· MIDDLE EAST · SAUDI ARABIA ·
11 Beautiful Places in Saudi Arabia
Scribbled by Claire ◊ 24 Aug 2024
Are you curious about Saudi Arabia’s landscapes? It’s far more than dusty dry deserts! Here, we’ve listed 11 of our favourite places after a month-long road trip – perfect for anyone looking to take an adventurous trip around the country!
There is no lack of beautiful places in Saudi Arabia. It is a massive country – way bigger than I imagined when we nonchalantly thought to just drive across all of it.
It’s immensely varied, absolutely demolishing stereotypes of a dusty, dry, desert wasteland. Instead, we found endless rust-coloured dunes, soaring kilometre-high mountains, ancient cliffside villages, vibrant cosmopolitan cities and shimmering emerald oceans.
Making the decision to drive across the entirety of Saudi Arabia meant we saw some pretty beautiful places, some of which are not exactly on the usual tourist trail!
So, after a month and over 8000 kilometres, here are what we consider to be the most beautiful places across Saudi Arabia (in no particular order). We’ve mentioned if there are any fees, parking issues and what to expect.
IN THIS GUIDE //
Beautiful places in Saudi Arabia
WHY VISIT SAUDI ARABIA?
GETTING AROUND SAUDI ARABIA
OUR LIST OF BEAUTIFUL PLACES IN SAUDI ARABIA
– AL ULA SCENERY
– AL KHALAF ARCHAEOLOGICAL VILLAGE
– AL WA’BAH CRATER
– AL HADA MOUNTAIN
– AL HAMRA CORNICHE
– ASIR MOUNTAINS
– AD DILAM
– AL-BALAD, JEDDAH
– RIJAL ALMAA
– THEE AIN
– TUWAIQ ESCARPMENT
– WADI DISAH
BEAUTIFUL PLACES IN SAUDI ARABIA – MAP
PLACES WE WISHED WE HAD VISITED
FINAL THOUGHTS – BEAUTIFUL PLACES IN SAUDI ARABIA
This post may contain affiliate links. If you book through these links we may make a small commission at zero cost to you. It helps us pay for the upkeep of this blog. Thank you!
Why Visit Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia has only allowed international tourism (other than Umrah and Hajj pilgrims) since 2019 (and most of the years since have been affected by covid). This makes it a unique destination to experience as almost all the country is not set up with western visitors in mind.
However, what the newly opened nation lacks in international tourists, it makes up for in tourist facilities – with high quality hotels, road infrastructure, cinemas, shops and attractions.
Saudi Arabia is also a nation full of dramatic scenery, despite the stereotype vision of endless deserts. With 3000-metre, baboon-covered mountains in the south, dramatic black volcanic landscapes, rust-coloured canyons in the north and a coastline of turquoise waters comparable to any popular beach destination, it’s a nature-lover’s utopia.
In this list, we’ve written about Saudi Arabia’s most beautiful places; some urban, some rural; some historic, some modern; some just simply a bit mysterious. We hope you’ll see some places you like!
How We Got Around Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is vast and not overly public transport friendly, so we decided to drive the entire country in a rental car.
We have rented four cars in total throughout both our Saudi Arabia trips, all through Discover Cars. The roads within cities are fantastic, the highways are great and we had no issues over the 8000 plus kilometres we drove.
If you are able, we’d highly recommend self-driving. The country is huge and it’s the best way to see the most sites! Read our honest driving guide if you’re curious about what it’s like
Beautiful Places in Saudi Arabia
Below are our most beautiful places in Saudi Arabia. We’ve tried to choose some places that are a little offbeat, too. Hopefully some are new to you! For a detailed route through these sites, check out our complete Saudi Arabia itinerary.
Any fees, the nearest town or city, parking notes and if you need a two-wheel drive (2WD) or four-wheel drive (4WD) car is mentioned.
