Sheikh Zayed Festival 2026–27: getting to Al Wathba from Dubai, and getting back after the fireworks

The Sheikh Zayed Festival 2026–27 runs from Friday 30 October 2026 to Sunday 14 March 2027 at Al Wathba South, on the far side of Abu Dhabi from Dubai. From Downtown Dubai that’s about 145 km, or roughly 1 hour 45 minutes on the E11 and Al Ain Road (E22). Saturdays bring fireworks and the heaviest traffic, so book your ride home before you leave.

We run chauffeur service in Abu Dhabi as well as Dubai–Abu Dhabi trips, and Al Wathba is one of the longer evening runs we plan in winter. The festival is an evening event, so the planning comes down to two questions: when to leave Dubai, and how you get back after the last show.

When is the Sheikh Zayed Festival 2026–27?

The season opens on 30 October 2026 and runs for 136 days to 14 March 2027, according to the announcement carried by WAM, the Emirates News Agency. Tickets are sold on the official Sheikh Zayed Festival website.

Season	Dates	Status
2025–26	1 November 2025 – 22 March 2026	Finished
2026–27	30 October 2026 – 14 March 2027	Confirmed
2027–28	Not announced yet	Usually opens in late October or early November and runs into March
2028–29	Not announced yet	Same pattern as the last two seasons

Hours and entry. Last season the gates opened at 4 pm every day and closed at midnight from Sunday to Thursday, and at 1 am on Friday and Saturday. Entry was AED 10 per person, free for People of Determination, children under three and visitors over 60. The festival site hadn’t posted 2026–27 hours or prices when we wrote this, so check them before you set off.

What’s there. The Heritage Village with Emirati crafts and folk performances, the Emirates Fountain and Laser Show, more than 15 country and regional pavilions, and weekend concerts on the main stage. It’s a family night out, with modest dress expected and no pets or bikes allowed.

Which nights have fireworks?

Fireworks go up every Saturday, on UAE National Day and on New Year’s Eve. That’s the published pattern for 2026–27, which is why we plan Saturdays as the busiest nights on the road to Al Wathba.

Night	What’s on	Transport note
Every Saturday	Weekly fireworks	The busiest regular night. Aim to be through the gates by 8:30 pm
National Day, Wed 2 Dec 2026	Fireworks and Eid Al Etihad programme	Same week as the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina (3–6 Dec), so expect heavier E11 traffic
New Year’s Eve, Thu 31 Dec 2026	Fireworks; last season’s drone show started at 11:30 pm	The hardest night of the season. Leave Dubai mid-afternoon
Fridays	Late closing (1 am last season)	A later finish, without the fireworks crowd

What time do the fireworks start? The organisers hadn’t published 2026–27 show times when we wrote this. Last season the official site listed the drone shows at 9:30 pm (11:30 pm on New Year’s Eve), which is a useful guide for when the crowd builds.

If you’d rather see the New Year in Dubai, our New Year’s Eve transport guide covers the Downtown fireworks.

How far is the Sheikh Zayed Festival from Dubai?

Further than most people expect. Al Wathba is south-east of Abu Dhabi city, off the Abu Dhabi–Al Ain road, so from Dubai you drive past Abu Dhabi rather than into it.

These are road distances from our own route checks, with the time we’d allow in light evening traffic:

From	Road distance	Allow, light traffic
Dubai Marina / JLT	about 125 km	about 1 h 25 min
Downtown Dubai / Business Bay	about 145 km	about 1 h 45 min
DXB airport / Deira	about 160 km	about 2 h
Abu Dhabi Corniche	about 50 km	about 45 min

The route. Sheikh Zayed Road (E11) out of Dubai, which becomes Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Road in Abu Dhabi, then Al Ain Road (E22) toward Al Wathba and the festival entrance. You never cross onto Abu Dhabi island, so the Darb bridge gates don’t apply. You do pass Salik gates on Sheikh Zayed Road and Darb’s Ghantoot gate near the border, which has charged AED 4 per crossing around the clock since 4 May 2026, according to Abu Dhabi Media Office. In our cars the tolls are already in the price. For the times by hour of day, see our guide to Dubai to Abu Dhabi distance and travel time.

Leave-by times from Dubai

Dubai’s evening peak runs from about 4 pm to 8 pm, and Sheikh Zayed Road heading out of the city is part of it on weekdays. That’s the stretch that costs you time, not the motorway in Abu Dhabi.

What we’d plan from Downtown Dubai:

Plan	Leave Downtown by	Why
Arrive as the gates open (4 pm)	2:00 pm	Beats the Dubai evening peak and gives you daylight in the Heritage Village
Saturday fireworks, dinner on site first	5:30 pm	Saturday traffic out of Dubai is lighter than a weekday; you’re parked by about 7:30 pm
Weekday evening, no fireworks	5:00 pm	Allow up to 2 hours with the weekday peak
National Day or New Year’s Eve	2:30–3:00 pm	Holiday traffic, Grand Prix week (for National Day) and full car parks

Take 20 minutes off from Dubai Marina, and add 15 minutes from Deira or the airport. Families with small children usually prefer the early option: you see the place in daylight, eat, and you’re on the road home before the late crowd.

