Renting a car in Dubai, UAE (2025): All you need to know + driving tips

It’s really an odd thing. We’d been to the UAE nine times before finally celebrating our tenth trip by renting a car in Dubai. Why did it take us so long? Well, the things I heard about driving in Dubai made me really adamant about pulling the plug — from outrageous fines for the smallest possible offences to locals using the motorways as their personal race tracks (both of those things are not true, at least in part). The experience of driving your own four wheels here turned out to be quite pleasurable — so much so, that now I cannot imagine coming to the Emirates and not renting a car to help with our always jam-packed itinerary.

As you will see, I try to be very thorough when researching a topic — you’re about to read my extremely detailed guide on renting a car in Dubai. You will learn all the nuances about traffic rules, fines, navigation, as well as find great choices of hotels with free on-site parking and possible destinations to check out once you get the car!

Article contents

1. Should you rent a car in Dubai at all?
2. Our experience and the car we chose
3. Requirements for car rental in the UAE
4. Where to rent a car in Dubai?
5. How much is it to rent a car in Dubai?
6. Insurance and deposit options
7. Tips on car pick-up and drop-off
8. What about renting a… Porsche?
9. Things to keep in mind when driving in Dubai — from fuel prices to roads and traffic
10. Toll roads and parking in Dubai
11. Hotels with parking for rental cars
12. Road trip planning
13. My review on renting a car in Dubai
14. FAQ

Should you rent a car in Dubai?

Is it a good option to rent a car in Dubai? Let’s see! There are two possible scenarios of how your Dubai trip could turn out:

1. You’re going to lock yourself away in some opulent oasis of a resort, making an outing or two to shop at the Dubai Mall or visit some most-talked about attractions. Chances are, your destinations will be within walking distance from the metro, thus proving your lack of need of a rented car in Dubai;
2. You travel all the way to the land of over-the-top luxury to squeeze every last drop of the experiences provided here. You want to explore the Emirates’ capital or even go see the isolated Fujairah. You like having freedom of movement, constant access to the AC, or, your travel party consists of five people and taxis are out of the question.

Personally, I decided to rent a car in Dubai to finally sift through the city’s most removed destinations, like Global Village, Al Mamzar Beach, Safari Park, plus pay a long-awaited visit to a couple of other emirates. With our substantial body of Dubai topics (just click the “Destinations” tab on the website and you’ll be taken to a well-stocked library of UAE articles that continues growing at a steady pace), renting a car seemed to be a rite of passage into Dubai’s more local-feel side.

Why should you rent a car in Dubai? There are many reasons to consider.

There are great distances to be covered between most famous attractions.

Grabbing a taxi is quite expensive in Dubai, and public transport is not as perfect as they claim it to be. Parking is not a huge issue here either — there are plenty of parking spaces (both free and paid), and most hotels offer free on-site parking (our latest stay, Mercure Dubai Barsha Heights Hotel, even had valet service). In general, Dubai is not known to be pedestrian-friendly, you will be more comfortable if you have your own four wheels here. What’s more, fuel is cheap, and the rental cars themselves are surprisingly affordable (prices start at $25–$30 per day).

You can finally see the other emirates with relative ease.

Contrary to popular belief, the UAE is not bound by what happens only in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Other emirates have their own history to offer; just create a road trip itinerary that involves Fujairah, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaimah, — you will see the stark contrasts and illustrious ways of life that are so apparent (and so different).

The UAE is the perfect place to make your dreams come true.

And as much as I mean it in a literal sense (we’ve always wanted to fly in a helicopter, so we did it here), it also applies to your wildest car-centric dreams. Luxury car rental in Dubai is a hot topic, since luxe cars, sportscars, and convertibles here are surprisingly affordable. I will get into more details further down, but for now, just look at these prices: You can get a Mustang for a reasonable price starting at $100 a day (you might get it cheaper only in its home land), a Dodge Challenger (hello, Supernatural fans!) at $110 a day, and a Porsche Cayman at $190 per day. Crazy!

Driving in the Emirates is a pretty easy affair.

You’ve got wide (sometimes reaching 8 lanes!) divided roads, clear traffic rules and regulations, and easy-to-follow signage. Oh, and there are also zero drunk drivers — the main cause of accidents worldwide. There are, of course, some possible pitfalls, but the upsides definitely override them.

And finally.

If you’ve got the bug to see and experience as much as possible while in the Emirates, then you will save quite a bit of money by simply renting a car and driving yourself places. Take a tour from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, for example — even the cheapest option starts at $80 a person! Compared to a $30/day price of a car rental in Dubai, the choice of how you shall proceed is pretty obvious in my mind.

Our personal experience

Since we wanted to drive in Dubai in style, I decided to rent a convertible. But not any old Chevrolet Corvette or Ford Mustang, I went for a red and shiny Mini Cooper S. Fit for a dandy at large, this new 2024 year of manufacture car had just a handful of miles under its belt. It is pretty compact and easy to maneuver in traffic (plus, it is a convertible — exciting photos galore!), but I didn’t think one thing through. It’s a four-seater, but it only has two doors, and the back seats are pretty narrow. However, our mums that had to deal with the seating arrangement didn’t have any complaints.

What did I spend on a car in Dubai this time around?

• The car itself was $100 a day
• SuperCDW was already included in the price (with an $800 deductible — a maximum amount of money that I would have to pay in case of an accident, I explain more about this further down)
• No deposit! And I paid in cash the remaining sum (after paying 15% of the total when booking online) upon car pick-up

There was a limit of 250 km per day. It was no big deal, though: We still managed to cover much ground, visiting more than half of the emirates in one fell swoop.

