Dubai Metro Tourist Guide: Routes, Tickets, Timings

The Dubai Metro is clean, air-conditioned, cheap and reaches most tourist spots. Two lines (Red and Green), 50+ stations, trains every 3–5 minutes. For a tourist it covers most of what you need; the parts it doesn't reach (Palm Jumeirah, deeper Marina) are a 10-minute taxi away.

The two lines

Red Line: 52 km from Jebel Ali to Centrepoint, crossing all main tourist zones — Mall of the Emirates, Dubai Marina, Dubai Mall/Burj Khalifa, Union Square, Dubai International Airport. Green Line: 23 km across old Dubai — Deira, Al Ras (Gold Souk), Al Fahidi (museum). The two lines interchange at BurJuman and Union.

Nol Card — the ticket

You need a Nol card to enter the Metro. Buy at any station. Options: Silver (25 AED, 20 AED credit, reusable, 2.00–7.50 AED per journey depending on zones), Red (2 AED, limited single-use), Gold (25 AED, same credit but Gold-cabin seating). Day Pass: 20 AED unlimited on all transport.

Key tourist stations

Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall (walk via Metro Link, 15 min), Mall of the Emirates (direct exit), Dubai Marina (Marina + JBR, 5–10 min walk to Walk), Al Ras (Gold Souk, 5 min), Al Fahidi (old Dubai museum, 2 min), Dubai Internet City (quick connection to Palm Jumeirah monorail).

Timings

Sat–Thu: 05:00–00:00. Friday: 10:00–01:00. Trains every 3–5 min peak hours, 7 min off-peak. Last train from each terminus 1 hour before closing.

Etiquette

Women-and-children cabin at the front — men entering face 100 AED fine. No eating/drinking (even water) — fine 100 AED. No pets.