Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020

UAE to Saudi Arabia by bus - how do I obtain tickets?

Country forums / Middle East / United Arab Emirates

Hello,

I will be arriving in Dubai in about 5 days, and from there I will take the bus to Abu Dhabi and then onto Damman in Saudi Arabia (I work in Jubail).

I want to know if it is possible to buy SAPTCO tickets in Abu Dhabi and travel into Saudi? If so, where is the ticket office/bus station? If not, does anyone know of any other bus companies or modes of transport that can travel in Saudi from the UAE.

I am a UK citizen and have a valid Saudi visa.

Thanks for your help,
Cheers,
Jonathan

I have never heard of a public bus between the UAE and Saudi.

There's a bus that runs from the UAE to Muscat, Oman, but that seems to be about it. Given that Saudi has extremely stringent visa requirements, a regular bus service would be difficult to operate.

May I ask why you aren't flying? It's quite cheap to fly to Dammam from Abu Dhabi or Dubai. Flydubai has inexpensive flights to Dammam and you can buy a one-way ticket.

The alternative is to rent a car.

1