Side note: It’s also great to know that the mile limit is added up by a total of days you have the car for (so not exactly a “per day” situation).

Upon car drop-off, I paid 25 AED ($7) in toll road fees and $20 for car wash.

Our total for three days was $327 plus around 100 AED ($27) for fuel. However, you can rent a much cheaper car — something like a Toyota Yaris would cost much, much less.

All in all, there aren’t really limitations to what kind of car you could rent in Dubai (and UAE in general). There aren’t any steep narrow roads to be found here (the locals in Land Cruisers vouch for this fact), there’s plenty of parking and mostly even ground (there is some elevation in Fujairah, but it’s still easy to manage in any car you choose).

Most important things to know before renting a car in Dubai

If you don’t have much time to parse through my detailed breakdown of the topic, here’s a condensed version of the vital things you need to know before you rent a car in the UAE:

• If your driver’s license is not in English, then you must have an IDP (International Driving Permit) to rent a car in the UAE. However, they say that even if you are not required to have this document, you should still have an IDP with you just in case. Note that IDP has a faster expiration date than your regular license; check it for validity before you leave for the trip.
• You should rent a car at least a month in advance if you want to have more choices (and get a good deal in the process). If you want to pay in cash, leave no deposit, or have a newer car, then start making the arrangement even earlier than that.
• The longer you rent the car for, the cheaper the price per day becomes. For example, if you get a car for three days, it’ll be $32 a day; if you rent a car for two days — $40 a day. You could really feel the difference, so I would suggest grabbing one for the whole duration of your trip.
• You can rent a car without an embossed credit card (the combo that rental companies often require). The Localrent service makes it possible (that’s what I used), but it’s important to select the filters “no deposit” or “cash”, since not all agencies are that flexible.
• When you come to pick up the car (and to drop it off), document its entire surface area, inside and out, on video and in pictures. That way, you’ll avoid getting unfairly charged for the damages that you didn’t do. Better to be safe than sorry.
• I’ve already touched upon this fact, but here it is in full: When there’s a limit to the mileage your car can do per day, it doesn’t mean that you have to stop driving once you exhaust the limit on any given day. The number of miles is summarized: If you have 250 km a day as a limit and a 10-day rental, you can drive 2,500 km total. So, as long as you fall under the limit at the end of your rental period, you’ll be good. If you go over the overall limit, you’ll be charged for every extra mile.
• It costs the same to return the car dirty as to wash it yourself at a carwash prior to drop-off. The rental companies charge you basically the same amount, so why bother and spend your personal time on doing it yourself?

Requirements for car rental in the UAE

There aren’t that many requirements for renting a car in Dubai; everything’s that being asked of you is pretty standard:

✅ You have to be 21 or older to rent a car in the UAE, though some specifications (like certain rental companies or car models) will require the driver to be at least 25. Check the age requirement for the car you’re planning to rent: Chances are, if you’re an early vicenarian, you won’t spend your holiday in the UAE driving a premium car.

✅ You will need to have a valid form of ID — make sure that your passport does not expire for at least 6 months after your planned departure date.

✅ You will need to show your UAE visa or entry stamp to prove legality of you being in the country.

✅ You will need to have a valid driver’s license from your home country.

✅ If your home driver’s license is not in English, then an IDP (International Driving Permit) is required. American, Canadian, European tourists or GCC country residents are not required to have an IDP. However, based on travelers’ feedback, it is recommended to have one purely for translation purposes — if you encounter local authorities, for one reason or another, it is better to have all the documents on hand. If you decide to go the safest route, then obtain an IDP before the trip (the process usually doesn’t take long) and remember that it expires after just a year.

Side note: If you fall into the category of UAE visitors that require an IDP to be able to rent a car in the Emirates and you still decide to gamble and come without it, then you will be in for a huge disappointment! Rental companies are very thorough in their checks, and the possibility of a fine (10,000 AED / $2,700) makes all the begging attempts futile — they will not let you rent a car without an International Driving Permit.

✅ More often than not, you will need a working credit card for your deposit and/or payment. Debit cards can be accepted, but just by a handful of providers. The good news, however, is that there are quite a lot of companies (particularly if you’re renting a car via LocalRent) that either do not require a deposit altogether or accept one in cash.

✅ And lastly, you will need to show your rental voucher or booking confirmation. You can print it out after receiving it, but I prefer to show the document from my phone screen. Works fine either way!

If you continued reading, chances are you’ve made up your mind about car rental in Dubai. Now the fun starts — choosing the service, the car, and learning all the ins and outs of the process.

I’ve tried to explain the task of renting a car in Dubai in the simplest of terms, but if you still have any questions when you’ve finished reading, feel free to leave them in the comment section down below.

Where to rent a car in Dubai?

It is no use Googling “Cheapest car rental in the UAE”, since all of them can and do offer economy cars with basic coverage for cheap. What you do need to look for are the nuances — which service lets you rent a car in Dubai without a deposit or which offer has CDW already included in the price.

Using online aggregators to rent a car in Dubai is a no-brainer move — they work directly with local rental companies, checking if they’re legit and worth the trouble on the case-by-case basis. Plus, each aggregator has its own layout; one more convenient than the other in some respect. And don’t forget the deals — it seems too good to be true, but sometimes it is much cheaper to rent a car via an online service than contact the local rental company on your own.

These are the websites I would recommend checking out if you’re planning to rent a car in Dubai:

• LocalRent

This one is the first service on my list, and an obvious choice if you want to rent a car in the UAE without a credit card (as much as it is widely accepted, it’s still kind of a rare thing in the car rental world to come upon naturally).

