How to get to Dubai city center from airport

• Most people refer to Downtown Dubai ( Downtown Burj Dubai) as Dubai's city center. This is the area with many of the city's attractions including Burj Khalifa, Emirates Towers, Dubai Mall, Dubai Fountain, and Burj Al Arab hotel. There are 3 ways to get to this part of Dubai

1. By metro
2. Taking the bus
3. Taxi

Metro

• The metro is one of the most effective and fastest ways to get to downtown Dubai if you don't have much luggage. Passengers are only allowed to carry 2 bags each on the metro. There are metro stations within Terminal 1 and terminal 3 at Dubai international airport. The airport's metro stations are served by the green and red line. The green line heads towards Dubai creek. Take the red line to Burj Khalifa.
• Travel time: 20 minutes
• Metro operating time: 5.00 am to midnight. This is subject to change during holidays and Ramadhan. On Fridays, the metro begins operating at 10.00 am.
• Fare: Cash is not accepted when paying for all RTA-regulated transport services ( metro, buses, and water taxis). You have to purchase an NOL card( Dubai's transport smartcard). There are many NOL card options. One of the most purchased especially by tourists is the Red day pass NOL for AED 20 that allows unlimited rides on all RTA services for 24 hours. Tickets are available from the vending machines within the airport metro stations.
• Frequency: There's a train after every 4 minutes at peak times and after 7 minutes at off-peak times.

Bus from Airport to City Center

• Bus fare isn't much different from metro fare. All buses in Dubai are operated by RTA therefore fares are standard and service is good. Buses park outside all of the airport's 3 terminals.
• It takes about 30 minutes to get to Burj Khalifa by bus from the airport. The bus is the best option if you want to catch an intercity or inter-emirate bus from Al Ghubaiba or Unique Square station. There are buses from the airport that connect directly to the bus stations and take an hour to get there.
• Bus fare is also paid by NOL card only. The fare from the airport to Al Ghubaiba station is about AED 5.

Taxi

• All airport taxis are regulated by the government and fare is standard. All taxis are colored cream but roof colors differ for every taxi.
• You have to pay a flat fee of AED 25 for taking an airport taxi and AED 1.96 per kilometer.