The main cities of Saudi Arabia are Riyadh, Jeddah, Medina and Mecca. Unfortunately if you are not a muslim you can’t visit Mecca which is the holiest site for Muslim religion. Other interesting activities include a visit to the desert and wadis in the outskirts of Riyadh, Edge of the world that is two hours away from Riyadh and Al Ula, which is a luxury destination in the north of the country with similarities to Petra in Jordan. I managed to visit all those sites in 7 full days. I had 9 days in Saudi Arabia, but arrived at night and left early morning, making it 7 full days. Between cities you can use the bus company SAPTCO and can even buy tickets online.
Riyadh is the hub for cheap flights, but if you want to make a smarter logistics is worth flying in Riyadh and flying out Jeddah, or vice versa. Flights from Jeddah are slightly expensive but buses between the capital and Jeddah takes about 12 hours and cost 60 dollars.
I started my trip in the capital Riyadh, the most convenient way to move around is by car, worth renting one specially if you are traveling with a group. The rentals cost about 30 USD for a basic car, 4×4 can be rented as cheap as 50 USD. I was lucky enough I had amazing couchsurfing hosts the drove me around all over the place. I used once a bus inside the capital. Gasoline is really cheap around 0,5 USD for a litter.
I arrived on Day 0, late in the evening and went straight to sleep
Day 1: Day trip Edge of the world
Edge of the world is a touristic site two hours ways from the capital Riyadh. There are two options to go there, rent a car 4×4 and self drive or book a tour. Tours cost between 250 and 350 Riyal (66 and 93 USD). A 4×4 rental car starts at 230 Riyal (60 USD). If you are in two or more people is worth renting a car, otherwise better make a tour. I wouldn’t recommend going there with a two wheel drive or a lower car, because they recently put some barriers on the road that is only possible to be crossed but very powerful 4×4 vehicles.
I found a second traveler to share costs and with the help of his couchsurfing host, we rented the car into his name and didn’t needed to pay extra 1000 Riyal foreign safety deposit. There are several rental car stores and we used the company YAHMA Rent a Car that was the most affordable one. It cost us 60 USD for renting a KIA 4×4 for the day.
The drive starts at the asphalt and ends in a dirty road with very challenging parts. The last kilometer we walked because the barrier was way too big.
The views are stunning, but you just take few photos and finish. Don’t walk near the edges because is quite dangerous.
Day 2: Sightseeing Riyadh
Riyadh city has a few to offer, but poor logistics to move around. We had locals driving us around, but If you don’t have those contacts renting a cheap car is the best option.
The main sights in Riyadh are around the Masmak Fort. This fort can be visited for free and has a museum inside. Just nearby you have a traditional souk that is usually opened at night.
Another nice night program is to visit the Boulevard Riyadh City, a big open area shopping mall with stores, nice restaurants and walking paths.
Day 3: Day trip to Diriyah and Al Bujairi Heritage Park
Diriyah was the original home of the Saudi royal family, and served as the capital of the Emirate of Diriyah under the first Saudi dynasty from 1727 to 1818. There is a big open air museum where you can walk to the ruins of the old town and also enjoy restaurants. The entry costs 100 Riyal (around 26 USD) and by the time I visited you could claim this amount in the restaurants.
It is a huge area with plenty to explore and also museums. An entire day is needed to be able to cover the region.
On this day I took a night bus to Al Ula (250 Riyal = 66 USD) that left at 10 PM from Riyadh and arrived the next day at 1 PM in Al Ula.
Day 4: Sightseeing Al Ula and surroundings
Once I arrived in Al Ula, friends that had already rented a car picked me up in the bus station and we went to the viewpoint. On the way we saw many camels and we could pet them.
The view from the top are stunning, you can see Al Ula, the old town and the new developments.
We all had a ticket booked to visit Hegra at 15:30. The buses to Hegra leaves from Winter park and is not possible to do by your own without a tour. Tickets cost 95 Rial = 23 euros and you purchase them via the official website here.
After the tour we were dropped back in winter park, picked up our car and went to see the sunset in elephant rock. There is a cafe now, but the entry is totally free to visit the sight. At night we went to old town for dinner.
Accommodation in Al Ula is quite expensive, our friend had an apartment booked for 60 USD and we shared the costs. The car was also about 50 USD and we shared. The car is needed to give you flexible to move around. If you don’t arrange the car you can hitchhike but will be very hard o visit the viewpoint.
Day 5: Sightseeing Medina and Jeddah
We started the day early and had the goal to reach Jeddah with. Quick stop in Medina to see the Al-Masjid an-Nabawī Mosque.
Our friends dropped me and Lyla, a Taiwanese girl in a good hitchhike spot and in 5 minutes we got a ride straight o Medina. Here I share how was the experience.
In Medina we walked to the mosque, took some photos than took a shared taxi to Jeddah for the same price as the bus. Hitchhiking from inside town was not possible because many taxi drivers stoped to take us to bus station, no one could understand we were hitchhiking.
In Jeddah a friend Mohamad picked me up and brought me to the Corniche and old town the two main attractions of this coastal city.
I was planning to head back to Riyadh the next day at night to do some more sightseeing in Jeddah during day time, but ended up taking a night bus this day.
Day 6: Exploring the outskirts of Riyadh
I arrived in Riyadh in the afternoon and Hanna (@hannas.everyday.adventures) picked me up and we drove straight to the outskirts of Riyadh, first stop was Lakes Park. Free entry and nice views from a sewage river.
Our second stop was the Hidden Canyon, a beautiful rock formation with flowing water.
In the sunset we headed to a Wadi to hike in the rocks and camp by the nature.
Day 7: Watching camels and hiking dunes in the desert
On my last day in Saudi Arabia we drove from the Wadi to the desert not far from Riyadh. We could spot plenty camels and walk in huge orange sand dunes.
We had a 4×4 and could climb the dunes, but didn’t risked to much due to my fight the next early morning.
In flights I spent around 300 euros return from Italy. The flight to go to Riyadh was only 40 euros with Wizz Air without luggage. The exit flight was 260 dollars with Royal Jordan airlines. I booked both flights last minute, one week before. If you book in advance you can get definitely better deals. The visa was 140 USD, I did the e-visa online and was ready in minutes. I spent around 350 US dollars for the 9 days, including food, transportation, accommodation and activities. I did mostly couchsurfing (free accomodation), except in Al Ula. I was many times invited to eat by locals, and mixed the budget with supermarket food and Mc Donald’s. What was expensive was transport inside the country, rental cars and entry fees for activities.