Dubai facts, with the date we checked them.

Questions answered

• Does an Etihad Rail ticket cover the Dubai Metro?Not on its own. When you book the train you can add a nol 1-Day Pass, and the same QR code then works on the Dubai Metro, Tram and public buses until midnight on the day you first scan it. Etihad Rail's Dubai Station has a footbridge to Jumeirah Golf Estates Metro Station.checked 2026-10-28
• How much is the Bus on Demand in Dubai?RTA's Bus on Demand is a shared minibus booked in its own app. One passenger pays a flat fare per trip, each extra passenger in the same booking pays less, and Business Bay has a lower fare of its own. It is not part of the metro fare, and it runs only inside the zones RTA lists.checked 2026-10-26
• What time does the Dubai Tram run?From Monday to Saturday the first tram leaves Al Sufouh at six in the morning, and the last trams run shortly after midnight, until about one at night. On Sunday the first tram leaves at nine. Friday has no timetable of its own on the tram.checked 2026-10-21
• Can I pay for the Dubai Metro with a bank card or my phone?Not with a bank card, Apple Pay or Google Pay: RTA puts them in the last phase of its nol upgrade, due by the end of Q1 2027. Your phone can carry a ticket: RTA's nol Pay app issues the Red Ticket as a QR code, at the paper ticket's fares plus a fee per purchase.checked 2026-10-25
• What time is the last metro from Dubai Airport?From both airport terminals, the last Red Line train into the city leaves shortly before eleven at night, and on Friday shortly before midnight. Midnight, the time most guides give, is when the stations close, not when the last train leaves the airport.checked 2026-10-19
• What time do the abras run in Dubai?Most Creek abras run from early morning until just before midnight, Monday to Saturday. On Sunday the old-town routes start mid-morning, and on Friday every daytime route stops around midday. The two cheapest crossings have no timetable at all.checked 2026-10-18
• What time does the Dubai Marina water taxi run?From midday, but only between Marina Mall North and Marina Walk. The boats to Marina Promenade, Marina Terrace and Bluewaters start in the late afternoon. Friday starts later and Saturday runs latest, past midnight.checked 2026-10-12
• How much is the Dubai Ferry?RTA's Dubai Ferry charges by route and class. The Sharjah run is the cheapest, the Marina round trip by Palm Jumeirah the dearest, and Gold costs more than Silver on every route. Most routes sail twice a day, so the timetable shapes the trip more than the fare does.checked 2026-10-10
• How much is the bus from Dubai to Hatta?RTA's Hatta Express runs from Dubai Mall Bus Station to Hatta Bus Station for a flat fare per rider each way, every two hours in the daytime. In Hatta, a separate RTA loop bus links the main sights and charges per stop. The timing, not the fare, is what shapes the day.checked 2026-10-09
• Can you get your nol card balance back when you leave Dubai?Yes, if it is a Silver or Gold card that is still active and holds only a small balance. Hand it in at the ticket office of any Metro station and RTA pays the balance back in cash on the spot, minus a fixed fee. Above RTA's cash limit, the station cannot refund it at all.checked 2026-10-08
• How much is an abra ride in Dubai?The traditional wooden abra across Dubai Creek is the cheapest boat in Dubai, and it takes cash only: no bank cards, no nol. That fare covers only two Creek crossings. RTA's other abras cost more; the electric abra is priced per person at Dubai Mall and per boat at Global Village.checked 2026-10-21
• How much does a Dubai taxi charge per kilometre?Dubai Taxi, the operator, publishes it; RTA's fare table does not. A regular Dubai Taxi car charges the same per kilometre whether you hail it or book it in an app. The airport taxi charges more per kilometre as well as at the start, and the families and ladies taxi charges less.checked 2026-10-06
• Can you book a women-only taxi in Dubai?Yes, and visitors can use it. Dubai's pink-roof taxi has a female driver. Book it in the S'hail or Bolt app or take one from the rank at DXB or DWC. RTA's page lists it for women; Dubai Taxi, which runs it, also carries families.checked 2026-10-04
• Is Uber more expensive than a taxi in Dubai?By RTA's own rule, yes. RTA lists Uber as a luxury-vehicle app and sets a minimum margin for those rides above regular taxi fares. For the taxi meter through an app, book via RTA's S'hail or Careem (Hala Taxi), Bolt, Zed or Yango.checked 2026-10-04
• Can tourists use hourly car rental in Dubai?Yes. RTA's hourly vehicle rental, run by Udrive and Yaldi, lists a visitor category: passport, entry visa and a driving licence accepted in the UAE. Fares sit between a floor and a ceiling RTA sets, fuel and parking are included, Salik is charged on top, and one rental cannot run past 24 hours.checked 2026-10-02
• Can you drive in Dubai on your home driving licence?On a visit visa, yes, if the licence was issued in a GCC country or a country on RTA's list, and only for cars and motorcycles. For any other licence, the route RTA names is an International Driving Licence issued abroad. The test is where the licence comes from, not your passport.checked 2026-09-26
