1 Day in Dubai by Metro: Burj Khalifa, Marina & Old Dubai (First-Timer Itinerary)

This guide fits Burj Khalifa, the Marina and Old Dubai into one day using only the Metro, the Tram and one abra ride. The day runs in three blocks: Old Dubai in the morning, Downtown in the afternoon, and the Marina in the evening. You start at the Gold Souk, cross the Creek by boat, stand under the Burj Khalifa, watch the Fountain, and finish with dinner at JBR. The whole day costs about AED 21 on a Silver nol card, plus AED 1 in cash for the abra. Two warnings before you start: the souks open late on Friday, from about 4pm, so Friday needs the day flipped, and the last train from DMCC towards the city leaves at 11:09 pm. Fares and hours here were checked 13 Nov 2026, and you should check the official site before you go.

The day at a glance

The day runs in three blocks: Old Dubai in the morning, Downtown in the afternoon, and the Marina in the evening. Each block has one home station, and the rides between them are short: about 20 minutes from Al Fahidi to Downtown, and about 25 minutes from Downtown to the Marina. The plan below assumes a 10am start on a Saturday to Thursday. On Friday the souks open at about 4pm, so flip the day and start Downtown instead, and read the Friday note in the questions at the end. On Sunday the Metro starts at 8am, so the 10am start still works. You need a Silver nol card with at least AED 25 on it at the start of the day, or a QR day pass bought in the morning, plus AED 1 in coins or a small note for the abra. See our Dubai Metro Map 2026 guide for the full map of the lines. The table below is the whole day in one look, and the sections after it give the detail.

Time	What	Station	Ride and fare
10:00 to 12:00	Gold Souk and Spice Souk	Al Ras, Green, Zone 5	Walk from the station, free entry
12:00 to 12:15	Abra across the Creek	Deira Old Souq to Bur Dubai	Boat, about 5 min, AED 1 cash
12:15 to 13:30	Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood	Sharaf DG or Al Ghubaiba, Green, Zone 6	Free lanes, 10 min walk from the abra
13:45 to 14:05	Ride to Downtown	Sharaf DG to Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall	7 stops, about 20 min, AED 3 Silver
14:30 to 17:30	Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa	Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall, Red, Zone 6	20 to 30 min walk to the ticket counter
18:00 to 19:00	Dubai Fountain evening show	Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall	Free, every 30 min from 6pm
19:15 to 19:45	Ride to the Marina	Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall to DMCC, then Tram	9 stops, about 25 min, AED 7.50 Silver
19:45 to 22:00	The Walk, the beach and dinner	JBR 1, Tram	Free, dinner at JBR
22:00 to 22:30	Ride home	JBR 1 to DMCC, then Red Line	Tram AED 3, Metro AED 7.50 Silver

Morning in Old Dubai: Gold Souk and Spice Souk

Start at Al Ras station on the Green Line, in Zone 5, and the Gold Souk is a five minute walk away. Leave the station by the main exit and follow the signs to the Gold Souk, and the covered lanes of gold shops open out in front of you. The souk is free to enter, and most shops open at about 10am and close at about 10pm. On Friday most shops open at about 4pm, and some shops close between 1pm and 4pm on other days, so a morning visit works best from Saturday to Thursday. The Gold Souk holds hundreds of small shops, and the window displays are the attraction even if you buy nothing. Bargaining is normal, so treat any first price as the start of a conversation. The Spice Souk sits a three minute walk away, next door to the Gold Souk, and it is smaller, louder and full of sacks of saffron, dried limes, oud and tea. It opens at about the same hours, and it is free to enter. Two hours is enough for both souks, and our Things to Do Near Al Ras and Gold Souq guide covers both in more detail.

These are the useful points near Al Ras station.

Place near Al Ras station	What it is	How far
Dubai Gold Souk	Gold market, 380+ shops	About 5 min walk
Dubai Spice Souk	Spice market	About 5 min walk
Deira Old Souq abra station	Abra across the Creek	A short walk from the Gold Souk
Hafez Hotel Apartments	Hotel apartments	About 3 min walk
Golden Star Hotel	Hotel	About 6 min walk
ibis Styles Dubai Gold District	Hotel	0.3 km from the Gold Souk
Baniyas Road	Main street	The station sits beneath it

Across the Creek by abra to Al Fahidi

The abra is the best AED 1 you will spend all day, and it is also the fastest way from the souks to Al Fahidi. Walk about five minutes from the Spice Souk to Deira Old Souq abra station, on the Creek waterfront, and the wooden boats leave every few minutes once they are full. The classic abra costs AED 1 per person in cash, and the crossing takes about five minutes. You pay on the boat, so have a coin or a small note ready. There is a second abra service from Al Sabkha station, a little further north, which runs to Al Fahidi on the RTA heritage route. That one is listed at AED 2 on the RTA marine page, and it runs Monday to Saturday from 8:00am to 11:45pm, and Sunday from 9:30am to 11:35pm. The classic boat from Deira Old Souq runs every day from 6:00am to midnight. Either boat lands you on the Bur Dubai side, and Al Fahidi is about a ten minute walk from the landing. The crossing is the best photo of the day, so sit on the side facing the Creek and keep your camera ready.

Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood: what to see, what to skip

Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood is free to walk through, and its lanes are the quietest part of the day. The neighbourhood is a cluster of old coral and gypsum merchant houses with wind towers, narrow lanes and wooden doors, and it is the oldest surviving part of Dubai. Walk slowly and look up: the wind towers caught the breeze before air conditioning, and the lanes were built narrow for shade. The Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding sits in a wind tower house here, and it runs booked cultural breakfasts and heritage tours with an Emirati host. Session prices are reported from about AED 60 to AED 130 and conflict, so check cultures.ae and book ahead if you want a seat. The Coffee Museum and the small art galleries along the lanes are worth a look. What to skip: the Dubai Museum inside Al Fahidi Fort, which has been closed since 2021, so do not plan around it. Skip the touts offering a Creek tour by private boat at the abra landing, because the public abra you just rode costs AED 1 and the private hire is far more. Give Al Fahidi about an hour, then walk to Sharaf DG station for the ride to Downtown. Al Seef, the rebuilt Creek waterfront, sits a short walk south if you want lunch with a Creek view.

These are the useful points near Sharaf DG station.

Place near Sharaf DG station	What it is	How far
Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood	Heritage quarter	About 10 min walk
Al Seef	Creek waterfront	Beside Al Fahidi
Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding	Cultural centre	Inside the neighbourhood
Coffee Museum	Museum and cafe	Inside the neighbourhood
XVA Art Hotel and Gallery	Gallery and hotel	Inside the neighbourhood
Meena Bazaar	Shopping district	Near the station
York International Hotel	Hotel	About 1 min walk
Khalid Bin Al Waleed Road	Main street	The station sits on it

The Red Line ride to Downtown: Sharaf DG to Burj Khalifa

Sharaf DG station is the start of the ride to Downtown, and the train to Burj Khalifa takes about 20 minutes. The station sits on the Green Line in Zone 6, and it was called Al Fahidi until the rename. Enter the station, tap in with your nol card, and follow the signs to the Green Line towards e&. Ride one stop to BurJuman, change to the Red Line, and board a train towards Expo 2020 or Life Pharmacy. Both go through Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall, but the Life Pharmacy train is the one to take if the Expo train is crowded, because the branch splits at National Paints further down the line. Ride six stops from BurJuman: ADCB, Max, World Trade Centre, Emirates Towers, Financial Centre, then Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall. The ride costs AED 3 on Silver, one zone, because every station on this leg sits in Zone 6. As the train passes Emirates Towers, look out for the Museum of the Future. It is closed until the first quarter of 2027, so it is a photo from the window, not a stop. Check this ride on our Route Planner before you travel.

Afternoon at Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall station puts you at the base of the tower, and the walk to the ticket counter takes 20 to 30 minutes. Leave the train and follow the signs to Dubai Mall across the 820 metre air conditioned Metro Link bridge, which has travelators and takes 15 to 20 minutes on foot. The station is not inside the mall, and the bridge is the link between them, so allow the full time and do not trust a map that shows the two as one building. Inside the mall, follow the signs to At the Top on the lower ground floor, and the walk through the mall adds another few minutes. The Burj Khalifa is 828 metres tall, and the At the Top decks on Levels 124 and 125 are the main visitor experience. Standard tickets were listed from about AED 170 in guides checked 11 Nov 2026, and the exact price depends on the date and time slot, so check the official booking page and book ahead, because the sunset slots sell out first. If you did not book a slot, watch the sunset from the Fountain promenade instead. Dubai Mall is a place in its own right, not just a corridor to the tower. The Dubai Aquarium sits inside the mall, with a huge tank visible from the mall floor for free, and a paid walkthrough tunnel. Souk Al Bahar, across the bridge by the lake, is a quieter spot for a late lunch. Our Things to Do Near Burj Khalifa Metro Station guide covers the tower, the mall and the Fountain in more detail. Allow two to three hours for the tower and the mall together, and leave the mall by 5:30pm so you are on the promenade in good time for the first evening Fountain show.

These are the useful points near Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall station.

