Rent a car with driver in Dubai

A car with driver is hired for time, not for a route. You book a block of hours, and the car and driver stay with you for all of it: they drive you to each stop, wait outside, and take you on when you are ready.

It suits days with several stops and plans that move. A single run from A to B, such as DXB to a hotel in Dubai Marina, is usually better booked as a transfer. The guide to hourly hire versus a fixed transfer shows where the line falls.

Hourly, half-day and full-day hire

Block	What it suits	What the quote states
By the hour	Dinner, a mall visit, one meeting with a wait	The minimum number of hours for the car
Half day	A morning of sightseeing or an afternoon of shopping	The hours in the block and the start time
Full day	A city day with dinner, or a day trip to Abu Dhabi	The hours in the block and the overtime terms

Your quote says when the clock starts, how many hours the block holds and how extra time is charged. Agree a little slack if the day may run long. A long lunch then eats into hours you already agreed, not into a dispute at 6 pm.

A single driver’s day has a legal ceiling: the federal labour law allows 8 normal hours, and no more than 2 extra hours on top. For a day that starts with a 07:00 pickup and ends after a late dinner, a second driver is planned to take over partway through.

More detail in self-drive versus chauffeur, the 7-seater chauffeur cars and booking a chauffeur on WhatsApp.

What the price covers, and what to check

The car and the driver’s time for your block are the core of every quote. Check these items in writing before you confirm.

Item	What to check
Fuel	Whether it is included, especially for a day that leaves Dubai
Salik tolls	Dubai’s toll gates sit on the main roads, so ask whether tolls are in the quote
Darb tolls	Abu Dhabi’s gates charge in the 7 am to 9 am and 3 pm to 7 pm periods, Monday to Saturday, and are free on Sundays and public holidays
Parking	Paid parking at malls, beaches and attractions, and at DXB, which has no pick-up area at Arrivals
Extra hours	The overtime terms beyond your block
Tickets and meals	Separate from the car, for you and your group

Which car for the day

Seats count passengers only. Bags are large suitcases with every seat in use, which matters if the day ends at the airport.

Class	Example models	Seats	Large bags	Good for
Business sedans	Lexus ES 300h, BMW 5 Series	3	2	A couple’s sightseeing day, a day of meetings
First class sedans	Mercedes S-Class, BMW 7 Series	3	2	A VIP guest, a long day trip in comfort
Luxury SUVs	GMC Yukon, Cadillac Escalade	6	3	A family of 4 to 6 with shopping bags
Vans	Mercedes V-Class, Kia Carnival, Citroen SpaceTourer	6	3 to 4	Families with buggies, or friends who want to face each other
Minibuses	Mercedes Sprinter 13-seat, Toyota Hiace	12 to 13	3 to 6	An office outing or an extended family

The Lexus, S-Class, 7 Series, Yukon, Escalade, V-Class, Carnival, SpaceTourer and Sprinter are Assure fleet cars. The BMW 5 Series and Toyota Hiace are available through our partner network, subject to availability. Groups of 7 or more who need help choosing should start with van and group transport.

A sightseeing day with a driver

This full day covers old Dubai, the beach and the Palm, then ends where it began. The legs total about 74 km and roughly an hour and a half of driving without traffic, so most of the day is spent at the stops.

Time	Stop	Leg without traffic
09:00	Pickup at a Downtown Dubai hotel	Start
09:30	Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, by Dubai Creek	About 10 km
11:30	Jumeirah Mosque	About 6 km
12:30	Lunch near Burj Al Arab	About 14 km
14:30	Atlantis The Palm	About 12 km
16:00	Dubai Marina	About 12 km
18:00	Drop-off back in Downtown	About 21 km

With a car and driver, the order is yours: skip a stop, stay longer at the beach, or add a mall on the way back. If you would rather have the route planned for you, the Dubai city tour covers the main sights. Private tours with a driver can also be built around your own list.

A business day with a driver

A site-visit day leaves the city centre and crosses the south of Dubai. These legs run without traffic.

Time	Stop	Leg without traffic
08:00	Pickup at a hotel by Dubai World Trade Centre	Start
09:00	Meeting in Jebel Ali Free Zone	About 34 km
12:00	Site visit at Expo City Dubai	About 15 km
16:00	Drop-off back at Dubai World Trade Centre	About 43 km

The car waits at each address, so samples and laptop bags stay in the boot between stops. That is 8 hours and about 91 km, booked as a full day. Mention it at booking if the day needs a company invoice.

A day trip to Abu Dhabi with a driver

From Downtown Dubai, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is about 129 km away, roughly 1 hour 25 minutes without traffic. The Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island is about 26 km on from the mosque, and the drive back to Downtown is about 135 km. That makes about 290 km in the day and a little over 3 hours behind the wheel.

The day starts and ends in Dubai, so one car and driver cover all of it. Darb tolls apply wherever the route crosses one of Abu Dhabi’s toll gates. If you only need to get there, book Dubai to Abu Dhabi by private car one way. For a guided day in the capital, see the Abu Dhabi city tour.

Can you drive in Dubai as a tourist?

It depends on where your licence was issued. The Ministry of Interior’s Markhoos initiative lets some visitors drive on their home licence, and the rule runs country by country, so look yours up before the trip.

Driving yourself also means Salik gates, paid parking at every stop, and finding your way after a long flight. Hiring a car with a driver removes all of that, because you never take the wheel.

Car with driver, private driver or chauffeur service?

• Car with driver (this page): a block of hours for one day, booked for sightseeing, shopping or meetings.
• Private driver: a driver who follows your own schedule across several days, such as school runs and errands during a long stay. See private driver in Dubai.
• Chauffeur service: business transfers, roadshows and VIP guests, booked by route or by the hour. See chauffeur service in Dubai.

How to book a car with driver

1. Send the date and the start time on WhatsApp.
2. Choose half day or full day, or give the number of hours.
3. Add the pickup address, passengers and the plan: sightseeing, shopping or meetings.
4. Get the quote on WhatsApp and confirm it there.