Plans are underway for new ferry terminals at Al Jadaf and Dubai Festival City, planned for completion in summer 2015.
These new routes are to expand on the current marine transport system for Dubai and provide not only more routes for tourist trips but also more services for Dubai residents.
This will increase the number of ferry terminals to 5 with the current terminals at Dubai Marina, Al Ghubaiba and the new terminal at Al Mamzar.
The RTA has announced the following timings for the Dubai Ferry over New Year:
“The timing of the Dubai Ferry service during the New Year’s holiday will be as follows: Mamzar Station at 04:30 pm, and 6 pm, Marina Station at 11 am, 1 pm, 3 pm, 5 pm, 06:00 pm and 10:00 pm, in addition to a special journey up to 3 am to witness fireworks in celebration of the New Year. At Al Ghubaiba Station the Ferry will start journeys at 11 am, 1 pm, 2:30 pm, 3 pm, 5 pm, and 6:30 pm. During Al Mawlid Al Nabawi holidays, the Ferry will operate journeys at Mamzar Station at 4:30 pm and 6 pm, Marina Station at 11 pm, 1 pm, 3 pm, 5 pm, and 6:30 pm, and Al Ghubaiba Station at 11 am, 1 pm, 2:30 pm, 5 pm and 6:30 pm.
Details have now been announced on the Dubai Ferry trip for New Years Eve 2014 which will run at 10pm from the Dubai Marina station. Tickets will cost 200 dirhams for silver class and 300 dirhams for gold class and these can be bought in advance from the ferry terminal itself which is near Marina Mall. Tickets for under twos are free and children get a 50% discount.
The trip will last 3 hours and will anchor off the Burj al Arab in order to view the fireworks. Tickets are likely to sell out fast so it is advisable to book as soon as possible.
You can contact the RTA on their free number 800 9090 for more information.
If the Dubai Ferry is booked then it may be worth taking a trip on an abra – there will be trips running at 11pm from the Dubai Festival city abra station which last an hour and give you a view of the creek.
The Dubai Ferry timings for National Day holidays are as follows:
Al Ghubaiba Station: 11am, 1pm, 2.30pm, 5pm and 6.30pm
Marina Station: 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm and 6.30pm
Al Mamzar Station: 4.30pm and 6.30pm
To mark public transport day the RTA is running trips to the World Islands on Dubai Ferry. The trips will last 90 minutes and will take place on 26 October, 28 October and 1 November and will cost the same as a normal trip on Dubai Ferry – 50 dirhams for silver class and 75 dirhams for Gold Class.
On 1 October 2014 the RTA launched a new route for the Dubai Ferry which is a round trip from Al Mamzar Marine Port. As with other trips, this route takes an hour and costs 75 dirhams for Gold Class and 50 Dirhams for Silver Class travel.
The route will start off on only Thursdays and Fridays with one trip per day at 4.30pm. No doubt the RTA will keep an eye on how popular this route is before they think about increasing the frequency.
Here is the promotional material advertising the service from the RTA:
According to Gulf Today, the RTA has announced that it is providing some family packages for trips on the Dubai Ferry during Dubai Summer Surprises. According to the report, the packages are for 2 adults and 2 children and reduced the cost of tickets by 10% from 225Dhs to 210Dhs for Gold Class and 150Dhs to 140Dhs for Silver class. You can find the report here.
Now, according to our mathematics that does not really equate to 10%! 10% off a 225 dirham package should go down to 202.5 dirhams and 10% off 150 dirhams goes down to 135 dirhams. So really it’s not a great saving but it’s better than nothing!
The RTA is running s special tour on the Dubai Ferry service for people who want to watch the Al Gaffal sailing race on Saturday 17th May. This is a great vantage point to watch the traditional race which will include 60 foot dhows.
Anyone interested in booking a place on the Dubai Ferry to watch the racing should call 050-5875531 or 04-3963135.
The RTA has said it will be deploying the Dubai Ferry shortly before the New Year’s Eve fireworks on the Palm this evening. This will enable people to get a good view of the world record attempt at the most fireworks that is happening on the Palm. However it is not clear whether reservations for these ferry services are being taken or whether it will be on a first come first served basis…
The ferries will depart from Al Saif and Dubai Marina.
New routes were launched on November 1st 2013 for additional Dubai Ferry routes. Further information about these routes can be found here.