SAUDI ARABIA TRAVEL REPORT

 

VISA

 

Since October 2019, Saudi Arabia has opened to tourism and obtaining a visa for Italian citizens is simple:

 

just connect to the portal https://visa.visitsaudi.com, register, follow the procedure, pay 480 SAR, by credit card. This sum also includes mandatory travel insurance.

 

This is how you get the EVISA which is a one-year multiple entry visa, which allows tourists to spend up to 90 days in the country.

 

FLY

 

Saudia Airlines flight_Malpensa_Jeddah, round trip: Euro 482

 

This is the only company that has a direct flight to Saudi Arabia and in any case if you book in the low season and at least 2 months before the trip you can find a better price than the one above.

 

This company also lands in Riyadh, but in my case the cost of the ticket was much higher.

 

These airlines also fly to Jeddah or / and Riyadh:

 

Qatar Airways

Emirates

Air France

Lufthansa

British Airways

Turkish Airlines

Air of Oman

air of the gulf

Ethiopian airlines

Etihad Airways

 

The cheapest I found was Lufthansa at a price of 380 Euros round trip to Riyadh, but only with hand luggage.

Turkish Airlines, too, was cheaper than the Saudi one, with a price of 429 Euro round trip to Jeddah, but it canceled my flight.

 

COVID 19

 

From 1 August 2021 the Saudi authorities have restored the tourist visa, obtainable through the VisitSaudi portal (www.visitsaudi.com), allowing entry to Saudi Arabia on condition of showing:

- a negative PCR test certificate performed in the 72 hours prior to boarding the flight (I paid 60 Euros in English to Synlab);

- a certificate of vaccination from Covid-19 issued following the administration of complete courses of vaccine recognized by Saudi Arabia (two doses of Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Moderna or one dose of Johnson & Johnson).

All arriving tourists must register their vaccination in the portal https://muqeem.sa/#/vaccine-registration/home no more than 72 hours before their intended arrival in the Kingdom. The registration number issued at the end of this procedure is verified by the airlines before issuing the boarding pass and by the Saudi authorities on arrival. Afterwards, it will also be necessary to download and register on the "Tawakkalna" app, which is also required for entry into public places. To do this, you need a Saudi phone number.

At the time of my entry into Saudi Arabia, the daily cases of Covid 19 in the country were just 50.

In order to leave Saudi Arabia and return to Italy, in time for Covid it is necessary to fill in the PLF (Passenger Local Form) and take a PCR swab, not earlier than 72 hours before the flight time. Of course there are many laboratories and hospitals that offer this service, but the most convenient one for a foreigner like me is “Al Borg”, which has several laboratories in Jeddah, Riyadh, Medina, Tabuk, Jizan and Taif. Just connect to the "alborgdx.com" site, search for the most suitable laboratory where the address and map are indicated and book the swab. Keep in mind that to do this you need to have a Saudi number and that you will not be asked for the date and time, but you can show up at the laboratory whenever you want (they are from 8.00 to 22.00 every day). You can pay 145 SAR online or 171 on the spot. The staff speaks English. The test result will be communicated within 24 hours, via text message.

 

ENTRY INTO THE COUNTRY

 

Quick and easy: you don't have to fill out any forms.

You must first give the Covid 19 Negative PCR swab in English and then the Passport.

They don't even ask you where you sleep.

 

LANGUAGE

 

The official language is Arabic, but especially in cities such as Riyadh and Jeddah, many speak English.

On the other hand, English is not widely used in small villages.

70% of the hotels I stayed in had English speaking staff.

 

CURRENCY

 

Most hotels and petrol stations accept credit cards.

However on certain occasions you will need cash.

I personally have always used cash except on 2 occasions.

I changed currency at Jeddah Airport (1st floor that of departures) at the following exchange rate: 1 Euro = 4.1876 and in Riyadh with a slightly more disadvantageous rate: 1 Euro = 4.16

 

TELEPHONY

 

If you want to travel to Saudi Arabia you must have a Saudi number, as you will be asked to book Hegra, to book a molecular swab, if you have a car accident, to use the Tawakkalna application, from the hotel and on many other occasions.

There are 2 telephone companies that sell you the ticket to insert in your smartphone at Jeddah Airport: STC and Mobily.

I took the latter which is slightly cheaper: 25 GB of internet, 1500 minutes of calling within the country, for 30 days at the price of 131.50 SAR.

 

DRIVING

 

If you want to visit Saudi Arabia, you have to rent a car because public transport is almost non-existent.

An alternative is to rent a car with driver but the costs go up a lot.

Driving in Saudi Arabia is madness.

First of all, the speed limit signs are often only in Arabic and therefore it is necessary to study the numbers, if you do not want to take home with a pack of wetsuits,

Yes, because speed cameras are present everywhere, sometimes hidden and often poorly marked.

