Airport parking, taxis and transfers at Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports

At a glance

Parking at Dubai International (DXB)

DXB's car parks are split into Premium and Economy zones at Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, and a single all-levels zone at Terminal 3. Premium parking sits a two to five minute walk from the terminal. Economy parking is further out, at seven to twelve minutes, and costs less.

According to Dubai Airports, the published rates are:

Terminal 1

• Premium: AED 5 for 5 minutes, AED 15 for 15 minutes, AED 30 for 30 minutes, AED 40 up to 2 hours, AED 55 for 3 hours, AED 65 for 4 hours, AED 125 for a full day, and AED 100 for each additional day.
• Economy: AED 25 for 1 hour, AED 30 for 2 hours, AED 35 for 3 hours, AED 45 for 4 hours, AED 85 for a full day, and AED 75 for each additional day.

Terminal 2

• Premium: AED 30 for 1 hour, AED 40 for 2 hours, AED 55 for 3 hours, AED 65 for 4 hours, AED 125 for a full day, and AED 100 for each additional day.
• Economy: AED 15 for 1 hour, AED 20 for 2 hours, AED 25 for 3 hours, AED 30 for 4 hours, AED 70 for a full day, and AED 50 for each additional day.

Terminal 3 (all levels, two to three minute walk)

• AED 5 for 5 minutes, AED 15 for 15 minutes, AED 30 for 30 minutes, AED 40 up to 2 hours, AED 55 for 3 hours, AED 65 for 4 hours, AED 125 for a full day, and AED 100 for each additional day.

Dubai Airports' FAQ page notes that the first two hours are free for People of Determination who hold the relevant card, and that parking at DWC (Dubai World Central, the airport used mainly for some low-cost and charter flights) is free for all guests. Salik, the toll account used on Dubai's roads, can also be used to pay DXB parking fees automatically on exit if there is sufficient balance.

Getting to and from DXB without driving

Metro. The Red Line connects to Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 directly. Terminal 2 has no metro station, so passengers using it need a taxi or bus instead. Fares are charged by the number of fare zones crossed and by card type (Nol Silver, Gold, Personal, or a paper Red Ticket), not by a flat airport fare. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) publishes these zone based fares and a rail network map showing zone boundaries.

Bus. Buses leave from dedicated stands at Arrivals in all three terminals. Cash is not accepted on board, so a Nol card is needed. Nol cards can be bought or topped up at the terminals, at metro stations, and at select bus stations. Routes and timetables are published by the RTA rather than by Dubai Airports.

Taxi. Taxi ranks are signposted from Arrivals at each terminal, staffed by Dubai Taxi Company (DTC) 24/7, alongside Uber, Careem and Bolt pick-up points. Terminal 3 also has a free TaxiDXB service for Concourses B and C. Dubai Airports' own taxi page quotes a starting fare of AED 25 and says the rest of the trip is charged on distance, pointing readers to Dubai Taxi Company for the fare detail.

DTC's own fare page did not previously show a matching figure, but DTC also publishes a dedicated "Airport Taxi" page, separate from its general fare page, which does: a "Dubai Airports" service fee of AED 20 for a Normal vehicle or AED 25 for a Van, plus a per-kilometre rate of AED 2.62 and a waiting charge of 50 fils per minute, with a further AED 20 surcharge on trips into Sharjah. This confirms Dubai Airports' AED 25 figure as DTC's own Van rate for airport pickups; a Normal vehicle's airport rate is AED 20, not AED 25. Neither DTC page states whether these are flagfall amounts or full minimum fares, and a specific trip's price is still built by adding the per-kilometre and waiting charges to whichever vehicle fee applies, not a fare DTC quotes as a total.

Parking at Zayed International Airport (AUH)

Zayed International Airport's official site describes a single parking area, rather than the terminal-by-terminal split used at DXB. The airport's pre-book parking page states in its text that the first 3 hours of drive-up parking are complimentary, with normal rates applying after that. In its own rate table, the same page also shows a short free band alongside two short-stay charges:

• 11 to 15 minutes: AED 10
• 16 to 30 minutes: AED 25

The page does not make clear how this free band in the table and the "first 3 hours complimentary" wording relate to each other, so Savara presents the AED 10 and AED 25 figures as published short-stay charges on the page, without confirming exactly when they start to apply within the free window. A working theory worth recording, though not independently confirmed: a 2022 Khaleej Times article describes a separate three-hour complimentary concession specifically for People of Determination and accessible parking, and a secondary summary of the airport's current page describes the general drive-up grace period as closer to ten minutes before the AED 10 charge begins. If that holds, the two statements may describe two different parking policies rather than one page contradicting itself, but the airport has not confirmed this directly, so the ambiguity above remains the honest, disclosed position. For longer, pre-booked stays, the published figures include:

• 4 to 7 days: AED 325
• 8 to 14 days: AED 400
• From day 15 onward: AED 50 per additional day, up to a maximum stay of 30 days

Valet parking at the Departures curbside (Gate 2) is priced separately and, per the airport's own valet page, is inclusive of 5% VAT and any applicable bank charges:

• Up to 30 minutes: AED 40
• 1 hour: AED 50
• 2 hours: AED 50
• 3 hours: AED 70
• Up to 4 hours: AED 85
• Above 4 hours to 24 hours: AED 145
• Each additional day (maximum 30 days): AED 120

Getting to and from AUH without driving

Visit Abu Dhabi's own travel guide describes AUH as connected to the emirate by bus services, and by the AUH Express shuttle, which runs continuously to the Ibn Battuta bus station in Dubai. It does not publish specific fares, schedules or routes on the page itself, pointing readers to a separate link for that detail. A taxi stand sits in the arrivals hall near the Visitor Information Centre.

Taxi. Abu Dhabi Mobility, the emirate's transport regulator, publishes an official fare table that sets a higher starting fare for airport taxis than for a street-hail Silver Taxi: AED 20 flagfall (day and night) for an airport taxi, against AED 5 (day) or AED 5.50 (night) for a Silver Taxi hailed elsewhere. Both vehicle types are then charged AED 1.82 per kilometre and AED 0.50 per minute of waiting, plus a booking fee of AED 4 (day) or AED 5 (night). As with DXB, these are the starting fare and meter components Abu Dhabi Mobility publishes, not a quoted total journey cost: a specific trip's price is an estimate built by adding distance and waiting charges to these figures, not a fare the regulator quotes directly.