Abu Dhabi day trip from Dubai: transport, a one-day plan and tickets

Abu Dhabi is the most popular day trip from Dubai, and it works well if you keep the plan small. Pick the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque plus one or two other sights, book the mosque before you go, and check the day of the week: the Louvre closes on Mondays and the mosque shuts to visitors over Friday prayers.

How do you get from Dubai to Abu Dhabi for a day trip?

Take RTA’s intercity bus to save money, drive for freedom, or book a tour to have the transfers handled. These are the options, with times and fares from RTA’s journey planner:

Bus times and fares from RTA’s journey planner, checked 2 November 2026.

Both buses end at Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station, and in the late afternoon they ran every 20 to 25 minutes. RTA also sells intercity e-tickets online for the E100 and E101 so you can skip the station queue. From the bus station you’ll need taxis between sights. The free Experience Abu Dhabi shuttle bus links Yas Island, Saadiyat Island, the city centre and the Grand Canal area, which helps if you’re heading to Saadiyat or Yas.

Visit Abu Dhabi calls Dubai a 60-minute drive away. From Deira or Downtown, or at rush hour, allow longer. Our guide to getting around Dubai covers Nol cards and the metro to Ibn Battuta.

Is there a train from Dubai to Abu Dhabi?

Yes, since 30 September 2026. Etihad Rail runs passenger trains from Al Yalayis station in Dubai, linked by footbridge to the Jumeirah Golf Estates metro station, to Mohammed Bin Zayed City station in Abu Dhabi. Visit Abu Dhabi gives the journey as 57 minutes, with fares from AED 39 in Comfort class. The Abu Dhabi station is in the suburbs, not the centre, so add a taxi to the Grand Mosque or the Corniche, and check the day’s timetable before you plan around it.

What can you fit into one day in Abu Dhabi?

Two or three sights, including the travel. These two plans both work from Dubai; pick one by what you most want to see.

Plan A: the mosque in the morning

1. Leave Dubai around 7.30am and reach the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque soon after it opens at 9am.
2. Join the free 11am cultural tour, or walk the courtyards at your own pace.
3. Lunch, then Qasr Al Watan in the early afternoon.
4. Drive along the Corniche past Emirates Palace and head back to Dubai by early evening.

Plan B: the mosque at sunset

1. Reach the Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island for its 10am opening (not on a Monday).
2. Spend two to three hours inside, then lunch.
3. Qasr Al Watan or the Corniche in the early afternoon.
4. Arrive at the mosque for the 5pm tour and stay as the lights come on, then return to Dubai after dark.

Plan B is the better day for photos. If Yas Island’s theme parks are the draw, give them their own day: Visit Abu Dhabi lists Ferrari World, Yas Waterworld, Warner Bros. World and SeaWorld there, about 30 minutes’ drive from central Abu Dhabi.

What should you book ahead?

Book the Grand Mosque before anything else. The mosque centre asks every visitor to pre-book and get an online access pass, and visits are not confirmed without a booking. Our Grand Mosque guide walks through the form.

• Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque: online booking is required. Tourists pay AED 10, Emirates ID holders AED 5.
• Louvre Abu Dhabi: adult tickets are sold online in 30-minute time slots. Children’s tickets are free and, according to Arabian Adventures’ ticket page, issued at the counter.
• Qasr Al Watan: buy on the official booking page, where you can also see the day’s hours.
• The bus: optional, but an RTA e-ticket saves queueing at Ibn Battuta or Al Ghubaiba.

What are the opening hours and prices of the main sights?

The mosque opens daily from 9am, the Louvre from 10am except Mondays, and Qasr Al Watan sells timed tickets online. Here is what each official or listed source showed:

Checked 2 November 2026 on szgmc.gov.ae, Visit Abu Dhabi, Platinumlist for the Louvre’s gallery hours, and qasralwatan.ae.

Visit Abu Dhabi also lists free entry to the Louvre for senior UAE residents and people of determination. At Qasr Al Watan, parking at the Visitor Centre is free and the Palace in Motion show runs nightly from 8pm, so a sunset plan can end there instead of the mosque.

When is Friday prayer at the Grand Mosque, and how does it change your day?

On Fridays the mosque closes to visitors from 11.30am to 2.30pm for the midday prayer. The official hours give a morning session from 9am (last entry 11am) and an afternoon session from 2.30pm to 8.30pm (last entry 8pm). The cultural tours page lists only the 11am and 5pm tours on Fridays.

On a Friday, do the Louvre in the morning (it opens 10am to 8.30pm on Fridays) and the mosque after 2.30pm. During Ramadan the mosque keeps shorter hours and runs no tours on Fridays, so check the Ramadan guide if your dates are close.

Should you take a tour or go on your own?

Go on your own if you’re one or two people happy with buses and taxis: the bus fare is a fraction of any tour. A tour makes more sense for families, for a first visit, or when you’d rather not spend the day working out transfers between the bus station and the sights.

Our full-day Abu Dhabi city tour picks up from Dubai or Abu Dhabi at 9am and runs for eight hours with a licensed guide. It covers the Grand Mosque, an Emirates Palace photo stop, the Heritage Village, the Corniche, the dates market and a photo stop at Ferrari World. Lunch isn’t included.

If you’d like the desert too, the Abu Dhabi desert safari picks up in Abu Dhabi, so it fits best if you stay a night. Staying in Dubai, a Dubai safari is the shorter evening; our Dubai or Abu Dhabi desert safari comparison explains the trade-off, and the day trips from Dubai hub has the other options.