Free parking in Abu Dhabi is not a myth. It is just hiding in plain sight – in the hours the meters switch off, in the malls that still hand you three or four hours on the house and in a surprising number of landmarks that charge nothing at all. The catch is that the map keeps changing. Since mid-2025 a whole wave of mall car parks, Yas Bay and big chunks of Mussafah and MBZ City have moved to paid, ticketless parking, and plenty of residents only found out when the Darb or Salik deduction landed.
So here is the current picture: when street parking is free, who parks free, which malls and attractions still let you park without paying and which former freebies you should stop counting on. If you want the full rulebook on curb colours and zones first, start with our complete guide to how Mawaqif works.
The Quick Answer
- Sundays: all Mawaqif street parking is free, all day.
- Public holidays: free, with exact start and end times announced by Q Mobility before each holiday.
- Midnight to 8am: Mawaqif street bays are free every night – except resident permit bays, which are residents-only from 9pm to 8am.
- Malls: Yas Mall gives 4 free hours a day, WTC Mall, Dalma Mall and Al Wahda Mall give 3, Bawabat Al Sharq Mall is fully free.
- Landmarks: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Qasr Al Watan and the Abrahamic Family House all have free visitor parking.
- Never free: Q Mobility’s multi-storey car parks, which charge on Sundays and public holidays too.
When Mawaqif Street Parking Is Free
Mawaqif, the public parking network run by Q Mobility for the Integrated Transport Centre, charges from 8am to midnight, Monday to Saturday. Standard bays cost AED 2 an hour (capped at AED 15 a day) and premium bays AED 3 an hour with a 4-hour maximum. Everything outside those hours costs nothing. In practice that gives you three free windows.
1. Every Sunday, all day
Sunday is the only fully free day of the week. Saturday is a paid day, which is the single most expensive assumption new arrivals make – the fine for not paying is not worth the lie-in.
2. Public holidays
Official public holidays are free, but Q Mobility announces each one separately with exact times. The pattern is consistent: free from the first day of the holiday until 7:59am on the first working day after it. For Eid Al Adha 2026 that meant free parking from Monday 25 May to Friday 29 May, with fees back on Saturday 30 May. Expect the same style of announcement a few days before UAE National Day on December 2.
3. Midnight to 8am, every night
Street bays are free overnight. The big exception is resident permit bays, marked with a solid turquoise line or a Resident Permit Only sign. From 9pm to 8am they belong to permit holders, so the empty bay outside a friend’s building at 10pm is free only if you have the permit – otherwise it is a fine. If one lands on your windscreen anyway, here is how to check, pay and appeal a Mawaqif fine.
Ramadan has its own timetable
During Ramadan the paid hours shift. In Ramadan 2026 Mawaqif charged from 9am to 6pm and again from 9pm to 2am, which left the iftar window from 6pm to 9pm free, along with the early hours and Sundays. The timings are re-announced every year, so treat 2026 as a guide rather than a promise.
WOW Abu Dhabi Expert Tip: The only official free grace period is at Q Mobility’s ticketless Free Flow car parks, where you pay nothing if you exit within 10 minutes. There is no official free window for street bays, whatever your cousin’s friend says. Here is how Free Flow parking works.
Who Parks Free
- People of Determination: holders of the People of Determination card are exempt from Mawaqif fees, and the exemption is linked to the registered vehicle, so there is nothing extra to apply for. Cars on plates from other emirates need the card on display.
- Resident permit holders: apartment permits cover resident bays from 9pm to 8am, while villa permits cover villa resident bays around the clock. The permit itself is paid for non-UAE nationals, so this is free parking you have already paid for.
- Villa guests: visitor permits requested by SMS are free for UAE nationals and AED 2 an hour for everyone else.
There is no official Mawaqif exemption for electric vehicles in Abu Dhabi. That free green parking you have read about is a Dubai story, not a capital one.
