The Abu Dhabi Pass is an offer brought to you by Etihad Airways and the local government of Abu Dhabi. It advertises a bunch of inclusions like 10GB free mobile data, free transport and free admission to some sights, along with discounts to other attractions in the area, like the theme parks on Yas Island. All you need to get it is to provide your e-mail address. We had a closer look at the offer.
The pass remains valid for 14 days after activation
- Free 10GB eSIM – valid for 24 hours after activation (offered to all UAE tourists upon arrival)
- Free transport with the Abu Dhabi Tourist Shuttle (which is free w/o the pass, too)
- It also includes free entry to the following sights (called Hidden Gems):
- Al Ain Oasis
- Wahat Al Karama
- Al Jahili Fort
- Al Qattara Art Center
- Bait Mohammed Bin Khalifa
- Cultural Foundation Abu Dhabi
- Manarat Al Saadiyat
- Qasr Al Muwaiji
- Heritage Village
- The Founder’s Memorial
- Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
- Berklee Abu Dhabi
- Jebel Hafit Desert Park
- Bait Al Oud
Some of these sites, like the Grand Mosque, charge no admission fee anyway.
- Discounted admission to these attractions:
- Yas Island multi park passs (incl. Ferrari World, Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi, Sea World and Yas Waterworld)
- Qasr Al Watar
- Qasr Al Hosn
- The National Aquarium
- Louvre Abu Dhabi
- Emirates Zoo
- And more…
To give you an idea, with the pass, you get a 1-day-2-park ticket for €81 instead of €111. Tickets for the National Aquarium cost €27 instead of €36, and admission to the Louvre drops from €15 to €11. However, you need to select the desired attractions at the time of booking and pay for them in advance.
Getting the Pass
Acquiring the Abu Dhabi Pass is straightforward. You enter your email address and get a verification code. After that, you can select the first day of pass validity. A booking with Etihad Airways is not required to use this offer. Then, you will be asked to select discounted attractions and can add them to your pass:
Even if you don’t select any paid tickets, you can proceed with your booking for the already included items:
Then you can proceed to check out. If you just want to take advantage of the free stuff, you don’t need to provide any additional information besides your name and e-mail.
If you have added admission tickets to your cart, you need to pay for them first:
Bottom Line
The Abu Dhabi Pass seems like a decent offer at first glance, but it’s a lot of hot air when having a second look. Many of the supposedly free inclusions would be just as free when not signing up for the offer. The 10GB mobile data is a nice gift, but the huge amount is totally overblown, given the fact that you just have 24 hours to burn through it. The discount on attractions is nice, but it also requires commitment to actually visit them.
If you are interested in more than a quick boost of free mobile data, it might be best to use this offer if you are already in Abu Dhabi and have mapped out a plan of what to do in the following days.
Cover Picture: The skyscrapers making up the skyline of Abu Dhabi, UAE | Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash