Dubai to Manama by road: private car with driver

How long is the drive from Dubai to Manama?

About 8 h 20 min of driving, over roughly 837 km between Downtown Dubai and central Manama. Two border crossings come on top: the UAE and Saudi posts at Al Ghuwaifat and Al Batha, then the King Fahd Causeway into Bahrain. We plan it as a full day on the road.

Point on the route	From Downtown Dubai	Driving time without traffic
Al Ghuwaifat (UAE exit), then Al Batha (Saudi entry)	about 455 km	about 4 h
Salwa, where the road to Qatar turns off	about 585 km	about 5 h 25 min
King Fahd Causeway, Saudi end, south of Al Khobar	about 795 km	about 7 h 45 min
Causeway’s Bahrain end, at Al Jasra	about 820 km	about 8 h 5 min
Central Manama	about 837 km	about 8 h 20 min

We measured the route on OSRM, using OpenStreetMap road data, on 17 October 2026. Queues, fuel stops and rest breaks are not in these times.

Leaving Downtown Dubai at 6am puts you at Al Ghuwaifat around 10am without traffic. On the causeway, the King Fahd Causeway Authority shows the live average transit time towards Bahrain on its website, with a low, medium or high density level. The figure is worth a look at Salwa, about 210 km short of the causeway, while a night in Al Khobar is still easy to add.

The road, stage by stage

UAE: the E11 all the way to Al Ghuwaifat

The car stays on the E11 from Dubai to the Saudi border. It starts as Sheikh Zayed Road and becomes Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Road in Abu Dhabi emirate. On the outskirts of Abu Dhabi it becomes Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed International Road and runs west for about 330 km. Al Ghuwaifat, the UAE exit post, sits at the far western tip of Abu Dhabi emirate.

Saudi Arabia: from the Al Batha post to Al Khobar

Saudi entry is at Al Batha, straight after the UAE post. Highway 95 then runs about 130 km to Salwa, where the road to Qatar turns off. From there the Khobar to Salwa coastal road heads about 160 km north. Short stretches of King Fahd Road and the Abu Hadriyah road bring you to the start of the causeway at Al Aziziyah, south of Al Khobar. Saudi visa for UAE residents explains the visa.

That is about 340 km of Saudi road in total. Our Saudi Arabia by road page covers the Saudi entry rules in full.

Bahrain: the causeway and the last 20 km

OSRM counts about 24 km of road on the King Fahd Causeway itself. Saudi exit and Bahrain entry both happen on Passport Island, the artificial island halfway across. The causeway lands at Al Jasra on Bahrain’s west coast. Sheikh Isa bin Salman Highway, then Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Highway, take you about 20 km east into Manama.

• Toll. The car pays at the causeway toll gates, in cash or through the channels there. With the authority’s Jesr app, the plate is read automatically and the fee comes off a prepaid balance.
• Breakdowns. The authority’s free roadside assistance covers breakdowns and empty fuel tanks, on 800 4000 999 or through the Jesr app.

Where in Manama we drop you

Drop-off	From the causeway’s Bahrain end	From Downtown Dubai
Seef, around Seef Mall and City Centre Bahrain	about 15 km, 15 min	about 834 km, 8 h 20 min
Bahrain Bay, beside the Four Seasons	about 21 km, 17 min	about 839 km, 8 h 25 min
Juffair, near the Al Fateh Grand Mosque	about 20 km, 17 min	about 839 km, 8 h 25 min
Bahrain International Airport (BAH), Muharraq	about 27 km, 25 min	about 845 km, 8 h 30 min

Distances run to the centre of each district, measured one way on OSRM. Your chauffeur drives to the hotel entrance or the street address you give.

Flying out of BAH? Private cars and limousines drop passengers at the Departures Area entrance, and Departures is on Level 2. We set the Dubai start time from your flight and leave room for a slow causeway.

For Bahrain-wide rules, from the causeway toll to the Formula 1 circuit at Sakhir, see UAE to Bahrain by road.

Starting in Dubai

Your chauffeur collects you from a Dubai hotel, home or office. You can also go straight from your flight with a pickup in DXB arrivals, where the chauffeur waits with your name on a board. From Dubai International the drive to Manama is about 853 km, or 8 h 45 min without traffic.