This is the website I keep returning to time and time again; in the last three years, we have rented a vehicle via LocalRent in the UAE, Phuket, Turkey, Georgia, Czech Republic, Portugal (Madeira), Spain (Tenerife and Mallorca), Montenegro, Greece, Cyprus, and Malta.

LocalRent’s “Pro” column is long:

• No hidden fees or costs — you get the final amount you have to pay prior to finalizing your booking
• You book a specific car, and not a car class. Not only do they use real pictures, but the promise of the particular car is paramount — with other services, they can easily swap your Toyota for an MG car, since they belong to the same class
• Most of their fleet consists of new cars (under 3 years)
• Apart from TPL already being covered, you can often get CDW (and even SuperCDW!) included in the price of booking as well
• If you’re after premium or luxury cars, LocalRent has the best deals on these fancy vehicles
• Amazing customer service — each time I had a question about my booking, it was answered promptly
• You’re paying around 15% of the final sum upfront, and the rest upon car pick-up. Plus, if you chose the option with free cancellation, you can change your mind up to 24 hours before pick-up time
• State-of-the-art (and recently overhauled) website makes for a hassle-free booking experience. You can play around with the filters: Choose the car’s year of manufacture, gear box, engine, drive, even down to engine displacement and fuel consumption
• Each car’s product card has the main info you’re looking for: No/low deposit, free cancelation, unlimited mileage, instant booking, new car, no credit card, cash deposit possible, as well as insurance options. You don’t have to extensively search for the info, it’s all right there on the very first page
• Payment and deposit options are plentiful — the usual offenders (credit card, cash, or no deposit at all) are fine and good, but you also get the opportunity to pay with USDT/USDC, which is amazing for traveling cryptocurrency fiends

However, it’s not all peaches and rainbows. Based on LocalRent reviews in Dubai and our personal experience, I can highlight a few downsides. It’s not really a “con” per se, but as a devoted user, I would love the service’s world-wide expansion. Unlike other websites, LocalRent’s reach is pretty limited so far — just 39 countries! Plus, there are no reviews for the local rental companies LocalRent works with. Sure, they examine each firm thoroughly before partnering up, but it would be nice to have real customer feedback to make sure of it yourself.

All in all, LocalRent works with my personal list of demands beautifully — it’s important to me to have low deposit (no deposit is even better), ability to pay cash, and booking of a particular car.

However, if the service’s downsides are deal breakers for you, then other online aggregators are bound to be more up your alley:

• DiscoverCars

A widely acclaimed rental car service that has received plenty of accolades over the years: It was named World’s Best Car Rental Booking Website in 2023 by World Travel Tech Awards (it was their fourth year in a row, no less!) and it got the same award, but for the DiscoverCars app. The titles and recognition that comes from them are not up for debate — with the worldwide coverage of over 145 countries, DicoverCars can really be referred to as the best car rental booking website in the world.

I have personally used DiscoverCars to rent cars in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Spain, and South Africa.

Pros are apparent:

• The service works with both large, international car rental companies and small, local businesses, thus offering you the widest possible range of car options
• You can either pay the full rental price upfront or cover just the 5% of the final sum, with the rest of the money to be paid directly to the rental company upon car pick-up
• You can purchase their own insurance — DicoverCars’ full coverage ranges from $8 to $20 a day; it is much cheaper than the insurance that you can purchase from the rental company itself
• There is a rating system for the rental car companies they work with
• Economy car class can be a tad cheaper here

Now for the downsides. Though they promise a 24 hour customer support, in reality, their team is practically unresponsive — it will take them the full 24 hours to get back to you. You can only book the car class, and not a specific car. It’s harder to find a car option with no deposit AND you cannot pay in cash — both major drawbacks for me personally.

Taking all things into account, DiscoverCars is a fine service, I always turn to their offerings when the country we’re in isn’t covered by LocalRent. DiscoverCars makes it into our top two, and the runner-up position is saying a lot to nitpicky people like us!

• RentalCars and EconomyBookings

Two major international services that are owned by Booking — no less! Since I often use their parent website to find great hotels in the places we’re visiting, I have made a commitment to try out their rental car offerings (mostly in the US). After a few tries, I can say that they work great, but they do not have enough “wow” factor to pull me away from the previous two. Just because I have used them more in the past, and the other websites’ features do not deserve the effort it takes to become familiar with new layouts.

RentalCars and EconomyBookings are both fine, but not top-tier services — both have low reviews of their customer services, thus warranting our less-than-enthused attitude towards them.

How much does it cost to rent a car in Dubai?

Because there’re a lot of moving parts when it comes to choosing a car to rent in Dubai, it’s hard to give you the approximate estimate of what you can expect to pay for it. However, I can give you a short breakdown of Dubai car rental prices in 2025.

Note that the costs are given based on a week-long rental period:

• 2023 Hyundai Accent with SuperCDW — $32 a day
• 2021 Nissan Kicks with CDW included in the price — $44 a day
• 2024 Hyundai Creta with CDW — $50 a day
• 2025 Mitsubishi Xpander with SuperCDW — $75 a day

During high tourist season, a car without CDW (with just TPL included) will start at $30 a day. Know that the price is dependent on many things: From the most basic characteristics (like gear box, car class and age) to the features you have full control over — rent duration and pick-up/drop-off locations.

As a rule of thumb, manual gear box is cheaper than automatic; a newer car can be more expensive than an old one. The longer you rent the vehicle for, the less the cost per day is.

Make sure to tick some filters and pay close attention to insurance and deposit options available for each particular car. If you don’t like some of the factors of the rental, just look for another one — no matter which online aggregator you choose, they’re all clad with an impressively large fleet of cars in the Emirates. You will definitely find an option that fulfills all your needs.

