Driving (for someone used to driving in the US, Australia or Europe) is pretty hectic. No indicators, lots of tailgating. The highways have lots of lanes, so when you couple this with people not paying attention, you frequently get cars pulling quickly across the entire highway to make an exit. But if you keep your eyes open, stay out of the fast (left hand) lane unless overtaking, and above all else assume everyone else is an idiot driver, you'll be fine. Getting around, I find Abu Dhabi easier than Dubai because the grid system is logical and if you want to head left, you turn left. If you try that in Dubai often you end up on a flyover that takes you in completely the wrong direction. Waze is apparently better than Google Maps for accurate directions in Dubai.

Can't tell you about IDP as I have a UAE licence, but the car hire place will tell you what they need in advance. My inlaws visited a few years ago and hired from Europcar downtown and said it was a breeze.

On the other hand, cabs and Careem/Uber are dead simple and will save you most of the above hassles.