Abu Dhabi · AUH
A private car to or from Zayed International (AUH), with a named chauffeur, your flight tracked and a full quote before you pay, usually within two hours.
Nothing is charged until you accept the quote.
At a glance
Zayed International Airport (AUH) is on the mainland east of Abu Dhabi, with Yas Island a short drive away and the Corniche about half an hour off, across the bridges onto the city’s island. Universal Airport Transfer arranges a private car to or from Terminal A with a named chauffeur and your flight tracked. Send your flight number and the full address, and a full quote follows, usually within two hours.
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Taxis and buses leave from outside arrivals around the clock, so booking ahead is a choice rather than a necessity. This is how the ways out of AUH compare.
| Option | Where you find it | When it runs | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airport taxi | The taxi bays outside arrivals | Around the clock | Metered, to anywhere in Abu Dhabi, and paid by cash or card at the end. A sensible choice if you have not booked ahead, and the airport says larger vehicles are available too. |
| Ride-hailing app | A designated pick-up zone, as the app directs | Booked in the app once you are through | The car is found after you arrive, rather than waiting for you when you walk out. |
| City bus | Stops just outside arrivals | A-series routes around the clock | Pay with a Hafilat card from the machines by the stops, as cash is not taken on board. A1 serves Al Reem Island and Al Zahiyah and A2 Khalifa Street; route K4 goes to Khalifa City. |
| Airport Express coach | A ticket counter in the arrivals hall | Every hour, day and night | Goes to Ibn Battuta bus station in Dubai, timetabled at an hour and a half. |
| Pre-booked private transfer | Where the booking desk tells you | Timed to your flight’s actual arrival | A full quote agreed before you travel, a vehicle chosen for your party and bags, and the car straight to your door. |
Bus routes, coach times and taxi arrangements are taken from the airport’s own published details, checked in September 2026. They can change, so look at the airport’s website again before you travel.
Price
Every journey is quoted on its own rather than sold from a price list, so the figure you receive is for your booking. These are the things that move it. Nothing is charged until you accept the quote. Tolls, where they apply, are either included in it or shown in it as an additional charge, and heavy traffic does not change the quoted price.
When you land
With a single terminal, the walk from the aircraft to the kerb follows the same path whichever airline you fly. This is what to expect along the way.
A chauffeur is assigned to your booking and your flight is tracked, so an early or late arrival moves the pickup with it. If you are connecting into Abu Dhabi on a separate ticket, give us the flight that actually lands at AUH.
Follow the signs straight to the immigration counters. UAE residents and eligible nationals can use the smart gates; everyone else is seen at a staffed counter. Whether you need a visa arranged in advance depends on your nationality, and the airport directs travellers to the official UAE government portal to check.
Find your carousel on the screens by flight number, then walk out through customs, using the declaration lane if you carry anything that has to be declared. Your waiting time began when the flight arrived, so if the queues are long, message the booking desk: it is staffed around the clock and passes word to your chauffeur. Waiting beyond the included time can carry an additional charge.
Your voucher confirms the passenger name, travel details and the vehicle booked. Your chauffeur is named before pickup, and the booking desk tells you where to meet at Terminal A. Keep your phone on: a booking is treated as a no-show only if you have not reached the meeting point within the waiting time and cannot be contacted.
The roads into the city are slowest in the morning and late-afternoon peaks; late at night the same run is usually quicker. Traffic changes the journey time, not the quoted price.
Several of Abu Dhabi’s districts are islands of their own, linked by bridges. Send the full drop-off address with the district, the building or villa, and a map pin if you have one, so the quote reflects the real journey.
From AUH
The airport is on the mainland, east of the city, so the districts nearest to it are not the central ones. This is how the main parts of Abu Dhabi sit in relation to AUH.
Close to the airport: the island’s own visitor guide puts it about 15 minutes away by road. Home to theme parks, Yas Marina Circuit and a cluster of hotels, it has a free shuttle, Yas Express, between its hotels and attractions, and many Yas hotels arrange airport transfers for their guests, so ask yours before booking. Travelling with small children? Tick Child seat when you book: Abu Dhabi’s tourism department reminds visitors that children under four must ride in a car seat.
The tourism department puts Saadiyat about 25 minutes from the airport. It holds the Cultural District, with Louvre Abu Dhabi among its museums, and a line of beach resorts. It is reached on the E12, the highway that also serves Yas, and since March 2026 two new marine bridges have linked Al Reem Island straight to that road, making the drive between Al Reem and Saadiyat more direct.
The city proper stands on Abu Dhabi island, joined to the mainland by bridges, and Yas Island’s guide puts the Corniche and city centre about 30 minutes from the airport. The Corniche itself is eight kilometres of waterfront. Al Maryah Island, the business district and seat of Abu Dhabi Global Market, and Al Reem sit just off the island’s north-eastern shore. For an office tower, tell us the building and the entrance.
