drdavidge

Hey guys, I'm going to have a ~6 hour layover in AUH on a Sunday night from 7:45pm to 2:10am. We are pretty aggressive in our travels and wanted to leave the airport and visit the city if it was at all possible. Is something like this feasible, and if so, what would you recommend we do for the short time we have at that hour of the day for first timers in the middle east?

csdf

Anything's possible. Figure on it taking you about 40 minutes to get to the Corniche, 25 minutes to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque and about 15 minutes to Yas Island.

blue2002

'tis the season, so enjoy a sumptuous Iftar and/or Suhoor at one of the 5-star hotels. Among those closer to the airport Shangri-La and a couple others in the vicinity) will offer spectacular views of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Beats any airport meal hands down. @:-)

R7U

I would advise you to rent a car and explore city. Abu Dhabi in lights is very nice.

A351

Has anyone done any of the above.....?

I spent nearly 8hrs in the lounge last week and I have a feeling that I would be on the same schedule in the next few weeks so I would like to get out of the a'port if I can.

First of all, the published arrival times are usually when the plane lands and not necessarily when it gets to the gate! I feel it would take 30 (more like 45 mins) to get off the plane and get through immigration when it's not busy. 30 mins to jump into a taxi and get to wherever one is trying to get to. Same for return. One has to be back at the a'port 2 hrs before departure to get through immigration, walk to the gate, etc. If the above numbers are reasonable, 3.5 to 4 hrs would be spent dealing with logistics alone. If you are renting a car, you have to factor-in more time for renting & returning it, traffic, parking, getting lost, etc!

In addition, we are assuming that the inbound flight is not delayed for some reason!

csdf

It depends - I can often be walking into my house within 60 minutes of touching down. But I do have e-Gate, which makes getting through immigration much quicker.

I personally would not recommend hiring a car for such a short visit. Far easier (and quicker) to get taxis.

drdavidge

any more suggestions ?

drdavidge

So, change of plans. Changed around my flight so now I will have 19 hours in Abu Dhabi. Arriving 7AM on Sunday and leaving that night around midnight.

Where would you recommend as the best and most convenient location to stay for doing a day of touristy things? Would obviously like to use points but I want to make this as convenient of a location as possible.

What should we do? I have the following as my basic list. Any particular order I should do these things in and about how much time would each thing take to see?

Shaikh Zayed Mosque
Heritage Village
The Corniche
Central Market Souk
Emirates Palace
Marina Mall Tower
Manarat Al Saadiyat
Sea Lounge
Ferrari World

thanks

csdf

I've ordered it by a sensible-ish route, starting on Yas, then up to Saadiyat, along the Corniche to EmPal, up to Marina Mall (really?), then back to the airport via the Central Market Souk (again, really?) and the Grand Mosque. Or you could reverse the route and end up on Yas if that's more convenient.

Ferrari World / Yas Waterworld: as long as you like
Yas Marina: depending on timings, plenty of nice options for food here
Sea Lounge / MCBC: presume you'd go to eat, rather than get a day pass for the beach?
Manarat Al Saadiyat: 40 minutes, but you could take lunch at Fanr if the timing works. Are there any exhibitions on at the moment? Otherwise all you'll get is a fairly dull exhibition on the plans for the island itself.
The Corniche: as long as you like; it's about 7km long but unless you hire a bike you'll probably not walk the length of it. If you start on the eastern end, you could pop in at the date market and/or carpet souk for some gifts. Bike hire places are dotted along the Corniche. One convenient one is just next to the causeway that leads to Marina Mall (and next to Emirates Palace). There's free beaches all along too, though that may be out of the question unless you're made of asbestos, or visiting after October.
Emirates Palace: if you're just going to look around, 20 minutes.
Heritage Village: an hour? never been.
Marina Mall Tower: 5 minutes to take a photo
Central Market Souk: depends on how much you like wandering around malls.
Shaikh Zayed Mosque: an hour at least. Try to time your arrival for one of the free walking tours, which are excellent.
Souk al Bahar: just on the other side of the creek from the mosque, which allows you good views/photos. The souk isn't much to write home about but there are more good eating options. If the timing works, try ending up at the Shangri-La (opposite the mosque) for sunset and dinner. An alternative good place for sunset photos, albeit at the opposite end of the island, is the causeway to Marina Mall.

drdavidge

Haha thanks. I grabbed the list from a few places online so feel free to make suggestions! What location is best to get a hotel at?

csdf

If you want to be near the airport and/or mosque, I would suggest the Shang, the Fairmont or Traders. On the other side, even closer to the mosque is the Ritz Carlton.

blue2002

Fanr is a really nice place for lunch. If you do visit Manarat Al Saadiyat, take a taxi to either Park Hyatt or St. Regis, both on Saadiyat, order a drink at one of the beach bars and go for a stroll on Saadiyat Beach.
An hour max.

drdavidge

How about the St. Regis Nation Towers as a place to base ourselves for the day?

edy4eva

Adding my 2 cents into the mix.
I went to Ferrari World over the weekend, not a parks person by any means, but got to say it was the most enjoyable experience I've had in a long time. The Formula Rossa (fastest ride in the world) was the key highlight. If you rock up early enough (say by opening hour 11AM) you'll find a very short queue to ride in the front end. Certainly worth doing twice in a row as well as the entrance fee. There's also the other ride, Fiorano GT Challenge, slower but heaps of fun and no queues whatsoever.

The Scuderia Challenge was also great, again if you rock up early there won't be queues. Just ask for tickets for consecutive sessions so you won't have to go in and out. The full size simulators are worth the 100AED per ride IMHO, just make sure you do few runs in the free ones. For some reason the F1 simulator was far more accessible than the F430

You'll easily wipe 3-4 hours there.

csdf

Not bad. They also have a decent beach club (Nation Riviera) but again, you might find it warm. Though I'm sure they have a chilled pool.