How much is the bus from Dubai to Hatta?

The bus is RTA’s Hatta Express, route H02, and it costs AED 25 per rider per journey. It runs from Dubai Mall Bus Station to Hatta Bus Station, 7 AM to 7 PM, daily, leaving every two hours. There and back is AED 50 a person.

In Hatta, a second RTA bus, route H04, runs a loop from Hatta Bus Station past Hatta Wadi Hub, Hatta Hill Park, Hatta Dam and the Heritage Village. RTA prices it per stop rather than per ride: AED 2 per rider per bus stop.

What a day in Hatta costs by bus

The loop rows read RTA’s wording, “per rider per bus stop”, as a charge for each stop you ride to. The loop passes 4 landmarks, so getting off at every one of them comes to the figure above. RTA’s page lists no day ticket for the loop.

RTA lists no child fares for either route, so the family column counts every rider at the full fare.

The timetable shapes the day more than the fare

With buses every two hours, a missed bus costs you two hours. RTA’s timetable page gives the Hatta Express operating window, 7 AM to 7 PM, daily, but not the departure times back from Hatta. Find out when the return buses leave before you set off, not after you arrive.

RTA’s own route for that is its S’hail call centre on 600 500 605, or an SMS to RTA with the bus stop number. The S’hail app and RTA’s journey planner show the trips as well.

The loop in Hatta runs on a different clock: 7 AM to 9 PM, daily, every 30 minutes. It keeps going after the Hatta Express window has closed. Plan the end of the day around the Express, not around the loop. The loop running late does not mean there is a bus back to Dubai.

Paying: a new Silver card does not cover one trip

RTA bus tickets are paid with a nol card, cash or a credit card at the ticket machines at bus stops and the ticket offices at bus stations.

If you pay with a nol card, check the balance first. A new Silver card costs AED 25 and comes with AED 19 of balance. That is AED 6 short of one Hatta Express fare, and AED 31 short of the trip there and back. Top up before you board.

Do not top up far beyond what the trip needs if you are leaving Dubai soon after. Getting a leftover balance back in cash has a limit and a fee; whether you can get your nol balance back sets out both. If you have no card yet, which nol card to buy compares Silver with the paper Red Ticket.

Wheelchair users: ask RTA before you go

RTA’s intercity bus page says its buses have space for one wheelchair, except on routes whose buses have none: Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Fujairah and Hatta. It does not say whether that Hatta entry includes the Hatta Express. If you travel with a wheelchair, call S’hail on 600 500 605 and ask about route H02 specifically.

Where this page stops

It gives the Hatta Express and the Hatta loop only. RTA also runs intercity routes that its timetable page lists without fares, and its intercity booking site did not open when we checked. We do not quote those fares from anywhere else.

It does not give departure times back from Hatta, because RTA’s page does not publish them. It does not price what you do once you are there, such as kayaking at Hatta Dam or entry to Hatta Wadi Hub. Those are not RTA services.

Driving is the other way to get there. Whether tourists can use hourly car rental covers RTA’s rules for short rentals.

Where these figures come from

The Hatta Express and Hatta loop fares, hours, frequencies and stops are on RTA’s Timetables page, under Bus Stations. The wheelchair exception and the S’hail number are on RTA’s service page for intercity buses. Payment methods are on RTA’s service page for buses within Dubai, and the Silver card price and balance are on RTA’s nol page. We read each page directly.