Landing & first week · All travellers
Your first day in Dubai, from the airport onward
The short answer
Dubai's public transport takes no cash at all, so a nol card is the first thing to buy after you clear the airport. A silver nol card costs AED 25 including AED 19 of travel credit, and single fares run from AED 3 to AED 7.50 depending on how many of the city's seven zones you cross.
On this page
The first hour in Dubai has two obstacles and neither is the one people prepare for. Your money will not work on the Metro, and your calls home will not connect. Both are five-minute fixes if you know about them, and both are genuinely disorienting if you do not.
RTA does not take cash
Not “prefers cards”. Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority states that cash will not be accepted for payment to use its public transport. There is no fare box, no conductor and no exceptions. A nol card is the fare system.
By the numbers
AED 25
RTA — Choose nol7 zones
RTA — nol faresWhich nol card to buy
Four types exist and a visitor realistically chooses between two.
- Silver nol cardRequired
- nol red ticketConditional
- Gold nol cardConditional
- Personal nol cardDisqualifies
Each traveller needs their own card, because everyone taps in and out individually. Children aged five and under travel free.
What a journey actually costs
Fares are set by zones crossed, which is why a long ride within one zone can cost less than a short one that straddles a boundary.
- Within one zone
- Two adjacent zones
- More than two zones
- Transfers between modes
Tap out as well as in
The fare is calculated from where you tapped in to where you tapped out. Leaving a station without tapping out means the system cannot tell where your journey ended, and it charges accordingly. It is the most common way a visitor loses money on the Metro, and it is entirely avoidable.
If you are staying a week and travelling daily, RTA also sells travel passes: a silver 7-day pass is AED 50 for one zone, AED 80 for two and AED 110 for all zones. Worth the arithmetic if you are crossing the city every day, and not worth it otherwise.
The calls that will not connect
The second surprise of the first hour. You reach the hotel, open WhatsApp, and the call fails. Nothing is broken: internet calling is a licensed telecoms service in the UAE and WhatsApp does not hold the licence, so voice and video calls are blocked while messaging works normally.
The fix takes two minutes and has to be done at both ends, which is why it belongs on a before-you-fly list rather than an arrivals one. Install an approved calling app such as BOTIM on your phone and on the phone of whoever you plan to call, and test it before you leave India.
What to do next
Buy the nol card at the station rather than looking for a ticket office later, load enough for a few days, and remember to tap out. If you have not already sorted the calling app, do it on the airport wifi before you leave the terminal, while you still have the patience for an app store.
Everything else about the first day is ordinary. The two things that are not ordinary are on this page, and both are solved before you reach the hotel.
Common questions
Do I need a nol card in Dubai?
Yes, if you intend to use the Metro, buses or the tram. RTA states plainly that cash will not be accepted for payment on its public transport. A nol card or a nol red ticket is the only way to pay. Buy one at any Metro station ticket machine or counter when you arrive, before you need it.
How much does a nol card cost?
A silver nol card is AED 25 and comes with AED 19 of travel credit already loaded, so the card itself effectively costs AED 6. A nol red ticket, which is the paper option for occasional single trips, is AED 2 and then you load individual journeys onto it. For a visitor staying more than a day or two the silver card is the sensible buy.
How much is the Dubai Metro from the airport?
Dubai is divided into seven fare zones and the fare depends on how many you cross, not on how far you travel in kilometres. On a silver nol card it is AED 3 within one zone, AED 5 across two adjacent zones and AED 7.50 for more than two. On a red ticket the same journeys are AED 4, AED 6 and AED 8.50.
Can I use one nol card for several people?
No. Each traveller taps in and out with their own card, so a family of four needs four cards or four red tickets. Children aged five and under travel free. Budget for the cards as a one-off cost on arrival rather than being surprised at the gate.
Can I transfer between the Metro and a bus on one fare?
Yes, within limits RTA publishes. You have 30 minutes to check in on the next mode after checking out of the first, and the combined trip is then charged as one journey based on the total zones crossed. A journey may last up to 180 minutes and include up to three transfers.
Related guides
Before you fly
The rules are the easy part. The visa is the file.
We file UAE visit visas from India every week, and we will tell you plainly if your case is one we would not take. Licence R710507 is Canadian and does not cover the UAE, so nothing on these pages is UAE legal advice.
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