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Al Ain
City in Abu Dhabi, UAE

Al Ain

Al Ain is a city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the seat of the administrative division of the Al Ain Region.

Plan a trip to Al Ain→From Dubai(Jebel Ali)

The city is bordered to the east by the Omani town of Al-Buraimi. Al Ain is the largest inland city in the Emirates, the fourth-largest city, and the second-largest in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The freeways connecting Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai form a geographic triangle in the country, each city being roughly 130 kilometres (81 mi) from the others.

Get in

Getting to Al Ain

There are 3 border posts in Al Ain: Al Madheef Border post is reserved exclusively for GCC Nationals. Hilli Border post is also exclusively for GCC Nationals. It means, if you are not a GCC National, you MUST cross at Khatam Al Shukla border post, which is 20 km away from the bus station of Al Ain and also 20 km away from the bus station of the neighboring Omani town Buraimi.

  1. 01
    Al Ain International Airport

    A small airport with a few flights (to Calicut in India and Cairo).

  2. 02
    Al Ain

    The easiest way to reach Al Ain is by bus from Abu Dhabi (140 km) and Dubai (100 km).

See

Worth seeing

Al Ain has several sites that would be of interest to tourists:

  1. 01
    Jebel Hafeet

    The second tallest mountain in the United Arab Emirates (1350 m), Jebel Hafeet is surrounded by flat plains on three sides, which afford spectacular views, especially at sunset.

  2. 02
    Al Ain Museum and Fort

    On Al Ain Street (or "Main Street" as the locals call it), this fort was built to protect the oasis from raiders.

  3. 03
    Al Ain Oasis

    The biggest of several oases in the region, the oasis is made up of thousands of date palms.

  4. 04
    Hili Archaeological Park
Do

Things to do

There is also a large zoo and safari park in Al Ain that is quite popular with visiting tourists.

Eat

Where to eat

Al Ain is host to a wide range of palates and ethnicities when it comes to cuisine. Lebanese/Arabic food is usually cheapest; hotel restaurants usually the most expensive. The city is home to all manner of fast food like McDonald's and Hardees, but there is little for most people to eat at those places. Some of the best and cheapest food in the city can be found at its many Indian restaurants.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Dietmar Rabich (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.