1. Scenery Around Al Ula
I’m not going to lie, I’m a sucker for road trip scenery and north western Saudi Arabia is not a let down on that front.
Al Ula, in north western Saudi Arabia, is famous for the Nabataean archaeological site of Hegra (Petra’s little cousin). This exceptional stop could easily make this list as one of the top things to do in Saudi Arabia. However, Hegra is kind of an obvious choice (and is probably on everybody’s list already). Truthfully, we were more blown away by the scenery surrounding Al Ula and the journey up to Tabuk from Jeddah.
Around and between Al Ula and Tabuk, there’s a Wadi Rum (in Jordan) kind of vibe, with small villages, imposing mountains and vast, sandy panoramic vistas. The major difference is you don’t need a tour and there are zero crowds. It’s truly incredible and definitely one of the most beautiful places in Saudi Arabia!
We’d recommend taking the drive from Al Ula to Tabuk (the stunning Wadi Disah is along this route too – see below) and also exploring the scenery around Tabuk and Al Ula.
Nearest major town: Al Ula, Tabuk
Parking: available everywhere – be careful if you stop on the side of the road
Fees: none
Car:essential, 2WD
2. Al Khalaf Archaeological Village
This little stop in the Asir region, near Abha, blew me away. There are a lot of ‘tourist villages’ and ‘Archaeological villages’ across Saudi Arabia, with some a little too gentrified and touristy for my tastes. However, this one was incredible – abandoned mud brick, traditional ‘Asir style tower architecture with beautifully distinctive, decorated doors and hidden artwork.
This is called Al-Qatt Al-Asiri – check out our dedicated post on this unique women-led artform if you’d like to learn more.
It became a kind of ‘hunt’ to find all the doors, which contrast so well with the surrounding earth-coloured structures.
Also nearby is the Al Jahamah Historical Village. This is a similar, but less impressive, version of Al Khalaf Archaeological Village, with fewer colourful doors. Neither of these stops are likely to have any tother tourists present.
Nearest major town: Abha
Parking: free, opposite the mosque at 17.952922, 43.127229
Fees: none
Car: essential, 2WD
3. Al Wa’bah Crater (or Al Wahbah)
Once again, Saudi Arabia surprised me. We did not expect to see such a perfect example of a volcanic crater, just a small diversion from the main route between Riyadh and Taif. This 250-metre deep, 2.2-kilometre-wide crater sits on the lava fields of Harrat Kishb, in western Saudi Arabia.
Once believed to be a meteor crater, it is now widely recognised as a maar crater (a broad, relatively shallow crater) – over a million years old.
This caldera is seriously worth a stop if you are camping – there is a Pakistani caretaker who tells you to camp anywhere you want and is super friendly (with very minimal English!). He managed to talk cricket with us for a bit (we know nothing about cricket). The region is incredibly scenic, and chances are you’ll be the only ones there. This is possibly one of the most striking and beautiful places we saw in Saudi Arabia, without a doubt.
Currently, you cannot hike to the bottom of the crater due to poisonous gases (there was a lot of ‘you’ll suffocate’ kind of miming going on from the caretaker). You can, however, hike anywhere around the rim (it’s huge).
Nearest major town: Taif
Parking: yes, free
Fees: none
Car: essential, 2WD
4. Al Hada Mountain
Mountainous Taif is surrounded by towering, beautiful scenery – no more so than at Al Hada, where on a clear day, you can see the clocktower at the centre of the holiest city in Islam – Makkah.
As non-Muslims, we were not allowed to visit the holy city of Makkah (although I’d absolutely love to go – it feels oddly significant to me, even as a person with no religious beliefs).
We visited Al-Hada in the craziest weather – it was thundering, hailing and quite dramatic – I even saw lightening hit Makkah. It’s beautiful and kind of spiritual, even though I’m not particularly spiritual at all. To look towards the place that two billion people across the world pray to, every single day, felt poignant to me.
