Getting around Dubai without a car

The shape of the city

Dubai is a line. The city runs for about forty kilometres along the coast, and almost everything a visitor wants is within two kilometres of Sheikh Zayed Road, the twelve-lane highway down the middle. The metro's Red Line runs along the same road. So the question is rarely how to get somewhere; it is how to get across the road, and how to cover the last kilometre in the heat.

That is why most guests do not need a car. Parking is scarce at the places you want to go, the roads are fast and unforgiving for a visitor, and a taxi is cheap by the standards of any European city. A car makes sense for a long stay with a family in the suburbs, or for day trips to the other emirates. For a week in the Marina or Downtown it is a liability.

The metro

Clean, cheap, air-conditioned, driverless and on time. The Red Line runs from the airport along Sheikh Zayed Road through Downtown (Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall), Business Bay, the Mall of the Emirates, Internet City and the Marina (Sobha Realty and DMCC) to the far end of the city. The Green Line serves the old city and the Creek. Trains run from early morning to around midnight, later on Thursdays and Fridays, with a short service on Friday mornings; check the current hours.

• Nol cardBuy a red ticket for a few trips or a silver card for a week, at any station. Tap in and out. It works on the tram, the buses and the water bus too
• Gold classThe front carriage, double fare, a seat guaranteed. Worth it at rush hour
• The last kilometreStations are on the highway; the places are not. Allow ten to fifteen minutes' walk or a short taxi from most stations. Downtown's walk from the station to the mall is long but covered and cooled
• Women and childrenA carriage reserved for them at the front of each train, next to Gold

Taxis and ride apps

Taxis are the workhorse. The cream RTA taxis are metered, plentiful and honest, and you can hail them, find them at every mall and hotel, or book them through the Careem app, which also runs its own cars and is the app most residents use. Uber works too. A trip between the Marina and Downtown costs roughly what a short cab ride costs in London, and a trip across the Marina costs a coffee.

Two things to know. Children do not legally need car seats in taxis, and most families use taxis without them; if that is not for you, tell us and we will book a car with a seat. And Salik, the road toll, is added to the meter when you pass a gantry; it is small and automatic. Our guide to the Marina or Downtown gives the times between them.

The tram, the boats and your feet

The Dubai Tram loops through the Marina and along JBR, connecting to the metro at DMCC and Sobha Realty and to the Palm monorail at its far end. It is slow and pleasant and exactly right for a family with a stroller going to the beach. On the Creek, the wooden abras cross between Deira and Bur Dubai for a coin; it is the best thing in the city for the price. The Marina has a water bus and the Downtown lake has an abra ride round the fountain.

Walking is a winter pleasure and a summer mistake. From November to March you can walk the Marina loop, the Boulevard in Downtown and the beach promenades at any hour. From June to September you walk from the door to the taxi. In between, walk before ten and after five. Pavements exist in the planned areas and vanish between them; crossing Sheikh Zayed Road on foot is only possible at the metro footbridges.

How long things take

• Airport to DowntownAbout 20 minutes by taxi outside rush hour; 25 by metro plus the walk
• Airport to the MarinaAbout 35 minutes by taxi; about 55 by metro
• Downtown to the MarinaAbout 20 minutes by taxi; 30 by metro
• The Marina to the PalmAbout 10 minutes to the trunk by taxi; the tram and monorail take 40
• Rush hoursRoughly 7 to 10 in the morning and 5 to 8 in the evening on weekdays. Add half again to every road time

We can send a driver to meet any flight, and we give every guest a short note on the building's taxi pick-up point and the nearest station when they arrive.

Next in the journal

Visiting Dubai during Ramadan. What Ramadan changes for a visitor to Dubai and what it does not: eating and drinking, hours, the quiet days and long evenings, and why some choose it.