Dubai and Abu Dhabi are 90 minutes apart on one highway, share a visa and a currency, and are different cities. Dubai is the taller, faster, louder one: the Burj Khalifa, the malls, the Marina, the nightlife. Abu Dhabi is the capital: the Grand Mosque, the Louvre, the palace, and the theme parks on Yas Island, at a calmer pace and with the better beaches. Most Indian travellers should base in Dubai and give Abu Dhabi one or two days. This guide says when to do the reverse, and what each city does better.
Side by side
| Dubai | Abu Dhabi | |
|---|---|---|
| The one sight | Burj Khalifa and the fountain | Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque |
| Museums | Museum of the Future, Dubai Frame | Louvre Abu Dhabi, Qasr Al Watan |
| Theme parks | Aquaventure, IMG Worlds, Motiongate | Ferrari World, Warner Bros. World, Yas Waterworld, SeaWorld |
| Beaches | Jumeirah, Kite Beach, JBR, the Palm | Saadiyat, the Corniche: cleaner, quieter, better swimming |
| Desert | Evening safari 45 minutes out | Liwa's dunes, bigger and 2 hours out |
| Old city | The creek, the souks, Al Fahidi | Heritage Village, Qasr Al Hosn fort |
| Nightlife and dining | Far more; the Marina, Downtown, JBR | Quieter; the Corniche, Yas Bay |
| Hotel cost, four-star, season | ₹8,000 to ₹14,000 a night | ₹7,000 to ₹12,000; beach resorts on Saadiyat cost more |
| Flights from India | Several non-stops a day from each metro | Non-stop from Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai on IndiGo, Etihad, Air India |
| Getting around | Metro plus taxis | Taxis and a car; no metro |
| Pace | Fast; something every hour | Slow; one sight a day and the beach |
What Dubai does better
- The first trip. If you have five days and have never been, Dubai has more of the things you have seen in photographs, closer together, with the metro to join them.
- Shopping and food. The Dubai Mall, the Mall of the Emirates, the souks and Global Village; Karama and Deira for Indian food at Indian prices; the Marina and Downtown for the evening.
- The evening. The fountain show, the Marina, JBR, Bluewaters and Ain Dubai, the dhow cruises. Abu Dhabi's evening is the Corniche and dinner.
- Old city and the desert safari. The creek is a real old port; the evening safari is a well-run 45-minute drive from any hotel.
- Getting there and around. More flights from every Indian city, a metro from the airport, and the hotel choice from ₹4,000 a night up.
What Abu Dhabi does better
- The Grand Mosque. Nothing in Dubai matches it: 82 domes, the world's largest hand-knotted carpet, and white marble courtyards that photograph at every hour. Free, with online registration.
- Museums. The Louvre Abu Dhabi's rain-of-light dome is the best building in the UAE, and Qasr Al Watan is a working palace open to visitors.
- Theme parks. Yas Island has four parks on one road, including Ferrari World's Formula Rossa, and the indoor Warner Bros. World that works in July.
- Beaches. Saadiyat's beach is the cleanest swim in the country, with turtles nesting in season; the Corniche beach is a free, groomed city beach.
- Calm. Fewer crowds, easier roads, hotels slightly cheaper for the same stars. Families with small children and travellers on a second UAE trip notice the difference.
Base in Dubai when
- It is the first trip and you have five or six days. Do the mosque and the Louvre as a day trip on the sixth day; the 6 Days Dubai Frame Museum Future Bliss has the day free for it.
- Shopping, nightlife or the fountain-and-Burj evening matter to the group.
- You are travelling on a budget: the ₹35,500 5 day plan is a Deira hotel and the metro, and Abu Dhabi has no metro.
Split the week when
- You have seven or eight days: four nights in Dubai, two or three in Abu Dhabi, the way the 7 Days Dubai Abu Dhabi Luxury Escape and the 8 Days Dubai Abu Dhabi Family Escape run it. The 7 day itinerary is the day-by-day.
- Ferrari World or Warner Bros. World is a must for someone in the group; the drive back to Dubai after a full park day is the part everyone regrets.
- It is a honeymoon and a Saadiyat beach resort is on the list.
Base in Abu Dhabi when
- It is a second UAE trip and Dubai's list is done.
- The children are under eight: quieter roads, Yas Island's parks, the Corniche beach, and Dubai's Burj Khalifa and fountain as one day trip.
- You want the beach as the trip and the city as the side dish. Saadiyat resorts in November to March are the best beach stay in the country.
Doing both in one day
From a Downtown Dubai hotel, an 8 am start reaches the mosque by 9:30, the Louvre after lunch, the Corniche at sunset and the hotel by 8 pm. It is a long day and a good one; the private car in every Dubai package does it without a coach schedule. Ferrari World does not fit in the same day as the mosque without rushing both.
Visa, money and getting between them
One UAE visa covers both cities and all seven emirates; see the visa guide. The dirham is the currency in both. The E11 highway takes 75 to 90 minutes by private car (about AED 250 to 300 one way in a taxi) and the E100 intercity bus about two hours for AED 25. Flying into Dubai and home from Abu Dhabi, or the reverse, costs about the same as a return and saves the drive back.
All the Dubai-only and Dubai-plus-Abu-Dhabi plans are on the Dubai tour packages page. Say how many days you have and whether the theme parks matter, and the planner sets the split.