Insurance and deposit options in details

The topic of insurance for rental cars in Dubai can be a pretty daunting one, particularly for a first-time renter. That is why it’s essential to understand what you’re choosing and why you’re choosing to pay extra for it.

Because I also was this nervous first-time renter back when we just started traveling abroad, I can vouch for LocalRent’s easy to follow list of insurance options. It is even more convenient than you thought, since the insurance comes straight from the rental company*, which prevents the classic pickup scenario of “we don’t recognize that policy — we only accept ours”.

Let me breakdown the main points of each option:

• TPL, or Third Party Liability — it is already included in the price of the rental. It covers the damages to other cars (but not yours) if you’re ever in an accident
• CDW, or Collision Damage Waiver — the standard (and cheapest) type of insurance one can get. It covers all damages done to the car EXCEPT the ones to tires, windows, and the car’s undercarriage. There is, however, a deductible that you will have to shell out for the damages
• SuperCDW, or Super Collision Damage Waiver — covers all damages done to the car, including tires and windows. A deductible is still in play though!
• Full Coverage — the best insurance option that will let you walk off high and dry (and with your money still intact) in case of the damages done to the car. There’s usually no deductible or deposit involved. What’s the catch? Full Coverage is the most expensive insurance option

*All the other online aggregators (DiscoverCars and the like) offer their own insurance policies. I am not really fond of them, since there’s always some sneaky fine print lurking in the insurance agreement that says that you will have to first pay for all the damages, and then the service will reimburse you. The catch is in the limit of the reimbursement — it exists, so you will still be losing money. Because of this, if I have to use a service other than LocalRent, I make sure to bypass the online aggregator’s offers and just get the insurance at the rental company upon car pick-up. Yes, it will cost more (in Tasmania, for instance, the service-offered insurance was $20 a day, and the rental company’s was $40), but it will give you peace of mind.

Now let’s figure out what this whole deposit and deductible thing is all about:

Deductible is the maximum amount you pay if the car is damaged, it is the money you’re liable for. It’s not the same as a deposit, although the amounts are usually the same. The insurance company pays for everything that goes over the deductible — the excess. Always check the amount of the deductible prior to renting a car — this is the money you’ll be “gambling” away, hoping to avoid any incidents (even if you didn’t crush into another car, but say, you hit an animal or had a rogue stone lodged into your windshield, you’ll have to pay up). If you don’t want to have all that stress following you around on your Emirates adventures, then shell out extra funds and get full coverage — it is the only insurance option that doesn’t require a deductible.

Deposit is a separate financial guarantee that gets frozen on your credit card as an assurance that you will pay something if you damage the car (or when the fines/toll roads receipts start coming through). It’s a temporary hold — if you leave the deposit in cash, you will get it back after drop-off, once the rental company clears the car of any damages. In the UAE, a cash deposit is very much a thing, unlike, let’s say, Europe — there, deposit is usually put on your credit card. And even though it is unfrozen after checking the car by the company, the money won’t return to your balance immediately (it might, but it’s highly unlikely). The bank is usually to blame for slow processing — it can take up to 21 days to get your money back. However, one time, after a fun-filled road trip adventure on Malta, I had to wait 40 WHOLE DAYS to get the deposit back into my account. After that, a cash deposit has been my way to go, wherever possible.

Side note: You can find a car without a deposit, with cash-based payment, but with a $500 deductible. So, you’re not using your credit card and you’re not really leaving the money to pay for damages, but you’ll still be held responsible. How? Well, there are particular agreements and documents to sign in this case — that you will be viable to pay for the damages in the amount of the discussed deductible. What happens if you don’t pay? In the UAE, it’s better not to find out — they are extremely vigorous about enforcing the rules!

My experience: In many years of me renting cars all around the world, I only had two insurance events. One was in the USA, when the Tesla I was driving caught a stone to the bumper, damaging it in the process (paid $3,000 big ones for that one), and another was in the Azores, when a sneakily tall curb I brushed against broke the engine splash shield (a little) — the deductible was €500, and they seemingly maxed out damages to match it.

Car pick-up and drop-off

There are two ways to get your rented car:

• You go to the rental office yourself (it can be located at the airport or somewhere else)
• You pick “city delivery” and have the rental agent drive the car to your specified spot — to the hotel, the airport, or somewhere else entirely. In Dubai, city delivery costs around $25, and it is a great option when you’re not picking up your rental upon landing at the airport. It saves plenty of time: You don’t have to drive all the way to the airport and then back to your hotel

Once you’re in the car vicinity, you show the necessary documents to the rental agent and he fills out the contract for you to sign, takes pictures of all the paperwork, and accepts your payment (if you haven’t paid for your rental in full on the website). Then you’re off to meet your vehicle.

It is very important to take pictures and videos of your rental prior to driving off into the sunset. You don’t want to pay for the damages a previous driver has done to the car. Of course, if you get full coverage insurance, you’ll be fine either way. But it’s still better to be safe than sorry and document every inch of the rental.

Some reviews about renting a car in Dubai claim that rental agents give you a short rundown of the particularities about driving in the UAE (the differences between the emirates, what apps to download, how to pay for parking) that lasts five minutes or so. If you book a car from the local agency, then it will be true more often than not, but other companies may not be as caring. Don’t worry though: I will give you all the necessary info you will need to know before driving in Dubai further down!

If you lucked out and got a car with no deposit, then you sign an agreement that you will pay all the fines and toll road receipts you will accumulate when driving in the Emirates. If there is a deposit, you either leave it in cash or put it on your credit card.

