The E66 from Terminal 3 to Al Ain
One highway, almost door to door: the Al Ain run has the simplest road of all our UAE transfer routes. From the DXB terminals the driver joins the E66, the Dubai-Al Ain Road, and stays on it for nearly the whole 140 km. OpenStreetMap’s routing names the main road Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan Road, so that may be what your phone’s map shows.
On the way out of Dubai the E66 crosses Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road (E311) and then Emirates Road (E611), the outer bypass that links Abu Dhabi emirate with the northern emirates. Further on you cross from Dubai into Abu Dhabi emirate, which Al Ain belongs to, and the road runs on into the city from the north-west.
Nothing changes at the DXB end. As on any Dubai airport transfer, the driver tracks your flight, waits in your terminal’s arrivals hall with a name board and gives you 60 minutes of free waiting.
Where Al Ain drop-offs usually go
Al Ain has been a UNESCO World Heritage city since 2011, when the Cultural Sites of Al Ain (Hafit, Hili, Bidaa Bint Saud and the oases) were listed.
The centre, around the Al Ain Oasis, is where the 140 km figure is measured to. Al Jahili Fort, Qasr Al Muwaiji, Al Ain Zoo and Hili Archaeological Park are the other names visitors ask for. Going to a home or a campus? Send a map pin with the booking.
Jebel Hafeet is the one to plan for. The mountain road is 11.7 km with 60 turns, built in 1980 with three lanes (two up, one down), and ends at a car park beside the Mercure hotel. In January the road also hosts the Jabal Hafeet Mercure Challenge cycling climb, and it’s a regular UAE Tour stage finish, so expect riders on event days.
Tolls and timing on the Dubai airport to Al Ain transfer
Dubai’s ten Salik gates sit on Sheikh Zayed Road, Al Khail Road, Al Ittihad Road, the Creek crossings and the Airport Tunnel. None is on the E66, so the usual line from Terminal 3 passes none. Abu Dhabi’s Darb gates are on the bridges onto Abu Dhabi island and at Ghantoot and Al Qurm, nowhere near Al Ain. Our Salik and Darb guide lists them all.
Timing is decided in Dubai. Monday to Saturday, Salik’s peak hours of 6am to 10am and 4pm to 8pm are a fair guide to when the city’s roads fill. Land at 5pm on a Wednesday and the first stretch to the E311 interchange is the slow part; land at 2am and the whole drive sits near its clear-road time. Sundays have no Salik peak at all.
Ramadan shifts all of this. Private-sector working hours drop by two hours a day, which moves the rush. In 2027 Ramadan is expected from about 8 February to 8 March.
Choosing the car for your Dubai airport to Al Ain transfer
| Your group | Car we’d suggest | Seats and large cases |
|---|---|---|
| One or two on business | Lexus ES or Mercedes E-Class | 3 seats, 2 cases |
| Couple or family of four for Jebel Hafeet | Toyota Land Cruiser | 4 seats, 3 cases |
| Family of five or six with luggage | GMC Yukon Denali or Mercedes V-Class | 6 seats, 4-5 cases |
| Seven travellers | Hyundai Staria | 7 seats, 4 cases |
| Team or school group up to ten | Toyota HiAce | 10 seats, 7 cases |
| Up to twelve with kit | Mercedes Sprinter | 12 seats, 9 cases |
Count suitcases before people, and if you’re between two sizes, take the larger one: two hours with a bag on your lap is a long time. Children under four need a child seat under UAE law; tell us ages and we fit seats before the driver leaves for DXB.
Buses to Al Ain: what exists and what doesn’t
We haven’t found a public bus that runs direct from DXB to Al Ain. Taking the bus means crossing Dubai to a city bus station first, with a Nol card (buses don’t take cash) and your luggage, then the intercity coach, then a cab at the Al Ain end. Check the RTA journey planner for today’s routes.
The only airport coaches to Al Ain we can source start elsewhere: Air Arabia’s runs from Sharjah airport, and Etihad runs one from Zayed International for its own passengers. Neither helps a DXB arrival. For a family with luggage, that’s three changes of vehicle against one car with driver from the arrivals hall.
Al Ain to Dubai airport: the return trip
Going back, the slow part moves to the end of the drive. Weekday evening flights mean arriving into Dubai during the 4pm-8pm peak, so we leave Al Ain with that built in. DXB drop-off zones are time-limited, and Terminal 2 isn’t joined to 1 and 3, so check which one is on your ticket.
If an Abu Dhabi flight suits you better, the Abu Dhabi airport to Al Ain transfer covers the other road into the city. For days out once you’ve arrived, our chauffeur service in Abu Dhabi emirate includes Al Ain, and our intercity transfers link it with every other emirate.
