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The Cost of Driving from Kuwait to Dubai

With the long weekend approaching you might have considered traveling to Dubai but were put off by the high ticket prices. If you’re more than one person and like road trips, you should consider driving to Dubai. There are a number of benefits including:

  • You leave and come back when you want
  • You can purchase large items and bring them back
  • No weight limit
  • You don’t need to rent a car while there
  • You can save quite a bit the more people in the car
  • The long drive is therapeutic

I’ve previously done the trip and I’m planning to do it again this Eid since I need to bring back a bunch of things with me. Here is how much I paid for car insurance at the borders and for fuel. This is with a Toyota Hilux so depending on your car’s fuel economy, it could be a bit less:

Saudi to UAE Boarder
11 KD – Saudi car Insurance
22.500 KD – Fuel

UAE Border to Dubai
17.5 KD – UAE car Insurance
20 KD – Fuel

On the return:

Dubai to Saudi Border
40 KD – Fuel

Saudi Border to Kuwait
19 KD – Fuel

Total: 130 KD

Considering the cheapest airline ticket right now is around 150 KD, if you road trip with a friend, split the cost, and not have to pay for a rental or cab while in Dubai, the savings can be big. And then you have all the other benefits I mentioned earlier so it’s kinda a no brainer… if you’re fine driving for 12 hours that is.

For a more detailed write up about the drive, click here.

25 replies on “The Cost of Driving from Kuwait to Dubai”

I drove several times to Qatar and recently to Dubai. The only “bad” is that there are lots of speed cameras and radars these days in KSA (good old days lol). Cost was bit less for me on the fuel though. I got the Salik sticker also to avoid the issues with the toll roads. First day I bought at a fuel station for 100 AED, next day they activated (they give 10 days grace period). It has 50 AED balance on it. Once you you pass a toll gate, 4 AED will be deducted. You can keep it on your windshield for future trips.

What about the wear and tear on the car, whilst you’re still in Kuwait. Obviously doesn’t apply to Saudi or UAE roads, they’re built properly.

lol i have a friend who drove to Oman, spent like two weeks there offroading the hell out of his Jeep then came back to Kuwait. After passing the Saudi border into Kuwait while still on chalet road, a stone hit his windshield cracking it.

I always spray with mud to avoid sand blasting, but the stones can hurt still. Roads in UAE are good, but in KSA not everywhere. Last month when I came back from Dubai, there was a big road construction near to Dammam. I spent almost an hour to pass a 3 km section.

Fuel while returning is 59kd, while going it’s 42.5kd (less by 28%). Was it due to different route or weight in the car

Because I left Kuwait on a full tank of gas so thats not included. Entering UAE I also had “cheaper” fuel from Saudi, on the way out I needed to fill up in UAE which is more expensive.

I just did this with my family, splitting the trip into 2 days – first night in Doha, 2nd night in UAE. Everything was very straightforward, my only wrinkle is when buying auto insurance at the UAE border they send it by SMS but I never received it… hopefully I won’t need it!

I have 2 questions:
1- How do you maintain mobile phone signal?
Do you get data roaming?
Last time I did that in Saudi it cost me 33KD via my kuwait Oreedoo mobile.
Are there cheaper alternatives?
2- what happens if you have a mechanical failure when in Saudi or in the UAE?
Is there a breakdown service available en route like AAA?

1) I use roaming, with Zain it’s 7KD per week

2) no idea, I mean this road is fairly busy so you will get help. When I drive to Riyadh I take the road off the beaten path and usually don’t run into any cars for 2 hours.

Thanks Mark.
Also FYI, I bought a car from a Kuwaiti guy recently who takes lots of trips around the GCC in his car and his harley motorcycle.
He said they are now implementing speeding fines in UAE and Saudi. So he was not allowed to exit Saudi for Kuwait on his return until he paid his speeding fines which he said were expensive. Previously they didn’t enforce it.

This isn’t new has been at least a few years, I had a friend who had around 600kd speeding fines he had to pay before leaving saudi and that was a couple of years ago

This means one will ultimately pay the speeding fines, uh! I had 6 flashes during my last two trips in KSA. All of them are below 20-30 km over the allowed limit. Wondering how much would that show as fine!?!?

Guys, I just received an official answer thanks to my friend from Integrated Transport Center Abu Dhabi. According to them, cars with Kuwaiti plates are exempt from the toll system (DARB). However, as far as I know, Salik is still required in Dubai. At least, you can register for Salik using Kuwaiti plates, but the same does not apply to DARB. But now there’s no need to worry about DARB. 🙂

Hi, Phaser I’ve read most of your comments in different threads, I just want to ask the road condition from Kuwait => Saudi Arabia => Bahrain => Qatar => UAE and come back to Kuwait UAE => Saudi Arabia => Kuwait and send 1 to 2 days on each country just want to experience road trip and spend my vacation on that. Im using Chevy Camaro 2012 which is in very good condition still (because not use for racing, just for work only) but only V8 with petrol consumption is more full tank can run approx 480km only. Just want to know regarding the road condition and petrol station going to UAE is it ok to use the this camaro in your opinion. Thank you

Hey Lot, your message brought back some wonderful memories. Over a decade ago, I did a similar journey (Kuwait-Qatar-Kuwait) with my 2010 Camaro SS which was lowered, cammed, and equipped with LTs and a manual transmission. Despite the rough conditions of the roads that time and the harshness of the car itself (heavy clutch with a big cam :D) and the Saudi visa arrangements, it was a fantastic trip. That time the fuel was very cheap in KSA. I did the same trip later with my other cars too (last time I went this March to Dubai) and the roads now much better. I encourage you to go for it – it’s an experience worth having. Don’t worry about the Chevy, it will not eat that much. Plus now speed cameras and radars are everywhere, so you will never be able to rev the LS beyond 2000rpm lol.

Hi, I intend to do a trip from Dubai, UAE to Kuwait. Grateful if you could advise the best road applicable as I have seen some comments on Road 615 in KSA which is not traversable.

i am planning on travelling to uae… but i have a query.. i issued my daughter saudi visa on her old passport… so do i need to take a new saudi visit evisa under her new passport no. or can i carry her old passport and new together… and show it at the border…. please need urgent advice

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