Car drop-off is even simpler than the rest. You go to the agreed upon location of the rental office and give the keys to the agent (in my latest adventure, the office was in a full-on industrial zone). The agent checked the car for damages and told me how much I owed for driving on toll roads in Dubai (it was 25 AED / $7 and I gave the money in cash, since I didn’t have a deposit on that particular car). There were no fines, so I was free to go. But I encourage you to take a picture and a video of the car again at drop-off, if a rental company decides to pull some funny business after the fact. That is exactly what I did, and only after that I was finished with my Dubai car rental experience.

Short breakdown of the car renting process

Since you now have a clear idea of what every feature you’ll encounter is, I think it will be beneficial to walk you through my process of renting a car in the UAE, highlighting the things I pay closer attention to.

Since I’ve established that LocalRent is a better fit for newbies, I’ll focus on its service. So, what do I do when I want to rent a car in Dubai?

1. First, the basic routine — I go to the website and enter the dates I want to rent the car for. Usually, they coincide with the duration of the trip — it’s just easier to get the car at the airport and start (and end) your Emirates journey with complete freedom of movement.
2. Then, I open up the filters and customize them to my liking: I always choose a newer car (under 5 years), an automatic gear box, and no deposit or cash deposit. When it comes to insurance, I pick CDW (not all the cars have a SuperCDW option). After that — click the “View cars” button and the hunt is on!
3. When I see the car that I like, I click its product card and look at its photos, read the description, search for the amount of the deductible, check whether there is a cash payment option upon car pick-up and whether or not there’s a limit to the miles you can drive the car for. If all looks well, then I click “Continue”.
4. On the next page, I put in my preferred pick-up and drop-off times. If you don’t want to pay for an extra day, make sure the times coincide (or the time of drop-off is even earlier, for good measure).
5. Then, I pick the pick-up and drop-off places. If the rental office’s location is at the airport, then I’m all set. If not, I either plan my route to the office from the hotel or just pick the city delivery option. Of course, you can choose the preferred pick-up/drop-off locations in the first step of the breakdown, to make your life easier.
6. Then I fill out my info (full name, date of birth, email, contact number) and pay the 15% of the final cost by card.
7. If the car I picked had the instant booking option, then the rental voucher will drop in my inbox within minutes. If not, you’ll have to wait for it — usually no longer than 24 hours.
8. One or two weeks before the appointed time of car pick-up, some rental companies may reach out to you via Whatsapp and ask for the scans of your documents (ID or driver’s license) to fill out your form in advance. That way, when you come to the rental office, you will only have to check the info and not spend extra time filling it out yourself.

And there you have it! The entire process is very streamlined, but don’t forget to pay close attention to fine print.

Side note: LocalRent’s prices in the UAE are at their most favorable if you’re renting a car in Dubai, not other emirates. Why? Because your car will be driven from Dubai to the emirate you choose as home base — you basically pay extra for delivery. Pick-up and drop-off in Abu Dhabi will cost you anywhere between $60 and $160 on top of the amount you pay for the booking itself. In Sharjah — $40 to $100. Either way, it would be more cost-efficient to rent a car in Dubai. If you don’t know how to make it happen with your itinerary, then look into other car rental services, like DiscoverCars.

Luxury car rental in Dubai

Why rent a luxury car in Dubai? Well, as I’ve established, you won’t really stick out as a sore thumb here — the glitzy dirham millionaires and billionaires peruse the emirate streets in the cars you can only see online. Plus, the setting is as lavish as the car you want to try out: It’s much more chic driving up to the 5* Atlantis Hotel in a Porsche rather than a Toyota Corolla!

What is even more exciting is the fact that Dubai has the CHEAPEST LUXURY rental cars out of everywhere I’ve been before. So if you’ve been wanting to drive in style, this is your chance to make your dream a reality. Of course, there are degrees to what a person might consider to be a true “luxury car” — can a BMW 228i or Ford Mustang be classified as premium cars? Or do only cars like Porsche 911 and BMW Z4 deserve to be regarded as such? Either way, in Dubai, luxury cars start at a low price of $100 a day.

Just look at the price breakdown — you can get:

• a BMW Z4 for $125 a day
• a Mercedes C300 for $150 a day
• a Porsche Cayman or a Boxster 718 for $200 a day
• and even a Porsche 911 Carrera for $300 a day

Even though I mentioned that you can rent a luxury car in Dubai for relatively cheap, you can always go big if the funds permit it; the more expensive car options I’ve found are:
— Rolls-Royce Cullinan for $1,900 a day
— Ferrari F8 Tributo for $900 a day
— Lamborghini Aventador S for $1,300 a day

Personally, I would go for a sleek Porsche Boxter ($180 a day) — and I almost did the last time we were in Dubai. The thing is, if you want to rent a luxury car in the Emirates, you have to do it well in advance — at least a month before your planned trip! I didn’t, and the only viable option they had a week prior to my arrival, cost-wise, had a deposit of $800 (that would’ve been frozen on my credit card for at least 21 days after car drop-off). If you plan your trip ahead of time, you could get a fancy sportscar even with an option of no deposit (you would still need to sign a document that you guarantee to pay off any fines you might acquire).

I strongly encourage you to rent a premium class car (and other, fancier models as well) in the UAE via the services I’ve listed above. There are many luxury car rental companies present in the Emirates, and I cannot guarantee that you will come across a reputable source on your own. It’s also important to get the full coverage for such vehicles — you don’t want to go into debt because a small pebble flew into your Rolls-Royce’s windshield!

