How bad is traffic in Dubai on Sundays in the afternoon/evening?

December 17, 2012 2:08 AM

How bad is traffic in Dubai on Sundays in the afternoon/evening? My wife and I have 24 hours in Dubai, beginning on a Sunday. We arrive to our hotel (right next to the airport) around 5:15PM, and we're taking the Bateaux dinner cruise leaving at 8:30PM. My plan between these two times is to take her to the Royal Mirage down by Jumeira for drinks. Online, it's looking like a taxi will take roughly 40 minutes to cover the distance from the airport to Jumeira, assuming no traffic. But on a Sunday (which is a work day in Dubai, as I understand it?), I'm worried: will the roads be totally clogged at that time of day? Or will a taxi be able to get us there in a reasonable amount of time?
posted by Televangelist to Travel & Transportation (3 answers total)

Hi from Dubai. Sunday is a working day for most of us so there may be some rush hour action. Sounds doable, though traffic can get a little cranky. I assume you'd arrive at 6, want to leave at about 7:30. If you're early for the boat, it's nice to walk along the creek.
posted by ambient2 at 5:21 AM on December 17, 2012

Thanks for the info! Is the metro a reliable option?
posted by Televangelist at 7:54 AM on December 17, 2012

The metro is reliable, but getting from any of the stations to the Royal Mirage itself will require another taxi and you may have queue for a while to get one at that time of day.
posted by atrazine at 9:31 AM on December 17, 2012