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Every Brook Drive car has a Salik tag fitted, so you drive through Dubai’s toll gates without stopping. A crossing costs AED 6.30 at peak and AED 4.20 off-peak, VAT included, and is billed to you separately after the rental.
What Is Salik and How Does It Work?
Salik is Dubai’s electronic toll system, operated by Salik under the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). There are no barriers and no booths: overhead gantries use radio-frequency tags to read each car as it passes underneath at full speed, and the toll is logged automatically against that tag.
For renters, the only thing that matters is that the tag is already there. Every car in our fleet comes with a Salik tag fitted. You don’t buy a tag, activate one, or top anything up: you just drive. The tolls you cross are billed to you separately after the rental ends. There is no deposit to deduct them from.
Salik Toll Rates and Fees
Salik pricing depends on the time of day, not the road you’re on. On a typical weekday (Monday to Saturday), a single pass costs AED 6.30 during peak hours, 06:00–10:00 and 16:00–20:00. Outside those windows, from 10:00–16:00 and 20:00–01:00, the rate drops to AED 4.20. Between 01:00 and 06:00, every gate is free, every night of the week. Sundays run on a flat AED 4.20 rate all day, with the same free window before dawn.
These rates are the base tolls of AED 6 and AED 4 plus 5% VAT, which Salik has added to every crossing since June 2026. The time-of-day schedule has applied since January 2025 and has its own hours during Ramadan, so check Salik’s tariff page before a long trip. The VAT change is described in Salik’s announcement.
If a family of four splits a peak-hour crossing, that’s about AED 1.58 each. Pairing that with one of our economy cars keeps the whole trip budget-friendly.
Spacious Rentals for Family and Group Trips
When tolls are split between several passengers, the per-person cost barely registers, so the choice comes down to space and comfort. A few options from the current fleet:
| Model | Type | Daily Price | Min Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyundai Staria | 7-seat van | AED 710 | 23+ |
| Toyota Land Cruiser | Family SUV | AED 1190 | 23+ |
| Cadillac Escalade | Luxury 7-seat SUV | AED 1190 | 25+ |
| Mercedes V Class | Luxury van | AED 3 120 | 25+ |
Prices follow the live fleet and can change, so check the model page before booking.
Full List of Dubai Toll Gates
Dubai currently runs ten Salik gates. The newest two, Al Safa South and Business Bay Crossing, went live in November 2024. Al Safa South sits on Sheikh Zayed Road between Al Meydan Street and Umm Al Sheif Street and forms a pair with the older Al Safa North gate.
| Gate Name | Road / Area |
|---|---|
| Al Barsha | Sheikh Zayed Road, near Mall of the Emirates |
| Al Safa North | Sheikh Zayed Road (pairs with Al Safa South) |
| Al Safa South | Sheikh Zayed Road, between Al Meydan Street and Umm Al Sheif Street (opened November 2024) |
| Business Bay Crossing | Al Khail Road (opened November 2024) |
| Al Garhoud Bridge | Connects Deira and Bur Dubai |
| Al Maktoum Bridge | Umm Hurair Road |
| Jebel Ali | Sheikh Zayed Road, southern Dubai |
| Al Mamzar North | Al Ittihad Road, near Sharjah border (pairs with Al Mamzar South) |
| Al Mamzar South | Al Ittihad Road (pairs with Al Mamzar North) |
| Airport Tunnel | Near Dubai International Airport (DXB) |
Paired gates: Al Safa North and Al Safa South are linked, and so are Al Mamzar North and Al Mamzar South. If you pass through both gates of a pair in the same direction within an hour, you are charged for one crossing, not two.
Several of these gates sit along Sheikh Zayed Road, which doubles as Dubai’s most photogenic drive, with the skyline on both sides. If that view is part of the appeal, it’s worth doing it in something that matches the road; our Ferrari line-up is built for exactly this kind of cruise.
Open-Top and High-Performance Picks for SZR
For drivers who want the toll gates to double as photo stops, these are the models built for it:
| Model | Daily Price |
|---|---|
| Ferrari F8 Spider | AED 3 710 |
| Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder | AED 3 590 |
| Porsche 911 Targa 4S | AED 2 270 |
| Bentley Continental Convertible | AED 3 230 |
Wide lanes, smooth asphalt and a skyline backdrop: Sheikh Zayed Road was practically made for an open-top run, and a handful of toll gates is a small price for the view.
Free Hours and Toll-Free Routes
Salik charges are modest, but timing and routing can cut them further. Every gate is free between 01:00 and 06:00, every day of the week, including Sundays. Outside that window, Sunday pricing is a flat AED 4.20 all day. There’s no special Sunday exemption on any individual gate, and Friday and Saturday are priced the same as any weekday.
