Dubai Metro tickets must be purchased in the form of a Nol card. No other payment form is possible for the Metro. A Nol card is like a credit card that holds either a balance or a specific season ticket for travelling on a lot of the public transport in Dubai including the Metro, buses and the tram.
There are different types of Nol card so check out the section on Nol cards for which type of card is best for you. If you want to get a ticket for the Dubai Metro then you can buy Nol cards at all of the metro stations. You can also buy Nol cards at any other public transport stations and customer service centres.
No Cash Payments
You cannot pay by cash or credit card to travel on the Dubai Metro, you need to buy a Nol card. However, you can top your Nol card up using cash or credit card at each of the stations.
The prices for travel on the Dubai Metro, Tram and Buses are as follows:
| Ticket Type | 1 Zone or <3km 2 zones | 2 Zones | 3+ Zones |
| Standard Adult Ticket (Red) | 4 dirhams | 6 dirhams | 8.50 dirhams |
| Pre-paid Standard Adult Ticket (Silver Nol) | 3 dirhams | 5 dirhams | 7.50 dirhams |
| Concessionary (Blue Nol Card) | 1.50 dirhams | 2.50 dirhams | 3.75 dirhams |
| Gold Class (Red Ticket) | 8 dirhams | 12 dirhams | 17 dirhams |
| Gold Class Pre-Paid | 6 dirhams | 10 dirhams | 15 dirhams |
You can work out how many zones you will travel through by checking out the Metro Map. Prices apply to the number of zones and do not take account of the actual zone numbers.
Standard tickets are those purchased by buying a red Nol card so are likely to be those charged to tourists or visitors. Pre-paid means where you have purchased a Silver, Blue or Gold Nol card.
Concessionary Nol cards are available to students, disabled and elderly people on registration and application. Standard Blue Nol cards have benefits including the purchase of season tickets.
Season Tickets
New season ticket passes were introduced with the opening of the Dubai Tram in 2014 and the prices are as follows:
| Ticket Type | 1 Zone | 2 Zones | All Zones |
| Annual Silver Class | 1,060 dirhams | 1,770 dirhams | 2,670 dirhams |
| Quarterly Silver Class | 330 dirhams | 550 dirhams | 830 dirhams |
| Monthly Silver Class | 140 dirhams | 230 dirhams | 350 dirhams |
| Weekly Silver Class | 50 dirhams | 80 dirhams | 110 dirhams |
| Daily Silver Class | 20 dirhams | ||
| Annual Gold Class | 2,120 dirhams | 3,540 dirhams | 5,340 dirhams |
| Quarterly Gold Class | 660 dirhams | 1,100 dirhams | 1,660 dirhams |
| Monthly Gold Class | 280 dirhams | 460 dirhams | 700 dirhams |
| Weekly Gold Class | 100 dirhams | 160 dirhams | 220 dirhams |
| Daily Gold Class | 40 dirhams |
Metro One Day Pass or Not?
You should work out how many journeys you are likely to make in one day as a one day pass may be better. The one day pass also includes travel on the Dubai Tram and Dubai buses.
If you do not purchase a one day ticket you can still get charged more than 20 dirhams if you make a lot of journeys as travel is not capped at 20 dirhams unless you buy the one day ticket. You can find out more details about the One Day pass here.
The above tickets can only be purchased on particular Nol cards:
You can get the one day card on a Red ticket. You can get the weekly ticket on a Blue, Silver or Gold Nol card.
You can charge the Red ticket with up to 5 one day tickets – you need to buy each ticket on the day of travel and not in advance and it is only valid up until midnight of the day of purchase.
The remaining season tickets can only be purchased on a Blue Nol Card or a registered Silver or Gold Nol card. Blue cards require an application form with ID and photo.
Therefore if you are travelling to Dubai as a visitor your only options for a season ticket are the day or weekly passes.
Those ticket prices are invalid, or I’m getting something wrong… I’m travelling between Discovery Gardens and EXPO 2020 which is in the same zone, but I’m keep being charged with AED7.5…
Hi, 7.5 dirhams is the maximum single fare and it is also charged when you don’t tap in and out correctly. If you think you are tapping correctly then you need to speak to customer services.
If i travel from emirates metro station to union, then how many zones are there & how much will it cost for 15 days with silver nol card pass?
HI, unfortunately we can’t calculate costs for individuals. All the information needed is on the site mostly on the map and tickets pages as well as this page.
I am planning a trip to Dubai in month of April for 6N/7D. If I purchased Gold Class Metro 7 day pass which is AED 220, is it cheaper? These are my excursions would be, Dubai Mall, Dubai Marina Mall & Yacht club, Dubai Fountain, Burj Khalifa, Old Dubai tour, Wild Wadi, Palm Jumeirah etc
You will need to work out the journey prices and see if that is less than the cost of the 7 day ticket. Sorry, we are not able to do this for you. Check out this page for more info.
I will be in Dubai for 3 days in 2 weeks. My zones gonna be 5-6-2-1, which tickles I need to buy?
Hi, we can’t advise which tickets as we don’t know which journeys you will take so check out this page.
