Dubai has two airports, and the one you land at changes the advice completely. Getting it wrong costs an hour and about a hundred dirhams. This is how each option actually works, what it costs, and which to pick with luggage, children or a 3am arrival. Once you have checked in, the full list of things to do in Dubai is where to start.

Which airport are you landing at

DXB, Dubai International, is in the middle of the city, fifteen minutes from Deira and twenty five to thirty from Downtown. Three terminals, and Terminal 3 is Emirates. This is where almost everyone lands.

DWC, Al Maktoum, is out near Jebel Ali in the south. Budget carriers and some charters. It is fifty to sixty minutes from Downtown and considerably further from Deira. If your ticket says DWC, discount every piece of advice written about DXB.

The options, honestly

Metro, from DXB only

The Red Line serves Terminals 1 and 3. A single to Downtown is a few dirhams and takes about forty minutes. It runs from early morning until around midnight, later at weekends, and not at all during the small hours.

Good for: one or two people, hand luggage, arriving in daylight, staying near a station.

Not good for: large suitcases, families, late arrivals, or hotels on the Palm or the older beach strip, where the metro leaves you a taxi ride short.

Airport taxi

Official taxis queue outside every terminal. Metered, with an airport surcharge. Expect roughly AED 50 to 80 to Deira, AED 70 to 100 to Downtown, AED 110 to 150 to the Marina, more at night and more in traffic.

Good for: short hops, travelling light, flexible budgets.

Watch for: the queue at peak arrival times, which can run twenty minutes. No child seats unless you carry one. Drivers take cards but not always happily.

Private transfer, booked ahead

A fixed price per vehicle rather than per person, with the driver waiting inside arrivals holding your name. Flight times are tracked, so a delayed landing does not cost you the booking and nobody is standing in the wrong hall at 2am.

Good for: three or more people, luggage, children, late arrivals, and anyone who would rather not negotiate anything after a long flight.

Our private airport transfer from AED 119 covers DXB and DWC, with sedan, SUV or van depending on how many of you there are. Because it is priced per vehicle, four people with suitcases usually pay less than they would in two taxis. Child seats can be arranged if you ask when booking.

Ride hailing

Careem and Uber both operate. Pickup is from a designated area rather than the kerb, which at Terminal 3 is a walk. Prices surge on arrival waves and can exceed a taxi at exactly the moment three flights land together.

What we would choose

  • Solo, hand luggage, daytime, Downtown hotel: metro.
  • Couple, two cases, anywhere: taxi or transfer. Close on price, the transfer removes the queue.
  • Family, any number of cases: transfer. One vehicle, seats arranged, nobody splitting across two taxis.
  • Arriving between midnight and 6am: transfer. The metro is closed and the taxi queue at 3am is not where you want to start a holiday.
  • Landing at DWC: transfer. The metro does not reach it and the taxi fare into the city is substantial.

Getting around once you are here

The metro is genuinely good: clean, air conditioned, cheap, and it covers Downtown, the Marina, the airport and Deira. A Nol card is AED 25 with credit included. What it does not reach is the Palm, the desert, and most of the beach hotels.

For a day of sightseeing without working out any of this, the hop on hop off bus from AED 125 runs several routes with commentary and you set your own pace. For a guided version with a driver, the half day city tour from AED 100 covers the distances the metro does not.

Things worth knowing before you land

  • Passport control at DXB uses smart gates for many nationalities and can take five minutes or forty, depending entirely on when you land.
  • Free airport WiFi works without a local number, so you can message whoever is meeting you.
  • A local SIM is sold in arrivals and is useful, but not before you have cleared the queue.
  • Terminal 3 is very large. Allow fifteen minutes from gate to arrivals hall.
  • Taxis are not permitted to collect from the departures level, so there is no shortcut.
  • Tap water is safe and the airport has fountains. Refill rather than buy.