Al Maktoum International sits in Jebel Ali, on the Abu Dhabi side of Dubai, and that shapes the whole trip. From its single terminal to the Abu Dhabi Corniche is about 117 km. From Dubai International’s Terminal 3 it’s about 163 km. Of all the intercity airport transfers we run, this is the shortest way into the capital from a Dubai airport.
How the Al Maktoum airport to Abu Dhabi transfer works
Send your flight number, the Abu Dhabi address and your suitcase count on WhatsApp, and we reply with a fixed fare. The driver tracks the flight and waits at the customs exit with your name on a board. Parking at DWC is free, so the car sits close to the door and a slow passport queue costs nobody anything. You get 60 minutes of free waiting. Our page on Al Maktoum airport pickups covers the terminal itself.
The road: E311 to Abu Dhabi, no Salik and no Ghantoot
Our usual line leaves the airport on Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, the E311, and stays on it across the emirate line. About 22 km out you pass Al Ghadeer, the first Abu Dhabi locality, and from there the same road is Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Road.
That matters for tolls. None of Dubai’s ten Salik gates sits on the E311. And Abu Dhabi Mobility names this road as the toll-free alternative to the Ghantoot Darb gate, which has charged AED 4 a crossing around the clock since 4 May 2026 on the coastal E11.
Past Al Layyan and the Khalifa Industrial zone, Al Taff Road (E16) links across to the E11 for the run past Al Rahbah and Al Bahya. Yas Island comes up around 86 km in. Corniche-bound cars then take Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Street (E12) across Al Jubail Island and Saadiyat, over the Sheikh Khalifa Bridge and through the Mina Zayed tunnel onto Corniche Road.
If the E311 is blocked, the driver can switch to Sheikh Zayed Road and the E11 through Ghantoot, which adds that AED 4 Darb charge. Your fare is agreed before the trip either way. Our guide to Salik and Darb tolls explains how both systems bill.
When you land: island drops and the Darb peak
The Sheikh Khalifa Bridge is one of four Darb gates on the bridges onto Abu Dhabi island. They charge AED 4 from 07:00 to 09:00 and 15:00 to 19:00, Monday to Saturday, never on Sundays or official holidays. Yas, Saadiyat, Khalifa City and Zayed International drops don’t cross a bridge, so on our usual road they’re toll-free at any hour.
| You land (Mon-Sat) | Darb on a Corniche or downtown drop | What we plan for |
|---|---|---|
| 01:00-07:00 | Free | Close to the 80-minute clear-road time |
| 07:00-09:00 | AED 4 at the bridge | Abu Dhabi’s morning peak, worst around 08:00 in the city centre |
| 09:00-15:00 | Free | Usually the easiest daytime window |
| 15:00-19:00 | AED 4 at the bridge | The slow one: TomTom’s 2025 data puts the city’s worst hour at 18:00 |
| 19:00-01:00 | Free | Traffic eases once the evening peak passes |
| Sundays and official holidays | Free all day | Normal weekend traffic |
TomTom’s 2025 index gives central Abu Dhabi 61.3% extra travel time at 18:00, against 28.5% at the 08:00 morning peak. So an afternoon charter landing gets the top of our time range.
Taxi, bus or train from DWC to Abu Dhabi
Dubai Taxi is the only taxi at DWC, booked through the Bolt app at the rank. It starts at AED 20 (AED 25 for a van), then AED 2.62 a km and 50 fils a minute waiting, so on a 117 km run the meter passes AED 300 before any waiting or bridge toll.
Public transport means two buses with a change at Ibn Battuta, or a road leg to Etihad Rail’s Dubai station and another from its Abu Dhabi terminus (details in the questions below). It works for a light traveller with time. It doesn’t work for a family off a 2am charter, and we wouldn’t suggest trying.
Which car for a DWC to Abu Dhabi transfer
Count suitcases first. Two business travellers with two cases fit a Lexus ES or Mercedes E-Class. Four people with four large cases need an SUV such as the GMC Yukon Denali. Six with five cases go in a Mercedes V-Class, and charter groups of ten with seven cases take a Toyota HiAce. Child seats are available on request; tell us each child’s age.
Going the other way, or landing at DXB instead
Heading from Abu Dhabi to a DWC flight, we run the same E311 line in reverse. Leaving the island between 15:00 and 19:00 means the bridge gate and the city’s worst traffic, so start earlier.
If your flight lands at Dubai International instead, our Dubai airport to Abu Dhabi transfer covers the longer drive through the city. Still choosing an airport? The DWC vs DXB guide compares them. Once you’re in the capital, our chauffeur service in Abu Dhabi handles meetings and day hire, and emirate-to-emirate transfers cover the rest of the country.
