Abu Dhabi in a day

Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. It is the largest of the 7 Emirates and also the richest. This Emirate consists of 200 Islands and 700 KM coastline. One can easily visit Abu Dhabi from Dubai, either by car or by bus.

The distance between Dubai and Abu Dhabi is approx. 140 KM and it takes around 1 hour 30 minutes by bus. The buses are available from Al Gubaiba Bus station in Bur Dubai (E100) or from Ibn batuta stop (E101). The frequency of the bus from Ibn Batuta is every half an hour. The ticket costs 25 AED, one way. Ordinary NOL card with sufficient currency is enough to swipe for the bus ticket.

the bus is the cheapest transport available to reach Abu Dhabi (taxi costs 300 AED one way!) or there are private tours that take a full day/half day city tour to Abu Dhabi for around 150-200 AED per person. Getting around Abu Dhabi is easy as there are plenty of cabs and price is reasonable ( meter starts from 3 AED, unlike in Dubai 5.50 AED

Places to visit in Abu Dhabi in a day

1) Marina mall: one of the famous malls in Abu Dhabi which houses all the local and the international brands. It also features the bowling alley, cinema and ice rink. One can also take the ferry wheel ride outside the mall (200AED pp)

2) Abu Dhabi corniche: It is a 8 km stretch and an amazing place to spend a couple of hours with the family.One can simply sit and enjoy the sunset, or cycle around, take a walk.Kids can play in the kids’ area. There are plenty of eateries available too.

3) Heritage Village: The heritage village is 20 minutes taxi ride from the Abu Dhabi metro station.The entrance to the heritage village is free. This place showcases the culture of UAE. It has an entire Emirati village re-created including the wells, farms, home, godowns etc. It shows how the city was before the oil boom. Kids can enjoy the camel ride and the horse rides here. There is a small souk, where the souvenirs, silverware, toy camels etc can be purchased. Also, there is a museum which houses photographs of various stages of development of the UAE, from small fishing villages to the super cities. The artisans there give a live demo on making of leather shoes, bags and glassware and various artifacts. One can have some quite time sitting at the sea shore and enjoying the view of the Abu Dhabi skyline from here. Recommended time to be spent: 2 hours. (unfortunately, I do not have enough pictures of the heritage village.)

4) Emirates palace Currently the 7-star hotel in Abu Dhabi, It used to be palace before. The visitors are allowed to visit the Hotel. Since it is closed on Friday (only hotel guests are allowed), we could not visit.We just took some snaps near the entrance to the palace. On the way to the palace, one can also see the famous Etihad towers (fast and furious 7 towers jumping scene) and ADNOC headquarters.

5)Sheik Zayed Grand mosque: It is one of the largest mosques in the world. It can accommodate around 41000 worshippers at a time.This mosque is open for people of all religion except during the prayer time.Women are required to dress modestly and cover their head with the scarf. The mosque is an amazing example of the modern day Islamic architecture. With over 80 domes and more than 1000 pillars, the mosque is a feast to the eyes of the visitors. The main attractions of the mosque include the largest loomed prayer carpet and the beautiful chandeliers (made of pure gold and Swarovski crystals).

6)Yas Island: Yas Island and Ferrari world need an entire day to dedicated to itself. But one can visit the Yas Island for a photo stop and also visit the Ferrari Merchandise store( Right before the entrance to the Ferrari world) and buy some Ferrari souvenirs and goodies.

One can also visit the Abu Dhabi souk, the carpet souq or the Abu Dhabi falcon hospital if the time permits.

The bus back to Dubai should be boarded from the Abu Dhabi bus station.