Dubai International Airport (DXB) has two Red Line metro stations, at Terminals 1 and 3. Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall is about 24 minutes away for AED 5 on a Silver card, and a taxi takes about 20 minutes. The last train back leaves Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall at 11:31pm most nights.
What's the best way from Dubai airport into the city?
For most layovers, take the Red Line metro from Terminal 1 or 3 to Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall: about 24 minutes from Terminal 1 and 26 from Terminal 3, for AED 5 on a nol Silver card. RTA says trains run every 10 minutes. A taxi takes about 20 minutes, says Visit Dubai, from AED 20 plus AED 2.62 a kilometre. The last train back leaves Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall at 11:31pm Monday to Thursday and Saturday, 12:31am after Friday and 11:30pm on Sunday.
Getting through the border
Dubai International Airport (DXB) publishes no immigration queue times, so this guide allows about an hour from landing to sitting on the metro. That is the guide’s own allowance, not an official figure.
- Visas. UK, US, Canadian, Australian and EU passports get a free visa on arrival at the desks; Indian passports need a visa arranged before landing. The GDRFA visa office is in Terminal 3 arrivals near Entrance 1, open 24 hours. Who needs what: visa and transit rules.
- Smart Gates. Dubai Airports says visa-on-arrival guests with biometric passports can use the Smart Gates.
- Fast Track. marhaba sells an arrivals Fast Track from US$28.59 (seen November 2026).
- Bags. If your bags are checked through, you need only hand luggage. On separate tickets you pass the border, collect your bags and check in again, says Dubai Airports.
- Phone. du gives free tourist SIMs at the immigration counters, says Dubai Airports, and du’s own free tourist eSIM gives 10GB for 24 hours.
The options at a glance
| Red Line metro | Dubai Taxi | |
|---|---|---|
| To | Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall, and the whole Red and Green Lines | Anywhere in Dubai |
| Time | 24 min from Terminal 1, 26 from Terminal 3, plus the wait | About 20 min to Dubai Mall |
| Single fare | AED 5 on a Silver card (AED 6 red ticket) | From AED 20, then AED 2.62 a km |
| Pay with | nol card or red ticket | Cash, card or nol card |
The metro times come from RTA’s timetable (below) and the taxi time from Visit Dubai.
Red Line metro: the best option for most layovers
Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 each have a Red Line station; Terminal 2 has none. Visit Dubai says trains run “approximately every four minutes during peak times and every seven minutes off-peak”, and RTA’s own flyer says every 10 minutes, so this guide allows up to 10 minutes’ wait. Going into the city, board a train towards Expo 2020 or Life Pharmacy: both pass every station a plan here uses. Coming back, board one towards Centrepoint.
RTA’s timetable of 25 September 2026 gives the ride times. A train leaves Terminal 1 at 10:54pm and reaches Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall at 11:18pm, so the ride is 24 minutes; from Terminal 3 the same train leaves at 10:52pm, so 26. The ride is 9 minutes from Terminal 1 to Union, for the Green Line, 16 to max, for Dubai Frame, and 38 to Mall of the Emirates.
Fares. RTA charges by the zones you pass. A Silver card pays AED 3 within one zone, AED 5 across two adjacent zones and AED 7.50 across more; a red ticket pays AED 4, AED 6 and AED 8.50. On RTA’s rail map the airport stations are in zone 5, and Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall, max and Al Ghubaiba in zone 6, so those rides cost AED 5 on a Silver card. Gold Souq is in zone 5 too, AED 3, and Mall of the Emirates is in zone 2, AED 7.50. A Silver card costs AED 25 with AED 19 of credit, and a red ticket card AED 2. Dubai Airports sells passes at ticket offices and machines in Terminals 1 and 3. Gold class costs double, and children 5 and under travel free.
Bags. Dubai Airports says to travel with no more than two pieces of luggage, hand luggage included.
