Dubai Metro to Dubai Marina & JBR by Metro + Tram

Put simply, the fastest way to Dubai Marina and JBR by public transport is the Red Line Metro plus the Dubai Tram. Take the Red Line to DMCC or Sobha Realty, both in Zone 2, then change to the Tram, which runs through the Marina and along JBR. The whole trip from Downtown costs AED 5 on a Silver nol card, and from the airport it costs AED 7.50, as checked 11 Nov 2026. The Tram stops sit right by Marina Mall, The Walk and the beach, so you rarely need a taxi at the far end. This guide covers which station to use, the Tram stops in order, the fares, the walk times, and the timings, so you can plan the trip before you leave. Fares and hours change, so check RTA on the day you travel.

The short answer: which Metro station for Dubai Marina and JBR?

In short, take the Red Line to DMCC or Sobha Realty, then change to the Dubai Tram for the Marina and JBR. The Metro runs along Sheikh Zayed Road, a short walk inland from the water, so the Tram covers the last stretch to the mall, the promenade and the beach. Both Metro stations sit in Zone 2, and all 11 Tram stops sit in Zone 2 too, which keeps the fare simple. If you would rather walk, you can: the Marina is about 13 to 15 minutes on foot from either station, and the beach is about 20 to 25 minutes, but the Tram is air conditioned and usually faster in the heat.

• Metro stations: DMCC (R37) and Sobha Realty (R36), both on the Red Line.
• Tram link: Jumeirah Lakes Towers Tram stop for DMCC, Dubai Marina Tram stop for Sobha Realty.
• Walk option: about 13 to 15 minutes to the Marina, about 20 to 25 minutes to the beach.

One point of confusion is the names. DMCC was called Jumeirah Lakes Towers, and Sobha Realty was called Dubai Marina, then DAMAC Properties. Old names still appear on some signs, so check the code: R37 is DMCC and R36 is Sobha Realty. See the Red Line Stations guide for the full line in order.

Sobha Realty or DMCC: which station should you get off at?

In short, choose DMCC for Marina Mall, JBR beach and The Walk, and Sobha Realty for the northern Marina and Marina Walk. The two stations sit one stop apart on the Red Line, at opposite ends of the Marina, so the wrong choice costs you a Tram ride or a long walk, not a ruined day. Pick by destination before you board, and the rest of the trip falls into place.

Destination	Best Metro station	Then
Dubai Marina Mall	DMCC	Tram 1 stop to Dubai Marina Mall
The Walk and JBR beach	DMCC	Tram to JBR 1 or JBR 2
The Beach at JBR	DMCC	Tram to JBR 2
Marina Walk, northern Marina	Sobha Realty	Tram to Dubai Marina, or walk
Bluewaters and Ain Dubai	DMCC	Tram to JBR 2, then footbridge
JLT clusters	DMCC, northern clusters also Sobha Realty	Tram to Jumeirah Lakes Towers

If your destination sits in the middle, either station works. The Tram runs between the two, so from DMCC you can ride two stops to Dubai Marina Mall and then on to Dubai Marina, and from Sobha Realty you can ride the other way. The ride between the two Tram stops takes only a few minutes, so do not stress over a close call. If you are staying in a Marina tower, ask the hotel which end you are at: towers near the mall end suit DMCC, and towers near the northern end suit Sobha Realty.

A note on JLT: DMCC also serves Jumeirah Lakes Towers, the cluster of towers and lakes behind the Marina. If your hotel or office is in JLT, DMCC is the right station, and the Jumeirah Lakes Towers Tram stop is the link. Sobha Realty also serves the northern JLT clusters, so check your cluster with your hotel.

Step by step: Red Line to the Tram

To get there, ride the Red Line towards Expo 2020 or Life Pharmacy, get off at DMCC or Sobha Realty, and follow the Tram signs. From the airport, Downtown or the Mall of the Emirates, board any Red Line train in that direction: both southern termini pass through the Marina stations, so either direction sign works.

1. Board the Red Line towards Expo 2020 or Life Pharmacy. If you are coming from the Green Line, change at Union or BurJuman first.
2. Get off at DMCC or Sobha Realty and follow the signs to the Tram. The link is a covered footbridge with lifts and escalators, and it takes a few minutes on foot.
3. Tap in at the Tram platform validator before you board. There are no gates on the Tram, so tapping in is your job, and you must tap out when you get off.
4. Board the Tram and ride to your stop: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai Marina Mall, Dubai Marina, or JBR 1 or JBR 2. Watch the stop names on the screens inside the tram.

