Dubai to Abu Dhabi by bus: choosing E100 or E101

What the official source actually lists

The Roads and Transport Authority's intercity e-ticketing page lists an E101 service between Ibn Battuta and Abu Dhabi bus station, an E100 service between Al Ghubaiba and Abu Dhabi bus station, and dated, timed tickets sold online. Departure times, prices, journey length, baggage and child conditions are not published there, so look them up for your own date on the official booking site, and plan the legs at either end in the official journey planner. Sources checked 2026-09-20.

E100 from Al Ghubaiba, or E101 from Ibn Battuta?

Both services end at the same Abu Dhabi bus station, so the decision is made at the Dubai end, and it is about your own address rather than about the city in general. Put the exact address you are staying at into the official journey planner twice — once to Al Ghubaiba, once to Ibn Battuta — and compare the two access legs at the hour you would actually leave. There is no rule here that holds for everyone: which terminal is easier depends on your address, your departure time and how you intend to get there.

Plan the leg from the bus station to your hotel

An intercity bus delivers you to a bus station, not to your door. Most Abu Dhabi hotels are not at the bus station, and the same is true in reverse at either Dubai terminal. Treat the trip as three legs — hotel to terminal, the intercity ride, terminal to hotel — and compare the door-to-door total of each option: total time, total cost, and how much of it you spend moving luggage. Which option works out cheaper depends on your two addresses, your group size and the hour you travel, so compare the totals rather than the middle leg on its own.

Bus, taxi, private transfer or rental car

The bus is one option among four, and the right one depends on group size, luggage and how many separate trips you plan to make once you arrive. This table is editorial planning guidance, not a price comparison: no fare for any of these options is published here.

City transfer is not the same as an airport connection

These services connect city bus stations. They are not an airport shuttle, and planning a flight around one is a different problem: you need the leg from the bus station to the terminal, a buffer for it, and a fallback if the timing slips. If your flight offers a coach transfer, confirm eligibility and booking with your airline.

Before you book: a short checklist

Six points worth settling before you pay for anything.

• Which terminal your exact address reaches more easily, checked in the official journey planner.
• The current departure times and price for your date, on the official booking site.
• How you reach the terminal, and how long that first leg takes at your time of day.
• How you leave the Abu Dhabi bus station at the other end, and at what hour.
• Whether your luggage is realistic to carry across three legs.
• Your return: the last useful departure of the day, and what you do if you miss it.

Check before you travel

These change, and they are the details that decide the day. Confirm each one on the official channels close to your date.

• Departure times for your date and your direction.
• The current price, and whether your date is still available.
• Baggage you may bring, and any child or concession conditions.
• Your return departure, including the last useful one of the day.
• If a flight is involved, the airport connection at both ends and the buffer it needs.