Day-by-day programme of this 10-day itinerary across Riyadh, AlUla and Jeddah.
Day 1 â Arrival in Riyadh
Landing in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia: a metropolis of skyscrapers in the desert, the heart of a country that has only just opened to tourism.
- âïļ Riyadh â Aeroporto Internazionale King Khalid (RUH)
- ð Kingdom Centre Tower â For a first view from above, you go up the Sky Bridge of the Kingdom Centre, the bottle-opener-shaped skyscraper that symbolises Riyadh: from the glass bridge suspended at 300 metres, the city spreads endlessly into the desert, the lights coming on at sunset. It is the image of the new Arabia racing into the future. Dinner in one of the panoramic restaurants. Tomorrow you discover historic Riyadh and the origins of the kingdom.
- ðĻ Centro Olaya â Centro (Olaya / Al Bujairi), Riyadh
Day 2 â Riyadh between history and future
A day in the capital: the cradle of the kingdom at Diriyah, the mud fortress from which modern Arabia was born, and the great National Museum.
- ð At-Turaif (Diriyah) â At-Turaif, in Diriyah, is the cradle of Saudi Arabia and a UNESCO site: a magnificent complex of ochre mud-brick palaces and walls, the first capital of the Al Saud dynasty in the 18th century. Carefully restored, it is today an elegant district with museums, cafes and restaurants around the historic lanes, splendid at sunset when it glows golden. Here you understand where the kingdom comes from. You head back to the centre, to the old fortress.
- ð Masmak Fortress â Masmak Fortress is another icon of Saudi history: a citadel of mud and clay with massive towers, the scene in 1902 of Abdul Aziz's recapture of Riyadh, the event that began the modern kingdom. Today it is a small museum, and all around lies the old quarter with traditional souqs, where you can hunt for dates, spices and crafts. In the afternoon, the museum that tells the whole story of the peninsula.
- ð Saudi National Museum â The National Museum of Saudi Arabia is the best in the country for grasping its soul: a modern, rich journey from prehistory, through the ancient incense caravan routes, the birth of Islam and the epic of the desert, to the unification of the kingdom. Essential to give meaning to all you will see afterwards. In the evening, you treat yourself to Saudi cuisine. Tomorrow, a trip to the edge of an abyss in the desert.
- ð―ïļ Najd Village restaurant â For your first Saudi dinner you choose a traditional Najd restaurant, from the central region: you eat seated on carpets, in private rooms (as custom dictates), kabsa - the national dish, spiced rice with lamb or chicken - and jareesh, with dates and gahwa, the cardamom Arabic coffee served with ceremony. Saudi hospitality is legendary. Tomorrow an early start for the desert.
Day 3 â The Edge of the World
A trip into the desert west of Riyadh, to the Edge of the World: a dizzying escarpment dropping onto an endless plain, like the end of the earth.
- ðŊ Edge of the World â The Edge of the World (Jebel Fihrayn) is one of the most spectacular experiences in Arabia: after an hour and a half of off-road driving in the desert you reach the edge of an immense rocky escarpment that plunges hundreds of metres onto a boundless plain, once the floor of an ancient ocean. Leaning over the rim, with the void and the silence of the desert all around, truly gives the feeling of being at the end of the world. You go with a 4x4 tour (the track is demanding). You return to Riyadh in the evening.
Day 4 â Flight to AlUla
Flight north-west to AlUla, the most magical place in Arabia: an oasis among sandstone canyons, ancient tombs and futuristic art installations.
- âïļ Riyadh â AlUla â Aeroporto di AlUla (ULH)
- ð AlUla Old Town â AlUla Old Town is a labyrinth of over 900 mud-brick houses, built one on top of another around narrow lanes, inhabited until a few decades ago and now partly restored, with shops and cafes. You climb to the fortress that overlooks it for the view of the palm oasis and the mountains. At sunset, the golden light on the mud houses is magical. A walk through the living history of the desert. Tomorrow the site that made AlUla famous: Hegra.
- ðĻ Shaden Resort â AlUla (valle / oasi)
Day 5 â Hegra, the Nabataean city
Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO site: Hegra, the 'Saudi Petra', with its monumental Nabataean tombs carved in the sandstone.
- ð Hegra (Madain Salih) â Hegra (Mada'in Salih) is the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Saudi Arabia and its absolute wonder: the second city of the Nabataean kingdom after Petra, with over a hundred monumental tombs carved in the sandstone boulders more than two thousand years ago, the intact facades crowned with eagles and sphinxes, scattered in an unreal desert landscape. Unlike Petra, there are no crowds here: you visit with an official guide, almost alone. A rare emotion. In the afternoon, the other rock wonders.
- ð Elephant Rock â Elephant Rock (Jabal AlFil) is the rock formation that symbolises AlUla: a colossus of red sandstone shaped by the wind into the perfect form of an elephant with its trunk touching the ground, over fifty metres tall. At sunset it glows orange and, in the sand hollows at its feet, open-air lounge bars are set up where you sip a (non-alcoholic) drink watching the sky turn a thousand colours. Pure magic. Tomorrow, the oasis and the ancient kingdoms of Dadan.