Which border posts you cross, and when they open

Crossing	Distance from Downtown Dubai	Opening hours	Who gets through
Al Ghuwaifat (UAE exit) and Al Batha (Saudi entry)	about 455 km	Reported open around the clock in March 2026	Passengers with Saudi entry: a visa on arrival for listed nationalities, an eVisa or a visa from a Saudi embassy
King Fahd Causeway (Saudi exit, Bahrain entry)	about 795 km	Not published on the causeway authority’s website	Nationalities on Bahrain’s eVisa or visa-on-arrival lists, or anyone with a visa backed by a guarantor in Bahrain

Saudipedia, published by the Saudi Ministry of Media, lists Al Batha as the only crossing between Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The German Embassy in Abu Dhabi reported it open around the clock in a notice of 2 March 2026. We found no official opening hours for the causeway, so ask us to check both crossings on the eve of the trip. Qatar and Bahrain visas for UAE residents adds the Bahrain side.

Passports and visas for a Manama trip

Saudi Arabia, crossed without stopping. You are admitted at Al Batha and leave on the causeway about 340 km later, so every passenger needs Saudi entry. The Ministry of Tourism’s Tourist Visa Regulations set the terms:

• Visitors to the UAE. Your nationality decides the route: a visa on arrival, an eVisa or a visa from a Saudi embassy. The German Embassy notice of March 2026 found visas on arrival generally available at the land border, with an eVisa the faster option.
• UAE residents. A GCC residence visa valid for at least 3 months, in a profession on the visitsaudi.com list, lets you apply for the tourist visa. First-degree relatives travelling with you are covered.
• Everyone. A passport valid for at least 6 months, medical insurance approved in Saudi Arabia, and an address inside the Kingdom.

Bahrain, at the end of the causeway.

• The NPRA eVisa portal, evisa.gov.bh, keeps one list of nationalities that apply online and one for visas on arrival.
• Online approval takes about 3 to 5 working days, and exceptional cases take longer.
• If your passport is on neither list, the visa needs a guarantor in Bahrain. The portal names your airline, your hotel, a Bahrain travel agent, a Bahrain company or a Bahraini citizen.

Coming back to the UAE. Residents need a residence visa that is still valid on the return date. Visitors need a UAE visa that allows another entry, whether they come back by road or by air.

Papers the car needs for both countries

A UAE-registered car covers about 340 km of Saudi road before it reaches Bahrain, so it needs papers for both countries. We check four things against the car and your dates before we quote.

• Registration and consent. The UAE registration card travels in the car, with the owner’s written consent to take it into Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
• Saudi cover for the stretch from Al Batha to the causeway.
• Bahrain cover. The King Fahd Causeway Authority sells and extends Bahrain vehicle insurance in its Jesr app before travel, with a choice of durations.
• Paid passengers. Permission for the car to carry paying passengers through Saudi Arabia into Bahrain.

A gap in any of the four means no trip on those dates, and you hear it from us before anything is booked.

Is the Dubai to Manama transfer available?

On request, confirmed per trip. We check each Manama booking before quoting. Send these on WhatsApp at +971 56 684 8148:

• Your travel date and the drop-off in Manama.
• The number of passengers and bags.
• Each passenger’s nationality, and who holds UAE residency.
• One way, or return, and on which date.

The cross-border transfers page shows Manama next to Muscat, Riyadh and Doha. Our UAE land border checklist lists what to carry.

Which car for more than 8 hours on the road

Every car in this table is in the Assure fleet. Whichever you choose, its papers for both borders are checked for your dates before we quote.

Group	Car	Large cases	Cabin bags
1 to 3 passengers	Mercedes-Benz S-Class or BMW 7 Series	2	2
Up to 6 passengers	GMC Yukon or Cadillac Escalade	3	2
Up to 13 passengers	Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, 13 seats	6	6

For a family on the causeway, our SUVs with chauffeur are the usual choice.

What sets the price of a Manama transfer

Quotes go out on WhatsApp. These change the figure:

• One way or return. After a one-way drop in Manama, the car still has 837 km to cover home to Dubai with no passengers.
• Same day or overnight. A same-day return means about 16 h 40 min of driving, so it needs a second driver. Otherwise the driver stays a night in Manama.
• A night on the way. A stop in Al Khobar adds a hotel night. Our Dubai to Dammam and Al Khobar route covers that leg on its own.
• The causeway toll in each direction, at the rate the authority charges on the day.
• Vehicle insurance for Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, for the days of the trip.
• Fees at the UAE and Saudi border posts, where they apply.
• The car: a sedan, an SUV or the Sprinter.

When the road beats the flight to Bahrain

The flight is quicker for one traveller with a cabin bag. The road earns its 8 hours for a family of six in one GMC Yukon, or for a team carrying exhibition kit. It also helps when flights out of the UAE are cancelled. Our guide to reaching Bahrain by road when flights are disrupted covers that case.