Saudi Arabia and Saudi Airlines

[RooFlyer]

I'm looking to visit Saudi Arabia in December. This will be my third time there, but the other two were for business in 1994 . We self-drove:



I'm now looking for any tips, esp in the tourist area of anyone whose been 'on the ground' there recently. Planning to visit historic sites per: Destinations

Possibly not spending THIS much money!

The St. Regis Red Sea Resort

Explore the Red Sea Project, a collection of untouched islands surrounded by water. Experience sustainable, world-class dining, adventure and entertainment.

www.visitsaudi.com

I’m with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and have found them to be ok. Obviously they have the SkyTeam alliance members saucy as Saudia but they also have some other partners such as Virgin Australia which earn tier points and miles. I’m sorry but haven’t looked into things like family pooling etc so no advice there. We have had some really pleasant flights with Saudia so enjoy

Any further comments on Saudi Airlines? Quirks? Domestic or International?

@Mattg I read somewhere that you were planning to go - did it eventuate?

@henleybeach - I read your comments on Saudi Airlines - look good. Wonder if the fares are still as cheap!

Anyone else?

 

[jase05]

I'm looking to visit Saudi Arabia in December. This will be my third time there, but the other two were for business in 1994 . We self-drove:

View attachment 430472

I'm now looking for any tips, esp in the tourist area of anyone whose been 'on the ground' there recently. Planning to visit historic sites per: Destinations

Possibly not spending THIS much money!

The St. Regis Red Sea Resort

Explore the Red Sea Project, a collection of untouched islands surrounded by water. Experience sustainable, world-class dining, adventure and entertainment.

www.visitsaudi.com

Any further comments on Saudi Airlines? Quirks? Domestic or International?

@Mattg I read somewhere that you were planning to go - did it eventuate?

@henleybeach - I read your comments on Saudi Airlines - look good. Wonder if the fares are still as cheap!

Anyone else?

I’m weighing up going in June (Peak summer I know) Have done some driving there previously but looking at doing only about a week from Jeddah up to AlUlla, Madain Saleh and then over to Riyadh.
Mrs Jase is trying to convince me to stay at Shebara Resort or The St Regis RSR for 2 or 3 nights but I’m baulking at the price.
SV product domestically is just ok and JED is a pretty nice airport now although I’ve found the SV lounge was freezing. Haven’t been to Riyadh for years but I wasn’t a huge fan and RUH iwas a dump. Don’t know if it is any better these days. The country is definitely more welcoming of tourists these days and I’m keen to see what has changed as the last time we spent any real time there was a while back. Last visit was just a 2 day transit in Jeddah.

 

[RooFlyer]

AlUlla, Madain Saleh and then over to Riyadh.

More-or-less where I'm going, but by air. Please go and tell all

The St Regis RSR for 2 or 3 nights but I’m baulking at the price.

 

[jase05]

More-or-less where I'm going, but by air. Please go and tell all

Plans could change by the minute but the Saudi option is my preference.
And no I’m not going to spend that much on accommodation especially in a dry country.
Rental cars are dirt cheap as is fuel so keen to hit the road

 

[RooFlyer]

Rental cars are dirt cheap as is fuel so keen to hit the road

And the roads are amazing (and, IIRC, fenced off for camels).

And no I’m not going to spend that much on accommodation especially in a dry country.

Perhaps in time:

Saudi Arabia takes first step towards relaxing alcohol laws

Saudi Arabia has opened an off-licence in the diplomatic…

www.eiu.com

When we visited in the '90s, you could buy cases of Swan 'super light' in supermarkets, as it wasn't considered alcoholic. We bought a slab and had a couple of frothies on the road (just one each, for the novelty).

 

[Mattg]

@Mattg I read somewhere that you were planning to go - did it eventuate?

Indeed I did visit recently. I flew in on QR and out on TK, but Saudia was OK for the domestic flight I took from RUH to JED.

I am planning on writing a full trip report at some point in the near future, and will have lots more to say on there

 

[RooFlyer]

I flew in on QR

Business First class? That's what I'm planning.

 

[jase05]

Business First class? That's what I'm planning.

A couple of times per day they fly the QSuites to JED too which is a bonus. To make up for no alcohol on the flight you can top up at the Al Safwa beforehand

 

[Cossie]

hhmmm, there is a WRC event there at the end of the year. I have previously said I would never ever go there, however, given what is happening nearby, I may be a hypocrite and change my mind.