Roads With No Toll Gates at All
Two major highways skip Salik entirely:
- Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road (E311): runs parallel to Sheikh Zayed Road, linking northern and southern Dubai, and is often faster during peak hours thanks to lighter traffic.
- Emirates Road (E611): the outer ring road, useful for trips toward Sharjah, Ajman or Dubai’s eastern suburbs.
Both add some distance compared with the direct Sheikh Zayed Road route, but during rush hour the time difference narrows while the toll savings don’t. For long, steady drives on these roads, our SUV’s handle the extra kilometers comfortably.
Comfortable Picks for E311 and E611
| Model | Class | Daily Price |
|---|---|---|
| Mazda 6 | Comfort sedan | AED 770 |
| Chevrolet Tahoe | Full-size SUV | AED 830 |
| Nissan Patrol Super Safari | Reliable SUV | AED 830 |
| BMW 5 Series | Business sedan | AED 1190 |
Navigation apps such as Google Maps let you switch on «avoid tolls» to compare routes, so you can weigh a few extra minutes against a few extra dirhams. Sometimes the toll road wins anyway: AED 6.30 to save fifteen minutes is rarely a bad trade.
How Salik Charges Are Paid
As a renter, you never top up a Salik account yourself. The tag is registered to Brook Drive, not to you, so there’s nothing to recharge and no login to manage.
Every gate you pass is recorded against the car’s tag the moment you drive under it.
Salik is not part of the daily rental rate. The tolls you cross are billed to you separately.
The bill comes after the rental ends, so there is no deposit to deduct it from and nothing to pay at the gates.
This works the same way whether you take an economy rental or one of our luxury cars: there’s no deposit, and Salik is billed separately after the rental ends.
Popular Deposit-Free Picks
A few popular models from the fleet, rented with no deposit:
| Model | Daily Price |
|---|---|
| Rolls-Royce Cullinan | AED 4 190 |
| Lamborghini Urus | AED 2 990 |
| Mercedes G63 AMG | AED 2 510 |
Salik Fines and Violations
RTA fines apply when a vehicle crosses a gate without a valid, funded tag, and there’s a grace period before they kick in. Salik publishes the rules in its FAQs.
- Unregistered or missing tag: a 10-business-day grace period applies, then AED 120 for the first crossing, AED 240 for the second, and AED 480 for each one after that (capped at one violation per day).
- Insufficient balance on the tag: a 5-business-day grace period applies, then AED 50 per day the balance stays negative.
These fines are registered against the vehicle owner, Brook Drive, and are forwarded to the renter after the rental, because our rental agreement makes the renter responsible for violations during the rental period. Our cars come with a working tag, so this should not come up.
Helpful tipGlance at the windshield when you pick up the car and confirm the Salik sticker is intact. If it looks damaged or peeling, tell the manager at pickup. Never remove or cover the sticker: without it the gate can’t read the car and a fine follows.
Alex Shvarov, Automotive expert with over 15 years of experience
FAQ about Dubai Toll Roads
Automotive expert with over 15 years of experience in the premium and sports car industry. I specialize in luxury vehicle selection, performance analysis, and creating exceptional driving experiences for discerning clients.
Are Dubai toll roads free on Sundays?
No. Sundays run on a flat AED 4.20 rate all day at every gate. There’s no free pass, only the same 01:00–06:00 nightly window that applies every day of the week. Fridays and Saturdays are priced exactly like any other day.
Is there a daily cap on Salik charges?
No. There is no daily ceiling, so every crossing is charged, except that the paired gates (Al Safa North and South, Al Mamzar North and South) count as one if you pass both in the same direction within an hour. A sightseeing day to Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa, Jumeirah Beach and Dubai Marina can mean four to six crossings, or roughly AED 16.80–37.80 including VAT.
What if a rental car passes a gate without a tag?
This shouldn’t happen with a Brook Drive car: every vehicle comes with a working Salik tag. If a tag were ever missing or damaged, the fine structure is AED 100 for the first crossing, AED 200 for the second, and AED 400 for each one after, after a 10-business-day grace period.
Can I check my own Salik balance on a rental?
Not directly: the tag is registered to Brook Drive, not to you, so there is no balance for you to top up. If you want to know how many gates you have crossed, ask your rental manager. Your Salik charges are billed to you separately after the rental ends.
Do I pay tolls if I drive to Abu Dhabi?
Yes, but it’s a separate system called Darb, not Salik. Darb reads your plate with cameras rather than a windshield tag, and charges AED 4 per crossing. Its original city-bridge gates only charge during morning and evening peak hours and are free the rest of the day, including Sundays and public holidays; two newer gates outside the city charge around the clock. Darb charges are billed to you separately after the rental ends, the same way as Salik.