Parking, drop-off and the free bus

The festival has its own car parks, with valet parking offered at the gate entrances and designated parking for People of Determination. The gates also lend wheelchairs and pushchairs, which is handy if you’d rather leave the buggy in the car.

There’s no public bus from Dubai to Al Wathba. In past seasons Abu Dhabi Mobility ran free buses from Abu Dhabi city: in 2024–25 that was route 408 from the Abu Dhabi main bus station via Rabdan Mall, every 20 minutes. Useful if you’re staying in Abu Dhabi; not a realistic option from Dubai once you add the intercity leg each way.

Where a chauffeur drops you and waits

The organisers don’t publish a separate drop-off zone for private cars. We drop you at the gate nearest the car park in use on the day, the chauffeur parks in the festival car park, and you agree a pickup gate and a rough time before you walk in. When you message that you’re leaving, the car comes to the gate. That’s the whole advantage over a taxi on a fireworks night: the car is already there.

Getting home after the fireworks

Planning the return trip matters more than planning the arrival. On a Saturday, thousands of cars leave the same car parks within the same half hour and feed onto Al Wathba Road and the E22 together.

You have two sensible choices:

1. Leave as the fireworks end. Walk straight to the agreed gate. You’ll be out ahead of the main wave, and back in Downtown Dubai around midnight.
2. Stay until closing. Eat, let the car parks empty, and leave at 11:30 pm or later. The drive home is quiet, and Salik is free from 1 am to 6 am.

What doesn’t work is leaving with everyone else and hoping for a taxi at the gate. Taxis queue for the same exits as everyone else, and a ride-hail from Al Wathba to Dubai at midnight is far from guaranteed.

Which car for a festival night

Al Wathba is paved highway the whole way, and the festival has its own car parks, so you don’t need a 4x4. Choose the car for the number of people and a round trip of nearly 300 km from Downtown.

Group	Car	Why
1–3 adults	Business sedan (Mercedes E-Class, Lexus ES) or S-Class	Comfortable for the motorway, easy to park
Family of 4–6 with a pushchair	Large SUV (GMC Yukon Denali, Cadillac Escalade, Nissan Patrol)	Third row plus boot space; our luxury SUV chauffeur page lists the models
Up to 7 with bags	Mercedes V-Class	Face-to-face seats, easy for children and grandparents
12 or more	Minibus or coach with driver	We arrange these for groups; see bus rental in Abu Dhabi

How to book it. Book hourly hire (3-hour minimum) so the same car waits for you; a festival evening from Dubai runs seven to nine hours door to door. For a sense of scale, published Dubai rate cards in September 2026 put a business sedan with driver at AED 600–1,300 for a full day of 10 hours and a large SUV at AED 1,300–2,000. Our price includes the chauffeur, fuel, tolls and VAT, with no night surcharge for the late return.

Planning several Abu Dhabi nights this winter? The Grand Prix, the festival and the Liwa International Festival all fall between November and January; our Dubai events calendar has the dates side by side.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Sheikh Zayed Festival open now?

Not yet. The 2026–27 season opens on Friday 30 October 2026 and runs to Sunday 14 March 2027 at Al Wathba South, Abu Dhabi. Last season the gates opened at 4 pm daily and closed at midnight Sunday to Thursday and 1 am on Friday and Saturday. Check the official site for this season’s hours before you go.

What is the entry fee for the Sheikh Zayed Festival?

Last season’s entry was AED 10 per person, booked online through the official festival website. People of Determination, children under three and visitors over 60 were exempt. The 2026–27 price hadn’t been published when we wrote this, so confirm it when you book.

What time are the fireworks at the Sheikh Zayed Festival?

The festival hadn’t published 2026–27 show times when we wrote this. Last season the official site listed drone shows at 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm on New Year’s Eve. Fireworks run every Saturday, on National Day and on New Year’s Eve, so aim to be inside the grounds by 8:30 pm on those nights.

Will there be fireworks in Abu Dhabi in 2026?

Yes. The Sheikh Zayed Festival at Al Wathba has fireworks every Saturday from its 30 October opening, plus National Day on 2 December and New Year’s Eve. Those are the dates confirmed for the 2026–27 season. Other Abu Dhabi venues announce their own New Year’s Eve shows nearer the date.

How do I get to the Sheikh Zayed Festival from Dubai?

By car or chauffeur: take Sheikh Zayed Road (E11) toward Abu Dhabi, continue on Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Road, then Al Ain Road (E22) to Al Wathba. Allow about 1 hour 45 minutes from Downtown Dubai. There’s no direct public bus from Dubai; Abu Dhabi Mobility’s free festival buses have run from Abu Dhabi city only.

How far is Al Wathba from Dubai?

About 125 km from Dubai Marina, 145 km from Downtown Dubai and 160 km from DXB airport. In light traffic that’s roughly 1 hour 25 minutes to 2 hours. From the Abu Dhabi Corniche it’s about 50 km, or 45 minutes.