On a separate note, there are incredible panoramic views of the valley below, places to picnic and an awesome switchback-loaded road that leads to the valley floor. Also, in true Saudi style, there’s also a cable car for extra epic views.
For the best views, park at 21.372100, 40.256581 and climb down on the abandoned building there at 21.371612, 40.255772.
Nearest Main Town: Taif
Parking: Available: yes, free
Fees: none
Car: essential, 2WD
5. Al Hamra Corniche, Jeddah
Visiting the corniche along the hyper-modern Jeddah seafront is an obvious must-see stop on any Jeddah itinerary.
Here, we are mentioning it because we particularly enjoyed a section less popular with foreign tourists called the Al Hamra Corniche, further south than the main Corniche area. The main region to the north has the well-known coloured street, grand prix track, the Jeddah sign and beautiful gardens, but we just loved the Al Hamra coastline.
In particular, sitting on the seafront opposite King Fahad’s Fountain is an amazing place to spend the evening, watching the fountain catch the sunset light as it slowly alters colour, and hanging out like the residents do – with a picnic or an ice-cream.
It’s one of the highlights of our stay in Jeddah and definitely one of the more beautiful places in Saudi Arabia.
Nearest major town: Jeddah
Parking: free on street, can be incredibly busy – arrive early, especially on Thursday and Friday.
Fees: none
Car: not essential
6. Asir Mountains
If cruising along the sharp relief of Saudi Arabia’s highest mountains appeals to you, then read on.
Endless, stretching views across stepped farms reminiscent of Vietnam await anyone brave enough to take on the winding, narrow roads west of the city of Abha in southern Saudi Arabia.
I’ve been struggling to write about these days in the mountains, since we don’t really have many landmarks, as such, but if you have a rental car, we recommend you spend a day exploring this all the wiggly roads you can find in this region.
GPS coordinates for a few viewpoints that we found spectacular are listed below. This is only scratching the surface of the beauty of the area though.
Warning | the roads aren’t all paved, especially on the valley floor and can be extremely rough. Do not drive them during rain or bad visibility. A guy we met there said that the region often has rockslides and someone actually died due to one the day before we visited (there was heavy rain). None of the GPS points below are on unpaved roads.
The best bet is just to get out and explore the region’s many switchbacks and mountain tracks. You can’t really go wrong (don’t drive these at night though, and prepare for extreme fog on narrow lanes during bad weather).
18.180450, 42.284907
18.170123, 42.287405
18.195862, 42.301873
18.214014, 42.294990
Al Sahab Park (can get busy)
Nearest major town: Abha
Parking: free, yes
Fees: none
Car: essential, 2WD (4WD would be more comfortable but not necessary)
7. Pigeon Towers of Ad Dilam
Everybody says they want to get ‘off the beaten track’, right? Well, here you go – some weird, unmaintained towers where pigeons nest (or used to, at least).
These odd towers at Ad Dilam, a little south of Riyadh, surrounded by cliffs, camels and sand dunes are a bit of fun and adventure. It’s worth a trip if you have spare time in Riyadh – we personally thought the adventure was pretty exciting. There will almost certainly be no people there (we did see a camel farmer at one point).
The towers can be found at 23.845886, 47.193797 and the road, although passing through sand dunes, is paved the entire way apart from the last few metres but it’s perfectly okay for a two-wheel drive, low clearance car.
Rather than beautiful places in Saudi Arabia, this one is all just a little bit odd – there’s an abandoned settlement that you’ll pass nearby too, plus some decent sand dunes and a lake in the dunes that fills with rain (not during summertime) called Hagla Lake (don’t follow Google Maps for the lake – take the road at 23.943144, 47.183735 instead).
Nearest major town: Riyadh
Parking: Available: free, yes
Fees: none
Car: essential, 2WD
8. Al-Balad, Jeddah
Another stop we loved in Jeddah was the UNESCO designated historical old town of Al-Balad (literally translated as ‘The City’ in English). Known as the Gateway to Makkah, this site is peppered with incredible architecture and is currently being restored with significant funds pledged to aid in its preservation.