• How much is a Salik toll in Dubai?Two prices per gate, one for weekday peak and a lower one for off-peak and Sundays, and since June 2026 both carry 5% VAT on top. Salik says the tariffs themselves did not change, which is why older guides now quote too little. Crossing is free overnight.checked 2026-09-26
• Can I take my suitcases on the Dubai Metro?Yes, within a limit stricter than it sounds: RTA allows one large and one small suitcase per passenger, each with a maximum size, stowed in the cabin's luggage area. The airport counts hand luggage inside the same limit, so two cases plus a backpack is where the sources part ways.checked 2026-10-04
• What gets you fined on the Dubai Metro?RTA publishes a fixed fine for each offence. Visitors mostly run into four: riding without a valid fare, eating or drinking where it is not allowed, sitting in a cabin reserved for another group, and carrying alcohol — fined for carrying, not only for drinking.checked 2026-09-24
• Which Dubai Metro cabin can I ride in?Any standard cabin, with any valid card. Two kinds of cabin are reserved: one for women and children only, and Gold Class for Gold card holders only. Sitting in either without qualifying carries the same fixed RTA fine, and Gold Class costs double the Silver fare on every journey.checked 2026-09-24
• Can you buy a UAE tourist SIM before you arrive in Dubai?Yes, e& sells its Visitor Line online and delivers it. Three conditions decide whether that works for you: the card has to be 3D Secure, one passport can only get two SIMs, and there is no refund once a plan is bought. The number itself lives as long as your visa, not as long as the pack.checked 2026-09-25
• What gets added to a Dubai taxi fare on top of the meter?Four things: Salik tolls, a fixed surcharge through Sharjah, waiting time by the minute, and a minimum fare on short hops. Where the meter starts also moves: RTA's fare table sets a higher starting fare at night on the road and at rush hour in an app.checked 2026-10-06
• What happens when your UAE tourist SIM runs out of data?Nothing is charged. e& blocks data once the bundle is gone instead of billing you for it, so there is no bill shock to guard against. Using data again is opt-in: you send one SMS, and from then on it costs a fixed rate per 20 MB with a daily ceiling.checked 2026-09-23
• Can security open your checked bag at Dubai airport without you there?Yes. Dubai Airports states security may open bags to remove suspicious or prohibited items with the guest not present, and says in the same breath that it is not liable for damage caused. There is no notification step and nothing to sign, so the only control you have is how you pack.checked 2026-09-22
• Can you get someone to carry your bags at Dubai airport, and what does it cost?Yes, and the trolley itself is free — what you pay for is the person pushing it. Terminal 3 charges more than Terminals 1 and 2, and a flat-bed trolley there costs more than twice a regular one. You pay the porter directly, so carry small notes.checked 2026-09-22
• What counts as oversized baggage at Dubai airport?Two separate tests, and failing either one sends the bag to the oversized counter. The size limit is 90 by 75 by 60 cm, and the shape rule is that the bag must have at least one flat surface. A round or soft item can fail the shape test at any size.checked 2026-09-22
• Do you collect your bags between connecting flights at Dubai airport?On one ticket, no. On separate tickets it turns on whether you can enter the UAE: if you can, you clear passport control, collect the bags and check in again. If you cannot, you never reach the reclaim hall, and Marhaba moves them at the transfer desk for a fee.checked 2026-09-21
• Where do you report something lost at Dubai airport?It depends on where the item was, not what it was. Anything you carried — on the aircraft or in the terminal — goes to the airport's own lost item form. A checked bag goes to your airline, which the airport says handles checked baggage. An item taken at security is neither, and is not returned.checked 2026-09-21
• Who do you book wheelchair assistance at Dubai airport with?Your airline, not the airport. Dubai Airports sends every assistance request back to the carrier, and that includes the buggy that carries people between gates. Two things do come from the airport directly: the Sunflower lanyard and the priority lanes, and neither needs booking.checked 2026-09-21
• Can someone meet you at Dubai airport arrivals?Not at the kerb. Dubai Airports states that there is no pick-up area at Arrivals, so a driver collecting you has to park in the car park and walk in. Drop-off works the way people expect pick-up to work: designated bays on the Departures level, with a time limit.checked 2026-09-20
• How much cash can you bring into Dubai without declaring it?There are two different thresholds, and the one for leaving is higher than the one for arriving. Most travel pages quote a single figure and apply it in both directions. Neither figure is a cap on how much you may carry — above the line you declare it.checked 2026-09-20
• Is there any tax beyond VAT on what you buy in Dubai?Yes, on a short published list. A second tax called excise sits on tobacco, vaping devices and liquids, energy drinks, carbonated drinks and anything with added sugar — at rates far above the VAT rate. Everything else you buy carries VAT only.checked 2026-09-19