Side note: When it comes to online aggregators, LocalRent takes the cake in the luxury car segment due to the sheer convenience of its search and filters. It has two separate categories that you can look into — “Lux” and “Convertibles”; browse around and find your next elite ride to impress your date or a fancy sportscar to feel the wind in your hair (in style!).

Things to keep in mind when driving in Dubai

Driving in Dubai is a relatively simple endeavor — there are so many traffic rules and fines put in place that you (and everyone around you) don’t have another choice but to abide by them. If you live in a metropolis back home, you will have no trouble adjusting to the driving style of the locals and the amount of traffic.

The driving in the Emirates might be easy, but it doesn’t mean that you can embark on your journey without learning a few key things first: Traffic rules in the UAE, fines, navigation apps, parking, and others.

Fuel prices

In the UAE, there are three main types of fuel:

• Special 95
• Super 98
• and Diesel

The Emirate’s government revises the fuel prices every month. Right now, fuel prices in Dubai for Super 98 are 2,70 AED ($0,74) per liter — a pretty reasonable cost.

When you’re filling up the tank at a gas station, they can offer to give you windshield cleaning — I always refuse the proposition, since I’m paranoid about glass scratches (remember, damages to windows are not covered by the basic CDW).

Main traffic rules and regulations

First and foremost of the UAE driving rules: Here, traffic drives on the right side of the road.

Dubai’s speed limits: 60–80 km/h in urban areas, 100–110 km/h on toll roads. On major highways, the speed limits reach 120 km/h. There’s also a minimum speed limit for highways in Dubai — 60 km/h.

❗️ There’s a 20 km/h tolerance for speed limits in Dubai, meaning you can go over the limit on the sign by 20 km/h. Note that this is not the case in Abu Dhabi where driving rules state that you must adhere to the limit to a T!

If you think about breaking the speed limits in Dubai, just know that you will be caught. The emirate is well-covered by traffic cameras (as well as radars, the newer ones are AI-powered). They blend into the road infrastructure seamlessly and often go unnoticed by the drivers (most of them are set on the grey posts or overhead bars).

In Dubai, road signs are in two languages: Arabic and English. It can cause confusion at first, but you’ll get used to it soon.

One thing that kept throwing me off about driving in Dubai is using their three-lane roundabouts. Here, the right lane is used only for the first exit, and the center and left lanes are used for the following second, third, and U-turn exits.

Fines

The UAE is famous for its strict laws (they’re all reasonable though), so breaking them might not be the best idea. In part, it is because of hefty fines — on average, the fines hover around 1,000 AED ($270) per offence.

Here are the most common traffic violations in Dubai and their fines:

• Not wearing a seatbelt — 400 AED ($110)
• Unauthorized turns — 500 AED ($135)
• Texting or talking on the phone while driving — 800 AED ($220; the camera will catch you instantly, bring a hands-free kit with you)
• Exceeding the speed limit by less than 60 km/h — 1,500 AED ($410)
• Driving under the influence of alcohol — jail time! The UAE has zero tolerance policy on drunk driving, so even a glass of wine at dinner warrants a cab ride, and not a drive in your rental

Roads and traffic

Driving in Dubai as a tourist is made much easier by the quality of roads — they are beautifully maintained by the RTA (Roads and Transport Authority), meticulously planned, and all divided.

• When it comes to driving between the emirates, it won’t be an arduous drive. Without traffic, it takes maximum 2,5–3 hours to reach the opposite end of the country.

However, rest stops and gas stations are few and far between when driving from one emirate to another, which is the only apparent downside to roads in the UAE.

Speaking of traffic, getting mentally ready to spend a huge chunk of time standing at a standstill when going from one attraction to the other is one of the driving in Dubai tips I consider to be paramount.

• Sheikh Zayed Road is the main offender — when evening rush hour hits, the traffic on the road becomes paralyzed, particularly in the direction of Sharjah. Because of that, I discourage you from driving on the road between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

And, if you chose Sharjah as your home base for your Emirates adventures (to save money, which is a great trick if I say so myself), then you better spend your mornings leisurely enjoying your hotel’s breakfast buffet — morning traffic from Sharjah to Dubai turns a 30-minute drive into a 1,5 hour one!

It seems like traffic doesn’t really “die down” in Dubai — virtually every hour of day and night, there are tons of cars here congesting the roads. And even though there are strict rules in place (a fine for not using a turn signal makes driving etiquette in Dubai a good one), it can be hard to navigate the major motorways. A couple of times I’ve missed the exit on 8-lane roads because I couldn’t get to it in time.

Despite the apparent troubles, things are never as bad as they seem — thanks to speed limits, signs, and yes, even cameras, the traffic in Dubai is very well organized. Two things that still scare me about driving in the Emirates are giant multi-level interchanges and the need to be highly focused on the road at every moment in time. Anxious and tired are not my preferred states while driving, but Dubai roads’ pros far outweigh their cons.

Toll roads

Toll roads in Dubai operate on a Salik system — electronic toll system that charges a set fee for passing under the designated toll gates. Toll roads are usually a nuisance, and not for tourists only — locals are also not happy for having to pay for driving around their home emirate (the fact that the number of toll roads grows each year doesn’t help the situation as well).

There are no barriers or toll booths of any kind when entering the toll roads in Dubai. When your car passes under a Salik gate, the tag in the car (Salik tag, that is; it is usually placed on the windshield) communicates with it and the toll is automatically deducted from the account associated with the tag. You can pay the fee online or upon car drop-off at the rental company’s office.

