Saudi Arabia

Overview

Until 2019, almost nobody could visit Saudi Arabia as a tourist. Since the e-visa launched it has become one of the more surprising destinations on the map: Nabataean tombs at AlUla with none of Petra's queues, unbleached Red Sea reefs, and a Hejazi architecture of coral-stone houses being restored street by street.

Things to see and do

Four things worth building an itinerary around, rather than a list of everything.

• 01

  Hegra, AlUla

  111 rock-cut Nabataean tombs in open desert, a UNESCO site visited by a fraction of Petra's numbers.

• 02

  Al-Balad, Jeddah

  Coral-block merchant houses with latticed rawashin balconies, under a long restoration programme.

• 03

  The Farasan Islands

  Red Sea reefs, mangrove channels and almost no dive traffic, reached by ferry from Jizan.

• 04

  Edge of the World

  A dramatic escarpment ninety minutes from Riyadh, where the Tuwaiq plateau drops away to an ancient sea bed.

When to go

The usable window is Nov–Mar. August is typically the warmest month and May the wettest; the shoulder weeks either side of the peak give you most of the weather at a fraction of the price.

Getting there and around

International arrivals concentrate on Riyadh, and for most visitors that is the sensible entry point even when it is not the first place you want to be.

Overland

Long-distance buses cover more of the country than the railway, run more often, and cost less. Trains, where they exist, are more comfortable for the same money.

Local transport

In Riyadh, use the metered taxi or a ride app rather than negotiating at the kerb, and carry small notes — change is a genuine problem in most of the country. Intercity travel is worth booking a day ahead during the Nov–Mar peak.

Food and drink

Eat where the turnover is fastest. In Saudi Arabia that usually means the market stalls at lunch and the neighbourhood places that open at seven and stop serving when the pot is empty.

Portions, timings and the position of the main meal in the day all vary from what you are used to. Ask what the kitchen is doing well today rather than reading down the menu, and order what the next table is eating.

Passport and visa

Current position: e-Visa and visa on arrival for 60+ nationalities.

Most nationalities need a passport valid for six months beyond the date of entry, with at least two blank pages. Onward or return tickets are checked at the gate more often than at the border, and airlines apply the rule more strictly than immigration does.

• Check your own government’s travel advice as well as the destination’s rules — they update at different speeds.
• Where an e-visa or travel authorisation applies, apply through the official government portal. Search results are full of paid intermediaries.
• Keep a photo of your passport page and any approval separately from the documents themselves.

Money and costs

The currency is the Saudi riyal (SAR). Card acceptance is normal in cities and patchy outside them; carry enough cash for two days of small purchases at all times.

Tipping

Rounding up is normal and welcomed; a set percentage is not universal. Check whether service is already on the bill before adding to it.

Health and safety

Standard travel advice applies: routine vaccinations up to date, comprehensive insurance that covers the activities you actually intend to do, and a pharmacy plan for the ordinary things rather than the dramatic ones.

• Carry oral rehydration salts. Most travel stomach upsets resolve in a day, and fluid loss is the part that causes trouble.
• Check whether your insurance covers motorbike hire — many policies exclude it by default.
• Save the local emergency number to your phone on arrival, and note the nearest hospital to where you are staying.

Petty theft in busy tourist areas is the most common problem visitors report. Situational awareness handles nearly all of it.

Culture and etiquette

The official language is Arabic. Learning six words — hello, please, thank you, yes, no, and the number two — changes how a trip goes far more than the effort suggests.

Dress codes have relaxed but modesty still matters: shoulders and knees covered, for all visitors.