Returning a rental car to DXB?
 

I will be driving my rental car from Khasab, Oman and returning it at DXB before flying out on EK (terminal 3). I have never driven myself to this airport before and I'm just wondering if there are any tips/quirks to returning a rental car there.

My flight out of DXB is at 13:20. I've been told that I should reach Dubai at 11 AM if I leave Khasab at 6 AM. If anyone has any information to the contrary, please let me know! Thanks!

Well, unless you're driving at a very leisurely pace, I reckon the Dubai-Khasab route only takes 3/12 to 4 hours. But that said, bear in mind that traffic around Dubai Airport can get hectic, particularly on a Thursday afternoon as people drive back to Sharjah.

Thanks! I figured the drive itself would be 3-3.5 hours but I also assumed I'd have to factor in some stoppage time at the border. I'll be driving Dubai-Khasab a few days earlier, so I'll get an idea.

I will be returning to the airport on a Sunday morning.

You will be heading the other way, but....
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/ge...oads-1.1115896

Hm. I will be heading toward Dubai on Sunday morning--my plan was to pick up the E311 just past RAK, and take that to DXB. My best guess is that I will hit the E311 around 9:00-9:30. What is the traffic like at that hour?

I rented from Hertz at the Abu Dhabi airport in Oct 2012. If AUH is anything like DXB...

The return process was quite slow- no rapid return there.

It involved the car checker (to check the car), the cashier (to accept the payment) and a 25 minute wait at the counter (to make sure all the paperwork was okay).

Allow sufficient time.

Thanks, worldtraveller73. I will definitely mind your advice.

Just to report back in case anyone else has a similar question in the future:

I did leave Khasab at about 6:15 AM and ended up pulling into DXB T3 around 9:30. Better early than late! And the EK lounge was a fine place to sit for several hours.

The signage to get into the parking lot where the rental car return is located was not the greatest, and I ended up doing a loop around the whole thing after missing the turn I was supposed to take. Once I did get inside the garage, there is no signage at all as to where the various rental agency return offices are, but I just asked one of the garage staff and got pointed in the right direction.

I was returning to Avis at 9:30 AM on a Sunday and it took about five minutes to process.

The signage is indeed terrible. The trick is to hang as far to the left as you can as you enter.

There actually is, but only for pedestrians :rolleyes:

You can just about see them if you look 90 degrees left as you drive.