G’day all! Today I wanted to write a post for you on Saudi-Arabia which I visited last year as part of my journey from Dhaka to Dakar. As it is a destination that hasn’t been accessible until pretty recently I thought I would do a post about it for you letting you know some basic information and a few highlights! So let’s get to it.

1/ Entry Requirements

Only a few years ago entering Saudi Arabia for non-Muslims was pretty tricky. Today, getting a visa is actually pretty easy if expensive. For me, I just went to the website visitsaudi.com and got my visa through there, there is no need to go to some sort of intermediatory website who will just charge a commission.

The visa process wasn’t too hard, it did require the applicant to write down a hotel and a few other details that are pretty standard but there was no need for an invitation or anything like that. The cost is 535 Saudi Arabian Riyals which works out to be around $220AUD or $143USD. This includes health insurance which is compulsory regardless of whether you have travel insurance or not. This e-visa is available to people of 49 countries presently. There is also a ‘visa on arrival which is a little cheaper but only available to people of certain countries -the USA, UK and Shengen countries in Europe.

2/ Getting to Saudi Arabia – Plane

Now that you have your visa, it’s time to get to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The National Airline is called Saudia and it’s an emerging airline of 144 aircraft. It also has its own budget arm called FlyNas. There are major international airports in a number of cities including Jeddah, Damman and the capital of Riyadh.

I flew out via Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz Airport which is a busy and modern airport. There are other airlines too slowly building such as Riyadh Airlines, and there are hopes to build Saudia into an airline to rival the others in the Middle East such as Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways as Saudi opens up and becomes more visited.

3/ Arriving by Land and Bus Travel

Foreigners can now enter Saudi Arabia by land from a handful of surrounding countries like the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. I took a long distance bus from Dubai all the way to Riyadh overnight. SAPTCO is the main bus company in Saudi Arabia and the bus journey left in the mid afternoon and arrived early the next morning in the central capital of Riyadh. The border crossing was initially easy with a straight forward and quick immigration process, but then we were stuck at the border for one or two hours as the bus was searched and checked.

Cities are a long way apart in Saudi Arabia so the bus journeys are long. There is an emerging rail network though but at present there isn’t a train line between Jeddah and Riyadh. There are fast rail connections though from Riyadh to Mecca and Medina, two of Islam’s most holy cities that see a lot of Muslim pilgrims visiting them each year. As a non-Muslim you cannot visit these two cities.

SAPTCO buses are basic but not too bad. The Dubai bus to Riyadh wasn’t very full and so there was plenty of space. There are other bus companies but Saptco is the by far the biggest. Tickets can be bought in advance online and at the bus stations. They connect all parts of the country.

4/ Should I go?

This is a big question that only you can decide. Saudi Arabia does have a poor human rights record and still the death of a journalist in Istanbul of a journalist on, allegedly the Crown-Prince’s orders may dissuade some from visiting the Kingdom of Saudi-Arabia. On the other hand, the country is modernising and changing under the Crown Prince. Less than ten years ago if you were a woman you were not permitted to drive. In my visit to Saudi Arabia last year I took ubers and had a woman driver. As the country opens up people’s rights and in particular women’s rights are improving. Are they perfect? No. But exposure to the world outside Saudi Arabia’s borders via tourism may well be something that helps thing improve more. Contrary to what I had expected, not every woman was covering her hair in Saudi Arabia and face covering too was not done by as many as I had expected.

5/ The People

Whilst in Saudi Arabia I met quite a few people. My best opportunities to talk to people were often on Uber rides, where I heard about the positive attitudes to the country’s increased freedoms from drivers. In Jeddah I even had the chance to chat with some women, which I confess I wasn’t expecting. It was mostly curiosity and simple chat like ‘where are you from?’, but don’t expect people NOT to talk to you as a foreigner when you visit Saudi Arabia.

6/ Money

Saudi Arabia uses the Saudi-Arabian Riyal. One US Dollar equals around 3.75 Riyal. It’s not a cheap country to travel but it’s not super expensive. You can get mid-range hotels for well under a hundred US Dollars a night in both Riyadh and Jeddah. A bus ticket Riyadh to Jeddah was 230 Riyal, around $61USD.

Before I wrap up this post, a quick look at what’s to see and do in Saudi-Arabia. I only visited Jeddah and Riyadh, so here are my top three from those cities –

7/ Top Three Sights – Riyadh

Kingdom Tower – 302 metre tower with a skybridge and a brilliant view of the Saudi Capital

Masmak Fortress – 19^th century fortress full of Saudi history

The National Museum – brilliant National Museum full of history of Saudi Arabia and Islam

8/ Top Three Sights – Jeddah

Al-Balad – Historic Old City of Jeddah which you can explore for hours and easily get lost in

Al Rahmah Mosque – This mosque is also known as the ‘floating’ mosque and is situated near the Jeddah Corniche area. It’s a modern mosque but is quite beautiful and perfectly situated just off the land sitting on stilts.

King Fahad’s Fountain – Fancy checking out the world’s tallest fountain? This one can spring jets of water up to 260 metres upwards towards the sky!

8/ Also consider

Taking a snorkel in the Red Sea. I used a company all Al-Haddad and we scooted off into the middle of the Red Sea where the fish were a swimming!

I didn’t visit the Hegra ruins in the north but they rival Jordan’s Petra and come highly recommended. If I was to return to Saudi Arabia this would be on the top of my list of things to see!

Well folks, thanks as always for joining me on this one. Saudi-Arabia is an emerging and exciting destination with a lot to recommend it to the traveller! Take care wherever you are in the world, May the Journey Never End!