Al-Balad is a very walkable old town – winding narrow streets, small mosques, unique architecture and independent shops all blend into a memorable experience that will remain on your mind (it did for me). The intricate colourful windows with crumbling wooden frames; the coral stone buildings; even some street art – it’s a massive contrast to the modern Jeddah waterfront and the industrial regions surrounding it.
We believe that people should visit as soon as they can, because the renovations are gentrifying the area. Al-Balad, in typical Saudi style, will become more and more like Disneyland over time, rather than reflecting a place where people actually live. ‘Touristifying’ the area will have detrimental affect on the character of the town in our opinion – although the building renovations themselves are definitely essential.
Nearest major town: Jeddah
Parking: paid on-street parking, free on Friday, 3 SAR per hour otherwise
Fees: none
Car: not necessary
9. Rijal Almaa
One of the most well-known tourist villages in Saudi Arabia and certainly in the south, Rijal Almaa (literal translation: ‘the brightest men’) is a delight. Consisting of more than 60 tower-house buildings, this 900-year-old settlement is also known as a ‘gingerbread village’ due to the distinctive appearance of the buildings.
As with Al-Balad in Jeddah, this village has been provided significant funds for renovation and preservation, meaning that it has been designed to host tourists. It even has an entry fee! There is a small but interesting museum and some incredible views. Half the village is beautifully refurbished and decorated, with trademark colourful windows and Al-Qatt Al-Asiri art. The other half (the less photographed half) is still in ruins but is just as interesting.
As part of a visit to Rijal Almaa, check out the Bees Tower Honey Refinery (20 SAR entry) just a ten-minute drive south. This quirky, beautiful little place is really worth a visit – try all the honey!
Nearest Main Town: Abha
Parking: Available: free, anywhere on the street
Opening hours: 08:00 – 20:00
Fees: 20 SAR entry
Car: essential, 2WD
10. Thee Ain
Thee Ain (or Zee Ain or Dhi Ayn) is one of the most picturesque, gasp-at-the-sight-of-it places I have ever visited.
Situated at the base of a cliff, with some incredibly foggy, steep, winding switchbacks, the village just suddenly pops up! Surrounded by an oasis, perched on a hill, with craggy white marble mountains as a backdrop, it’s honestly pretty poetic and is up there as one of my most beautiful places in Saudi Arabia.
Surrounded by fruit trees, the polished multi-storey structures appear to be one singular, almost triangular shaped building, whereas it is actually an intricately built village, made up of 30 houses. You can take a walk around it, pop into the café, visit the date palm plantation and fruit trees. The spring that looks like it acts as a moat is sometimes even frequented by baboons.
Like Al Wah’ba crater, this village is well out of the way of most major cities, however we really enjoyed visiting here (even though it was so rainy we could hardly use our camera!). It rarely has many tourists and was empty when we visited, despite being one of the more beautiful places in Saudi Arabia.
Nearest Main Town: Taif (major city)/Al-Bahah (smaller but nearer) – both have decent accommodation
Parking: Available: yes, free
Opening hours: 08:00 – 18:00
Fees: free
Car: essential, 2WD
11. The Tuwaiq Escarpment
We didn’t make it to the ‘Edge of the World’.
The ‘Edge of the World’ is a well-known location along the 1000-kilometre long Tuwaiq Escarpment, which runs alongside Riyadh. Here, you can visit kilometre-high cliff edges which tower over an expansive desert beyond. This stop is apparently the highlight of a trip to Riyadh (although photos of it don’t look any more impressive than places like Oman, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco and even Utah). It’s four-wheel drive only, so take a decent car if you decide to self-drive.
