Ghuwaifat and Batha border: crossing from the UAE into Saudi Arabia

Where is the Ghuwaifat border, and how far is it from Dubai and Abu Dhabi?

Al Ghuwaifat is a small town in the far west of Abu Dhabi emirate, in the Al Dhafra region. It sits in the urban area of Sila, at the end of the E11. ICP calls it a border port of Abu Dhabi emirate. The Saudi post next to it is Al Batha, in Al-Udayd Governorate in the Eastern Province.

From	To the Ghuwaifat post	Without traffic
Downtown Dubai	about 453 km	3 h 58 min
Abu Dhabi city	about 350 to 360 km	about 3 h

The Dubai figure is the one on our UAE to Saudi Arabia page. Both come from OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, measured on 17 October 2026. They exclude queues, fuel and meal stops.

From Dubai the road runs on the E11 past Abu Dhabi, where it becomes the Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed International Road. It then crosses Al Dhafra through Ruwais and Sila. Our road travel guide from Dubai shows where this sits among every corridor out of the UAE.

Is Ghuwaifat the only UAE and Saudi crossing?

Yes, by the Saudi account. Saudipedia, from the Saudi Ministry of Media, calls Al Batha the only crossing linking Saudi Arabia with the UAE, along a border strip of about 682 km. So every road trip to Riyadh, Dammam, Doha or Manama leaves the UAE here.

That makes the post a shared bottleneck. A Doha trip goes on to Salwa and Abu Samra, covered in our Salwa and Abu Samra guide. A Bahrain trip ends on the King Fahd Causeway.

Step by step: UAE exit at Ghuwaifat, Saudi entry at Batha

1. UAE exit at Al Ghuwaifat. Every passenger shows a passport and is processed out of the UAE. Residents should check that the residence visa is valid on the return date, because they come back through the same post.
2. The short drive between the posts. You stay in the vehicle.
3. Saudi entry at Al Batha. Each passenger shows a passport and a Saudi visa or proof of exemption. The German Embassy reported in March 2026 that the eVisa asks for a destination address, such as a hotel, and that officers check hotel bookings.
4. Customs. ZATCA, the Saudi customs authority, inspects at Al Batha Port. In January 2025 it described using security technology and a K9 unit there.
5. Insurance and car papers. See the section below.

Then you drive on. The Saudi side has little infrastructure for arranging onward transport on the spot, the embassy warned. A car booked through to your hotel avoids that gap.

Which visas and documents does Batha check?

Saudi Arabia’s Tourist Visa Regulations, issued by the Ministry of Tourism, set the basics:

• Three routes: on arrival at a Saudi port for listed nationalities, as an eVisa, or through a Saudi embassy.
• Passport: valid for 6 months.
• Also needed: medical insurance approved in Saudi Arabia, an address in the Kingdom and the visa fee. The regulation sets the fee at SAR 300.
• GCC residents: a residence visa valid for at least 3 months, in a profession on the visitsaudi.com list, plus first-degree relatives travelling with them.
• Under-18s: they travel with a guardian or a safe companion.

Our Saudi visa guide for UAE residents walks through the profession rules. For the mix of visas on a longer trip, see the GCC road trip visas guide. If you hold a GCC residence and are visiting the UAE, read the UAE eVisa guide for GCC residents.

Saudi car insurance and customs at the border

The German Embassy reported that buses from the UAE could drive through the border zone once the bus had Saudi insurance and the driver had a visa. The insurance could be bought during border processing. We found no equivalent statement for private cars.

For an Assure trip, we confirm Saudi insurance, the registration papers and permission to carry paying passengers across the border before the booking is final. That is confirmed per trip, on request. If you drive yourself, ask your insurer in writing whether the policy covers Saudi Arabia.

Opening hours and busy periods

The German Embassy in Abu Dhabi reported Al Batha open around the clock on 2 March 2026. We have no later official statement of hours for either post, and no published waiting time.

Queues build when many people cross at once, such as on UAE public holidays. Our guide to border queues on UAE holidays lists the dates to avoid. We do not state dates for Hajj season or Saudi National Day here, because we have no official source for how they affect the post.

Last fuel and rest stops: Ruwais, Sila and Ghuwaifat

Ruwais and Sila are the last towns on the E11 before the border, and Ghuwaifat itself is the last UAE stop. On a 453 km drive from Dubai, Ruwais is a sensible place to stop for fuel and a meal before the border.

Ahead lies the Saudi leg. Al Hofuf is about 278 km after Al Batha, and central Riyadh about 599 km. Al Khobar is about 351 km after the border. A tank filled at Sila lasts comfortably to the first Saudi towns, but check your own car’s range.

Crossing at Ghuwaifat with a chauffeur

Assure drives into Saudi Arabia on request, confirmed per trip. Send the city, date, passenger count and every passport’s nationality on WhatsApp. We check each passenger’s Saudi entry before quoting. Our Dubai to Riyadh route and Dubai to Doha route show the full legs. For shorter trips inside the UAE, see our intercity transfers.