Private Dubai City Tour: Full Day with Car and Driver

A private full-day Dubai city tour with your own car and driver, AED 750, covering eight to ten hours with a suggested route you can change as the day goes. This is a private hire rather than a coach itinerary, which matters more in Dubai than in most cities: the attractions are spread along roughly fifty kilometres of coast, and an hour lost to traffic reshapes everything after it.

A route that actually works

Most first-time visitors end up with a version of this, and it flows well geographically rather than doubling back across the city.

Morning, in old Dubai

• Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, with its wind towers and narrow lanes
• The Creek waterfront, before the heat builds
• An abra crossing to Deira, which is still the best value in the city
• The Gold and Spice Souks in Deira

Midday, along the coast

• Jumeirah Mosque from the outside, or inside on one of the scheduled visits
• The Burj Al Arab photo stop from the Umm Suqeim beach side
• Palm Jumeirah and the approach to Atlantis
• Dubai Marina and the JBR beachfront

Afternoon into evening, in Downtown

• The Dubai Frame in Zabeel Park
• Dubai Mall, the Burj Khalifa, and the fountain after dark

Running it in that order keeps old Dubai in the cool part of the morning and finishes you in Downtown for the evening, which is when it is worth being there.

The abra crossing, done properly

This is the part people get wrong. The classic crossing between Bur Dubai and Deira Old Souq costs one dirham per person and is paid in cash to the man on the boat, so carry coins. There is no card machine and no ticket office. Other Creek routes, including the newer electric abras along Al Seef, charge two.

It is a five-minute ride on a wooden boat with a diesel engine and no safety theatre, and it remains the single best thing you can do in Dubai for the price of a bottle of water.

Tickets are separate, on purpose

The day covers the vehicle, the driver, fuel, Salik tolls and parking. Entry tickets are not included, which keeps the price down for people who only want photo stops and lets everyone else pick their own time slots.

If you want the tower, book a Burj Khalifa ticket for a time that fits the day, and your driver will plan around it. Late afternoon is the usual choice. The same applies to Dubai Frame tickets.

One to know before you plan around it: the Museum of the Future closed in September 2026 for an upgrade and is expected to reopen in early 2027, so treat it as a drive-past on Sheikh Zayed Road rather than a stop. Our guide on what to do while it is closed covers the alternatives.

Who this suits

• Families with young children, where a fixed coach schedule is unworkable
• Repeat visitors who want two or three specific places rather than a standard loop
• Photographers who need to be somewhere at a particular hour
• Groups of four or more, where the cost per head drops below a shared seat-in-coach tour

Practical notes

• Pickup times are flexible, and an earlier start avoids the worst of the morning traffic.
• Your driver is an experienced local driver rather than a licensed tour guide. Say so when booking if you would prefer a fully guided day.
• Child seats are available on request at no extra charge, but ask when you book rather than on the day.
• The standard vehicle takes up to six passengers with two or three pieces of luggage. Tell us the headcount and the bag count and we will send a larger vehicle if you need one.
• The day covers the emirate of Dubai. Abu Dhabi is quoted separately because of the distance.
• Dress modestly for the souks and for any mosque visit: shoulders and knees covered.

Is this the right product for you

If you want a suggested route and someone who knows the order to do it in, this is it. If you already know exactly where you want to go and simply want a vehicle at your disposal with no itinerary attached, the private car with driver is the same vehicle and the same hours without the route planning, and it costs less.

For Abu Dhabi in a single day, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque tour handles both the drive and the guiding.

Planning your visit? Read our guide: Top 10 things to do in Dubai.