Place near Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall station	What it is	How far
Burj Khalifa	Tallest tower	Covered walkway from the station
The Dubai Mall	Mall	Covered walkway from the station
Dubai Fountain	Free water show	Beside Dubai Mall
Souk Al Bahar	Souk and dining	Across the bridge by the lake
Dubai Opera	Opera house	In Downtown, near Dubai Mall
Address Downtown	Hotel	Across Burj Lake from Dubai Mall
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard	Main street	Runs past Dubai Mall and the Fountain

Dubai Fountain in the evening: the show and where to stand

The Dubai Fountain is free, and the evening shows run every 30 minutes from 6:00pm to 11:00pm. The Fountain sits on Burj Lake at the base of the tower, and it is free to watch from the Waterfront Promenade. Afternoon shows run at 1:00pm and 1:30pm, Friday at 1:30pm and 2:00pm, and the evening shows run every 30 minutes from 6:00pm to 11:00pm, as checked 11 Nov 2026. The Fountain reopened 1 Oct 2025 after renovation, and the evening shows are the busiest, so arrive 15 minutes early for a promenade spot. The best standing spot is the Waterfront Promenade on the Dubai Mall side of the lake, facing the tower, and the second best is the bridge to Souk Al Bahar, which gives a side view with fewer people. The shows last about five minutes each. If the promenade is full, watch from the upper floors of Dubai Mall near the lake side. Do not pay for a boat ride unless you want the water view, because the promenade view is free and just as good. After the 6:00pm show, leave the mall by 7:15pm to reach the Marina in good time for dinner.

To the Marina: Red Line to DMCC and the Tram to JBR

DMCC station is the change for the Marina, and the Tram to JBR 1 takes a few minutes. From Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall station, board a Red Line train towards Life Pharmacy or Expo 2020 and ride nine stops: Business Bay, Garmin, Equiti, Mall of the Emirates, InsuranceMarket, Dubai Internet City, Al Fardan Exchange, Sobha Realty, then DMCC. The ride takes about 25 minutes and costs AED 7.50 on Silver, because the route crosses more than two zones, from Zone 6 to Zone 2. At DMCC, follow the signs to the Tram across the covered footbridge. Trams come about every eight minutes. The Tram stops in order from DMCC are Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai Marina Mall, Dubai Marina, JBR 1, then JBR 2. Get off at JBR 1 for The Walk and the beach, or stay on to JBR 2 for The Beach. The Tram fare is AED 3 on Silver, but when you tap onto the Tram within 30 minutes of tapping out of the Metro, the Tram leg adds nothing to the journey fare. That rule is reported by several guides and was not found on an rta.ae page, so check RTA on the day. Our Dubai Metro to Dubai Marina guide has the full Tram stop list.

Evening at Dubai Marina and JBR: The Walk, the beach and dinner

The Walk at JBR is free to wander, and the beach beside it is free too. Step off the Tram at JBR 1 and you are on The Walk, a 1.7 kilometre promenade of shops, cafes and restaurants along the beach, and it is open all day. Walk south towards JBR 2 and the towers open out onto the sand, and the beach is free with no entrance fee. Lifeguards are on duty during daylight hours only, and there is no swimming after sunset, so plan a paddle, not a night swim. The Beach at JBR, the dining complex at the southern end, stays open late, and its restaurants are the easiest dinner on this day. If you still have energy, walk from JBR 2 across the footbridge to Bluewaters, about 15 minutes, and the island is free to walk around. Guides conflict on Ain Dubai. One guide reported in September 2026 that the wheel was closed for maintenance since June 2026, while the official site kept selling tickets. Standard tickets are reported from AED 145 for adults and AED 115 for children aged 3 to 11. Check aindubai.com on the day before you buy or travel.

Give the Marina about two hours, then start the ride home by 10:30pm at the latest, because the Red Line from DMCC towards Union takes about 40 minutes.

These are the useful points near DMCC station and JBR.

Place near DMCC station and JBR	What it is	How far
Dubai Marina Mall	Mall	About 10 to 15 min walk from DMCC
The Walk at JBR	Beachfront promenade	At JBR 1 Tram stop
JBR Beach	Public beach	About 15 to 20 min walk from Dubai Marina Mall
The Beach at JBR	Dining complex	About 1.5 km from Dubai Marina Mall
Bluewaters Island	Island	About 15 min walk from JBR 2
Pier 7	Dining tower	About 5 min walk from Dubai Marina Mall
JW Marriott Hotel Marina	Hotel	Steps from Dubai Marina Mall
Al Hubob Street	Street	JW Marriott Marina sits on it

