Route

Doha – Abu Samra/Salwa Land Border Crossing – KSA – Al Batha/ Al Ghuwaitfat Land Border Crossing – UAE – Abu Dhabi

Timeline from Qatar to Abu Dhabi

Doha To Abu Samra – 1hour 10mins, Salwa Road, Posted Speed 120kph

Qatar Exit – 15mins

KSA Entry – 45mins

Salwa to Al Batha – 1hour 15mins, Route 95, Posted Speed 120kph

KSA Exit – 10mins

UAE Entry – 25mins

Al Ghuwaitfat to Abu Dhabi – 3hours, Road E11, Posted Speed 160kph (highest posted speed in the world)

(7 to 8 hours total depending on how fast you drive… returning is similar but shorter time at the KSA borders, as they already have your details from previous)

Summary

Driving from Doha to the border is a straight drive along Salwa Road.

At the border first you exit Qatar

First Gate – Different lanes for Citizens, GCC and other nationalities – They took QID and Passport (I was expecting them to ask for istamara but they didn’t for some reason) he gave a paper form with a QR code (Keep this for all Qatar and KSA gates) on it. you need to scan this as you exit from this gate, and keep for 2nd gate – At the next gate you give them piece of paper for quick scan, and he gives it back – That is you exited from Qatar.

Then you drive though ‘no-mans land’ to reach the KSA border (Posted 100kph).

Entering KSA is tricky if its your first time – It leads you directly to the first KSA gate but you need to get fingerprints and picture done first. So as you approach you will see buildings to your right – go to Building 3 ‘passports’ (see pictures below) and get you fingerprints done before heading back to the first gate (if you miss this and go to the gate they will just redirect you, but better to avoid wasting time – Note by the time I noticed this building I was already passed the entry to the parking area for it, so I had to go in the exit (no big deal). They guy doing fingerprints and picture wrote a reference number in passport, and told me to show it to them at the 1st gate.

From below you can see (in green) which way you should go to get fingerprints and picture done first, but its not signposted so I was going towards the gate before I realised and turned back (in orange).

First gate – Show reference number in passport, and show them the piece of paper you get from Qatar (so don’t throw it away after exiting Qatar!)

Second gate – Customs check to check car. This was the longest part of any border but its mainly waiting, once they start to check the car its pretty quick – For the check you get out, open boot, and he will look in and open a few other doors, if he doesn’t see anything suspicious, he will check the paper and istamara card (I think to check that paper matched the istamara). Once he was happy it was on to the next gate.

Third gate – Car Insurance – There are 2 queues, one for uninsured (so you queue and pay there if not done online) and one is for insured cars who got car insurance online (https://manafith.najm.sa/) already. There was no queue for the online insurance, there was a queue for the uninsured so I recommend doing it in advance. When I got to the gate, I just showed him my proof of insurance (I printed it out when I bought it online) and he quickly looked at it and that was it – Entry to KSA complete.

Follow the signs for KSA when exiting the border and then at the first large roundabout in Salwa, KSA, it is signposted to turn left for UAE. Driving from Salwa to UAE border is a straight drive along Route 95.

At the border first you exit KSA

Frist Gate – He didn’t take any documents, he knew my name, presumably by number plate recognition, he just gave me a paper form, and I moved onto the second gate.

Second Gate – Give them passport, and the piece of paper from the first gate, for a quick check.

Third Gate – Give them passport, and the piece of paper from the first gate, for a quick check.

Then you drive though ‘no-mans land’ to reach the UAE border (Posted 100kph).

First Gate – An Automatic car X-ray. You queue up, wait for green light/barrier to go up and drive slowly through the machine.

Second Gate – Different lanes for Citizens, GCC, Other nationalities (But when I was driving through all lanes were closed for other nationalities so I just went to the GCC queue (short queue) and it wasn’t a problem. At this gate he asked if I was coming from Qatar or Bahrain, and directed me though the gate and around to the right where you have to go to a portacabin to get eye scan done. Its a bit confusing if he doesn’t have much English to explain but the below images make it a bit clearer.

After the guy lets you through the gate, you have to wind yourself back around (see orange) to the portacabin (see red) to get the eye scan done there, and he stamps the paper. Then you return back the way you came but move on (see green) to the third gate.

Third Gate – Customs check. Similar to previous, opening doors and looking in at luggage. Once satisified, he stamped the paper and you move on to next gate.

Forth Gate – Car Insurance. There is no option to do this online, so you just tell them at the gate how long you need it for (15 day minimum). I paid by card, I dont know if there was a cash option, but unlikely.

Fifth Gate – Hand over the piece of paper that has been stamped the whole way along, and away you go. Welcome to UAE.

Its a straight road from here all the way to Abu Dhabi. Posted Speed limit is 160kph (The highest posted speed in the world but remember it is a limit, not a target).

The return journey is basically the same in reverse except there is no need vehicle Xray machine exiting UAE, there is no need for eye scan exiting UAE and there is no need for fingerprints entering KSA. So border crossing times, are generally a bit less on the way back.

There is a 30 AED exit fee when exiting UAE paid at the gate.

Tips and Prices

KSA visa plus mandatory travel insurance = 520 SAR (335 + 185) https://visa.visitsaudi.com/

KSA vehicle insurance – 138 SAR (1 week – minimum allowed) – get this online before hand to save time! https://manafith.najm.sa/

UAE visa – Free

UAE Vehicle Insurance – 210 AED (15 days – minimum allowed) – Only available at border (not online)

Petrol (cheaper in Qatar than UAE)

Approx. journey length 575km (one way)

Remember to keep you tank topped up, its a long journey, you don’t want to run out of petrol in the middle of nowhere or in the middle of the border crossing. There are plenty of petrol stations along the route in Qatar and UAE (KSA not so much), but plan accordingly.

No need to do fingerprints on next trip to KSA, you can go straight to gate

Car should be in your own name when driving through KSA. I think its possible to drive someone else’s car, but not as straightforward to organise, so be advised.

KSA and Qatar are in same time zones, UAE is one hour ahead.