Abras Dubai is a centuries-old mode of transportation in Dubai. Also, popularly known as Dubai water taxis.
Traveling inside a busy city like Dubai will be tedious. While in holidays tourists want tension-free, enjoyable travel.
Instead of taking bus routes or taxis, tourists and people living in old Dubai prefer these Dubai water taxis to cross the Dubai creek.
It is a 10 minutes boat ride across Dubai creek. Every few minutes the Abras are transporting people from one station to another.
Your visit to Dubai is rudimentary without the Dubai Abras boat ride between the stations along the Dubai Creek.
People come here to enjoy the boat ride while doing the sightseeing on the sides of Dubai creek.
About Dubai Water Taxis (Abras)
Abra in Arabic means boat. People use these vessels to cross the Dubai Creek.
Each boat carries 20 passengers and there are 150 boats are running between Bur Dubai station and Deira station.
The abras Dubai has a wooden bench at the center of the boat to sit.
If you want to hire a boat for an hour or so you can do it as it is comfortable to go with your whole family in a single boat.
These Abras are considered as Dubai water taxis. Every year the abras in Dubai are used by 15 to 20 million people.
When to Ride Dubai Abras?
Early morning Dubai creek boat rides are spectacular as the boats are waiting to fetch the passengers. Occasionally you can get a glimpse of passing ships.
During the sunset time, the colorful people sitting in the conventional boats, the blueish water of Dubai creek, surrounding buildings will make the environment of the dock magical.
Even it is not necessary that you take the abra rides. Just sitting on the dock and watching the boats sailing in the water itself is a great experience.
Why do people ride Dubai Abras?
Riding this bras is a leisurely travel experience. It is the cheapest and quickest mode of transport to reach either side of Dubai creek.
The Dubai creek boat ride is very much pleasurable as we can do all the exciting things at the same time.
We can do the following activities while traveling in the abras
- Enjoy the sea breeze and clean air.
- Spend quality time with our companion
- Eat whatever we carry
- Can observe old and new Dubai habitats
- Enjoy the skyline of Modern Dubai
- Watch other boats and tourists crossing
- Can be close to the nature and marine life
Fascinating views near Dubai creek
Tourists usually hire abras Dubai from the Bastakiya side and cruise through the Dubai creek. You can see the below-mentioned sights:
- contemporary textiles souk
- beautiful art galleries
- magnanimous gold souk
- avant-garde buildings
- Coffee Museum
- Museum of Illusions
- Dubai Museum and Al Fahidi Fort
- Bastakia Quarter
- Al Fahidi Fort
- Dubai gold souk
- Textile souk
- Naif Souk
- Al Seef by Merras
- The Dubai Fountain
Dubai Abra fares
From Burdubai to Gold souk, the iconic Dubai Abra fare is AED 1 only.
For other location, the fare varies from 1 to 25 AED.
Types of Dubai creek abras
- Motorised Traditional Abra
- Air-conditioned Abra
- Petrol Abra
- Electrical Traditional Abra
1. Motorised Traditional Abra
These Abras Dubai are half boat and half raft abras looking traditional but speed-wise faster than traditional boats.
Fares:-
- 1 passenger – AED AED 1
- Full abra for an hour – AED 120
2. Air-conditioned Abra
These abra are covered with air-conditioning facilities. Through the glass panels, you can enjoy the view along Dubai creek.
Fare
- One person – AED 2
3. Petrol Abra
Abras powered by petrol as it is the birthplace of petrol. You can call it the fusion of modern and traditional boat.
The stations of petrol boats are:-
- Al Sabkha – Al Fahidi Deira – Old souk (CR5)
- Dubao old Souk – Baniyas (CR3)
- Al Seef – Baniyas
Fare:
- Per person – AED 1
4. Petrol Heritage Abra – Dubai water canal
If you want to witness the life of modern Dubai and its skyline, take a ride in these sophisticated petrol heritage abras.
Fares
- per person – AED 25
- per hour for full boat – AED 300
5. Electrical Traditional Abras
Routes of electrical traditional abras are –
- Dubai Mall
- Burj plaza
- The Palace
Fare:
- per person for 25 minutes – AED 68.25
6. Global Village
Fare:
to book full abra for 12 to 15 minutes – AED 52.5
7. Dubai creek abra route
There are four stations of abras Dubai along the 2 in each sides of Dubai creek.
Route 1:
- Deira old souk abra station to Bur Dubai abra station.
- It is near the spice souk and in the west of old souk.
Route 2:
- Al sabkha abra station to Dubai old souk abra station.
It is the busiest of the 2 routes.
In addition to these 2 routes there are other abra services run by these following entities:-
- Dubai water canal
- Festival city Abra
- Global village Abra
- Burj plaza Abra
- Madinet Jumeirah Abra
- Al Amzar Abra
- Atlantis Abra
You can enjoy the old and new city of Dubai from this boat ride. There are traditional houses, shops, and minarets to explore while traveling.
Places worth seeing near the Abras Dubai
Dubai is a place where the old meets the new. It is not about the tallest buildings, modern lifestyle, first 7-star hotel, palm trees, and sands.
Dubai is worth seeing for its traditional living and historic places. Old Dubai has a mystical and mesmerizing look.
The real Dubai lives in the old Dubai where Dubai creek meets Arabian Gulf. The famous places in this part of Dubai are:-
- Al Shindaga
- Al Ras
- Al Dhagaya
- Dubai gold souk
- Dubai spice souk
- Grns souk Deira an
- Grand souk Bur Dubai
From these souks/souqs (traditional Arabian shops and markets) one can buy gold, spices, clothing, and even electronics.
How To Reach
You can reach Dubai creek by taxi, metro or bus.
By Metro:
If you want to catch Abras Dubai from the Bur Dubai side, 2 metro stations are there near the dock.
- 1. Al Ghubaiba (which is somewhat nearer)
- 2. Sharaf DG (Al Fahidi). But you have to walk for 10 to 15 minutes to reach the abra station.
You can also catch a bus from the Al Ghubaiba metro station to reach abra station.
In case you want to go from Deira side to Bur Dubai, then Baniyas metro station and Al Ras metro station are there. From there the Abras Dubai is only 5 to 8 minutes walk.
Nearby Bus stops
- E100. Al Ghubaiba Bus Station – Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station.
- E306. Al Ghubaiba Bus Station – Sharjah Al Jubail Bus Station.
Abras Dubai Timings
Route1:
- runs from 5 am to 12 am
Route2:
- runs 24 hours of the day.
People may think before attempting the Abras Dubai ride, Dubai is a modern city with beaches to relax, shopping malls to shop, varieties of culinary to taste.
But once they take the boat ride in the Dubai creek they forget all others. They will love the beautiful scenery and the old and new Dubai on both sides.
With just AED 1 one can get the experience of sightseeing and boat riding at the same time. There is endless entertainment guaranteed in these Dubai Boat tours.
Dubai creek Abra stations map
The other amazing places to visit in Dubai are Dubai Miracle Garden, Dubai Glow Garden, Dubai Abra, Atlantis Dolphin bay, Spice souk, Kite Beach, Gold Souk, Al Mamzar Beach, Wild Wadi park, Ski Dubai, Legoland Dubai, etc.