Route 1 | there are two routes – we drove the Sadus Dam road (starting at 25.005774, 46.155783). This route is rough, but mostly fine and has several intentional blockades, either put there by the government or unscrupulous guides. These blockades are avoidable if you have a four-wheel drive. We turned back along this road after there was a tornado and it started raining – didn’t want to get stuck in a rental car (it would have been uninsured as we were off-road). Take a spare tire – people have been known to need them due to the crazy sharp rocks.
Route 2 | the other route is the Acacia Valley road (24.954661, 46.227702) which looks pretty and like it follows a wadi (have a peek on Google Maps). This is also apparently a fantastic area for camping (we were going to do this). The problem is that it is a protected area and is only open on Fridays and Saturdays. You’d still need a four-wheel drive.
Honestly, getting a tour to the Edge of the World can be really expensive, but probably worth it if you can’t get there yourself. We suggest driving yourself if you are comfortable doing so. If you want to drive (like we do!), reserve your car through Discover Cars – they’re the best.
Alternative | although we didn’t get to the Edge of the World, we did have a good old time exploring the Tuwaik Escarpment from some other places.
If you want some cool views with a really easy drive (still off-road in part, but super easy), then head for 24.713203, 46.216839 which, if arriving in the direction perpendicular to the cliff, takes you through a surreal, unbuilt town.
There’s quite a well-known hike nearby too called Al Manjour that traverses the cliff from the desert floor (historically used by camel caravans) and the views are pretty cool. Plus, I also kind of loved driving off-road between massive pylons!
Nearest major town: Riyadh
Parking: yes, free
Fees: free
Car: essential, 4WD (preferably at least high clearance for the alternative above)
Bonus – Wadi Disah
We didn’t make it to Wadi Disah.
It was at the top of our list of beautiful places in Saudi Arabia for our month road trip because it looks absolutely epic. However, our car’s ignition stopped working, so we had to drive it straight to Tabuk to get a replacement (without stopping the car!). This meant we drove right by the entrance but didn’t get to go in (I was mildly distraught at this point).
This incredible natural wonder is a stunning gorge that you can drive (four-wheel drive only) or hike through – you can even camp there (this was our original plan but will have to do that next time we visit).
As we mentioned above, the drive between Al Ula and Tabuk is stunning, with epic desert scenery, vast panoramas and alien-like rock formations. The fact that Wadi Disah is smack-bang in the middle of it all just makes it better.
Nearest major town: Tabuk
Parking: free
Fees: free
Car: essential, 4WD
Beautiful Places in Saudi Arabia – a Map
Below is a savable Google Map with all the beautiful places in Saudi Arabia below marked in orange, plus the nearest towns or cities in blue.
To save the map to your Google Maps, click on the star icon by the title.
PLACES WE WISH WE VISITED
There are a few places we wished we visited on our first trip (when we wrote this post) but didn’t – this is mostly due to weather and Ramadan. We’ve since taken a second trip to Saudi Arabia to see even more beautiful places so, if you are looking at building a Saudi Arabian itinerary, then consider the below options, too.
Other Beautiful Places in Saudi Arabia
Farasan Islands | the Maldives of Saudi Arabia. These 100-or-so islands in the far south of the country look amazing, with crystal clear blue water and some interesting heritage buildings and architecture.
Jizan | the region adjacent to the Farasan islands. This coastal area has beautiful beaches, hot springs, the Fayfa Mountains (we all know I love a good mountain drive) and Wadi Lajab (epic fun).
Najran | caravan city and centre of archaeological significance on the incense road, bordering Yemen. This area is super remote, which is one of the appeals of visiting! Said to be one of the oldest cities in the world, there are so many historically and culturally noteworthy sites, including a fort, mud towers and a set of UNESCO designated 3000-year-old water wells.
Al Hofuf | set with the world’s largest oasis, with a distinct culture. Unique and utterly different to everywhere else in Saudi Arabia, Hofuf is host to a whole bunch of historic sites, a fort, huge amount of date and fruit production, plus a rare and unusual pedestrian feel to it.