Two mistakes catch first time riders. The first is boarding a train towards Centrepoint by mistake, which takes you away from the Marina, so check the direction sign on the platform before you board. The second is forgetting to tap out on the Tram, which leaves the journey open and can cost you on the next trip. If you use a QR ticket instead of a nol card, scan it at the Tram reader the same way you scan it at a Metro gate.

Dubai Tram stops for Marina Mall, The Walk and JBR beach

In short, the Tram stops you need are Dubai Marina Mall for the mall, Jumeirah Beach Residence 1 and 2 for The Walk and the beach, and Dubai Marina for the northern Marina. The Tram runs in one direction along the coast, from JBR 1 in the north through the Marina to Al Sufouh, so the stop order below runs north to south. Trams come about every 8 minutes, so if you miss one, the next is close behind.

Stop	Best for	Metro link
Jumeirah Beach Residence 1	Middle and northern The Walk	None
Jumeirah Beach Residence 2	Southern JBR, The Beach, Bluewaters	None
Jumeirah Lakes Towers	JLT, southern JBR	DMCC Metro station
Dubai Marina Mall	Dubai Marina Mall, canal end of Marina Walk	None
Dubai Marina	Northern Marina, Marina Walk	Sobha Realty Metro station
Marina Towers	Northern Marina Walk, Cayan Tower	None
Mina Seyahi	Beach resorts, Dubai Harbour	None
Media City	Dubai Media City	None
Palm Jumeirah	Palm Monorail link	None
Knowledge Village	Knowledge Village	None
Al Sufouh	Al Sufouh, terminus	None

The two choices that confuse riders are JBR 1 versus JBR 2, and Dubai Marina versus Dubai Marina Mall. JBR 1 serves the middle and northern part of The Walk, while JBR 2 serves the southern end, The Beach, and the walkway to Bluewaters. Dubai Marina Mall serves the mall and the canal end of Marina Walk, while Dubai Marina serves the northern Marina and links to Sobha Realty Metro station. If you get off at the wrong one, stay on the Tram: the stops are only a few minutes apart.

At the Palm Jumeirah stop, a footbridge links to the Palm Monorail at Palm Gateway. Check palmmonorail.com on the day before you rely on it, and do not assume a Monorail fare: we do not state one anywhere in this guide. Our Palm Jumeirah calculator covers that onward leg in full.

Fares: what Metro plus Tram costs

Put plainly, a Metro plus Tram trip to the Marina costs one fare, priced by the zones you cross. Both Metro stations and all 11 Tram stops sit in Zone 2, so the Tram leg adds no new zone. The fare below is the whole journey fare, not a fare per leg, when you tap onto the Tram within 30 minutes of tapping out of the Metro.

Fares checked 11 Nov 2026. The 30 minute transfer rule is reported by several guides, not found on an rta.ae page in this research, so check RTA on the day.

Ticket	1 zone	2 zones	All zones
Silver nol card	AED 3	AED 5	AED 7.50
Gold nol card	AED 6	AED 10	AED 15
Red Ticket, Regular	AED 4	AED 6	AED 8.50
Red Ticket, Gold	AED 8	AED 12	AED 17
QR single, Regular	AED 6	AED 8	AED 10.50
QR single, Gold	AED 10	AED 14	AED 19
Day Pass, Regular	AED 22	AED 22	AED 22
Day Pass, Gold	AED 42	AED 42	AED 42

QR singles include the AED 2 service fee per transaction. A Tram only ride costs AED 3 on Silver, because all 11 Tram stops sit in Zone 2.

Three examples show how it works. From Mall of the Emirates, one zone, a Silver fare is AED 3, because the whole trip stays in Zone 2. From Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall, two zones, a Silver fare is AED 5. From Airport Terminal 1 or Terminal 3, three zones, a Silver fare is AED 7.50. Gold fares are double the Silver fare, and a QR single costs more than a Silver fare for the same zones, plus an AED 2 fee per transaction.

