Al Ain city tour

The stops and how long you spend at each

The day leaves Dubai at 8:00 and is back at about 18:30. Once you reach Al Ain, the fort, the oasis and the museum sit within 5 km of each other in the city centre. Drive times are without traffic, from OpenStreetMap routing.

Stop	Time at the stop	Drive from the stop before
Al Jahili Fort	45 min	132 km from Downtown Dubai, 1 h 30 min
Al Ain Oasis	1 h 15 min on foot	2 km, 3 min
Al Ain Museum	45 min	2.3 km, 4 min
Lunch	about 1 h	in central Al Ain
Green Mubazzarah	45 min	18 km, 23 min
Jebel Hafeet summit	1 h	13 km uphill, about 30 min
Back to Downtown Dubai		164 km, about 2 h 05 min

Mountain afternoon or zoo afternoon

The morning stays the same. After lunch you choose one of two afternoons, because both together would push the drop-off in Dubai to about 21:00.

	Jebel Hafeet afternoon	Al Ain Zoo afternoon
What you do	Hot springs at Green Mubazzarah, then the drive to the summit	About 2 hours 30 minutes walking the zoo
Drive from Al Ain Museum	18 km to Green Mubazzarah	10 km to the zoo
Tickets	None needed	AED 31.50 adult, AED 10.50 child aged 3 to 12
Back in Downtown Dubai	about 18:30	about 18:15

The zoo suits families with small children. Its paths are wide, mostly flat and paved, wheelchairs are lent free, and you may bring your own food. Opening is from 9:00 to 18:00, with closing times that change with the season, so tell us your date and we plan around that day’s hours.

Al Jahili Fort and the oasis

Al Jahili Fort was built in the 1890s for Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, in sun-dried mud brick. The Department of Culture and Tourism restored it in 2007 and 2008. Inside is a permanent exhibition on Wilfred Thesiger, who crossed the Empty Quarter twice in the 1940s.

Al Ain Oasis begins 2 km away. It covers about 1,200 hectares, with some 147,000 date palms. Water still reaches them through falaj channels, the Al Aini and Dawood systems at its centre. The channels are about 3,000 years old. The Eco-Centre inside the oasis explains how they work, free of charge.

The oasis is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Al Ain Museum stands on Mathaf Street next to the Sultan bin Zayed fort, 2.3 km from the oasis entrance. It was established in 1969 and covers the region from the Stone Age to the founding of the UAE in 1971. Its tickets are sold on the museum’s own ticket site.

Opening hours at the forts and the museum are not printed on the official visitor pages, so we check them for your date before the quote goes out.

The hot springs and the road up the mountain

Green Mubazzarah lies at the foot of Jebel Hafeet, 18 km south of the museum. It is a free park with lawns and hot springs where you can soak your feet.

From there the road climbs 13 km to the summit car park, about 30 minutes without traffic. Jebel Hafeet rises to 1,249 m on the border with Oman, the highest peak in Abu Dhabi emirate. More than 500 ancient tombs have been found on its slopes. Your chauffeur waits at the top while you walk to the viewpoints.

Other stops worth swapping in

• Al Ain Camel Market, on Zayed Bin Sultan Street, 15 km from downtown. Trading is in the mornings, and visits must be planned in advance and supervised by market staff. Ask when you book and we make it the first stop, which adds about 1 hour to the day.
• Qasr Al Muwaiji, at the western entrance of the city. Entry is free, and a free guided tour can be booked. Its glass-walled exhibition hall tells the story of the ruling family.
• Hili Archaeological Park, 12 km north of Al Jahili Fort. Its round Grand Tomb stands 4 m high. It sits on the Dubai side of the city, so it fits on the drive home.

From Dubai, Abu Dhabi or the airports

From Dubai the route is the E66, the Dubai to Al Ain Road, which becomes Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan Road inside Abu Dhabi emirate. The table shows road distances to Al Jahili Fort, without traffic.

From	Road distance	Without traffic
Downtown Dubai	about 132 km	about 1 h 30 min
Dubai Marina	about 148 km	about 1 h 45 min
Dubai International (DXB)	about 140 km	about 1 h 35 min to 1 h 55 min
Central Abu Dhabi	about 160 km	about 1 h 30 min
Zayed International (AUH)	about 148 km	about 1 h 30 min
Al Ain airport (AAN)	about 30 km	about 35 min

A day that starts in Dubai runs in our own car under our RTA licence, and the car comes back with you. A start at an Abu Dhabi hotel, at AUH or at AAN is on request through our partner network, subject to availability. Al Ain’s airport now goes by the name Tahnoun International; our Al Ain airport page explains the arrivals hall and the flights that use it.

Staying in the capital? Pair this day with the Abu Dhabi city tour, and see the other options on our Abu Dhabi tours page. If you only need to get to Al Ain and stay, a one-way car is listed under intercity transfers.

Private car or a shared seat

Because Al Ain is 132 km out, the private car matters more here than on a city tour: the stops, the afternoon choice and the time you leave the summit are yours. A shared seat to Al Ain is on request, where one runs on your date. To keep the car but choose every stop yourself, book a car and chauffeur for the day.

Age, health and dress

• Long drive: about 4 hours of the day is on the road. Children under 4 must ride in a child seat in the UAE, and children aged 10 or under, or under 145 cm, may not sit in the front. Send every child’s age so seats are fitted.
• Walking: the oasis loop is about 1 hour 15 minutes on foot, on paths shaded by the palms. Tell us about wheelchair users and we plan the shortest walks from the car.
• The mountain road: the 13 km climb to the summit bends steadily. Tell us about travel sickness and the chauffeur drives it slowly.
• Dress: clothes covering shoulders and knees suit the forts and the museum.
• Heat: from May to September, the oasis is cooler in the first hours after you arrive.

What sets the price

The Al Ain day is quoted for the car and the hours, and tickets are paid on top at each site. These are the things that move the quote.

Factor	What changes it
The car	For a day of about 300 km on the road, a Lexus ES 300h seats up to 3, a GMC Yukon or Mercedes-Benz V-Class seats 6, and a 13-seat Mercedes-Benz Sprinter takes a group
Start point	Downtown Dubai, Dubai Marina, or an Abu Dhabi hotel through our partner network
Hours	About 10 hours 30 minutes for the Jebel Hafeet day, slightly less for the zoo day
Extra stops	The camel market first thing adds about 1 hour

How to book

1. Message +971 56 684 8148 on WhatsApp, or fill in the trip form here, with the date, your pickup address and the group size.
2. Say which afternoon you want, Jebel Hafeet or Al Ain Zoo, and whether to add the camel market or Qasr Al Muwaiji.
3. Send children’s ages and any mobility needs. The reply lists the car, the clock times and the tickets you pay on the day.

Assure runs the Dubai end of this trip in its own RTA licensed cars, has been driving UAE roads for 10+ years, and answers WhatsApp and phone 24/7.

For the road from Dubai, see Dubai to Al Ain guide. Our guide to places to visit in Al Ain covers what else is worth a stop.