Saudi Arabia

Cities Alive With Energy and Ambition

Riyadh pulses with a restless ambition, its glass towers and heritage districts existing side by side as the capital accelerates its transformation. Jeddah enchants with its UNESCO-listed Al Balad quarter, a labyrinth of coral-stone houses with intricately carved wooden mashrabiya screens overlooking the Red Sea waterfront. The two cities alone could fill a generous itinerary with museums, galleries, restaurants and a café culture that comes alive well after midnight.

Ancient Wonders Hidden in Plain Sight

AlUla is the revelation that stops travellers in their tracks. The rose-red sandstone outcrops of Hegra, Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site, contain more than 100 monumental Nabataean tombs hewn directly into cliffsides, their carved facades glowing amber at dusk. Nearby Dadan and Jabal Ikmah add layers of pre-Islamic inscriptions and rock art that push the story of human settlement here back thousands of years further still.

Coastlines Worth Crossing the World For

The Red Sea coast rewards visitors with some of the most pristine coral reef systems on the planet, largely untouched by mass tourism and now opening to divers and snorkellers through the ambitious NEOM and Red Sea Project developments. On the opposite coast, the Arabian Gulf offers a quieter, less visited shoreline around Dammam and al-Ahsa, where date palm groves and coastal wetlands shelter migratory birds in surprising abundance.