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Post by mastei on Jun 26, 2013 11:33:07 GMT
Hi all
I haven't found this info anywhere on the forum, but maybe some expats could share how long (approximately) it takes to travel from the Intl' airport to the various camps (Dhahran, Ras Tanura, etc.)?
Also is it feasible to travel just the weekends (e.g. leaving Wednesday afternoon and back Friday evening) to go to Dubai/Doha etc.?
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derekg
Senior Member
Posts: 107
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Post by derekg on Jun 26, 2013 12:22:22 GMT
The distance from Ras Tanura or Dhahran to the airport is similar; I usually give myself an hour but the drive usually takes 30-45 minutes. Processing for immigration can be a little slow, both entering an exiting, so patience is required - and they recommend you arrive there two hours before international flights. As for travel, you also have the option of Bahrain airport.
For other destinations, I find it easiest to just drive to Doha rather than fly but UAE or Oman are definitely better choices for flying if it is just a weekend.
Traveling every weekend does get expensive fast and there is a lot to do at the camps so do keep your options open!
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Post by UmmRiyam on Jun 26, 2013 15:45:01 GMT
DMM airport to UDH is probably about 2.5 hours factoring in possible traffic. It takes us almost 2 hours to get from UDH camp to DHA camp on any normal day.
From UDH to Doha is slightly under 3 hours driving, including time through the border. Bahrain is about the same. Riyadh is also a 3 hour drive from UDH. I'm not sure how long it takes to drive to UAE, but you can get a decent estimate using google maps.
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Post by mastei on Jun 27, 2013 9:51:55 GMT
Thank you both for your replies!
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Post by GroveWanderer on Jun 27, 2013 11:40:32 GMT
I have known people drive to the UAE from Dhahran for "long" weekends (meaning 3-4 days when there is an additional day or two off). If I recall, they told me it took them about 10 hours (not sure if that was to the border, or to their final destination). Theoretically, it would be doable for a two-day weekend but would consute a lot of driving time compared to the amount of time you would get to spend there if you only have the two days off.
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Post by vpainter on Jun 28, 2013 19:11:20 GMT
We drove to Doha in 10 hours from DHA over a 3 day weekend. That was with a stop in UDH to eat and walk around and to the hotel.
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Post by azraeil on Jul 14, 2013 7:20:19 GMT
It took us about 4.5 hours to drive from Dhahran to Doha (about 3 hours to get to the border) with a half hour stop for breakfast (packed breakfast) and another 15-20 minutes at the border control. The visa cost 100 QR per person (paid by credit card) and only the driver has to come down. No retina scan etc
It took us about 10-11 hours to drive to Dubai. About 5-6 hours to the border and another 4-5 hours from the border to Dubai. The border control took about 30 minutes. Everybody had to come down and take the retina scan. Make sure you bring everyone's Iqama as they may ask for it.
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