The Dean

I keep hearing/reading about a new road that opened a year or so ago but I have no idea which road that is; nor where to pick it up at the Dubai end. Anyone driven there lately? How long should I allow for the journey?

TIA.

[It's the Al Aqah Beach Rotana I'm heading for]

auzdafluff

2:30-3 hours I think depending on where you are in Dubai.

Take either Umm Sequim or the 66 to the 611 and then head towards Sharjah. Then take the 88 and it'll take you all the way to Fujairah.

Here's a map from the Umm Sequim junction with the 611.
https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=%...via=1,2,3&z=11

The Dean

Fantastic - thanks. Didn't even know that route was possible..........

Eeyore

That map has you going to Masafi and then north, but has anyone ever timed the trip if you turn onto the E18 north just after Dhaid and then take the E87 east?

We haven't been to Fujairah for a while, but the last few times we went we took the Emirates Road to just south of RAK and then used the truck road to cut across east to join up with the E87. Seemed to be quicker than the old-school Dhaid/Masafi route.

The Dean

I'll happily plump for the route that is the least mountainous..........

Eeyore

In that case I think you want to go the E87 route. It cuts straight through the mountains and IIRC it's a proper motorway for much of its length, not a single carriageway like the road from Masafi. It meets the Masafi road by the cement works.

If they built a direct link road from the E611 to the E87, you could get from Dubai to Dibba in probably under 90 minutes.

Miss Anne Thrope

Surely a journey through the mountains is a big part of the pleasure of going to Fujairah?

Ronnie Biggs

What she said.

mentalist

It normally takes me 1hr 45mins using the old route via Dhaid. The new route is picturesque, slightly quicker but lacks service stations. You join it off the Dubai Bypass 611 following the signs for the Eastern Region. Very easy to take the new road home from Fujeirah as the signage is bold and clear.

Autonomy

Oh God... is 2013 the year that I'm going to be agreeing with Mentalist at every turn...

This is what I usually end up doing - 611 to the Cement Place to Dhaid, left at roundabout - nice drive through flat plain Wadi area.... way back new road.

PS I've noticed I can't be bothered to find the new road on the way there and on way back it sort of just appears. Odd. But hey - it's Fujeirah.....

Eeyore

Is everybody talking about the same "new road"? The proper "new road" is the Sheikh Khalifa Highway (opened December 2011), but that's a long way further south than the touristy areas of Fujairah. Even though the route is advertised as "Dubai to Fujairah in under an hour", you'll arrive nearly 30 miles south of Sandy Beach/Al Aqah area and will have to use the coast road to get there, which will probably cancel out the benefit of the quicker cross-country journey.

Autonomy, I suspect the new road *you're* referring to is the E87, which isn't particularly well signposted going from Dubai, but is clearly signed as "Dubai" when coming back and you reach the cement works on the outskirts of Dibba. Unless you drive down the east coast almost as far as Kalba before turning back towards Dubai? The "proper" new road is this one below:

mentalist

The road I was referring to is the red one on your map. Is that the E87 or the Sheikh Khalifa Highway or are they one and the same?

Miss Anne Thrope

I like to take visitors to Fujairah by going out along the Hatta road (you have to remember now to bring passports though). Past Hatta but before the border turn left to Huwailyat, which is a drive through a dramatic moonscape of rocky hills. Turn right in the village and continue through the pleasant lush wadi until the sealed road ends at the military camp. Follow the gravel trail off to the left along the border fence - you can spice it up by suggesting to your visitors that it is a military road and not technically legal to use (hey, it could be true) so keep an eye out for any patrol vehicles... Following the fence for about 10km will bring you to a sealed road which you can take down into Kalba near the coastal wetlands. That's nice for a stop and then the drive north along the coast road gives better views all the way up to Al Aquah, and indeed Dibba (other than the stretch around Fujairah port), than the reverse direction coming south. Lunch on the beach at the Meridien puts the cherry on a very nice drive. Complete the circuit by coming back around through the mountains via Masafi and pick up the Sharjah-Dhaid road (if the truck queues are not too much) and you can stop off at the Arabian Wildlife centre in the desert a bit before Sharjah airport (the place I regularly bang on about). Unless your visitors prefer Mall of the Emirates and Left Bank at the "maddy-gnat" of course...

The Dean

What a fantastic, informative thread......... thanks all round........

....... and MAT's point about driving through the mountains - quite right. Hadn't thought of it like that, but yes of course.........

Eeyore

The SKH is the E84, which is the part of the red road that turns northeast just over halfway along the Sharjah-Kalba road. The E87 is much further north, and heads through the mountains to join up with the road from Masafi by the cement works on the outskirts of Dibba.

EDIT - it's a slow morning, so here's a quick map showing some of the possible routes to Fujairah, assuming that you want to go to the Sandy Beach/Al Aqah area. The old-school route through the Friday Market is shown in green. It's quicker to turn north just after Dhaid, follow the white route (E18), and then join up with the E87 to cut east through the mountains at motorway speed. We've typically gone north on the Emirates Road to join up with the red truck road and then the E87.