Arrivals
An Abu Dhabi layover is worth leaving the airport for if your passport allows it and you have about 5 hours.
Zayed International Airport (AUH) has one passenger terminal, Terminal A, which the airport says all flights use. The old Terminal 1 closed to passengers in 2023. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is about 20 minutes away by taxi on a map estimate, so little of a short layover goes on the ride.
- Bags. The airport has a left-luggage desk on the Arrivals level, open 24 hours, from AED 35 an item for up to 3 hours (seen November 2026). If your bags are checked through on one ticket, you don’t collect them.
- Phone. Wi-Fi is free throughout the terminal. Once you leave, a UAE eSIM set up before you fly keeps maps and ride-hailing working.
Luggage, taxis and the bus: getting into the city.
eSIM
Stay connected
Set up a UAE eSIM before you land, and maps and ride-hailing work as soon as you reach the taxi zone.
Get an eSIM from Airalo (opens in a new tab)Get a Saily eSIM (opens in a new tab)
Border
Most Western passports get a visa on arrival, but nobody publishes how long immigration takes.
Not needed when you stay airside.
- UK, US, Canadian, Australian and most EU passports get a visa on arrival for 90 days (free for UK and Canadian passports, say their governments). Irish passports get a free 30-day one, on Emirates’ list. You need at least 6 months’ validity.
- Other passports, including Indian, need something arranged before you fly: an Etihad transit visa (AED 55 for 48 hours, AED 216 for 96 hours, about four business days), or for Indian passport holders with a valid US, UK or EU visa or residence permit, a 14-day visa for AED 100, applied for online.
- Staying airside needs no visa. Follow the purple Transfer signs, not Arrivals.
- Time. Nobody publishes immigration queue times, so allow about an hour from landing to the taxi.
Who needs which visa: visa and transit rules.
Into Abu Dhabi
A taxi or ride-hailing car is the quickest way to the Grand Mosque, about 20 minutes on a map estimate, and the A1 bus is the cheapest way into the centre.
Not needed when you stay airside.
| Ride | Into town | Fare |
|---|---|---|
| Taxi or ride-hailing car | About 20 minutes to the Grand Mosque (map estimate) | Metered: AED 20 flag fall and AED 1.82 a km from the airport rank |
| Bus A1 | About 48 minutes to Al Zahiyah Bus Station | AED 2 plus 5 fils a km, around AED 4, on a Hafilat card |
| Private transfer, booked ahead | A driver meets you at the airport | Quoted when you book |
Bus A1 leaves Terminal A Arrival every 30 minutes from 6:05am to 11:05pm. The last bus back to the airport leaves Al Zahiyah Bus Station at 10:42pm, every day, and reaches the terminal at 11:36pm. Official taxis wait outside the arrivals hall, and Uber, Careem and Yango pick up in the Arrivals Car Park.
Getting into the city compares the taxi, the bus and a private transfer.
What to do
The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is the quickest sight to fit in, and the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Heritage Village and Yas Island are all within a taxi ride.
Not needed when you stay airside.
The fastest plan for a short layover
- Clear immigration, then follow signs to the taxi rank outside arrivals, or to the ride-hailing zone in the Arrivals Car Park.
- Ride to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, about 20 minutes on a map estimate.
- Register at the visitor centre, pay AED 10 if you’re from outside the UAE and join the walking tour, which the mosque says takes “approximately 30 - 45 minutes”. Cover your arms and legs, and women need a headscarf.
- Take a taxi back to the airport, leaving with at least 90 minutes before your flight.
Would you rather someone else handled the timing? Private layover tours collect you at the airport and bring you back. GetYourGuide (opens in a new tab) and Viator (opens in a new tab) list several.
Watch the calendar
- Fridays: the Grand Mosque is shut from 11:30am to 2:30pm. Heritage Village is shut from noon to 3pm.
- Mondays to Thursdays: the Louvre’s galleries close at 6:30pm, and at 8:30pm from Friday to Sunday.
- Summer heat: Visit Abu Dhabi gives a summer high of around 42°C. Plan indoor stops in the middle of the day.
- Ramadan: don’t eat, drink or smoke in public in daylight, and check the Grand Mosque’s separate Ramadan hours.
Our itineraries give timed plans from 5 to 24 hours, including an overnight plan and rest plans.
Transit tour
Abu Dhabi layover tours
Private city tours with pickup and drop-off at the airport, usually taking in the Grand Mosque. Pick one that brings you back at least 90 minutes before your flight.
See tours on GetYourGuide (opens in a new tab)See tours on Viator (opens in a new tab)
Head back
Be back at Abu Dhabi airport 90 minutes before departure, with your onward boarding pass.
Not needed when you stay airside.
- Time. An hour from landing to the taxi, 30 minutes each way and 90 minutes at the airport before departure leave about 1.5 hours in town on a layover of 5 hours, the realistic minimum. With 6 hours you get about 2.5.
- Why 90 minutes is enough. Etihad’s check-in closes 60 minutes before departure in Economy and 45 minutes in Business and First, so 90 minutes covers a traveller who still has a bag to check. If your flight is to the United States, Etihad asks you to arrive at least four hours before, because pre-clearance happens at the airport.
- Late flights. The airport has an undated notice, still posted on 7 November 2026, that, during overnight baggage-system maintenance (11pm to 5am), passengers should arrive at least 3.5 hours before an international departure. Check it before a flight in those hours.
- Late at night. The last A1 bus to the airport leaves Al Zahiyah Bus Station at 10:42pm. After that, taxis and ride-hailing cars run all night.
Time in town at each layover length: how much time you’ll have.
Departures
Best for your layoverStaying in the airport instead: a hotel and two lounges, all airside.
If your layover is short, or you’d need a visa to leave, you can rest at Zayed International without passing immigration.
- AU Hotel: inside the transit area in Departures Pier D, with “6/12/24-hour flexible stay packages for layovers” and a 24-hour front desk. You need a boarding pass for an onward flight from Abu Dhabi. The airport publishes no price.
- Pearl Lounge: open to all travellers, 24 hours, from AED 265 for 3 hours, with paid private showers (seen November 2026).
- Etihad lounges: for Business, First and status passengers, and Economy passengers who buy a pass.
- Sleeping pods: the airport’s site lists none.
On an Etihad itinerary with 24 hours or more in Abu Dhabi, check first whether you can add the Abu Dhabi Stopover: one or two free nights at a three or four-star hotel, with a nominal fee, 72 hours’ notice and blackout dates from 1 to 8 December 2026.
Prices, showers and luggage: at the airport.
Hotel
AU Hotel, inside the airport
The airport's hotel sits airside in Departures Pier D, with 6, 12 and 24-hour stays, so you need no visa. The airport publishes no price; Etihad says to book through online travel agents.