• How long can you stay in Dubai on a tourist visa?On the multiple entry 5-year tourist visa, 90 days per visit, extendable by another 90. But the first question is whether you need a tourist visa at all — the UAE portal says it is for people who do not already get visa on arrival or visa-free entry, which is most visitors to Dubai.checked 2026-10-18
• How much VAT do you actually get back when you leave Dubai?Not the full VAT rate. The scheme refunds a fixed share of the VAT you paid and then deducts a flat fee from every tax-free tag, so what reaches you is meaningfully less than the advertised rate — and less again if your spending is split across several shops.checked 2026-09-16
• Is Global Village open right now?Yes. Season 31 has opened and runs into late spring. Global Village opens in the late afternoon, stays open past midnight at the end of the week, and keeps Tuesdays for families, couples and women. A weekday ticket costs less, and rides are extra. Miracle Garden still publishes no dates.checked 2026-10-14
• What should you do in the first 30 minutes after landing in Dubai?The order is fixed — passport control, bags, a working phone, a travel card, then your ride into the city. Only two of those five are actually your decision, and what time you land can close one of them before you reach the door.checked 2026-10-04
• How many phones can you take into Dubai, and what else does DXB limit?Fifteen mobile phones, and they have to be in the manufacturer's packaging. That is the one number Dubai Airports publishes for personal electronics, and it catches out people carrying devices as gifts or stock.checked 2026-09-15
• Can you leave your luggage at DXB, and what does it cost?Yes, at all three terminals, around the clock. You are charged per bag for a 12-hour block rather than by the hour, so a three-hour stop costs the same as a twelve-hour one. Terminal 3 is the cheapest counter.checked 2026-09-14
• Should you exchange money at Dubai airport?Only the minimum you need on arrival. The dirham is pegged to the US dollar, so every counter starts from the same fixed reference and competes only on the margin it adds, which none of them publish. Check any offer against the peg.checked 2026-09-14
• What does Dubai immigration actually ask you when you land?For most visa-on-arrival passports, nothing. You look at a Smart Gate, it opens, and no one speaks to you. The requirement that actually decides your entry is settled before you fly: your passport must have six months left on it.checked 2026-09-14
• Is it worth buying a SIM card at Dubai airport?Dubai Airports says du gives out free tourist SIMs at the immigration counters, and every telecom counter it lists is arrivals-side. Neither operator publishes a counter price — so the airport is where you collect a SIM, not where you compare one.checked 2026-10-22
• How do you get from DXB to the city — metro, taxi, or pickup?The Metro is far cheaper and runs from Terminals 1 and 3. What usually decides it is not price but your arrival time and how many bags you have — the Metro has a two-bag limit and does not run all night.checked 2026-10-19
• Can I leave Dubai airport during a layover?Only if you can enter the UAE as a visitor. There is no separate transit permission: leaving the airport is entry on whatever terms your passport already gets, and on two separate tickets you have to enter whether you wanted to or not.checked 2026-09-16
• Should you get an eSIM, a local SIM, or use roaming in Dubai?An eSIM for almost everyone. On Airalo's UAE packages you are on Etisalat's network — the same one sold at the carrier counter — so this is a question about how you buy, not about coverage.checked 2026-10-22
• Where can you sleep or shower at Dubai airport?Two paid places to sleep airside: the DXB Hotel, booked by the hour in Terminal 3, and Sleepover pods and cabins at Terminal 3's A, B and C Gates and Terminal 1's D Gates, open around the clock. Terminal 2 has neither, and the airport lists no free sleeping area.checked 2026-10-06
• How are DXB terminals laid out and how do you move between them?Terminal 1 has D Gates, Terminal 2 has F Gates, Terminal 3 has A, B and C Gates. On a single booking you stay airside; on separate tickets you clear passport control, collect your bags and check in again.checked 2026-08-21
• Which nol card should you buy in Dubai?Buy a Silver card if you will take five or more trips. For four trips or fewer the Red Ticket is cheaper. Gold costs the same as Silver but charges double the fare.checked 2026-10-25

Why this exists

Most Dubai travel pages do not say when their numbers were last true. Fares change, terminals get renamed, rules get updated — and the page that told you AED 20 two years ago still says AED 20.

This site stores every number once, with its source and the date it was checked, and shows both on the page. When a value changes, every page using it is updated and the change is recorded in the changelog. When a value is checked and has not changed, that is recorded too — because “confirmed unchanged on this date” is also information.

What changed ·Primary sources