Saudi Arabia: Itinerary Planning Guide

Saudi Arabia opened to international tourism in 2019 after decades of restricting visitor visas to pilgrims, business travellers, and expatriates. The country is investing heavily in tourism infrastructure around its extraordinary historical, archaeological, and natural assets — with megaprojects including NEOM, Diriyah Gate, and the Red Sea Project reshaping the landscape at extraordinary pace. The country is home to Islam's two holiest cities, Mecca and Medina, accessible only to Muslim travellers, but the broader portfolio of Saudi destinations extends far beyond. AlUla in the northwest is the headline attraction for international tourists: a canyon landscape of rose-red sandstone containing Hegra, Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site — 111 Nabataean tombs carved directly into free-standing rock formations, predating Petra by centuries. The surrounding AlUla valley holds 200,000 years of human habitation, visible in Dadan inscriptions, Lihyanite tombs, and rock art across the canyon walls. Riyadh's Diriyah district preserves the mud-brick palaces of the Al Saud dynasty's founding capital, now undergoing a $50 billion restoration. The Red Sea coastline offers pristine coral reefs largely unexplored by recreational divers — marine biologists describe it as one of the world's last intact reef systems of comparable scale. Asir province in the southwest, with its green mountains and Tihama coastal plain, presents a Saudi Arabia that looks nothing like the desert plateau most travellers imagine. Saudi coffee culture and the majlis gathering tradition remain central to any authentic engagement with the country.