Hi,
Can I use Red nol card with one day pass to take traditional abra ?
Hi, no the abra fares are separate at present but it only costs 1 dirham for example if you want to cross the creek.
Hello,
I’m thinking of buing silver NOL card.
I will be traveling with wife and 2 kids (8years and 4 years) I’ve see that the 4 year kid can travel free of charge.
If i will be toping up the silver NOL card with weekly ticket does it use the balance from the card and instead of paying 80 (for 2 zones) i use 19 from the card and pay additional 61 ?
Hi, as we understand it, you will need to top up your Nol card with enough money to buy your weekly ticket and also have a minimum balance of 7.50 dirhams.
I was in Dubai during the period from 4.1.2024 to 10.01.2024, first bought NOL silver and then immediately i bought 7 days NOL silver pass for 7 days for all zones…. its comes to 135 AED… How will I get my journey with cost ?
NOL card still showing 19 AED balance, till what period this balance is valid?
Sorry I don’t understand “How will I get my journey with cost?”
Silver Nol cards are valid for 5 years
Hello, I will be in Dubai for only 2 days and a half: December 24th, 25th and 26th morning.
If I buy the daily ticket on the red card I will be allowed to travel all metro long without consider zones, won’t be?
So I can buy on the same red card daily pass for 24, daily pass for 25th and the single ticket hotel>airport T3 for the last day?
Hi Carlo, yes if you buy a one day ticket on the red nol then you can travel on all zones. So yes you can get a daily pass on the red Nol on 24th and 25th but then will need a separate red nol card for the single journey on 26th.
If I have 7 days pass on my silver nol card within only zone 1 and I want to travel from zone 1 to zone 2 then will I be charged with 5 dirhams or only the difference 5-3=2 dirhams?
We don’t have that specific information – you will need to contact the RTA to ask this.
Hello, we want to buy a 7-day travel pass for zones 2 and 6. We have a few questions.
1) do we get a card with a travel card for 80 dirhams, or do we need to pay extra for the card separately?
2) If we want to use this card to travel to other zones, will we be able to top it up and pay with it like a red card?
3) During the trip to zones 2 and 6, is it necessary to have some kind of balance on the card.
1) You will need to buy a silver Nol card – see Nol Cards for further info – you can add the weekly ticket to that card
2) Yes you can add money to that card for trips out of the 2 zones (plus it already includes a credit)
3) If you have the weekly ticket on that card then you can travel in those 2 zones freely without a balance, otherwise you will need 7.50 dirhams
Hello there, I will be visiting Dubai soon, My Queries are
1) Can I but a 1 zone weekly pass and add some extra money on the same card for other extra travel like paying for bus or ferry, paying for bus to Abu Dhabi, Global village and Miracle garden, paying park entry fee or others like that
2) Do a foreign student also get 50% discount on metro ticket
Hi, yes you can add extra money onto the Nol card that you put your weekly pass on. That would enable to pay for bus trips that are not included in the weekly ticket like to Abu Dhabi. In terms of entry fees you would have to check with the attractions themselves whether they take payment by nol as we don’t have a list, sorry.
Sorry, 2) you can only get the 50% discount with a blue nol card. In theory you should be able to get this as an overseas student but in practice it may be difficult as it does ask for an Emirates ID when you apply so you may have to go to an RTA office to try and get hold of one.
Hi! I’m hoping you can help with my very vague question! We visited a few years ago and I’m sure we bought daily passes. This was fine until we wanted to go to Global Village and were told our passes could be used to get out there (I seem to recall they said we needed a weekly pass to cover that area?). Does that sound correct and if so, so you happen to know the rule please? I’m particularly concerned as we will be staying in Jumeirah Village Circle so I need to be sure the pass will cover buses out there.
Many, many thanks for your help,
Helen
Hi, Global Village does not come within the public transport zones so your one day passes wouldn’t have covered that area (this may change in future) but Jumeirah Village Triangle is on a bus route that is covered by the one day ticket so you should be fine.
Thank you. Is transport to Global Village included if we get a weekly pass? On the website it says routes 102, 103, 104 and 106 all go there? Also I assume I am able to buy a weekly pass from the airport station? Many thanks for your help, it’s genuinely appreciated.
No, it isn’t included in the weekly ticket – I believe it is 10 dirhams each way. Yes you should be able to get a weekly ticket from the airport – terminals 1 and 3 have metro stations attached.
Thank you for your help 🙂
Hi, I have several questions.
1. Can I buy a day pass on a silver NOL card or only pay by trip or week pass?
2. If I buy a silver NOL card and go 1 zone one day, can I use the same card to go 2 zones the next assuming I have enough money loaded on the card?
3. If I buy a day pass on a red NOL card one day can I buy a ticket for 1 zone on the same card the next day or do I need to buy a different red card for each number of zones I want to travel (e.g. one card for 2 zone travel, a different card for 1 zone travel, a third card for a day pass, etc.)
Hi, here are the answers to the best of our knowledge:
1. No, you can only buy a day pass on a red Nol card.
2. Yes
3. You need to buy a different Nol card for different types of journeys so yes, your example is correct. In this case it may be better to buy a silver Nol card.