A day pass can pay off on a busy day: a Regular day pass costs AED 22 and a Gold day pass costs AED 42, as checked 11 Nov 2026. A Silver nol card needs a minimum balance of AED 7.50 to open a Metro gate, so top up before you travel. There is no daily fare cap published on the RTA Nol Fares page, so do not expect your spending to stop at a set figure. Use the Fare Calculator to check your own trip.

Walking instead of the Tram: times from each station

In short, you can walk from either Metro station to the Marina, but the Tram is faster in the heat. The Marina sits inland from the beach and the Metro sits inland from the Marina, so every walk crosses the same stretch of towers and roads. In the cooler months the walk is pleasant, with the towers above you and the water ahead, but in summer the same walk in midday heat is hard work.

From	To	Walk time
DMCC Metro station	Marina Walk, mall end	About 13 to 20 minutes
Sobha Realty Metro station	Marina Walk, northern end	About 15 minutes
DMCC Metro station	JBR beach	About 20 to 25 minutes
Sobha Realty Metro station	JBR beach	About 20 to 25 minutes
JBR 1 or JBR 2 Tram stop	Beach	About 2 to 4 minutes
JBR 2 Tram stop	Bluewaters	About 15 minutes

Walk when the weather is kind, when you have no heavy bags, and when your destination is the Marina itself rather than the beach. Take the Tram when it is hot, when you have luggage or children, when it is late at night, or when your destination is the beach end of JBR. The Tram is air conditioned, step free at the stations, and only a few minutes between stops, so it wins on comfort even when the walk would be shorter on paper.

If you do walk, use the signposted footbridges from the Metro stations and stay on the pavements: Sheikh Zayed Road is a busy highway and there is no safe crossing at street level. Follow the Marina signs, not a shortcut through a car park, and carry water in the warmer months.

Dubai Marina Mall by Metro and Tram

To reach the shops, get off at the Dubai Marina Mall Tram stop for Dubai Marina Mall. From DMCC, ride the Tram one stop from Jumeirah Lakes Towers to Dubai Marina Mall, and the mall doors are a short walk from the platform. From Sobha Realty, ride the other way: Dubai Marina, then Marina Towers, then Dubai Marina Mall, which takes a few minutes longer.

The mall sits at the canal end of the Marina, with shops, restaurants and a cinema, and it is the easiest place in the Marina to escape the heat for an hour. After the mall, walk out to Marina Walk for the waterfront, or take the Tram one stop to JBR 1 for The Walk. If you arrive before 10am, the shops will still be shut, so plan a Marina Walk first and the mall second.

The Walk and JBR beach by Metro and Tram

For the sand, get off at Jumeirah Beach Residence 1 or Jumeirah Beach Residence 2 for The Walk and JBR beach. From DMCC, ride the Tram from Jumeirah Lakes Towers through Dubai Marina Mall to JBR 2, then JBR 1. From Sobha Realty, ride from Dubai Marina the other way, through Marina Towers and Dubai Marina Mall, to the same two stops.

• JBR 1: the middle and northern part of The Walk, with the main restaurant strip.
• JBR 2: the southern end, The Beach, and the walkway to Bluewaters and Ain Dubai.

The Walk is a 1.7 km promenade along the beach, lined with restaurants, shops and cafes, and it is at its best in the late afternoon and evening, when the heat eases and the lights come on. Go early for a quiet swim, or go at sunset for the walk and dinner. Cover up when you leave the sand for the shops or a restaurant, and agree any sunbed price before you sit down, because hire prices change with the season.

Bluewaters and Ain Dubai by Metro and Tram

For the island, get off at Jumeirah Beach Residence 2, then walk across the footbridge to Bluewaters and Ain Dubai. The footbridge leaves from near The Beach at JBR, and the walk takes about 15 minutes. Bluewaters itself is free to walk around, with restaurants and shops at ground level, and the wheel stands at the far side of the island.

If the wheel is closed on the day, Bluewaters is still worth the walk for dinner and the island views, and the bridge back to JBR is the same way you came. If you have a timed ticket, leave extra time for the footbridge and the Tram: a missed slot is hard to move. The F57 bus also serves Bluewaters from Jebel Ali Metro station, but the Tram and footbridge route from JBR is the simpler one for most visitors.

