The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has historically been closed to outsiders, making it known to some as the ‘last great forbidden kingdom’.
However, through sweeping reforms that encourage foreign investment and tourism – the country is now inviting independent travellers past its portals.
My female partner and I travelled over 4,000km (2,485mi) in 90 days throughout Saudi Arabia. This took us from the Star Wars landscapes in the north to Al Naslaa rock (which looks like it was cut with a laser), to Maraya (the largest mirrored building in the world), to Medina (which is the burial site of the prophet Mohammad), to Abha (a city that’s situated at 2300m in the misty mountains), to Thee Ain (a spectacular fortress town), and to Riyadh (a truly sprawling city with some nice historic buildings).
Here is our GPX route if you’d like to take a closer look.
Note: Our impressions of Saudi Arabia are NOT government-sponsored. We were 100% free to travel wherever we liked and talk to anyone along the way.
Saudi Arabia Was Nothing Like We Expected
Before visiting, our entire perception of Saudi Arabia was based on what we had seen in the media, and frankly, it was never good news. We were actually quite nervous about crossing the border. What would the Saudi people think of us?
All of our worries and concerns were shattered in a matter of days because it turned out that Saudi Arabia was home to the warmest, kindest, most hospitable people you’ll ever meet. They are over-the-top hospitable!
Every single day, people invited us to stay with them, eat with them, people gave us tours of their towns, and showered us with far too many gifts. We honestly couldn’t believe the privilege we were afforded, we felt like foreign dignitaries wherever we went.
The difference between our perception of Saudi people and the reality just goes to show that you cannot judge the citizens of a country based on the actions of a government.
How Was Laura Treated As A Woman?
Another surprising thing was that the Saudis were shockingly open people considering their religious conservatism.
Men were always highly respectful of Laura, they addressed her directly, shook her hand, and invited her to join activities with the men, which is highly unusual in their culture. Laura and I were almost always treated equally.
We met four solo woman travellers on our journey who each told us they felt warm and welcome in the country, albeit with a few awkward interactions along the way – is it ok to shake a woman traveller’s hand? Can you invite them into your house for tea?
You see, Saudi society has historically been segregated between the sexes, and it still largely is – although this is rapidly changing. In recent years, women have been able to live independently, travel by themselves, drive cars, and work at night.
Yes, these should all be basic rights, but they are also big steps forward in such a conservative culture, and indicative of a hopeful future to come.
The Incredible Hospitality
Every single day we were invited to stay in people’s homes.
Actually, you don’t technically stay in their homes, as that’s strictly for the family members. Instead, you stay in a special part of the house called a majlis. This is a sitting room for guests with low couches and lots of pillows, and some had space for 60 guests! A majlis is often lavishly decorated, full of sweets, and if you’re lucky, it’s littered with historic artifacts.
A highlight was being invited to stay with a sheik, or tribal chief, who gifted me the full Saudi garb.
Saudi men usually dress very traditionally, almost always wearing a “thobe” (ankle-length robe) with a “ghutrah” (rectangular cotton headdress) and “agal” to keep the ghutrah in place. A “Bisht” is worn on special occasions such as weddings or festivals – the bisht I was gifted during the Eid holiday had exquisite gold detailing.
Women in Saudi Arabia
Women usually wear abayas with full face coverings in public. It’s no longer a legal requirement for women to keep covered, in fact, the religious police you might’ve heard of were disbanded a few years ago.
However, being covered is still deeply entrenched in the culture, and as a result, I saw few women’s faces outside of major cities. Laura was able to converse with women in small towns, including elder women with tribal facial tattoos, which was once common across the region.
It was refreshing to meet women in educated, specialised job roles – for example, in the medical or archaeological fields. Women actually make up 60% of all university students in the country. It’s clear that education is highly valued in Saudi Arabia – the best students even get fully paid scholarships to international universities with $2000 per month to cover their living expenses.
Many Saudis speak English in cities, but when you get to the small towns, you’ll need to use Google Translate. The language barrier was never, ever, in the way of great hospitality. We sometimes spent days with people in their homes who didn’t know one word in English.
Family Life
Saudi homes are very private. You cannot see inside any house from the outside as the windows are small, and they have reflective finishes. This is primarily due to the segregation of the sexes, but it also helps with the extreme summer temperatures.
The houses are ridiculously big, as Saudi families can be extremely large. “How many brothers and sisters do you have?” was our ice-breaker question, and it often resulted in a small laugh as some people have 20 or 30 siblings! The only way to practically make this happen is for men to marry multiple women.
We were told that the families usually arrange marriages, and that men can legally marry four women – although that’s less common nowadays. The ages of the wives are spaced out over decades, and each wife will often live in a different house with her children.
A refreshing thing is that Saudi culture does not revolve around alcohol for social events – alcohol is illegal in the country. Instead, Saudis are obsessed with socialising over tea, coffee, sweets, and sometimes shisha. Cafes replace bars in this Kingdom and often feel just as fancy.
Food and Supermarkets
Our favourite Saudi dish in restaurants was musagga’a, but if we had the option, we were hunting for South Asian restaurants.
Saudi citizens make up roughly half of the country’s population; the other half are largely expats from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal who work in unskilled jobs – and undoubtedly make the best food.
I should also note that whenever we needed groceries, they were always super easy to find because all supermarkets used the same trolley symbol. That’s very helpful when you can’t read Arabic.
