The Highlights Of Saudi Arabia

Today, we will be welcoming you at the airport as our representative will be waiting for you holding a sign. We will be taking you to your hotel, where you can rest for a bit.

Welcome to Jeddah. Over the years, no Saudi city has been more open to outside influencers such as traders, international artists and Makkah-bound pilgrims than the ancient port of Jeddah. Indeed, the city’s unofficial motto is “Jeddah ghair,” or “Jeddah’s different.” Today, Jeddah is Saudi Arabia’s buzzing cosmopolitan hub, home to gleaming hotels and big-ticket events

Today we will start our tour in the morning with a short stop at Jeddah Corniche and Jeddah waterfront before we go to our next stop at Tayebat Museum.

We will head now to The Tayebat Museum (closes on Fridays) for a fascinating look into Jeddah’s long and cosmopolitan past, take an informative tour of the Tayebat Museum for a superbly curated representation of the city’s 2,500-year history. Located in the Al Faisaliyah district, the museum is housed in a multi-room complex that re-creates the traditional Hijazi architecture of the old city, with bay windows overlaid with intricate wooden lattice work and ornate coral masonry.

With several floors of in-depth exhibits, the museum offers a living history lesson on the foundation of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and the wider Arabian Peninsula. There is also an entire floor dedicated to the city’s rich Islamic heritage.

After our visit, we will go to the House of Islamic Arts, a museum specialising in Islamic arts. From the far countries of China and India to the farthest countries of the Maghreb and Andalusia, of various arts, the museum contains more than a thousand pieces of art representing 15 centuries of the history of Islamic art from all countries of the Islamic world.

Before we move to the next tour, we will have lunch. We will suggest one of the local nice restaurants here in Jeddah that serves the famous traditional dishes in Jeddah.

In the evening, we will start our tour in Al Balad, as locals call it, which means “the town” as a reference to the base of Jeddah.

Al-Balad was founded in the 7th century and historically served as the centre of Jeddah.

Our tour will go through the history of these buildings, including going inside one of the buildings to see the interior designs and furniture. Al Balad is registered as a world heritage UNESCO site, and since then, the old buildings with their unique window designs and doors have been preserved along with its unique buildings, some of which have been built using sea shells and stones.

We will also explain the historical importance of some sites and locations while we wander around the narrow streets to explain how merchants used to sell their goods and how pilgrims used to get their supplies of cloth and food before they head to Makkah through the Makkah Gate in Al Balad.

The old mosques are another tourist attraction, where some were founded over 300 years ago and are still functional as a mosque.

Today we will visit the two famous holy Mosques, the Holy Mosque and Qiba Mosque, which both have significant importance in Islamic history, with the first being the house that prophet Mohammed lived and eventually his grave is visited by. The second was the first Mosque ever built. You will have a general overview of how the city was built and shaped throughout the 1400 years.

(Both mosques will be visited from the outside only)

In the same street, which is a nice pedestrian street for walking, there are many traditional food shops and snacks where we will stop for our lunch break.

Our next visit will be to the Hejaz Railway, which was built on September 1st 1909 CE. The main objective of its construction was to serve the two Holy Mosques and provide a modern means to transport Pilgrims who came from Asia, Europe and the Levant to the Holy shrines in Makkah and Madinah.

It’s time to visit one of the local houses, where you can experience Saudi hospitality. Despite growing leaps and bounds from its humble origins, Medina still retains its historic character as an oasis town.

Medina’s cuisine is all about locally grown produce, be it dates, herbs, or even the famed mint leaves.

The city’s cuisine uses these ingredients in different recipes, in one way or another, like the Buff. The Buff is a semi-circular samosa stuffed with various fillings, most popularly minced meat. It is a staple on the Ramadan table and often eaten upon breaking one’s fast.

Today, we are starting with the Madain Saleh or Hegra, which is a remarkable archaeological site in Saudi Arabia that combines natural beauty, historical significance, and cultural heritage.

Stunning Architecture – Hegra boasts impressive rock-cut tombs and facades that showcase the exceptional craftsmanship of the Nabateans.

Scenic Landscape – The site is set amidst a captivating desert landscape with sandstone cliffs, rocky outcrops, and serene surroundings.

Cultural Heritage – Hegra holds significant cultural and historical importance, serving as a testament to the ancient Nabatean civilisation and its trade networks.

After we finish our tour, we will take you to Elephant Rock, also known as Jabal AlFil, one of AlUla’s many geological marvels. Unlike the ornate, hand-carved facades of nearby Hegra’s Nabataean tombs, the “trunk” and “body” of this monolithic red sandstone beast were hewn by natural forces — millions of years of wind and water erosion.

The beauty of the unrefined structure is enhanced by its surroundings of a fine-sand sea studded with rocky outcrops. The area has a very nice atmosphere with a cafe and restaurant, the seating area is built underground, filled with magical lights, that its just wonderful to witness the sunset.

Let’s explore the ancient capital city of Dadan and examine tombs, excavation sites, and thousands of early Arabic inscriptions.

Ikma mountain or Jabal Ikmah, a mountain near the ancient city of Dadan, the capital of the Dadanite and Lihyanite Kingdoms, has been described as a huge open-air library. There is no site that is more significant than Jabal Ikmah, home to the highest concentration of inscriptions in AlUla.

Stretching 3 kilometres from the Orange Path to the Dadan Visitor Centre, this beautiful trail is free and open to visitors day and night.

With multiple entry and exit points, enjoy a stroll along the Heritage Oasis Trail and find perfect photography spots framed by palm trees, mud brick houses, and lush green farms.

Today you will enjoy a home-cooked meal and have a taste of what the locals usually eat. Besides enjoying traditional dishes, you will be supporting the local community and helping the sustainability of this farm.

Once we finish our lunch, we will give you a tour of the farm to learn more about what is the famous local produce of AlUla.

Scale the black lava stone terrain of Harrat Uwayrid, and you’ll be rewarded with views over Dadan, Ula oldtown, AlUla Fort, and the AlUla Oasis. Arrive before sundown to enjoy the golden hour and watch the sky slowly fill with stars.

Our trip is going to be to Wadi Al Dissah. As we reach the valley, we will have our lunch there, where our team will be preparing traditional, delicious food.

After lunch, we will take you on a walking tour inside this gorgeous valley and explore Wadi Dissah, a 15-kilometre-long canyon running through the Jebel Qaraqir sandstone massif.

The first striking feature of this wadi is its dimensions: cliffs reaching up to 500 metres high. From these peaks, you can admire the dramatic scenery of this magical place.

Another feature of Wadi Qaraqir is the water stream that runs through the western part of the canyon, creating lush vegetation, palm trees, and bushes flourishing between the towering cliffs.

The first visit is to Diriyah, northwest of the city and the original capital of the first Saudi state. Its Al Turaif quarter, a restored mud-brick district, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.

Next on tour, we will visit the National Museum, where you will discover Saudi Arabia’s rich past through artefacts from different periods of the Kingdom’s history.

After lunch, we continue to Al Masmak Fortress, built around 1865. This historic fort was the site of a famous 1902 raid by Ibn Saud during the reunification of Saudi Arabia.

Nearby, we will explore Souq Al-Zal, one of the oldest traditional markets, selling traditional dresses, antiques, oud perfumes, and jewellery.

Today we say goodbye. We will be dropping you off at the airport according to your flight schedule.