By plane

1 Zayed International Airport (AUH IATA). The UAE's second busiest airport (after Dubai) and the home base of Abu Dhabi's flag carrier Etihad Airways with flights to Australia, Europe and the United States. (updated Feb 2024)

A viable alternative is to fly to Dubai International Airport (DXB IATA) in the neighbouring emirate of Dubai and continue onward to Abu Dhabi by bus or by taxi.

In combination with Sharjah International Airport (SHJ IATA) just northwest of Dubai, all three airports in combination of two might allow for a cheap connection from Europe to Asia when self-organising transfer between the different airports.

See the specific airports for details on how to connect between them.

By road

The five-laned E11 highway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi is the country's heaviest-traveled route, and the 130-km journey can be covered in about 1 hour and 20 minutes. There is a national speed limit of 120 km/h. This speed is wildly exceeded by some drivers. Stay out of the leftmost lane and drive carefully, especially at night. E11 is the longest highway in the Emirates.

If you rent a Limousine in Abu Dhabi, chances are that the car will warn you if go above 120 km/h. Depending on the vehicle, it might just be a flashing light or an accompanying, continuous, shrill beep. If you get annoyed by this, you might not want to exceed 120 km/h.

To travel directly into Abu Dhabi from Dubai on E11, keep to your left at Al Shahama and follow the E10 highway, which passes Yas Island (exit at the E12 highway) and Al Raha Beach on the way to the Sheikh Zayed Bridge into Abu Dhabi. This bridge connects directly to Salam Street (8th Street), a wide megahighway along the northern shore of Abu Dhabi Island. As an alternative to the Zayed Bridge, there are ramps off E10 that connect to the Maqta Bridge, which leads to 2nd Street (Airport Road) and to 4th Street (East Road or Muroor Road). During off-peak periods, these routes run fairly quickly into the city.

Parking

Parking within the city is monitored by Mawaqif, which also supply the parking meters. Parking meters have displays in English and Arabic. Darb is an app used for parking and tolls and is available on Android and iOS.

Finding a parking in main island of Abu Dhabi is a disaster. Parking spaces are extremely limited and most are parking designated for specific institutions. You are more likely to save time if you Uber or take a taxi to your destination instead of driving as finding a parking can take you hours. If you end up finding a parking, you'll have to walk a long way to reach your destination. Most people who own cars but live in mainland Abu Dhabi deliberately use taxis to get around due to the parking shortage. On the brighter side, shopping malls usually have free of charge underground parking with lots of parking spaces. Some close to door parking spaces are designated for electric or hybrid cars only as an incentive to drive electric cars.

Parking areas in Abu Dhabi are clearly marked; yellow and grey for no parking, blue and black for standard fare, and blue and white for premium fare.

By bus

You can get into Abu Dhabi from the other Emirates of Dubai, Sharjah, etc., by bus. The Emirates Express between Abu Dhabi and Dubai is operated jointly by the Abu Dhabi and Dubai municipalities. The 130-km route takes around two hours. The buses operated by Dubai's RTA are luxury buses. There are also the Abu Dhabi transport buses. The first bus departs from the 2 Abu Dhabi main bus terminal on the corner of Hazza bin Zayed the First (11th) St and East (4th) Rd at 5:30AM and the last leaves at 11:30PM; they leave at 30-minute intervals, or if the bus gets full sooner. From Dubai, the buses leave from 5:30AM, and run until 11:30PM, from the Al Ghubaiba station in Bur Dubai (opposite Carrefour Shopping). For bus times, see the timetable published on the Government of Dubai's website.

If you hold an Emirates flight ticket and arrive to or depart from Dubai airport, the airline offers a complimentary extension of your trip to/from Abu Dhabi. Buses depart from Dubai airport Terminal 3 and arrive to Emirates Abu Dhabi office located in Al Sawari Tower. Contact Emirates customer service for booking.

By taxi

Taxis are widely available everywhere. You can flag down any metered taxi on the street in Dubai or any other place in the UAE and ask to go to Abu Dhabi. Ride-share applications such as Uber and Careem are also available. An official taxi can be booked through the Abu Dhabi Taxi app.