When planning our route around the Arabian Penisula, for a variety of reasons travelling “anticlockwise” made most sense – so from Jordan the next country on our itinerary was Saudi Arabia, by far the biggest of the Persian Gulf states and hence likely where we will spend the most time – if for no other reason than it simply takes a very long time to get anywhere ! That, and the fact the Kingdom actually has quite a list of world class attractions ( they’d just kept them hidden from us previously).

A little background first. Saudi has not always been easy to get to ( it was formerly not really “open” to mass tourism ), nor easy to travel in. That all changed in September 2019 when “the Kingdom”  ( or simply KSA as it’s called here),  did a full 180 – the doors opened wide, the visa process was relaxed, as were dress codes and driving rules for women. Word spread quickly and perhaps unsurprisingly it’s been an increasingly popular destination since – particularly so with overland travellers. Fortunately for us this time of the year ( Saudi “winter” ) is the perfect time to come.

First impressions were great, Riyadh has a stunning airport and the entry process was easy, right through till we picked up the car. We have 2 separate phone providers, both with global roaming, but neither “data” pack was connecting, so this left us navigating to the hotel ( at night ) with only map screen shots ( the “blue dot” just was not moving on Google Maps which it normally does even without a data connection ). We made it, but not without some drama, and wrong turns. Fist lessons in Saudi – people drive fast,  lane markers are treated like road decorations ( essentially, ignored ! ), and they love big cars and trucks. 

With the weather looking great we were keen to head north-west right away leaving any exploration of Riyadh until we circled back later. The immediate destination was Al Ula, one of Saudi’s biggest attractions – so much so that this rather small oasis town actually has its own international airport now. People come from far and wide to see this place, obviously. It took two days of driving to get there, long days, yet still interesting as it was our first experience of the country. All was well until a police roadblock just 80kms from Al Ula forced us to do an additional 250km detour to get there. Not what we needed after having already driven 500kms. 

The roads in Saudi are generally very good, certainly the main roads at least, all multi lane and usually with 140km/h ( 85mph ) limits. Our first couple of days proved pretty much what we thought – lots of desert, monotonous at times, but periodically interspersed with unique red rock bluffs and always the ubiquitous camels. Have seen more camels so far in Saudi than anywhere else – far more than Jordan.

Pulling into Al Ula it was more of the aforementioned red rock bluff scenery, mixed with acres and acres of palm trees – Al Ula is the quintessential oasis town and it’s easy to see why it has been a travel crossroads for centuries ( and is now becoming an international hotspot as well ). Tellingly, while we were there an international bike race was held over 4 days ( the Al Ula Tour 2026 ) which attracts some of the worlds finest cyclists. While the cycling was not our bag, Al Ula’s other attractions kept us busy over the next few days. 

The road closures caused by the cycling event caused us some grief getting around at times.

The “Old Town”, while slightly kitschy, portrays Al Ula as it used to be and was enjoyable to explore, the mud brick buildings in various states of repair. The heart of it all, ”The Oasis”, is a wonderfully cool and tropical-like area fun just to wander through – interesting to see how many things they grow out here in what is essentially the middle of the desert. The area has a lively cafe scene ( but no “bars” – alcohol is an absolute “no no” in Saudi – that was not relaxed back in 2019 ). Beyond the oasis and old town there are a few other big name attractions in the town, two of them we got to ( Maraya and Elephant Rock ) while we could not get to Hegra ( the Petra “lite” Nabatean rock formations ). Unfortunately, unlike Petra,  Hegra has visitor caps and requires joining a “tour” to enter ( not something we like as a rule ) and the tourist volumes here for the international cycle race meant they were booked out long before we arrived. The Elephant Rock was impressive and the Maraya ( “mirror” ) building and setting was nothing short of stunning – I’ll let the pictures below tell the story.

Beyond Al Ula, there was one major attraction remaining in the northwest of the country that we were absolutely determined to see –  Wadi Disah. Often called the “valley of palm trees”, Wadi Disah is a stunning lush mountain valley, known for its towering wind-carved sandstone cliffs and natural freshwater springs. Access is by 4WD vehicle only so we hired a local with an indestructible old Landcruiser who took us 7km into the wadi. Spectacular ride, amazing scenery and we were appreciative of doing it in an older vehicle – it’s pretty rough going, would not have taken the Sprinter in even if we had it with us.  Another long drive to reach Wasi Disah but very glad we did.

From Disa, we’ll travel over to the Red Sea coast and head south, but more on that in the coming blog.

Till next week…..