Salik fees are not that outrageous (there are a few instances where they reach 12 AED / $3,30, but there are very rare), they mainly depend on time of day:

• 6 AED ($1,60) during peak hours (6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.)
• 4 AED ($1,10) during off-peak hours (10 a.m. to 4 a.m. and 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.)
• Free at night (1 a.m. to 6 a.m)

You don’t have to pay close attention to the hours listed; even when using toll roads predominantly during peak hours, you won’t scrounge up a hefty fee by the end of your trip — it’s practically impossible.

Of course, you don’t HAVE TO use toll roads in Dubai. There are workarounds, even if they’re not always the most convenient choice. You can use your navigation app to help you plan your route — just put in “avoid toll roads” when entering your destination.

One time I used the toll road to reach Al Mamzar Beach — a beautiful beach in Dubai that is more isolated out of the more popular waterfront emirate destinations. On the way back, however, I decided to take the free road — and I liked it even better than the toll road. It was easier to drive on (mainly due to the decreased speed limit of 80–100 km/h), and the time spent in transit was virtually the same.

If you’re more of a visual learner in general, make sure to check out our YouTube video guide we’ve created on the topic of renting a car in Dubai:

Parking in Dubai

Parking in a new place has always been the bane of my existence, and parking rules in Dubai are not an exception. There are a lot of things to keep in mind when trying to leave your car somewhere in the emirate.

Just like any other city, Dubai has both paid and free parking zones.

Free parking in Dubai.

• Shopping malls — Dubai Mall, Dubai Marina Mall, Mall of the Emirates, — all of the main retail destinations of the emirate offer free parking for the first 3–4 hours. Because they’re usually located not too far from Dubai’s main sites (Dubai Mall is set adjacent to the iconic Burj Khalifa), leaving a car there for a couple hours for free is a wonderful opportunity in such an expensive city.
• Most tourist attractions — thankfully, visitors to Dubai’s most fun destinations have complimentary parking privileges. So, if you want to have the time of your life at places like Global Village, Safari Park, Green Planet, any kind of observation decks, and some other theme and water parks, you can do so without the stress of additional expenses like parking.

Side note: There used to be free parking near mosques in Dubai, but since August 2025 there’s been an update — all the parking spaces became paid, free only for one hour during prayer time.

• Beaches — in Dubai Marina, you can park your car near Dubai Marina Mall for free (but there would be a long walk to the beach — a treat for convinced flaneurs, since it’s one of Dubai’s most beautiful neighborhoods). There are free parking spaces at Al Mamzar, and Kite Beach has a few spots near SALT — best burgers in Dubai.
• Hotels with free on-site parking — your best case scenario for pain-free overnight parking. If they have valet service — even better! Since I’m not really used to such treatment, the first time they took our car and parked it for me was a total trip. I still made sure to check it afterwards — you never know how careful the parking attendants are.

Our last two stays in Dubai included on-site parking, which we greatly appreciated: Check out Mercure Dubai Barsha Heights Hotel and Atana Hotel Dubai if you want to avoid parking issue anxiety.

Paid parking in Dubai.

There are plenty of paid public parking spaces in the emirate: On-street, off-street, car parks, etc. Parking fees vary by zone, day of the week, and time of day.

On average, expect to pay anywhere from 4 AED to 6 AED ($1,10–$1,60) an hour. The prices do go higher, especially in high-traffic tourist areas and during peak hours.

❗️ From 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. (and on Sundays) paid street parking zones become free.

You can use a few different ways to pay for paid parking in Dubai:

• RTA Dubai App (doesn’t require registration)
• Parking App (requires registration)
• Parking meters (can use both coins and credit cards; I usually stick to coins)
• Via SMS (requires a local phone number)
• QR codes

The parking situation in other emirates is much easier. In Sharjah, Al Majaz Waterfront park has parking spaces (paid in coins) that go for 2 AED ($0,55) an hour; Sharjah Fort’s street parking costs 10 AED ($2,70) an hour. In Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, there’re plenty of free parking spaces available.

With all this information under your fingertips, the topic of parking in Dubai loses its impenetrable status and becomes just another thing to deal with — between free parking near some attractions and shopping malls, as well as on-site hotel parking, I didn’t have any problems with leaving our car unattended in the emirate.

Navigation

Navigation in the UAE is a peculiar topic — as a long-time user of Google Maps (worldwide), I thought that this service would be the best there is for driving around Dubai. Curiously, I was wrong — Waze navigation is all the rage in the Emirates. The app’s lane navigation on Dubai’s multilane roads is unparalleled. Waze also shows accurate speed limits and the locations of cameras on the roads, it also provides more accurate ETA, since it takes traffic into account.

When it comes to staying connected when in the UAE, you have two great tried-and-tested choices: Get an eSIM either from Yesim or Airalo.

They both have great deals on data plans in the UAE, but I always get 10 GB for $20 — it’s more than enough. ESIMs are great because you can start using them as soon as you land; that way, you will have no trouble finding a rental office at the airport (they can be tricky to locate sometimes).

Hotels with parking for rental cars

Apart from the two hotels I’ve mentioned above, there are quite a few other contenders (with free on-site parking) worthy of your attention in Dubai:

• 3* Citymax Hotel Al Barsha (from $100 a night)
• 3* Centro Barsha (from $100 a night)
• 4* Hilton Garden Inn Dubai, Mall Avenue (from $100 a night)

Since you have the luxury of a rented car in Dubai, and thus the ultimate freedom of movement, you might also consider booking a room at a hotel set further away from Dubai Metro. All of these amazing hotels have free parking, but they are more isolated from the emirate’s central hustle and bustle: 3* Ecos Dubai Hotel at Al Furjan (from $80 per night) or 4* Form Hotel Al Jaddaf, Dubai (from $110 a night).

