Dubai: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Dubai is a city of 3.8 million people in United Arab Emirates, 24 m (79 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Dubai International Airport (DXB), 20 km (12 mi) from the centre. Our booking partner lists 8,298+ places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Dubai runs from about 10 h 37 min a day in late December to 13 h 44 min in late June (computed for 25.08° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Dubai is served by 6 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Dubai International Airport (DXB), 20 km (12 mi) from the centre, whose 14,590-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft. The alternatives are Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC, 25 km), Sharjah International Airport (SHJ, 35 km), Ras Al Khaimah International Airport (RKT, 87 km), Al Ain International Airport (AAN, 96 km), Zayed International Airport (AUH, 97 km).
Flights to Dubai: every airport, routes and times
Buses to Dubai · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 8,298+ places to stay in Dubai (statistics below are from the first 1,000). Of the 576 with a star rating, the largest group is 4-star (226), and 206 are five-star. Across 437 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.4 out of 10. Guests have left 644,925 reviews in total.
Hotels in Dubai: the full picture, and book
What people come for
| Sight | Visitors a year | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall (Dubai Metro) | 3,180,000 | 2011 |
| Aquaventure | 2,000,000 | 2024 |
| Dubai Museum | 611,840 | — |
The busiest is Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall (Dubai Metro) at 3,180,000 visitors in 2011. At that volume, anything with a gate is worth a timed ticket or an early start.
Tours, tickets and day trips from Dubai
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Abu Dhabi, 115 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Sharjah, 30 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Al Ain City, 109 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Muscat, 355 km (Oman) — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Ajman, 40 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Seeb, 331 km (Oman) — flights · buses · car rental
- Bawshar, 355 km (Oman) — flights · buses · car rental
- Bandar Abbas, 254 km (Iran) — flights
- Ras Al Khaimah, 102 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Doha, 381 km (Qatar) — flights · buses · car rental
Twin towns and sister cities: Basra, Bogotá, Brisbane, Busan, Damascus, Gold Coast, Kuala Lumpur, Jeddah, Khartoum, Karachi, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Dundee, Baghdad.
Common questions
Which airport serves Dubai?
Dubai International Airport (DXB), 20 km (12 mi) from the centre, plus 5 other airports with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Dubai?
About 3.8 million people live in Dubai, across 35 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Dubai in?
Asia/Dubai, currently UTC+4.
What currency is used in Dubai?
The Dirham (AED). Traffic drives on the right.
How many hotels are there in Dubai?
Our booking partner lists 8,298 or more places to stay in Dubai, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Dubai?
Abu Dhabi (115 km), Sharjah (30 km), Al Ain City (109 km), Muscat (355 km), Ajman (40 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.