Ever had to do a quick layover in the UAE, especially using Etihad’s offer? If yes, this is the place for you, I will tell you how I spent my time and the mistakes I made.

Once upon a time I landed in Abu Dhabi, transferred directly to Dubai, then returned to Abu Dhabi the following day for my flight. It worked, but it wasted a fair part of a 48-hour stopover. If the flights allow it, spend both days in one city. Dubai is the better choice for the old centre and a desert trip; Abu Dhabi for the mosque, museums and Corniche.

Affiliate disclosure: This article contains one GetYourGuide affiliate link. If you book through it, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Itinerary done quick

United Arab Emirates

Day 1: Dubai

Since I landed rather early in the day (A bit before noon), I had a fair bit of time. So, upon arrival, I took the bus from Abu Dhabi straight to Dubai.

As soon as you’re in the city, take the Green Line to Sharaf DG and walk into Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood. Continue through the wind-tower houses to the textile souk and Bur Dubai Abra Station. Route CR1 crosses Dubai Creek to Deira Old Souq; the fare checked in September 2026 was AED 1 in cash. From the landing, the spice souk and gold souk are beside each other. Dubai RTA publishes the abra route and operating hours.

After lunch, take the Green Line from Al Ras or Gold Souq, change at BurJuman to the Red Line and get off at Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall. The covered walkway from the station is long. Dubai Mall, the aquarium window, the Burj Khalifa plaza and the fountain basin fill the early afternoon. So decadent.

I recommended the terrace of the hotel in front of the Burj Khalifa to get the photo I took: The Palace Hotel. Just get there to take the famous picture.

You can also go up the Burj if the weather is clear, I didn’t go because I wasn’t that interested, and it’s probably better at sunrise/sunset.

Afterward I tried to get a bit more outside the city and found the slums and the poverty. Really close to the city; I won’t recommend straying out of the city, you might see its real face. Everyone knows Dubai is built on slave labour, it’s easy to see.

Keep the late afternoon and evening for a pre-booked evening desert excursion. This sunset desert safari with BBQ dinner (affiliate link) lists Dubai hotel pickup, dune driving, sandboarding, a camel ride and dinner. Choose the afternoon departure with dinner and check the return time. This is an online booking alternative; I cannot confirm it is the operator I used. Check that the hotel lies inside its pickup area before booking.

I did it so I could go outside of the city and see some dunes; It would have been a shame to go to the middle east and not see the desert.

Day 2: Abu Dhabi

Take the E100 from Al Ghubaiba or the E101 from Ibn Battuta to Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station. Both are inter-emirate buses; Abu Dhabi Mobility lists E100, E101 and E102 on the Dubai route.

I arrived around noon (Later than I hoped, actually, my time in Abu Dhabi ended up short)

From the bus station, walk along Al Falah Street to Qasr Al Hosn, then continue to the Founder’s Memorial and the Corniche. The walk is about five kilometres, under the heat it’s not that easy, luckily I went in winter, so while extremely sunny, it was almost cold outside (26°C?) This walk is fine, ot the most interesting but one of the most interesting in the city, anyway.

Bus 24 is the direct public connection from the Al Khalidiyah side of the centre to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. I took that one after quite a long time wasted looking for it.

Public transportation in Abu Dhabi is absolutely awful.

From the corniche there might be a bus too, I backtracked quite a bit to find one.

The crown of the city is Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. It makes the more sense to go in the late afternoon and stay through sunset, when the white marble and pools look completely different under the lights. You can reserve the access pass on the official mosque website. The visitor hours checked in September 2026 were 09:00–20:30 Saturday to Thursday and 09:00–11:30 plus 14:30–20:30 on Fridays. Avoid prayer times, obviously.

If, for some reason you have even more time, you can try heading to the Abu Dhabi Louvre Museum, if that’s your thing.

And that’s it! I know it’s a short article, but the UAE are barely worth a visit IMO, it’s nice to see the “Grandeur” of things, the building heights, the glitz (without the glamor), experience the desert and see how a city can be built by slave labour (/s).

Accommodation

If flying with Etihad, you can get a free hotel booking in Abu Dhabi. I decided to stay a night in Dubai (in the cheapest hostel I found, literally a prostitute den) to avoid going back to Abu Dhabi. Don’t cheap out. If doing the desert tour, you come back around 9:30/10, so it’s still possible to come back to the hotel.

• Route E100 (From Al Ghubaiba Bus Station to Abu Dhabi Central): Buses run every 20 minutes up until the final departure at 11:50 PM (and up to 12:20 AM on weekends). • Route E101 (From Ibn Battuta Metro Bus Stop to Abu Dhabi Central): This is a slightly faster route. Buses run regularly with late departures up until 12:00 AM midnight on weekdays and 1:00 AM on weekends.

Check the last departures for your travel date before relying on them.

So it’s doable, I am not sure it was back in 2019.

Other

For transportation in Dubai, load a NOL card: the services concerned do not accept cash payment on board. The traditional abra mentioned above is an exception.

For food, the best is to find the desi food everywhere in the city, they always make the best food. (Yes, I’m biased), otherwise you can find plenty of international items.

For safety, be careful, it’s not as safe as they say, I got robbed right out of the plane by the airport staff. They pretended they had to check my bag and ended up stealing my watch. Reporting them amounted to nothing.

Don’t want to go to Dubai?

I’d recommend heading to Al Ain, the oasis in the desert. You can get there from Abu Dhabi apparently. It will be a full day trip, extending even in the night if you arrive too late.

What to skip if you have less time?

Sorry, Abu Dhabi, you’re even less interesting than Dubaï.

Of course, it’s only my opinion. But I think the city can be reduced to the mosque, that’s the only “must do”.