Speaking of good food, picnicking is probably the number one pastime – everyone had a rug and tea set in their car. This allowed us to sit and relax in some of the most picturesque places on Earth, including underneath incredible rock formations, and on top of mountains.
The Environments of Saudi Arabia
The mountains are surprisingly large in Saudi Arabia.
The Asir mountains in the south-west of the country extend for about 600km between Jeddah to the Yemen border. There are dozens of towns and cities above 2000 metres (6,562ft) that are intermixed with fragrant juniper forests, waterfalls, large reservoirs, and spectacular views – this was undoubtedly our favourite region to visit.
While it was more than 40C/104F down at the coast, we were amongst snow and ice in the higher reaches. The highest peak is about 3000 metres high (9,843ft), and we summited it on our bikes, of course!
The mountain climate was a lovely change from the hot and dry desert areas. It’s green in these mountains thanks to jet streams that bring in moisture from monsoons on the other side of the Indian Ocean. This makes it a great place for baboons to live, which are far too habituated, and a bit terrifying when they gang up with overprotective stray dogs.
The Empty Quarter is the largest area covered by sand on the planet – it occupies more space than either France or Texas. Wadi Disah is another natural wonder to visit, as it’s a deep valley with palms and amazing rock formations all around – it’s Saudi Arabia’s Grand Canyon if you like. Another lovely place is the Edge of the World near Riyadh, with dizzying views into the distance.
And don’t forget the rich underwater sites – the Red Sea coral reefs are some of the least spoilt and most spectacular in the world.
Historic Sites in Saudi Arabia
In terms of historic sites, they are everywhere. The architecture changes significantly between historically tribal regions, with unique design features baked into every building. The oldest large-scale structures at Ma’dain Saleh date back about 2000 years and are tombs built by the people responsible for Petra in Jordan.
Najran, on the border of Yemen, has some truly incredible examples of mud brick fortresses from more recent times. Dhe Ain Village is one of the most spectacular historic towns, built atop a hill deep in the mountains. Rijal Almaa is another fascinating place with a truly impressive scale, and over 60 stone buildings, with some that are 900 years old. And the mudbrick city of Diriyah is currently receiving a huge revamp to turn it into the historic tourist site of Riyadh.
The VisitSaudi website is an invaluable resource for finding these attractions, with interactive maps that show places of interest all over the country.
Despite recent efforts, the country is not established for tourism yet, especially if you’re a budget traveller. This means you often need your own transport, and there are no backpackers or hostels either. Hotel rooms are often US $40-50 per night but are usually equipped with kitchens, washing machines, and lounge areas.
Camels & 4x4s
The camel-obsessed stereotype rings true in Saudi Arabia.
Camels serve no real commercial purpose, which makes keeping them more of a status symbol than anything. It was always fun to visit camel herds with their proud owners, as their passion for the animals is palpable. Some camels are also raced – we ended up at an event with a prize pool of $20 million. If that isn’t your cup of tea, you can always attend a camel beauty pageant.
Driving 4x4s through the desert is another Saudi stereotype that checks out. We spent many days exploring alien desert landscapes – it’s especially fun when you can pick any direction and drive. We also loved the graphics that are commonplace on the sides of 4x4s, this is an 80s and 90s trend that never went out of fashion here.
Cycling in Saudi Arabia
In terms of cycling, Saudi Arabia is a big place – it’s the 12th largest country by land area.
Our favourite sections of our trip were the 700km from Haql to AlUla as the desert landscapes are just so spectacular, and the 600km section from Missan to Abha as the mountain landscapes offer such magnificent views. Like any country we’ve visited, the mountain people were especially friendly!
Given the hot climate, we appreciated that free drinking water was found absolutely everywhere, often in machines on the side of the road.
The cities were truly horrible places to cycle across as the traffic moves quickly, the roads are wide, and there is zero cycling infrastructure. We often had to cross six or more lanes of traffic, which felt death-defying at times.
We felt very safe otherwise, and the country is very low for petty crime. I can’t say nothing will happen to you, but I suspect Saudi Arabia is safer than where you’re coming from.
Police and Safety
It’s worth noting that the police can be a bit overprotective in the South when you travel on a bicycle. We had a police escort for multiple days near the Yemen border, which was simply to ensure our safety. We were never restricted regarding what we could see or do, but we no longer felt independent.
Freedom of the press and speech are restricted in Saudi Arabia, however, especially if it’s critisising the royal family, so we had to be respectful of that at all times. We were also respectful of the way we dressed, as anything immodest is generally frowned upon.
But ultimately, it’s the responsibility of any tourist to follow the customs and laws of the land; I too would expect Saudis to be respectful of how we live in Australia.
Should You Visit Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia has been a mysterious, forbidden kingdom for a long time, and that makes the culture vastly different from any we’ve experienced. There were surprises at every turn, and as a result, we can genuinely say it’s one of the best countries we’ve had the pleasure of travelling.
The country is currently trying to work out how to balance its highly conservative culture with globalisation, new ideas, and tourism, and observing this change is fascinating. We think that right now is a great time to visit.
Ultimately, the Saudis have their way of doing things, and their culture is interesting to learn about. If you don’t love it, you can learn from it, or perhaps it will help you appreciate your own country even more. That’s the best thing about travel; you get to see how people live around the world and pick up new perspectives that might improve your own life.
