Hatta day trip from Dubai

How far is Hatta from Dubai?

A Hatta tour from Dubai is a long drive inland. Hatta is part of Dubai, but it sits in the Hajar mountains, a long drive from the coast. These are free-flow figures from OSRM, so add time for the morning and evening rush.

From	Road distance	Without traffic
Downtown Dubai	109 km	about 1 h 25 min
Dubai Marina	128 km	about 1 h 40 min
Dubai International (DXB)	109 km	about 1 h 35 min
Sharjah	122 km	about 1 h 30 min
Abu Dhabi	236 km	about 2 h 30 min

The usual road is the E44, through Ras Al Khor, Al Awir and Al Madam. On OSRM’s route, about 19 km of the road before Hatta is an Omani-numbered road, the N7. The E44 then picks up again into Hatta. Carry your passport or Emirates ID. The Hatta border post is the crossing into Oman for Muscat, and a day at the dam does not go through it. Our Hatta border crossing guide covers that crossing.

Kayaking on Hatta Dam

Hatta Kayak runs the boats on the dam every day from 7 am to 9 pm. It has more than 100 kayaks, so there is no slot to book: tickets go first come, first served. Only groups of more than 50 must reserve.

• Children: infants are not allowed on any boat, and under-16s cannot take a single kayak.
• Weight: kayaks carry up to 110 kg per person and water bikes up to 75 kg.
• Other boats: Visit Hatta lists water bikes, the Yellow Boat and the Donut Boat, the last two for children under 10.
• Rules: swimming in the dam is prohibited by law, and you stay in the boat for the whole ride.
• Lockers: free, but the operator advises leaving valuables in the car. Yours stays parked with the chauffeur.

The operator did not publish prices on the pages we checked, so we confirm them for your date on WhatsApp.

Hatta Wadi Hub and the heritage site

Hatta Wadi Hub is 3 km from the main Hatta Fort roundabout, off the Dubai-Hatta road. Visit Hatta lists hiking, mountain biking and horse riding among its activities, and the hub rents bikes with protective gear. Activities are sold on site only, and most are for ages 6 and up, with some thrill rides for 16 and up. The hub closes at 7 pm and has 3 food trucks and changing rooms.

Dubai Culture offers guided tours of the Hatta heritage site as one of its public services. Confirm the opening hours for your date before you set the order of stops.

For lunch, Visit Hatta puts the village restaurants about 5 minutes’ drive from the Hatta resorts.

Season, heat and rain

• 1 October to 5 May: most Visit Hatta activities run in these months.
• Rain: activities close for safety and reopen once dry. Hiking, mountain biking and kayaking stay open at your own risk.
• Summer: Hatta Kayak still lists daily hours. Put the dam first, before the midday heat.

Which car for a Hatta day

Group	Car	Seats
Couple or 3 friends	Lexus ES 300h	3 passengers
Family	GMC Yukon or Mercedes-Benz V-Class	6 passengers
Large group	Mercedes-Benz Sprinter	13 or 19 passengers

A family of 6 fits in one of our luxury SUVs, with room for 3 large bags. Wet shoes and spare clothes go in the boot, not on the seats.

Pairing Hatta with another day out

Fujairah is 73 km on from Hatta, about an hour without traffic. A long day can add the Fujairah east coast after the dam. Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah is 183 km from Hatta, so plan it as a separate day.

Musandam is in Oman and needs your passport. Our private tours from Dubai can join any of these into a multi-day plan.

If you land at Dubai International in the morning, the car can go straight to the mountains with the luggage in the boot. DXB is 109 km from Hatta. For a different plan, book a car with a driver by the hour instead.

Read our Hatta Dam guide before you go. The Hatta road and passport rules cover what to carry, and chauffeur cars for Hatta and Jebel Jais covers the vehicle choice.