If this is your first New Year’s Eve in Dubai, it’s important that you know that moving around the city in the hours leading up to the clock striking midnight can be quite challenging.
Expect plenty of traffic from late afternoon onwards, so getting a taxi won’t necessarily be that easy nor the fastest way to get to your partying destination.
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And although Dubai Metro is also likely to be packed, we have some good news for you on that front.
The city’s Road and Transport Authority has announced that services on both the Green Line and the Red Line will be running throughout the night.
The same applies to Dubai Tram. So if you’ve had enough of partying and fireworks by 1,2, 3, 4am and so on, you can pop on the metro or tram and head off home!
For bus services, timings are slightly different:
"Public Buses and Main Stations (such as Gold Souk), will start service from 04:25 am up to 12:00 midnight on 01 January 2017. Al Ghubaiba Station will start at 04:30 am and continue up to 12:00 midnight. In subsidiary stations (such as Satwa), the service will be from 04:57 am up to 11:35 pm, except for Route C01; which will be operating around-the-clock. Al Qusais Station will open at 04:40 am and continue service up to 12:00 midnight, and Al Quoz Industrial Station will start service at 05:00 am and continue up to 11:30 pm, whereas Jebel Ali Station will be on duty from 05:00 am up to 12:00 midnight," RTA authorities have announced.
We also have some important news for those planning to move around in their own vehicles on NYE.
The good news is that all paid parking across Dubai will be free on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Around Downtown, 17,000 parking spots will be allocated, as well as an extra 5,000 slots at Zabeel Park, Al Jafliya, Al Mankhool and Al Wasl Club.
The bad news is that there are road closures planned around Burj Khalifa and its nearby metro station.
Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard will also shut 6 pm to 8 pm depending on traffic congestion.
At 8pm the upper and lower decks of the Financial Centre Road will close.
Some of the other roads expected to have temporary closures on Saturday evening include Al Saada Road, Al Asayel Road and Al Sukook Road.
Road diversion signs will be placed to alert drivers in areas like Business Bay, Downtown, Al Khail Road, Sheikh Zayed Road and others.
With around a million revellers expected to use Dubai’s public transport on New Year’s Eve, things may get a little crazy but our advice is to just go with the flow and kick off a stress-free 2017.
Dubai's biggest fireworks display will take place along the Dubai Water Canal all the way to the Dubai Creek Harbour but as in previous years most of the party will be happening in Downtown.
In fact, a special pedestrian crossing will actually be created on Sheikh Zayed Road near Burj Khalifa metro station so that party goers can move around more freely.
