5 Weekend Road Trips From Ajman Worth the Tank of Fuel

One underrated perk of renting a car in Ajman: you're centrally placed for some of the UAE's best weekend escapes, often with less traffic than starting from Dubai. Here are five worth the drive.

1. Al Ain — the "Garden City"

About 2 hours from Ajman, Al Ain feels like a different country — cooler, greener, and dramatically less crowded than the coast. Drive up Jebel Hafeet on one of the world's best paved mountain roads (60+ hairpin turns and genuinely stunning views), then cool off at the oasis and visit Al Ain Zoo. A comfortable full-day trip, or an overnight if you want to catch sunrise from the summit.

2. Fujairah and the East Coast

Around 90 minutes via the mountain road, Fujairah gives you the Gulf of Oman instead of the Gulf coast — clearer water, better snorkeling, and a completely different pace. Stop at Al Bidyah Mosque (the UAE's oldest) on the way, and budget time for Snoopy Island if you're into snorkeling.

3. Hatta

Roughly 90 minutes to 2 hours depending on route, Hatta is the go-to for kayaking on the turquoise Hatta Dam, mountain biking trails, and the Hatta Heritage Village. It gets busy on weekends, so an early start pays off.

4. Ras Al Khaimah's Jebel Jais

About an hour north, Jebel Jais is the UAE's highest peak and home to the world's longest zipline if you're after adrenaline. Even without the zipline, the drive up alone — with genuine mountain switchbacks — is worth it, and it's noticeably cooler at altitude.

5. Liwa Desert

The furthest on this list (around 3 hours), but if you want the UAE's most dramatic dunes without the Dubai desert-safari crowds, Liwa delivers. An SUV with good ground clearance is genuinely useful here — this is the one trip where we'd actively recommend upgrading from a sedan.

A few practical tips

• Fill up before mountain routes — fuel stations thin out past the highways.
• Download offline maps for Hatta and Jebel Jais; signal drops in places.
• For Liwa or any dune driving, stick to marked tracks unless your vehicle and experience are suited to it.
• Salik toll gates apply if your route passes through Dubai — see our guide on how tolls and fines work during a rental.

Need the right car for the trip? Let us know where you're headed and we'll suggest the best fit from the fleet — SUV for Liwa, anything comfortable for Al Ain and Fujairah.