Day 6 â Dadan, the oasis and the art
A day among the ancient kingdoms of Dadan and the inscriptions of Jabal Ikmah, the palm oasis and the spectacular mirrored concert hall Maraya.
- ð Dadan â Dadan was the capital of the kingdoms of Dadan and Lihyan, flourishing a thousand years before the Nabataeans along the incense route: there remain the lion tombs carved high in the red rock wall and the city's ruins. A little further, Jabal Ikmah is an 'open-air library': a canyon whose walls are covered with hundreds of inscriptions and graffiti in ancient languages, left by travellers over centuries. Deep history in the silence of the desert. In the afternoon, the green oasis.
- ðŊ AlUla Oasis â The AlUla oasis is a surprise of green in the desert: over two million date palms, citrus groves and gardens irrigated by ancient springs, crossed by a shaded path (the Oasis Trail) perfect to walk or cycle in the hot hours. Among the palms rise old mud farmhouses. It is the loveliest contrast: water and life amid rock and sand. For the evening, one of the most astonishing sights in the world.
- ð Maraya Concert Hall â Maraya ('mirrors' in Arabic) is the largest mirror-clad building in the world, a giant cube in the middle of the desert: its walls perfectly reflect the sandstone mountains and the sky, almost making it vanish into the landscape. It is a concert hall and an icon of the new AlUla, where tradition and avant-garde merge. At sunset it is a surreal spectacle, made for photographs. Tomorrow you fly to the Red Sea, to Jeddah.
Day 7 â Flight to Jeddah
Flight to Jeddah, the most cosmopolitan and relaxed city in the kingdom, on the Red Sea: its ancient heart, Al-Balad, is a UNESCO site.
- âïļ AlUla â Jeddah â Aeroporto Internazionale King Abdulaziz (JED)
- ð Al-Balad â Al-Balad is the historic heart of Jeddah, a UNESCO site: a maze of lanes with the old merchant tower-houses, up to seven storeys high, built of Red Sea coral stone and adorned with rawashin, the splendid carved-wood lattice windows that let the air through and hid the interiors. Restored, they house cafes, galleries and museums. At sunset it comes alive with markets and scents. A jewel from another age. Tomorrow the city by the sea.
- ðĻ Holiday Inn Jeddah Corniche â Centro / Corniche, Jeddah
Day 8 â Jeddah on the Red Sea
A day along the Jeddah waterfront, the floating mosque, the tallest fountain in the world and the flavours of the Red Sea.
- ð Al-Rahma Floating Mosque â The Al-Rahma Mosque, known as the 'Floating Mosque', is built on stilts over the waters of the Red Sea: at high tide it seems to float, white and blue, suspended over the turquoise water. It is one of the most photographed places in Jeddah, especially at sunset. Non-Muslims can admire it from outside, where the waterfront promenade offers stunning views. You continue along the Corniche.
- ð Jeddah Corniche â The Jeddah Corniche is a modern, kilometres-long seafront on the Red Sea, dotted with monumental open-air sculptures, beaches, cafes and parks where Saudi families spend the evening. Offshore you can see the King Fahd Fountain, the tallest fountain in the world, shooting a jet of water up to 300 metres. It is Jeddah's relaxed living room, where you breathe the new, freer air of Arabia. For lunch, Red Sea fish.
- ð―ïļ Jeddah - Red Sea seafood â Jeddah's cuisine reflects its history as a cosmopolitan port: Red Sea fish (sayadeya, spiced rice and fish), Yemeni influences with mandi (meat and rice smoked in an underground oven), the Indian and African flavours brought by pilgrims, and sweets like kunafa. You eat the warm bread with your hands and drink gahwa and fresh fruit juices. Intense, generous flavours. Tomorrow, relaxation and snorkelling in the Red Sea.
Day 9 â Snorkelling in the Red Sea
A day at sea along the Jeddah coast: the Saudi Red Sea holds some of the most pristine corals in the world.
- ðŊ Obhur - Red Sea diving â The Saudi Red Sea is the last great frontier of pristine sea: north of Jeddah, in the Obhur area, the coral reefs are among the healthiest and most fish-rich on the planet, still little visited. You set off by boat for a day of snorkelling or diving among colourful corals, tropical fish, turtles and crystal-clear water at 28 degrees. A finale of pure relaxation after the deserts. You return to Jeddah for your last evening.
- ð―ïļ Al-Balad - farewell dinner â For the last evening, dinner among the lit lanes of Al-Balad: in one of the restored tower-houses you enjoy a Saudi feast of mezze, grills and sweets, among the carved-wood windows and the scent of incense (bukhoor) that families burn to welcome guests. A toast (non-alcoholic, as everywhere in the kingdom) to a journey that has linked skyscrapers and Nabataean tombs, red deserts and the Red Sea. Tomorrow you head home.
Day 10 â Departure from Jeddah
Last day: transfer to Jeddah airport and the return flight, after discovering a country that until yesterday was off-limits.
- âïļ Jeddah â Aeroporto Internazionale King Abdulaziz (JED)