First and last trains
| Mon to Thu | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First train from Terminal 1 into the city | 5:07am | 5:07am | 5:07am | 8:05am |
| Last train back from Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall | 11:31pm | 12:31am (Saturday morning) | 11:31pm | 11:30pm |
These are RTA’s regular timetable times of 25 September 2026, checked 7 November 2026. The first train is the first from Terminal 1 towards either branch (towards Expo 2020 it is 5:10am, 8:09am on Sundays); Terminal 3’s first trains are 2 minutes earlier. Each last train is the earlier of the two that call at the station, one from each western branch. RTA’s station hours, which Dubai Airports and Visit Dubai repeat, are 5am to midnight Monday to Thursday and Saturday, 5am to 1am on Friday and 8am to midnight on Sunday.
Last trains back from other stations
| Mon to Thu | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| max (for Dubai Frame) | 11:39pm | 12:39am | 11:39pm | 11:38pm |
| Mall of the Emirates (for Ski Dubai) | 11:17pm | 12:17am | 11:17pm | 11:17pm |
| Gold Souq, Green Line, changing at Union | 11:42pm | 12:42am | 11:41pm | 11:40pm |
The Green Line reaches Union 5 minutes after Gold Souq, and the last Red Line trains towards the airport leave Union at 11:51pm (12:51am after Friday, 11:50pm on Sunday), so the change leaves 4 to 6 minutes. Don’t take a later Green Line train than the one listed. Max was called Al Jafiliya until RTA renamed it in 2021, and Dubai Frame’s own site still uses the old name. Holiday timetables can change these times: in 2026 RTA ran the metro to 1am over each Eid, so check RTA on the day.
Taxis and ride-hailing
Dubai Taxi Company’s airport taxis wait in front of the exit doors at every terminal, round the clock. The fare starts at AED 20 for a car and AED 25 for a van, then AED 2.62 a kilometre, plus Salik road tolls, and AED 20 extra on a trip through Sharjah. Waiting costs 50 fils a minute, and fares can change at peak times and events. You can pay in cash, by card or with a nol card, and Dubai Taxi Company’s city taxis take Apple Pay and Samsung Pay too. Visit Dubai puts Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa about 20 minutes away by car.
Coming back, a city taxi starts at AED 5 by day and AED 5.50 from 10pm to 6am, then AED 2.45 a kilometre, with a minimum fare of AED 12, says Dubai Taxi Company. Booked through the Bolt, Careem or S’hail apps, the start is AED 9 to AED 13 by time of day and the minimum AED 13. A taxi is this guide’s ride back after the last train: allow about 20 minutes.
Private transfers
A pre-booked transfer meets you at arrivals and quotes its price when you book, which suits a group, heavy bags or a return after the last train. The metro beats it on cost for one or two people.
Luggage
Dubai Airports’ left luggage is on the arrivals level of each terminal, open 24 hours: AED 35 for 12 hours or less at Terminal 3 (Emirates Left Luggage, near Exit 1, behind Boots Pharmacy), and AED 40 at Terminals 1 and 2 (dnata Baggage Services), for standard bags; non-standard or valuable bags cost AED 40 at Terminal 3 and AED 50 at Terminals 1 and 2 (seen November 2026). More on the airport page.
Moving between terminals
Emirates flies from Terminal 3, and Emirates says it takes about 30 minutes to travel between concourses there. In Terminal 3 you walk between the B and C gates and take the airport train to the A gates; Terminal 1’s D gates are a short train ride from the main building, says Dubai Airports. Buses for Terminal 1’s D gates and Terminal 2 leave from Concourse A at bus area A6, and from the connections desks in Concourses B and C, says Emirates. Only the metro’s Terminals 1 and 3 have stations.
Timing your return
Be back at Dubai International 90 minutes before departure, with your onward boarding pass. The 90 minutes is the network’s rule. Dubai Airports recommends arriving at least three hours before a flight, which assumes you still need to check in; if you’re already checked in, you pass passport control and security and walk to the gate.
How much time you’ll have in town, with about an hour from landing to the metro, 40 minutes to Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall including the wait, 40 minutes back and the 90 minutes:
| Layover | Time in town |
|---|---|
| 5 hours | About 1 hour |
| 6 hours | About 2 hours |
| 8 hours | About 4 hours |
| 10 hours | About 6 hours |
| 12 hours | About 8 hours |
Each 40 minutes is the ride from or to Terminal 3 (26 minutes in, 27 back, on RTA’s timetable) plus up to 10 minutes’ wait, rounded up. The times in town are rounded to the nearest half hour, and down when it’s halfway.