Sharjah to Abu Dhabi: Distance, Time and Fare
The whole journey in one block:
- Taxi fare, city to city AED 180 to AED 280, negotiated
- Taxi fare to AUH airport AED 300 to AED 320
- Distance approximately 150 km (160 km to AUH)
- Journey time 1.5 to 2 hours
- Peak hour delay 30 to 45 minutes on top
- Main route E311 Emirates Road south, then E11 to Abu Dhabi
- Salik AED 4 per gate if the route passes through Dubai
At 150 km this journey exceeds what a standard metered taxi service covers, so drivers quote a flat rate instead. The lower end of the band applies when both ends of the trip sit close to the E311 and E11 corridor. Anything that adds urban driving at either end, a pickup deep in Sharjah or a drop-off on Yas Island rather than the Corniche, pushes towards the upper end.
Fare by Destination
Abu Dhabi covers a lot of ground and the emirate does not end at the Corniche. The airport in particular is a separate calculation, not a rounding error on the city fare.
| Journey | Distance | Time | Typical fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharjah to Abu Dhabi city | ~150 km | 1h 30m - 2h | AED 180 - 280 |
| Sharjah to AUH airport | ~160 km | ~2h | AED 300 - 320 |
| Abu Dhabi city back to Sharjah | ~150 km | 1h 30m - 2h | AED 180 - 280 |
| Sharjah to Abu Dhabi on an SRTA meter | ~150 km | 1h 30m - 2h | ~AED 248 - 305 if metered |
| Sharjah to Dubai, for comparison | 25 - 40 km | 25 - 90 min | AED 50 - 150 |
How the Fare is Arrived At
Nobody runs a meter over 150 km, but the metered figure is still the reference point a driver has in mind, and it is useful for judging whether a quote is fair. Sharjah taxis run on the SRTA tariff: a flag fall of AED 3.00 by day and AED 4.00 at night, AED 1.61 to AED 1.99 per km depending on operator, and an AED 3.50 service charge on every trip. Over 150 km the distance charge alone is AED 241.50 at the lower rate and AED 298.50 at the higher one, so a metered run would land somewhere between roughly AED 248 and AED 305.
Set that against the AED 180 to AED 280 that gets quoted in practice and the picture makes sense. A flat rate at the bottom of the band is a genuine discount on the meter, offered because a confirmed long fare has value. A flat rate at the top is the driver pricing in the return. Two further items sit outside the meter either way: a pickup from Sharjah International Airport adds the AED 20 SHJ surcharge, and a taxi ordered by phone adds AED 5.
The Empty Return Leg
This is the mechanism behind almost every oddity on this route. Taxis in the UAE are licensed by emirate. A Sharjah SRTA taxi may drive you into Abu Dhabi and drop you anywhere, but it cannot pick up a passenger there for the trip back. It drives 150 km home with nobody in the car. The same rule applies to an Abu Dhabi taxi in Sharjah, and to Dubai RTA taxis in both, as set out on our Sharjah taxi fare guide.
So the driver is not pricing a 150 km job. They are pricing 300 km of driving and three to four hours of a working day, against a single fare. That explains the width of the band, it explains why the quote hardens during the Sharjah morning peak when local fares are plentiful, and it explains the refusals: a driver turning over several short fares an hour is worse off taking one long one unless the number covers the whole block. It also means your return journey is a separate problem to solve, because the car that brought you cannot legally take you back as a new fare.
Sharjah to Abu Dhabi Airport
AUH sits roughly 35 km east of Abu Dhabi city, which makes the run from Sharjah around 160 km and about 2 hours. A Sharjah taxi typically costs AED 300 to AED 320 for it, one of the most expensive fares on the SRTA network. The distance is only part of the reason. An airport run has a hard deadline at the far end, and the driver still faces the empty 160 km back.
Timing deserves more attention than the fare here. Two hours of driving through the Sharjah and Dubai corridors is not a fixed quantity, and peak conditions add 30 to 45 minutes. Etihad check-in and security take longer than a short-haul departure suggests. Arrivals detail and meet-and-greet are covered on our Abu Dhabi Airport transfers page.
Taxi or Pre-Booked Transfer: The Honest Split
If you can find a willing driver, the trip is flexible, and you are travelling light, a negotiated taxi at AED 200 does the job and there is nothing wrong with taking it. The catch on this particular route is the first clause. There is no scheduled taxi service between the two emirates, app-based drivers in Sharjah frequently decline long intercity bookings, and you find out whether a car is available on the morning rather than the day before.
For a flight, a meeting, a hospital appointment or anything with a fixed start, that uncertainty is the real cost rather than the fare. A pre-booked car is a vehicle that is confirmed as coming, at a price agreed in writing, with the return leg arranged in the same conversation. Both directions are covered on the Abu Dhabi to Sharjah route page.
Private Transfer: Sharjah to Abu Dhabi
Gulf Chauffeur handles Sharjah to Abu Dhabi transfers with a fixed price agreed before your journey. Your driver comes to your Sharjah address, handles your luggage, and delivers you to your Abu Dhabi destination - hotel, business centre, Yas Island, or AUH airport. The price does not change if traffic is heavy, and the empty return is our problem rather than a line in your quote.
Route detail and vehicle options are on the Sharjah to Abu Dhabi route page. For the shorter and far more common Sharjah crossing, see the Sharjah to Dubai fare guide, and if you are calling a local car rather than pre-booking, the Sharjah taxi numbers are listed in full.