license is accepted on a tourist visa before you hire a car. Take note that in UAE, the steering wheel is on the left. Car seats are required by law for child up to 4 years old. 

Travel Guidelines for entering Abu Dhabi:

Starting from 15 June 2022, in line with the precautionary measures in force, all residents and tourists (applicable to those above 16 years of age) must show 'green' status on Alhosn app.

* Visitors coming from outside the UAE and who face difficulties using Alhosn App they then can show an internationally approved vaccine certificate which testifies that they have taken two doses and a negative PCR test taken during the 14 days.

* Visitors who are not vaccinated must present a negative PCR result no more than 48 hours.

Day tour itinerary:

Map of attractions in Abu Dhabi. Places covered in the day tour is marked in blue box, Central bus station in orange box and Louvre Abu Dhabi in green box.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque -> stopover at Abu Dhabi Corniche -> Emirates Heritage Club and Heritage Village -> lunch at Marina Mall -> stopover at Dates Market -> Ferrari World for photo session -> back to Dubai

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is no doubt the highlight of this tour. Completed in 2007, it is the largest mosque in the country. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Founding Father of the UAE, had the mosque built in the capital city Abu Dhabi to unite the cultural diversity of the Islamic world with the historical and modern values of architecture and art.

Layout map of the mosque from the official website. 

There is no fee to enter Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Free guided tours are conducted in Arabic and English. No prior booking is required. One of the domes (see photo above) is the visitor center.

* You need to book your e-pass on their website prior to your visit. During my visit (pre-Covid), I was able to book my pass on the spot.

Dress code: Men are not allowed to wear sleeveless shirt and shorts. Women will be asked to wear abayas which are provided free of charge. It is best to prepare your own head scarf. Also, don't forget to bring sunglasses. You'll need them under the hot sun.

The blue pools along the arcades reflect the mosque's columns.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque has 1096 columns around the arcade. The columns are made of white marble panels, inlaid with precious and semi-precious stones such as lapis lazuli, red agate, amethyst, abalone shell and nacre. The design has been inspired by the date palm with golden capitals resembling the shape of a palm treetop. 

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Inner courtyard.

Queuing up to enter the main prayer hall. 

The mosque can accommodate over 40,000 worshippers. The main prayer hall can hold over 7,000 worshippers along with two smaller prayer hall with a capacity of 1,500 each. The carpet in the hall is considered to be the world's largest carpet made by Iran's Carpet Company. The seven chandeliers were imported from Germany incorporating millions of Swarovski crystals.

The tour lasted for about 45 minutes.

Souvenir shops in the underground souq.

Daily visiting hours: 9am - 10pm (Sat - Thu), 9am - 12pm & 3pm - 10pm (Fri)
Ramadan visiting hours (1st 20 days): 10am - 6pm & 9.30pm - 1am (Sat - Thu), 3pm - 6pm & 9.30pm - 1am (Fri)
Ramadan visiting hours (last 10 days): 10am - 6pm (Sat - Thu), 3pm - 6pm (Fri)
Official Website: https://www.szgmc.gov.ae/en/

Abu Dhabi Corniche

Etihad Towers as viewed from the corniche. It is a complex of five towers. Tower 2 has an observation deck on the 75th floor. It is also home to some of the world's most luxurious and exclusive boutique store collections.

The towers are located opposite the Emirates Palace Hotel. Emirates Palace Hotel is a luxurious 5-star hotel. Some tours would let you have a photo stop at Emirates Palace Hotel. Unfortunately, I could only see the gate.

Strolling along the corniche. The pink building is the Fairmont Marina Residences. It consists of two towers: a 38-storey residential tower and a 38-storey hotel tower. It is located just besides the Marina Mall on Marina Island.

Emirates Heritage Club and Heritage Heritage Village

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Emirates Heritage Club and Heritage Village offers visitors a glimpse of Abu Dhabi's past. You can experience the traditional way of life in the desert and watch the craftsmen demonstrate  traditional crafts such as metalwork, pottery, weaving and spinning yarn. 

Traditional souq in the village.

There is a beautiful beach which is a great spot to enjoy the views of Abu Dhabi skyline. 

Traditional dhows and boats at the beach also compliment the cultural heritage of the village. Bear in mind that you are not allowed to come with beach attire to swim.

Entry is free. Opening hours is 9am - 4pm (Sat - Thu), 3.30pm - 9pm (Fri).

Marina Mall

Marina Mall was opened in 2001. It has over 400 stores, a Mercedes Benz car showroom and a hypermarket. It opens from 9.30am to 10.30pm.

I had a hearty seafood lunch at Joe's Crab Shack inside the mall. * Lunch is not included in the tour.

There is a Ferris wheel outside the Marina Mall.

Dates Market

Dates Market has many shops selling varieties of dates from this region. I am not a big fan of dates, therefore I chose to skip going in to the shops.

Ferrari World

Last but not least, I stopped by the Ferrari World on Yas Island. The ticketing office is on the first floor. Obviously, if you are doing a day trip to Abu Dhabi, you won't have time to go into the theme park. The tickets are not cheap either: single day ticket price is AED 310 (adult) & AED 230 (child) back in 2019. In 2022, single day ticket price is AED 310 (adult) & AED 240 (child). Opening hours is 12pm to 8pm but it is subject to change, refer to their website for more information. 

Official website: https://www.ferrariworldabudhabi.com/

My aim was to take a photo posing as a Ferrari champion! You can temporarily wear the Ferrari jacket or shirt for the photo session. You are not allowed to use your own camera to take the photo. They have very strict policy on this.

Ferrari merchandise in the souvenir shop.

A glimpse of the exciting roller coaster in Ferrari World as I left. This marks the end of my day trip to Abu Dhabi. I hope one day I can come back to Yas Island again and enjoy the theme park. Another attraction that I would love to see in Abu Dhabi is the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Till next time then!