A rental car in Dubai is essential if you want to explore Dubai as well as other Emirates on your own. Public transport within the city works quite well. You often need a long time to get from one place to another, but it is possible. But if you want to do excursions, you only have two options:

1. Rent a car in Dubai
2. Make a tour with pickup from Dubai

 

A Rental Car in Dubai

In Dubai there are, of course, all classic car rental companies and smaller, local ones. It is extremely time-consuming to search all these websites to find the best. Which provider should you choose from this jungle of possibilities so you can explore Abu Dhabi, Ras al Kaimah or Fujeirah (unfortunately, it’s not allowed to drive to Oman) with your rental car?

To get a rental car in Dubai you don’t need an international driving license. I was only asked for a scan of my normal driving license and had to put a deposit on my credit card. The company didn’t know the European driving license and they did not want to believe me in the first place that it does not expire. Since it looks like it’s normal in Dubai that the driver’s license is renewed after 10 years, they thought my license had expired two years before.

Final Rentals

Final rentals took care of the problem of the many providers. They compare all car rental companies and you get the car for the best price. So I simply booked my rental car and for a small surcharge, the car was even brought right in front of my door and in the end again picked up. What a service!

The car arrived at the agreed time, I checked it with the driver for scratches, signed the contract and deposited my credit card with 1,500 AED (which were about 375 euro). Be careful: It will probably take a month until you get the deposit back! Then the car was mine for a week!

I did not really use it to drive in the city. This seemed too stressful to me and I did not feel like I want to search for car parking in the big city. Instead, I drove to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi. They have a huge parking lot! Driving was absolutely no problem. Fortunately, I did not have any traffic jam.

The next day I went with my rental car to Ras Al Kaimah, the neighbors‘ council in the north of the UAE. Also there I had neither problems with traffic jams or with other cars. To go there also in the Emirate was all right.

Nevertheless, I would like to give you a few tips, which you should keep in mind:

Tips on driving in Dubai

# 1 Speed

Sounds dull, but speed violations are severely punished in the UAE. Accidents are happening every day, so this is a big issue. At the same time, the wealthy inhabitants of the Emirates are very little interested in those punishments. If you do not have a bank account looking like you own an oil company, I advise you to follow the rules. maximum speed is 120 km/h. In the Emirates, they have speed cameras every few kilometers.

# 2 Distance

It’s important to keep the right distance. On the highways sometimes there are signs on the street, with which it’s easier to estimate the distance to the car in front.

# 3 Tolls

In Dubai, there is a motorway toll called Salik. Via a sticker in the windshield, Salik is debited directly when you pass under the portals (4 AED each).

# 4 Swearing

Cursing is taken seriously in Dubai and severely punished. So try to avoid making gestures with your hands and using words that you could regret afterward. In the worst case it can lead to a night in prison …

# 5 Hard Shoulder

Many use the hard shoulder to avoid traffic jams. Therefore, there are many accidents. Even if the traffic jam is annoying: Avoid using the hard shoulder. If you have to actually use it because of a flat tire or so, wait on the other side of the safety barrier.

# 6 Visibility

Remember that many cars in the UAE have completely dark windows. Thus, the visibility is particularly limited at night. So be prepared that other drivers don’t see you. Another problem is headlights: Actually, it can happen that drivers do not turn on headlights here. Since they can see the street themselves, they think they do not need them. So beware of cars that drive without light.

# 7 Indicating

If someone indicates, that does not mean that he also wants to go in that direction. And the other way round, if someone does not blink, does not mean he does not want to turn. So be cautious when driving with the rental car in Dubai.

Conclusion

I think it all sounds much more dramatic than it really is. Yes, you should be more careful here than in other countries. But the experience of being able to move freely and, for example, driving for a day to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque to Abu Dhabi is incredible!
I would do it again.

Have you ever been to the UAE? Did you have a rental car in Dubai?

PS: This blog post has been supported by finalrentals. I got the rental car for free, but didn’t get any monetary compensation. My opinion is my own.