Thanks that's really helpful-plan to head down from Dubai soon so will take your advice-last time I went to the zoo there were no taxis down that way but the nice man at the phone called and booked one for me
Oh and we drove past the gardens on our way to a concert at al Jahili Fort a few nights ago-they looked great trhough the car windows...
<em>edited by wuffles on 07/03/2011</em>
They are further away than town centre but not far by vehicle. The #970 and #990 bus go down that road. I think it's 1Dhs for any trip within Al Ain.
If you get a taxi ask the driver to take you to Zakher roundabout if he doesn't know where the Paradise Gardens are; it's just on the corner of the roundabout so he can't miss it then. The zoo is one roundabout down from there going back toward town, it's walkable but wear comfy shoes as it's 1km or 2 on foot.
If you want a taxi to get back and can't find one to hail down then just ring +971 3 751 6565 which is the Al Ain Al Ghazal office or I guess 600 535353 will get you a silver taxi via a central call centre.
You can go daily from Abu Dhabi bus station (which I think is near Al Wadha Mall) to Al Ain bus station (which is in Town Centre near the Souk) on the #700 bus route which takes 2 hrs. First bus leaves AUH at 0600 and they leave every 30-40mins until 0040.
Return journey daily from Al Ain bus station to Abu Dhabi bus station on the #700 bus route also takes 2hrs. First bus leaves Al Ain at 0500 and they leave every 15-30mins until 2230.
The cost is 10Dhs each way.
Call 800 55555 for more info. It's an automated system but if you press the right sequence of buttons they have people to talk to from 0600-2200 daily.
Did you mean the Al Ain Paradise Gardens? http://www.alainparadise.com/ They are not so big but are bigger than last year as they've been busy improving them since December and the flowers are in bloom right now. You'll be just down the road from the zoo so can combine the two in a day.
Can I get a bus from Abu Dhabi to Al Ain, and if so, how long would the journey take. Thought I might take a trip to see the new gardens that have opened.