A residential suburb on the mainland close to the airport, beside the main road towards Dubai, so the run is short and never crosses onto the island. Give the full address, including which part of Khalifa City it is in. It is also served from the airport by the K4 city bus, if you are travelling light.
The emirate’s second city, whose oases and ancient sites are inscribed together as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, about 90 minutes inland from downtown Abu Dhabi by the tourism department’s count, and quoted as one journey from the airport. Al Ain has its own airport, Al Ain International (AAN), so check which one your ticket names before you book.
Landing at AUH but staying in Dubai, or flying out of DXB? Our Dubai airport to Abu Dhabi page covers the drive up the coast on the E11, which can be booked in either direction. If a coach suits you better, the airport’s hourly service to Dubai is in the options table above.
AUH
Zayed International is Abu Dhabi’s main airport and the home base of Etihad Airways. It was renamed from Abu Dhabi International to Zayed International on 9 February 2024, and its code stayed AUH. The operator reported a record 32.5 million passengers in 2025. Put your flight number on the request and the pickup is timed to that flight.
Terminals Terminal A only. It opened on 31 October 2023, every airline had moved in by mid-November 2023, and the former Terminals 1, 2 and 3 are closed.
Get an AUH quoteServices
From Terminal A to a hotel, home or office anywhere in the emirate, with your flight tracked so an early or late arrival moves the pickup. Meet and greet can be added as an extra, at the gate where the airport allows it.
From your address to AUH, timed backwards from your check-in cut-off with traffic and the drop-off at Terminal A built in, so you reach the airport with time to spare.
AUH to Dubai International or Al Maktoum when your onward flight, on a separate ticket, leaves from Dubai. Give the desk your onward departure so the connection window is protected.
A car and chauffeur held by the hour for meetings on Al Maryah Island, site visits or a day of stops, starting or ending at the airport.
One run between two addresses, quoted on its own, with no airport involved, from a Yas Island hotel to a Saadiyat museum, say, or from the city to Al Ain.
How it works
Your flight, the full Abu Dhabi address, passengers and bags, using the form below.
Usually within two hours, with any late-night, public holiday or short-notice charges shown. Nothing is charged until you accept it.
By secure payment link or bank transfer. Card details never reach this website.
Confirmed once paid, and the booking desk shares your voucher.
Questions
Book it before you fly: send your flight number, the hotel’s full address and district, and how many people and bags are travelling, and a full quote comes back, usually within two hours. Once you pay, the booking is confirmed and your flight is tracked, and your chauffeur is named before pickup. If you would rather not book ahead, taxis wait at the bays outside arrivals at any hour, and many Yas Island hotels run their own transfers for guests.
Yes. Abu Dhabi International became Zayed International Airport on 9 February 2024, the day of Terminal A’s official opening ceremony, and the code AUH did not change. Older tickets, maps and apps may still show the former name; a booking under either one is for the same airport.
Terminal A, whichever airline you fly. The move out of the old terminals finished in mid-November 2023, so there is no terminal to choose, and the flight number on your request is all the desk needs.
About 15 minutes by road, according to Yas Island’s own guide, so it is a short run from AUH. It is quoted like any other, and a child seat can be fitted for it if you ask when you book.
Usually around half an hour to the Corniche or downtown, and longer in the morning and late-afternoon peaks. The centre is on Abu Dhabi island, so the route crosses one of the bridges from the mainland, and Al Maryah and Al Reem are reached the same way. A Darb toll may apply on the way; if it does, it is in the quote, included or shown as an extra. Heavy traffic at peak does not change the quoted price.
Yes, there are free options, though none is door to door. Abu Dhabi’s tourism department runs the free Experience Abu Dhabi shuttle, which it says links the airport and downtown with stops on Saadiyat. If you are on an Etihad-operated flight, the airline also offers its passengers a complimentary coach to Dubai or Al Ain, booked with the airline at least 24 hours before the flight. The A-series city buses need a Hafilat card, and the Airport Express coach to Dubai is ticketed at a counter in the arrivals hall.
It is quoted for your journey rather than read off a price list, because a run to Yas Island and a run to Al Ain are very different distances. The quote usually arrives within two hours and includes any late-night, public holiday or short-notice charges, and nothing is charged until you accept it.
Yes. Give the Al Ain address with your flight number and the whole run is quoted as one journey; the airport is on the eastern side of Abu Dhabi, the side facing Al Ain. Check your ticket first, because a flight into Al Ain International (AAN) lands at a different airport and needs a different pickup.
Waiting time, changes, cancellations and refunds are set out in full in our Terms & Conditions.
Request a transfer
Under five minutes to complete. We come back with a full quote, usually within two hours. Nothing is charged until you accept the quote.