So, I'm interested in this thread as well.

WRC

www.wrc.com

 

[Pushka]

We were in Jeddah 18 months ago and the alcohol laws were enforced strictly. It wasn't during Ramadan either.

 

[zainman]

Not sure if you are a train person but you could try the train from JED too, I did it back in 2018, nice and comfortable

 

[RooFlyer]

Arrrrgh! Saudia domestic timetable and pricing! Direct flights not every day, and on Fridays, often no flights at all (holy day). Prices different for same direct flight on different days of the week ...

Trying to schedule 4 days for the very cheap Asia-Europe J fares with stopover but its nearly impossible due to irregularity of flights.

 

[Mattg]

Arrrrgh! Saudia domestic timetable and pricing! Direct flights not every day, and on Fridays, often no flights at all (holy day). Prices different for same direct flight on different days of the week ...

Trying to schedule 4 days for the very cheap Asia-Europe J fares with stopover but its nearly impossible due to irregularity of flights.

Not sure what route you're after, but there are other domestic airlines. Flynas and Flyadeal are LCCs, but I'm sure they would get the job done.

 

[elanshin]

This was on my feed recently.

 

[jase05]

This was on my feed recently.

Yes, Shebara is the one I mentioned above. Mrs Ja$e keeps suggesting we stay there but I’m winning so far

 

[RooFlyer]

Not sure what route you're after, but there are other domestic airlines. Flynas and Flyadeal are LCCs, but I'm sure they would get the job done.

Specifically Jeddah to Al Ula & return. I wanted to spend a week in Saudi on the way to a Canary Islands cruise but am being tempted by the incredibly cheap Asia-Europe fares# with 4 day Saudi stopover on Saudia (as you covered a while ago), especially as they seem to have lifted their game service-wise. I can go via Riyadh on the non-direct days but then 4 days not quite enough.

I'm not usually a LCC guy, but if needs must ....

# Approx $4.5K for CGK-JED (stopover)-MAD-JED-CGK, but my dates next year not available yet.

Yes, Shebara is the one I mentioned above. Mrs Ja$e keeps suggesting we stay there but I’m winning so far

Face it, you are going to lose

 

[Pushka]

Yes, Shebara is the one I mentioned above. Mrs Ja$e keeps suggesting we stay there but I’m winning so far

If I was going to do something like this then it’s the Maldives. Saudi has a lot of restrictions and it’s never known when there will be a crackdown on liberal application of them.

 

[RooFlyer]

Wow. Just discovered that Madinah is now open to non-Muslims (except the area around the Prophet's Mosque). Lots to see there. When we drove around the area in the 1990's, we were obliged to take the bypass outer ring road

 

[elanshin]

I hear that RX (Riyadh Air) is delaying it's launch due to issues getting their 787s . Definitely interested to check it out later and rest of Saudi at some point.

Slowly dropping the interesting projects that MBS is doing in the country to my partner so she doesn't thinm im crazy for being interested in visiting.

If I was going to do something like this then it’s the Maldives. Saudi has a lot of restrictions and it’s never known when there will be a crackdown on liberal application of them.

I suspect as long as MBS is around and in charge we'll see Saudi continue to transition to try and be a leading tourist location. Their ambitions are big and they've seen Dubai and Qatar transformed their economy to more than just oil.

I agree though that Maldives atm is a safer place, but sometimes visiting another place trying to be the next Maldives whilst they're in their startup honeymoon phases also has its perks.

 

[Pushka]

I hear that RX (Riyadh Air) is delaying it's launch due to issues getting their 787s . Definitely interested to check it out later and rest of Saudi at some point.

Slowly dropping the interesting projects that MBS is doing in the country to my partner so she doesn't thinm im crazy for being interested in visiting.


I suspect as long as MBS is around and in charge we'll see Saudi continue to transition to try and be a leading tourist location. Their ambitions are big and they've seen Dubai and Qatar transformed their economy to more than just oil.

I agree though that Maldives atm is a safer place, but sometimes visiting another place trying to be the next Maldives whilst they're in their startup honeymoon phases also has its perks.

The thing we were told while there is that they don’t need to market to Western society as much as the Muslim community and where Muslim only hotels abound. I did see one disturbing advertisement about a beef restaurant and didn’t want to probe further.