Marina Walk and the northern Marina

For a quieter walk, start at the Dubai Marina Tram stop for the northern stretch of Marina Walk. From Sobha Realty Metro station, cross the footbridge to the Dubai Marina Tram stop, then walk down to the water. This end of the Marina is quieter than the mall end, with towers, yachts and cafes along the water, and it suits an evening stroll better than a midday walk.

• Best for: an evening walk, photographs of the towers, and a quiet dinner by the water.
• Cayan Tower: the twisted tower stands on the northern stretch, a short walk from the Dubai Marina Tram stop.

Marina Walk runs about 7 km around the whole Marina, so do not try to walk it all in one go in the heat. Walk the northern stretch, then take the Tram from Marina Towers or Dubai Marina Mall to the southern end, or walk south slowly and stop for a drink on the way. The promenade is free and open at all hours, but the cafes and shops keep their own hours.

Timings: first and last Metro and Tram, and the Sunday late start

On a normal week, the Tram runs from 6am to 1am Monday to Saturday, and from 9am to 1am on Sunday. The Metro starts earlier and finishes earlier on most days, so the two timetables do not line up exactly. The trap is Sunday: the Metro starts at 8am and the Tram starts at 9am, so an early beach trip on Sunday starts later than you might expect.

Hours checked 11 Nov 2026. Trams run about every 8 minutes, and the first and last tram do not pass every stop at the same time, so check the platform screen for your own stop.

Day	Metro	Tram
Monday to Thursday	5am to midnight	6am to 1am
Friday	5am to 1am	6am to 1am
Saturday	5am to midnight	6am to 1am
Sunday	8am to midnight	9am to 1am

Plan the way home before you go out. The last Metro train leaves DMCC and Sobha Realty well before the stations close, and the last Tram leaves its stops before 1am, so do not arrive at the platform at closing time and expect a ride. On Friday the Metro runs to 1am, which suits a late dinner, but the Tram still finishes at 1am. If you miss the last Tram, a taxi from the Marina to the nearest Metro station is a short ride. Our Timings guide has the first and last trains.

Metro vs taxi to Dubai Marina: cost and time

On price, the Metro is usually cheaper than a taxi to Dubai Marina, and often nearly as fast. A taxi takes you door to door, which matters with heavy luggage or a group, but it sits in the same Sheikh Zayed Road traffic as everyone else, and the meter keeps running. The Metro skips the traffic, and the Tram or walk at the far end is the only slow part.

From	Metro plus Tram, Silver	Taxi, estimate
Mall of the Emirates	AED 3, about 15 to 20 minutes	About AED 20 to 30, about 10 to 15 minutes
Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall	AED 5, about 30 to 40 minutes	About AED 40 to 60, about 25 to 40 minutes
Airport Terminal 1 or 3	AED 7.50, about 45 to 55 minutes	About AED 60 to 90, about 30 to 50 minutes

The taxi ranges above are estimates from the flag fall and per km figures reported in our research, checked 11 Nov 2026, and traffic can push them higher, especially at rush hour. A taxi is the better choice late at night, when the Metro and Tram have finished, and for a group of four sharing the fare. For one or two people in the daytime, the Metro wins on price and usually on time. If you do take a taxi, use a Hala taxi or a booked car.

One more point: the Metro fare is the same no matter how bad the traffic is, and the Tram leg adds nothing when the transfer is inside 30 minutes. That makes the Metro the safer choice when you have a timed booking at the Marina.

Tips for a first trip to the Marina by Metro and Tram

First, tap in and tap out every time, and allow extra time on Friday and Saturday evenings. The Marina is busiest at the weekend, the Tram fills up, and the queues at the Metro gates grow. The rest of the list is short, and it covers the mistakes first time riders make most.

• Buy or top up your nol card before you travel, and keep at least AED 7.50 on it to open a Metro gate.
• Check the Red Line direction before you board: Expo 2020 or Life Pharmacy, not Centrepoint.
• Tap in at the Tram validator and tap out when you get off, because there are no gates.
• Sit in the class you paid for, and use the Women and Children cabin only if it applies to you.
• Keep your bags with you and within the luggage rules, and do not block the doors.
• Carry water in the warmer months, and use the Tram rather than walking in midday heat.
• Check the last train before you go out for the evening, not when you are ready to leave.
• Download the S’hail or RTA app before you travel, so you can check times on the day.

Frequently asked questions