Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2026 transport: from Dubai to Al Maryah Island and around ADGM

Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2026 runs Monday 7 to Thursday 10 December at The Grand Steps on Al Maryah Island, the home of ADGM. From Dubai it’s about 1 hour 20 minutes to 2 hours each way. Book the car for the whole day rather than a drop-off: ADFW is four days of sessions, side meetings and dinners spread around the island and the city.

That’s the kind of week our chauffeur service in Abu Dhabi is set up for: hourly and full-day cars for bankers, fund teams and advisers moving between ADGM, hotels and client offices, plus the Dubai transfers when you’re based there. Below are the dates, the drive, and how we’d plan four days around Al Maryah.

When and where is Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2026?

ADGM hosts ADFW, now in its fifth edition, under the patronage of Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. The ADFW website lists 7–10 December 2026 at The Grand Steps, Al Maryah Island, under the theme “The Capital Community, Powered by Partnerships”. Official announcements expect more than 35,000 participants and more than 70 events on an expanded site.

Edition	Dates	Venue	Status
ADFW 2025	8–11 December 2025	The Grand Steps, Al Maryah Island	Held
ADFW 2026	7–10 December 2026 (Monday to Thursday)	The Grand Steps, Al Maryah Island	Confirmed by ADGM
ADFW 2027	Not announced yet	–	Usually the second week of December
ADFW 2028	Not announced yet	–	Usually the second week of December

The 2024 edition ran 9–12 December, and the Abu Dhabi Media Office announced 8–11 December for 2025. Three years running, ADFW has started on the Monday of the second week of December. Passes are sold through the ADFW website, including an Executive Experience tier.

Why the second week of December is the hardest week on this road

ADFW doesn’t have the week to itself. Look at the run of events either side of it:

Dates	Event	Where	What it does to transport
Thu 3 – Sun 6 Dec	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit	Abu Dhabi hotels and cars booked through the weekend
Mon 7 – Thu 10 Dec	Abu Dhabi Finance Week	Al Maryah Island	Morning arrivals into central Abu Dhabi
Tue 8 – Thu 10 Dec	2026 UN Water Conference	ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi	Government delegations from around the world, same three days
Mon 7 – Fri 11 Dec	GITEX Global	DWTC and Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo City	Dubai’s own peak week; chauffeur cars in demand at both ends

Two conferences in Abu Dhabi on the same days, straight after a Grand Prix, while Dubai runs GITEX. If Abu Dhabi hotel rooms are hard to find or expensive that week, Dubai is the fallback, and a 10-minute hotel shuttle becomes a 90-minute commute each way. Book the car when you book the room. Our Dubai events calendar shows the whole December run.

How do you get from Dubai to Al Maryah Island?

By car, in practice. Neither the intercity bus from Dubai nor Etihad Rail stops on Al Maryah Island, so either one ends with a taxi ride across Abu Dhabi, twice a day.

Al Maryah sits beside the city centre, so plan on Corniche times: about 1 hour 20 minutes from Dubai Marina and 1 hour 35 minutes from Downtown Dubai in normal traffic, and up to 2 hours in the morning peak. Our Dubai to Abu Dhabi distance and travel time guide has the times from each district.

First commitment on the island	Leave Downtown, DIFC or Business Bay	Leave Dubai Marina or JLT
8:30am breakfast meeting	6:30am	6:45am
9:30am session	7:30am	7:45am
11:00am or later	9:15am	9:30am

Coming back, the gap between 4 and 8pm is the slow one. An ADFW dinner that ends at 10pm actually gives you the easiest drive of the day, about 1 hour 30 minutes back to Downtown.

The tolls are small but constant. The Darb gate at Ghantoot on the E11 charges AED 4 per crossing at any hour, and the bridge gates onto Abu Dhabi island charge AED 4 between 7 and 9am and between 3 and 7pm, Monday to Saturday, according to Abu Dhabi Mobility. In our cars, Darb and Salik are inside the fixed Dubai–Abu Dhabi price.

Drop-off at The Grand Steps

When we checked on 17 October, ADFW’s “Getting to ADFW” page hadn’t published the 2026 access plan, so we can’t tell you yet which drop-off point or car park to use. Until it does, this is our working plan:

1. Send us the agenda, not just the venue. ADFW runs across several stages, and some of your meetings may be in ADGM offices or hotels rather than at The Grand Steps.
2. Fix one pickup point for the week. We agree it on Monday morning and keep it, so you’re not hunting for the car between sessions.
3. Call 15 minutes before you walk out. Al Maryah is compact, but a full island at 5pm is slow to leave.
4. Keep the car for the day. The chauffeur holds nearby, which is what makes a 2pm meeting across town possible.

We’ll update this section when ADFW publishes its access details.

Car for the day, or transfers?

Book the car for the day. ADFW isn’t one hall you enter at 9 and leave at 5. A typical day we plan for a delegate is an early session at The Grand Steps, a lunch on the Corniche or Saadiyat, a meeting at a client’s office and a dinner, then the drive back to Dubai or to a hotel on the island.

Your week	What to book
Staying in Dubai, at The Grand Steps all day	Return with waiting: one fixed Dubai–Abu Dhabi price, tolls included
Staying in Dubai, with meetings around Abu Dhabi	Full-day hire from Dubai; the car stays with you
Staying on Al Maryah or Al Reem	Hourly in Abu Dhabi, three-hour minimum, or full days
Hosting clients or a board	A first-class sedan or SUV by the day, plus a V-Class for the team

Car choice follows the job. One person working between meetings is well served by a business sedan such as an E-Class. Client-facing days call for a first-class sedan such as an S-Class or BMW 7 Series. A deal team of four to six with laptops and bags travels better in a V-Class. For budgeting, published Dubai rate cards in September 2026 put a business sedan with driver at AED 600–1,300 for a full 10-hour day and an S-Class at AED 1,400–2,500. If your day starts at 6:30am in Dubai and ends after a dinner in Abu Dhabi, tell us the real hours and we’ll price it as one job.

Frequently asked questions

What is Abu Dhabi Finance Week?

Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) is an annual finance and investment convention hosted by ADGM, Abu Dhabi’s international financial centre, on Al Maryah Island. The 2026 edition is the fifth, running 7–10 December at The Grand Steps, with more than 70 events and over 35,000 participants expected, according to official announcements.

When is Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2027?

ADGM hasn’t announced the 2027 dates yet. ADFW has run in the second week of December for three years: 9–12 December 2024, 8–11 December 2025 and 7–10 December 2026. Expect early to mid-December 2027, and check the ADFW website before booking.

Where is Abu Dhabi Finance Week held?

At The Grand Steps on Al Maryah Island, the business district that’s home to ADGM, next to central Abu Dhabi. The 2025 edition used the same venue, and the 2026 edition returns to the island on an expanded site. Plan for some meetings in ADGM offices or nearby hotels as well as at the venue.

How long does it take from Dubai to Al Maryah Island?

About 1 hour 20 minutes from Dubai Marina and 1 hour 35 minutes from Downtown Dubai in normal traffic, and up to 2 hours in the weekday morning or evening peak. Leaving before 6:45am or driving back after 8pm is noticeably quicker.

Can I hire a car with driver by the hour in Abu Dhabi during ADFW?

Yes. We provide chauffeured cars in Abu Dhabi by the hour, with a three-hour minimum, or by the full day, picking up from hotels on Al Maryah, Al Reem, the Corniche or Saadiyat. Fuel, tolls, parking and VAT are in the price. Book early: ADFW week is also the UN Water Conference week.