Having a residency visa becomes mandatory to avail a local driving license. I remember once, one of my Arab friend suggested to me that I get an International Driving Permit (IDP) and a driving license from home country. You may attain a temporary driving license valid for six months issued at the Dubai traffic police.

These days there are a variety of car rental agencies to choose from within Dubai Airport upon arrival.

So it becomes quite easy to choose the best deal from the available companies. Some of the preferred ones are the Avis, Budget car rentals, Hertz and thrifty car rentals.

As a precaution, you can make sure the condition of your hired car is acceptable with the Dubai representative accessible from the hire car company wherein you can note any damage on the rental slip prior to your further journey.

Information on the city roads, traffic rules and local driving regulations, a particular hand-drive, speed-limit, lanes & tolls become utmost important to read to avoid any unpleasant surprises to your holiday before actually taking to the roads in Dubai.

God forbid if you are involved in an accident. Don’t panic, simply contact the city police and the car rental company at the earliest to get as much help as you can.

Renting a car is the best way to travel around Dubai, as Public transport is very poor, unreliable and Taxi fares are too expensive.

International car rental companies:
International companies such as Herts, Budget have setup their offices in Dubai, who offers best, reliable services. However, the charges are a bit higher. Best is to book it through an agent, you will save some money.

Local car rental companies:
There are many local car rental companies in Dubai and renting a car through them is cheaper. However you got to be very careful about the quality of their services. They may rent you a bad vehicle or may not give you a vehicle on time.

Essential documents for renting a car:

1. If you have a visitor visa and holding American, Australian or European passport you can use your driving license to drive around Dubai.
2. If you have a visitor visa and holding a passport other than above mentioned countries, then you must have an International driving license to drive around Dubai.
3. If you don’t have international driving license, you may still be able to obtain a temporary driving license.
4. Please note, cars are left-hand drive, and driving in the Dubai is on the right-hand side (similar to Europe, US and Canada)
5. From March 2008 minimum fine for drink-driving is 20,000 dhs and a year in jail. As well a fine of 5000 dhs and up to 3 months jail for driving without a license.