Driving to Oman From Dubai by Car

Oman is close enough to the UAE that a long weekend there is an easy idea to have and a harder one to execute. The driving is the simple part. The border is where trips either work or fall apart, and that comes down to paperwork you were meant to sort out before you joined the queue.

So here is the honest answer first, because it saves people a wasted journey. Our cars cannot go with you. An Urban Go rental may be driven anywhere in all seven Emirates, but our vehicles are not permitted to leave the UAE, and travel into Oman is not allowed. The rest of this guide is what the crossing involves in a car you own, and what we can offer instead if you are renting.

The short version

• Our rentals may be driven anywhere in the seven Emirates, but they are not permitted to leave the UAE, so an Oman trip is not one you can make in our car.

• The road crossings named in UAE press guides are Hatta and Al Wajajah, Mezyad near Al Ain, Khatmat Malaha on the east coast, and Dibba and Al Darah for Musandam.

• You are asked for a passport with at least six months left on it, your Emirates ID, your driving licence, the vehicle registration card and an Oman visa.

• There is a UAE exit fee of AED 35 on the way out, and an Oman visit visa starts at 5 Omani rials, roughly AED 48 to 50.

• A UAE motor policy does not cover you in Oman. You need an Orange Card, and the version sold at the border is third-party cover only.

Where you can actually cross

There is no single published list of UAE to Oman road crossings that everyone agrees on. Gulf News names five open to travellers - Hatta and Al Wajajah on the E44 towards Muscat, Mezyad south of Al Ain, Khatmat Malaha on the Fujairah coast road, the Dibba crossing, and Al Darah for the run up to Khasab in Musandam. The National names eight, adding Al Ain and Buraimi, Khatm Al Shikla and the Wam post. The names are also spelled several ways in English.

The Wam crossing is the newest one open to travellers. Gulf News reported it beginning operations on 26 February 2025 at Dibba Al Fujairah, with the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security describing a post of about a million square metres and 19 buildings. Al Rawdah, which Gulf News reported in February 2026, is a different proposition - it was opened in Al Buraimi governorate for the movement of goods, so it is not the one to point a car at.

Because the published lists differ, confirm the post you intend to use with Royal Oman Police before you set off rather than trusting a map pin. If the aim is a long drive rather than Oman specifically, our cars will happily do the east coast instead - see our guide to driving from Dubai to Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Al Ain.

The paperwork, and what it costs at the window

The document set is straightforward: your original passport with at least six months of validity and empty pages for stamps, your Emirates ID, your driving licence, and the vehicle registration card - the mulkiya - together with proof that the car is yours. If you are not the registered owner, you need written authorisation from whoever is. Gulf News says that letter has to be notarised and translated into Arabic, carrying the chassis number, the registration details and the owner Emirates ID.

Two charges land on the day. Leaving the UAE there is an exit fee of AED 35 per vehicle, which Gulf News, Khaleej Times and The National all give at the same figure. On the Oman side, a visit visa starts at 5 Omani rials, about AED 48 to 50. Gulf News puts the short option at 14 days and the longer online visa at up to 30 days, and The National reports that payment at the border is by card only, so do not plan on cash.

Whether you can get a visa at the border at all depends on your nationality, which is worth checking with Royal Oman Police or the Oman embassy rather than assuming. If your licence is a visitor licence or an international permit, read our guide to driving in the UAE as a tourist, and if your mulkiya is close to expiry, renew it before you travel - our registration renewal guide covers that.

The Orange Card, and why your UAE policy is not enough

A UAE motor insurance policy covers you in the UAE. It does not follow you across the border. The instrument that does is the Orange Card, a GCC-wide certificate that proves you hold cover valid in the country you are entering, and both Gulf News and The National treat it as compulsory rather than optional.

There are two routes to one. Your existing insurer may be able to issue it as an extension of the policy you already hold, which is the better option because it carries your actual level of cover. Failing that, cards are sold at the border. The border version is third-party cover only - it pays for damage you cause to other people, and nothing towards your own car. On a mountain road a long way from home, that is a meaningful difference.

Published prices for an Orange Card vary widely between sources, from free as a policy extension to a three-figure minimum charge for a short border-bought card, so we are not going to quote you a number. Ring your own insurer, ask what they charge and what the cover includes, and do it before the week you travel.

Why a rental car cannot go with you

Our position is in the contract: Urban Go vehicles may be driven anywhere in all seven Emirates, and they are not permitted to leave the country. Oman is not allowed. If crossing the border is the point of your trip, you need a vehicle that is permitted to make the journey, and ours is not it.

The reason is the same one that governs any car you did not personally register. At the border the car has to be accounted for, and the registration card names the owner - for a rental, that is the company, not the driver. That is why a borrowed car needs the notarised authorisation described above, and it is why the insurance question is not solved by the rental being insured here. The Gulf News advice to anyone renting for an Oman trip is to confirm in advance that the vehicle carries Oman cover and that crossing is permitted at all.

What our cars will do is everything inside the UAE. The east coast, the Hajar mountains, Al Ain, Ras Al Khaimah and the Abu Dhabi run are all ordinary rental days - our Dubai to Abu Dhabi guide covers that one. Most of our cars include 250 km a day with extra kilometres at AED 1, so it is worth checking a long return route against the allowance on the vehicle page.

What changes once you are over the line

Enforcement is the first thing that changes. The National reports that Oman applies posted speed limits with no buffer, so the margin is whatever the sign says. The same guide sets out the border etiquette: you may be asked to open the doors and the boot for inspection, phones and photography are not allowed at the checkpoint, and vehicles creep through the scanning equipment at walking pace.

None of the UAE conveniences cross with you either. Salik is a Dubai road-toll system and stops at the UAE border. Fuel prices are reset here on the first of each month by the UAE Fuel Price Committee and apply to UAE forecourts only - see our UAE petrol prices page for what is current at home. Anything you pick up on an Omani road is dealt with under Omani rules - our UAE traffic fines guide covers the UAE side only.

Renting a car in Dubai?

Monthly rentals with us start from AED 1,700. The price includes VAT, comprehensive insurance, registration, routine maintenance, 24/7 roadside assistance and 4,000 km a month on most cars, with delivery and collection around Downtown Dubai. You can pay a refundable deposit of AED 1,500 on most cars, or rent with no deposit for about AED 245 a month more. Fuel is same-to-same, Salik is charged at cost plus AED 1 per crossing, and traffic fines are billed to you, itemised. We are an RTA-authorised dealer and agency in Port Saeed, and every rental is made on a signed Urban Go rental contract. Browse the fleet or see our monthly car rental plans and build a quote on any car, or message us on WhatsApp on +971 50 500 3965.

Sources

• Gulf News - UAE to Oman road trip: visa, insurance and border crossings

• Khaleej Times - Travelling to Oman by car: routes and documents

• The National - Everything you need to know about driving to Oman

• Gulf News - UAE opens Wam border crossing to Oman

• Gulf News - Oman opens Al Rawdah border crossing

Last reviewed: 5 October 2026.