Malls Where You Can Still Park Free
Most big Abu Dhabi malls have moved to ticketless parking over the past two years. Cameras read your plate on entry and bill your Salik or Darb account on exit, so there is no barrier, no ticket and no warning. The good news is that almost all of them still give you a generous free window.
| Mall | Free parking | After the free window |
|---|---|---|
| Yas Mall | First 4 hours, every day | AED 20 for hour 5, AED 10 an hour after |
| WTC Mall | First 3 hours Mon to Fri; free Sat, Sun and holidays 6am to midnight | AED 10 an hour |
| Dalma Mall | First 3 hours on weekdays; free all day on weekends and holidays | AED 10 an hour |
| Al Wahda Mall | First 3 hours after 10am (validation available) | AED 10 to AED 50 for hours 4 to 7, AED 100 beyond |
| The Galleria Al Maryah Island | Car Parks A, B and C free; D and E first hour free | D and E: AED 10 for hour 2, AED 20 for hour 3 |
| Bawabat Al Sharq Mall | Fully free | – |
Yas Mall
Four free hours a day is the most generous deal in the city and covers a Carrefour run, a movie and lunch. Fees kick in at hour five. No Salik account? Scan the QR code on the parking signage and pay through Parkonic. It pairs nicely with a day on the island – see our Yas Island guide for what else is worth the drive.
Location: Yas Island, off Yas Leisure Drive
Contact: 800 72756642 (Parkonic parking support) or yasmall.ae
WTC Mall
The current tariff has applied since 17 February 2026. Weekday visitors get three free hours, and weekends and public holidays are free from 6am to midnight – handy for a downtown Saturday.
Location: World Trade Center Abu Dhabi, Khalifa Bin Zayed The First Street, Al Markaziyah
Contact: +971 2 508 2400
Dalma Mall
Paid parking arrived in July 2025, but weekends and public holidays stay free all day and weekdays give you three free hours. Catching a film adds one more free hour.
Location: Mussafah, near Mohamed Bin Zayed City
Contact: 800 325626255
Al Wahda Mall
Paid since July 2025. Arriving before 10am costs AED 10 an hour, after that the first three hours are free. You can get your parking validated for free at customer care or LuLu with no minimum spend – worth the 30-second detour.
Location: Hazza Bin Zayed The First Street, Al Wahda
Contact: +971 2 443 7000
The Galleria Al Maryah Island
The trick here is choosing the right car park. A, B and C are free and open from 6am to 2am. D and E are open 24 hours and charge from Sunday to Thursday, with the first hour free, AED 10 for the second and AED 20 for the third. Our Al Maryah Island guide has the rest of the island’s practical detail.
Location: Hamouda Bin Ali Al Dhaheri Street, Al Maryah Island
Contact: +971 2 493 7400
Bawabat Al Sharq Mall
The quiet hero of this list. More than 2,200 spaces and no parking fee at all, which makes it the easy default for families on the Bani Yas side of the city.
Location: Bawabat Al Sharq Street, Bani Yas
Contact: +971 2 503 1400
Landmarks and Attractions With Free Parking
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Free parking for worshippers and visitors, with the main visitor car parks on the southern side near the visitor centre. Arrive early on weekends and around sunset, when the tour buses and the golden-hour crowd converge.
Location: Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Street, near Maqta Bridge
Contact: +971 2 419 1919
Qasr Al Watan
No charge to park at the palace. Valet is available at the visitor centre for AED 35 if you would rather not walk in the heat.
Location: Al Ras Al Akhdar, next to Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental
Contact: 600 544 442
Abrahamic Family House
Parking is free for all visitors and worshippers at the mosque, church and synagogue complex in the Saadiyat Cultural District.
Location: Saadiyat Cultural District, Saadiyat Island
Contact: Book visits through abrahamicfamilyhouse.ae
Ferrari World, Warner Bros. World and Yas Waterworld
The Yas theme parks all offer free visitor parking. Ferrari World guests park free in the Grand Prix car park at Yas Mall with proof of park entry, Warner Bros. World has free parking near the entrance and Yas Waterworld is currently using a temporary car park while its main one is upgraded. Paid valet is available at the first two.
Location: Yas Island
Contact: 600 511115
Etihad Arena
Etihad Arena lists P1, P2, the Lifestyle car park and the Yas Bay multi-storey as free on official event days. On other days the surrounding Yas Bay car parks are paid (see the next section), so check the parking note on your ticket before you go.
