How to drive to Dubai from Doha? Driving to Dubai... | ExpatWoman.com
 

How to drive to Dubai from Doha? Driving to Dubai...

46
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 24 May 2011 - 23:47

I know it's been done but the search engine is giving me nada!

Can someone who has successfully made it to Dubai from Doha and back provide me step by step with what I need to do to get is from A to B to A? All I'm kinda aware of is a Saudi transit visit, but I have no idea if that's right or how to get it or costs/timing involved.

Thanks!

121
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 11 March 2012 - 21:41
Good summaries by the ladies below. We've done the return trip 3 times in the past few months, its usually 8-9 hours each way depending on how long the borders take. Never had to have a retina scan though. Don't forget your abaya and sheyla for the transit through Saudi. The Jebel Dannat hotel is exactly half way and is a good place to stop for a coffee and to stretch the legs.
394
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 25 May 2011 - 13:29
Kerboo, here is the number of the agent who got out Saudi visas for us. His name is Ihsaan and the number is 55513959. His office is in Souq Asiery. Hope that helps you!
Anonymous (not verified)
0
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 25 May 2011 - 10:14
I'll add my version of our experience which is different to Maples. You have to hand in your passports to the Saudi Embassy for them to stick in the visas, this takes a few days & I would recommend getting an 'agent' run-around guy to do this for you as he will know what to do & speaks the lingo. Getting out through Qatar into Saudi was very quick - go early. Do a loo break on the Qatar customs side (the loos are clean) as this will be the last proper toilet you will see for many hours. The road through Saudi is very open & you can get through there in about an hour. At the Abu Dhabi border you will have to get out of the car & go into the building for visas & a retina scan. This doesn't take too long if it's still early-ish. Once you get into Abu Dhabi the road seems absolutely endless & there are no decent restrooms (smelly hole in the ground) or eateries until you're getting to within about 50km of Abu Dhabi. A word of warning - don't assume there's a petrol station up ahead because they are very few & far between, we almost ran out of petrol twice. Fill-up when you see a station even if you don't really need it. My husband drove at approx 140+ kms/hr the whole way & it still took us 8 hours even with the no-hassle border crossings. Coming back, it took even longer as the Qatar border post was manic busy & the traffic on Salwa road was horrendous. We definitely wouldn't do this trip again. We worked out it would have been cheaper to take flydubai & hire a small car there, and then you also don't spend 2 full days travelling and the hubby wouldn't be knackered from all the driving. <em>edited by kimmac on 25/05/2011</em>
394
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 25 May 2011 - 01:29
We drove from Doha to Dubai in Dec for a 10 day vacation and it was a smooth trip which took us just under seven hours. To start with you will need to get a Saudi transit visa as you rightly mentioned. This can be arranged through an agent who will require certain documentation and the fee per person is QR 100 from what I can remember. It took us a little while at the Saudi border coz there were separate lines for ladies and gents for fingerprinting and then they also do a car check. We took the UAE visas at the border and much to our surprise it did not take more than 45 min (involves an eye scan). Unfortunately I dont remember all the details about the paperwork as DH handled it. Maybe you can post your email add and I can ask him further and write to u in the morn. The only problem we faced through the drive from here was the lack of clean washrooms and food. Make sure you pack something esp if u have kids going with u. Coming back from Dubai there are plenty of good places to eat/grab a coffee and of course washrooms so no worries. Another important point is to get a Salik card as soon as u cross into the UAE border as that will take care of the toll fares or else they apparently make u pay when u leave UAE. We were unaware of this and only purchased the card 2-3 days into our trip so just giving u a heads up on that. Good luck and have fun!