Madinah | the second most important city in the Islamic world. This is a stop I consciously chose to miss on our first trip, because I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to visit as a non-Muslim. However, you are allowed visit and stay in the city of Madinah, even visit the area around the pilgrimage site of Al-Masjid an-Nawabi. If you do visit, ensure to dress and behave respectfully.
–
CAR HIRE FOR YOUR SAUDI ARABIA TRIP
We always rent our vehicles all over the world, including our recent trips in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Morocco, with Discover Cars. They’re often the most affordable, plus they paid out immediately on an insurance claim we made when our car took some heavy damage in Sicily. We fully recommend them.
–
TAKE A LOOK BELOW OR CHECK CAR RENTAL
Final Thoughts
Truthfully, I never thought about Saudi Arabia as beautiful. I’m probably just naïve, but it just wasn’t a word I conjured up in my head to associate with the country. However, I was wrong.
There are so many beautiful places in Saudi Arabia, most completely unexplored (at least by foreign visitors), making the reality of being a tourist in such a vibrant country a genuine pleasure.
This ‘best-of’ list is a bit, well, off-beat, to say the least. It’s certainly not the usual set of things to do in Saudi Arabia (or anywhere), but we hope it has given you a little inspiration for your own trip! It’s a genuinely fascinating, beautiful country, inhabited with equally wonderful people.
Have a fantastic day!
Hi, thanks for visiting our blog! If this post has been of help to you, or you’ve just enjoyed our random ramblings and musings, say thank you by buying us a coffee! It helps keep The Restless Beans blog up and running.
Thank you, Claire + Nick
Hi! Thanks so much for your amazing writing on Saudi, I am visiting in a few weeks and really can’t wait for my trip. I will be traveling with my girlfriend and I am curious if you have any insight as to whether we will encounter any issues with staying in hotels as a non-married couple. I know Saudi announced they would allow foreign unmarried tourists to share a room but I’m curious how this is in practice, especially in more off the beaten track areas like Jizan and Tabuk, etc. Thanks for any insight you have on this!
Hi Matt, thanks for your kind comment! Our experience was universally positive – we were never asked for proof of marriage or relative status at any hotel. It was not an issue or even mentioned. We stayed in a variety of hotel types across the country too and nobody appeared to care anywhere (we’re unmarried so have different surnames etc.). Hope that puts your mind at ease a bit!
We’re heading back to Saudi Arabia in November – super excited about it! Have a fantastic time on your trip 🙂
मै सऊदी अरब के तायफ शहर में 32 सालों से रहा हूँ और मै एक ट्रेलर ड्राइवर हूँ इसलिए मेरा सऊदी के लगभग सभी शहरों में आना जाना होता है
Lovely blog! You know I am so impressed by your write up on Thee Ain. I am travelling to Saudi next April. I will definitely visit this place. By the way I am Abu. I am doing my first year degree in digital systems security with the University Of Wollongong In Dubai.
Hi Claire and Nick, did you rent a 4×4 or a sedan car? Is there a day by day itinerary since I couldn’t find it. Thanks
Hi Barbara,
We actually rented both a 4×4 and a sedan car during our visit to Saudi Arabia, but you only really need a sedan car for the most part. We don’t have a day by day itinerary, instead we have the Saudi Arabia itinerary and Guide
Thank you so much Claire for publishing all this information about your experiences in Saudi Arabia! My husband and I regularly travel with another couple. The husband had been to Saudi Arabia for work and thought we should visit. At first I was very skeptical. But after some research I came upon your blog and reading it, I became intrigued and more comfortable with the idea. We just spent three weeks there traveling all around the country and really enjoyed it. It is a beautiful place, the history and culture are fascinating and all the people were so warm and welcoming to us. So a heartfelt thank you from all of us. I am not sure we would have gone if I hadn’t found your articles.