What the day costs: fares, the day pass and the honest break-even

The whole day costs about AED 21 on a Silver nol card, plus AED 1 in cash for the abra. The table below prices every leg of the day, and the fares were checked 13 Nov 2026. The abra is the only cash fare. Pay Metro and Tram fares from a nol card or a QR ticket. The 30 minute transfer rule is the reason the first Tram leg costs nothing: tap onto the Tram within 30 minutes of tapping out of the Metro and the Tram leg adds nothing to the journey fare. That rule is reported by several guides and was not found on an rta.ae page, so check RTA on the day. If you miss the 30 minute window, the Tram leg costs AED 3 on Silver, and the day total rises to about AED 24. The QR day pass costs AED 22 Regular or AED 42 Gold, including an AED 2 fee per transaction, and it covers Metro, Tram and RTA buses until midnight on the day of first use. On this exact day from Al Ras, the day pass costs about AED 1 more than pay as you go on Silver, and it exactly breaks even on Gold, so buy it for convenience, not savings. From Downtown, add AED 5 for the morning ride to Al Ras, and the Silver day pass saves about AED 4. From the airport, add AED 3, and it saves about AED 2. Use our Metro Fare Calculator to price your own start, and the Fares Hub for the full tables. There is no daily fare cap published on the RTA Nol Fares page, so do not budget around one.

Leg	Route	Zones	Silver	Gold
Morning ride to Al Ras, if not staying in Deira	Union to Al Ras, or Downtown to Al Ras, or Airport T3 to Al Ras	1, or 2, or 1	AED 3, or 5, or 3	AED 6, or 10, or 6
Abra across the Creek	Deira Old Souq to Bur Dubai, or Al Sabkha to Al Fahidi	Cash	AED 1, or 2	AED 1, or 2
Ride to Downtown	Sharaf DG to Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall	1	AED 3	AED 6
Ride to the Marina	Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall to DMCC	More than 2	AED 7.50	AED 15
Tram to JBR	DMCC to JBR 1	1	AED 0 inside the 30 min transfer (reported)	AED 0 inside the 30 min transfer (reported)
Tram back	JBR 1 to DMCC	1	AED 3	AED 6
Ride home	DMCC to Union	More than 2	AED 7.50	AED 15
Day total from Al Ras	All legs above, except the morning ride	Mixed	About AED 21 plus AED 1 cash	About AED 42 plus AED 1 cash
QR day pass	All day, Metro plus Tram plus bus	All	AED 22	AED 42

What to pack, what to wear, and how to beat the heat

Pack light, because you will walk a lot, and the air conditioning is cold indoors. The day mixes hot streets, cold malls and a windy beach, so dress for all three. Wear comfortable shoes, because the day includes the 820 metre bridge to Dubai Mall, the souk lanes, the Al Fahidi lanes and the 1.7 kilometre Walk at JBR, and sore feet end the day early. Carry water, and drink it, because the heat is the most common problem on a walking day.

• Water: carry a bottle, and refill it in the malls and stations.
• A light layer: the malls and the Metro are cold, and the evening by the water is breezy.
• Cash in small notes and coins: the classic abra takes AED 1 in cash.
• A charged phone: for QR tickets, the Route Planner and the Fountain times.
• Sunscreen and a hat: the middle of the day is the hottest part of the walk.
• A small bag: you will carry it for twelve hours, so a big one gets heavy.

Dress respectfully at mosques and in malls.

Short on time: the half-day version

If you only have half a day, cut Old Dubai and keep Downtown and the Marina. Start at Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall station at about 1pm, and give the tower and the mall two hours, then watch the 6:00pm Fountain show from the promenade. Ride the Red Line to DMCC after the show, take the Tram to JBR 1, and finish with dinner on The Walk. The half-day version costs about AED 18 on Silver from Downtown: AED 7.50 to DMCC, AED 0 on the Tram inside the 30 minute transfer, AED 3 back, and AED 7.50 home. What it drops: the souks, the abra and Al Fahidi, which need a full morning to enjoy. Do not try to fit the souks into a half day, because the walk, the crossing and the lanes take too long, and you will miss the Fountain. If you land late, use this version. The full day is there for a second visit.

Mistakes first-timers make on this day

The most common mistake on this day is starting too late, and the second is trusting a taxi to be faster.

• Starting at noon. The souks, the abra, the tower and the Fountain do not fit after a late start, and the last train does not wait.
• Taking a taxi from Downtown to the Marina. The Metro takes about 25 minutes and the road takes longer in evening traffic, and the taxi costs far more than AED 7.50.
• Boarding the wrong branch at National Paints. Expo 2020 trains and Life Pharmacy trains split there, so check the destination board before you board.
• Going to Old Dubai on a Friday morning. Most souk shops open at about 4pm, and a Friday morning in Deira is a closed morning.
• Trusting a map that shows the Metro station inside Dubai Mall. The bridge walk takes 15 to 20 minutes and timed tickets do not wait.
• Leaving the Marina after 10:30pm. The last Red Line train from DMCC towards the city leaves at 11:09 pm, and the ride home after that is a taxi.

Frequently asked questions

The answers below use the same facts as the sections above, checked 13 Nov 2026.

This guide was written 2026-11-13. Fares and hours were checked the same day. See also our Tourist Guide for first-time visitors and our Dubai Metro QR Tickets guide.