Location: Yas Bay Waterfront, Yas Island
Contact: etihadarena@yasconcierge.com
Beaches and the Great Outdoors
Hudayriyat Island
Cross the bridge from Al Bateen and there are large car parks by Marsana, Hudayriyat Beach and Circuit X, with no parking fee at the time of writing. The beach itself is free too, which makes this the best-value family day out in the capital. Bus 73 links it to Al Reem Island if you would rather leave the car at home.
Location: Hudayriyat Island, via Hudayriyat Bridge from Al Bateen
Contact: hudayriyatisland.ae
Corniche Beach and Al Bateen
The Corniche and Al Bateen sit inside Mawaqif paid zones, which means they follow the same rules as the rest of the city: free on Sundays, public holidays and from midnight to 8am. A Sunday morning swim on the Corniche costs you nothing but sunscreen. For the neighbourhood around it, see our Al Bateen and Breakwater guide.
Location: Corniche Road West and Al Bateen
Contact: Q Mobility 800 3009
Heading to Saadiyat instead? Parking rules vary beach by beach, from free public spaces to covered car parks that charge after the first hour. Our review of all five Saadiyat beaches covers each one.
Zayed International Airport
Dropping someone off at Departures? The first 10 minutes at the forecourt are free, so say your goodbyes in the car, not at the kerb. Drivers with an accessible parking permit also get the first three hours free in the airport car parks before normal rates apply. Details are on zayedinternationalairport.ae.
The Freebies That Quietly Went Paid
This is the section to screenshot. All of the following used to be free and now charge, mostly via ticketless cameras.
- Yas Bay Waterfront and Yas Marina (since 6 July 2026): AED 20 for the first hour and AED 10 for each hour after, around the clock. Diners get 3 hours free with validation and gym or beach club users get 6.
- West Yas Plaza (since 6 July 2026): first hour free, then AED 10 an hour.
- Mushrif Mall (since 23 June 2026): Q Mobility Free Flow parking, billed to your Darb wallet on exit.
- Eastern Mangroves, Dolphin Park, Al Khaleej Al Arabi Parks and Al Qurm Plaza (since July 2025): now standard Mawaqif zones.
- Al Shahamah (since November 2025), Mohamed Bin Zayed City commercial sectors (from December 2025, expanded through May 2026) and most of Mussafah (rolled out January to May 2026).
- Multi-storey car parks: Q Mobility’s buildings charge 24/7, including Sundays and public holidays. Some now run on Free Flow.
One more to watch: new zone-code signs appeared along Corniche Street and in other areas in September 2026. Q Mobility says they relate to a future update and nothing changes yet, but it is a clear hint that the zoning map is about to move again. We will update this page when it does.
WOW Abu Dhabi Expert Tip: Ticketless parking bills you whether you notice or not. Keep a balance in your Darb wallet and Salik account and turn on their app notifications, because a low balance on exit can turn a free visit into a fine. Our Darb toll guide covers setting the account up properly, and our traffic fines guide covers what happens if it goes wrong.
Free Parking in Abu Dhabi: FAQs
Yes. All Mawaqif street parking in Abu Dhabi is free all day on Sunday. Q Mobility’s multi-storey car parks are the exception and still charge on Sundays.
No. Mawaqif street parking is paid from 8am to midnight on Saturdays, the same as any weekday. Only Sundays and public holidays are free.
Mawaqif paid parking runs from 8am to midnight, Monday to Saturday. Street bays are free from midnight to 8am, except resident permit bays, which are reserved for permit holders from 9pm to 8am.
Yes. Mawaqif street parking is free on official public holidays, with exact times announced by Q Mobility before each holiday. It usually runs until 7:59am on the first working day after the break. Multi-storey car parks are not included.
Bawabat Al Sharq Mall is fully free. Yas Mall gives 4 free hours a day, WTC Mall and Dalma Mall give 3 free hours on weekdays and are free on weekends, Al Wahda Mall gives 3 free hours after 10am and The Galleria Al Maryah Island has free Car Parks A, B and C.
Yes. Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque offers free parking for worshippers and visitors, mainly in the car parks on the southern side near the visitor centre.
No. Abu Dhabi’s Mawaqif system has no official free parking exemption for electric vehicles. EV owners pay the same rates as everyone else.
Parking tariffs and free windows in Abu Dhabi change often, and several malls have switched to paid parking in the past year. Details were checked against Q Mobility and official venue sources in September 2026 – the signage at the car park always has the final word.