If you’re renting a luxury car in Dubai, you can also treat yourself to a luxe stay at the emirate’s dreamy hotels (just take your pick — mountains or desert; other characteristics of these resorts will blow your mind with their state-of-the-art facilities either way):

• 4* JA Hatta Fort Hotel (from $390 a night)
• 5* Bab Al Shams (from $500 a night)

Road trip planning

A perfect vacation in the Emirates means different things for different people — for some, a stay at a relaxed-luxury refuge of a beachfront hotel and an outing or two for some retail therapy is all they need. For others, cram-it-in days full of sights and experiences is just what the doctor ordered.

Either way, a rental car in Dubai is a must if you plan on hitting at least a few of the emirate’s iconic locations. You don’t have to leave the city to appreciate your own four wheels — driving from one destination to the other is much more pleasurable with your personal AC blasting at top speed.

What to see in Dubai when you’ve got the luxury of a freedom of movement? Well, the more removed tourist attractions are a good place to get your money’s worth:

• Dubai Safari Park — a sprawling wildlife sanctuary, great for families with children;
• Any of the theme parks will do, Dubai’s Aquaventure World and Abu Dhabi’s Ferrari World are at the top of the list;
• Dubai’s more isolated beaches — Al Mamzar and Kite beaches have never been so easily accessible!

Now that the car has proved its worth to you in Dubai, you can set sail to the emirate’s more regular destinations (it can be trickier to figure out the parking situation near some of them, but remember the tip we gave you — shopping malls are your friends!):

• Burj Khalifa or The View at the Palm — no visit to this beguilingly complex emirate is complete without having at least a couple of Dubai viewpoints in your itinerary
• Museum of the Future — learning about the emirate’s future is an unusual part of traveling here
• Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Marina — some of the most legendary neighborhoods in Dubai are awaiting your arrival

If you’re hard set on exploring other emirates, thus embarking on regular road trips from Dubai, then you definitely need to rent a car here. Driving down to Abu Dhabi’s theme parks and museums (just the Louvre on its own is worth the journey, in my opinion), checking out the distant Fujairah and dipping your toes into the Gulf of Oman, discovering Hatta’s natural beauty and peeking over into Oman territory… The mind reels! You can spend hours on the road in the UAE and never run out of sights to see, so repeat trips are in order.

Side note: We still haven’t written a post on the best things to in the emirate, however you can check out our guide to spending 1 day in Dubai!

Decided against renting a car?

If you thought that nothing could compare to speeding on Dubai’s wide highways in a newly rented sportscar, think again! When compared to some of the more extreme adventures, Dubai car hire is nothing more than a convenient way to get around the Emirates. The more intrepid travelers will surely appreciate the exhilaration and thrill that comes from the following Dubai experiences (click each one to learn more details from us about the activity):

— Plummet to the ground at 200 km/h while admiring the city skyline with Skydive Dubai

— Admire the glistening vistas of stately Palm Jumeirah and Dubai’s sky-scraping Downtown from a whirring helicopter

— Feel the rush of jumping over dunes in a jeep, mixing up sky and ground with Dubai desert safari tours

— Take to the water: Either jet skiing or going on a speedboat tour will give you just enough of a rush, with sparkles of the water splashes creating the most beautiful sight

Renting a car in Dubai — my review

Before I finally took the plunge and decided to rent a vehicle in the UAE myself, I have consulted dozens of rent-a-car-in-Dubai reviews. From what I’ve gathered, the mixed bag of opinions mainly comes down to choosing the right service — personally, my experience was overall positive, and I’m now going to continue renting a car in Dubai during each visit we make from now on.

My trial run of all things concerning renting a car in the Emirates has passed with flying colors mostly due to the service of LocalRent — their prompt customer care responses, the lack of sneaky fees, and the overall streamlined process has made it a particularly pleasurable experience.

FAQ about rental cars in Dubai

If you’ve missed the answer to your question in the highly detailed breakdown above, then feel free to look for it here. These are the things to know before you rent a car in Dubai:

Where do I pay toll road fees and fines in Dubai?

You can do both via Dubai Police official website. Alternatively, you can pay toll road receipts (fines too) upon returning the car at the rental office, in cash.

How much is renting a car going to cost in Dubai in 2025?

The most standard-class cars with basic insurance start at $30 per day, which is a complete steal for such an expensive city as Dubai.

Do I need an IDP (International Driving Permit) to rent a car in the UAE?

If your home driver’s license is not in English, then an IDP is required. However, even if you fall into the category of people that do not need an IDP, it’s still great to have one when driving around Dubai, just in case.

Can you rent a car in Dubai with no deposit and pay in cash?

Absolutely! This is exactly how I got to ride in the sweet red Mini Cooper the last time I went to the Emirates. LocalRent makes it easy to find such options — just put “no deposit” and “cash payment” into the search filter bars and you’re all set. You will still need to use your card upon booking though — you have to pay 15% of the final sum to finish the renting process. When you’re picking up the car, the cash payment is not the only option: You can use your card, or even pay with USDT.

What are the most important things to know before renting a car in Dubai?

You have to use legit services for car rental in the UAE. The other thing is navigation — download Waze to drive around Dubai with relative ease and comfort (that lane control is invaluable in the emirate!).

Is it better to rent a car in Dubai or use a taxi?

In my opinion, if you plan to see the “real” Emirate, past a couple of malls and your resort’s private beach, then by all means, rent a car in Dubai. There are so many exciting destinations to explore here, and if you have a packed itinerary, taxi fees would simply be too outrageous to cover.