Road bumps are also everywhere and they are also poorly marked and you can find them suddenly, at night, even on roads with a speed limit of 120 km / h.

At night you can also find camels crossing the road even on stretches where you can go at 140 km / h.

By the way, the speed limits are often 100 km / h even in the city center and you understand that life is not very easy for pedestrians, also because the drivers do not stop to let you cross.

The asphalt is generally in good condition.

Police checkpoints are everywhere, but the few times I have been stopped I have had no problems. When they realized I didn't speak Arabic they let me through.

The Saudi Guide is madness: everyone playing, flashing, overtaking on the right, left, cutting your way, ect.

Driving in cities like Jeddah, Riyadh, Medina, Tabuk, etc., with roads with 4 or more lanes, with impossible traffic, is a hero's feat.

When you have to make a U-turn there are no overpasses but you have to jump into the fastest lane and then make a U-turn, finding yourself in the fastest lane of the other direction, with cars reaching 120 km / h. A madness.

Then, sometimes when the light is red you can still turn right.

Every day I saw accidents from all sides.

And in fact I did 2 too. The first in Jizan. I was stopped at the red light and was hit by a giant car that thought it was going to pass on the left, but it was too big and it did not pass. In this case, the young boy who hit me stopped and called the Najm (accident officer), who speaks only Arabic, who arrived after an hour. The same person found that I was right, he made the report and sent it to me by text message and then I presented it to my rental company.

The second accident, on the other hand, I had in Tabuk, where I was stopped in the roundabout and a car entered my left side. This time the man ran away.

 

Another mishap I had was that my tire exploded on the highway in the desert in the evening.

I changed the wheel and then went to the tire dealer in the nearest town Skaka (120km), which was open until midnight. The price for the tire change was 130 SAR.

 

Then in Riyadh I had to change oil for the price of 160. SAR.

 

One good thing is that it's incredibly easy to find free parking.

Only on 2 occasions I struggled: Riyadh and Damman.

 

Gasoline costs the same price in all distributors in Saudi Arabia, which is 2.18 SAR per liter.

 

CAR RENTAL

 

First of all you need to know that only one company in Saudi Arabia grants the rental with unlimited mileage and its name is YELO.

All the other companies grant only 200 km per day, which in Saudi Arabia is nothing, since the distances are enormous.

In fact, in 16 days of travel I traveled 8,940 km, that is 558.75 km per day.

The rental price for 16 days of a "SPARK" utility car, with automatic gearbox was:

 

1,534.25 SAR (to be paid online) for the rental

656 SAR (to be paid online) for Yelo Shield Plus insurance (a kind of helmet)

432 SAR (to be paid online) for the unlimited km surcharge

393.34 SAR (to be paid on the spot) for VAT at 15%

 

 

1,500 SAR of deposit to be held on the credit card which are returned at the end of the rental if everything is ok.

 

HOTEL

 

I always slept in the Apart Hotels, which were mini apartments consisting of a double bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen. On 2 occasions breakfast was included

The price ranged from 70 SAR (Quiik Camel in Shaqra, which by the way was the best) and 200 SAR (Al Harbi Hotel in Al Ula, which is the most touristic resort in Saudi Arabia).

The quality of the hotels was high.

 

COST OF ATTRACTIONS

 

 

Most of Saudi Arabia's attractions are free.

Even the ferry between Jizan and Farasan Island is free, both for people and for cars.

To find a seat, however, it would be better to buy the ticket the day before even if I bought it at 5.00 in the morning of the same day.

The ferry departs Jizan at 7.30am and Farasan Island at 3.30pm on the same day.

Another free attraction are the Jubbah rock carvings.

 

Entrance to the Hegra or Madain Saleh site, which is the most famous in the country, costs 95 SAR and can be booked on the website: www.experiencealula.com. Here you are asked the time and day of the visit. Then you will have to go to the Winter Park in Al Ula, where you will only have to pay by credit card. At this point the electronic ticket will arrive by email. Logically then skip the online booking step but in doing so you risk not finding a place.

You will have to show up at the Winter Park 1 hour before the scheduled time for the visit and you will take a bus that will take you to the site where, after a refreshment, the guide will take you with a smaller bus to the sight of Hegra, which will last about an hour abundant.

It is not possible to visit this site alone.

 

Another paid attraction is the Sky Bridge in Riyadh, in the Kingdom Center, where you can enjoy an incredible view of the city. Cost: 65 SAR.

 

The National Museum in Riyadh is also paid: 10 SAR.

 

As well as the Al Qarah Mountain cave in Al Hofuf: 50 SAR

 

The cost to drive to the top of 1100m Jabal Samra in Hail is 20 SAR.

 

The cost to visit Matbouli House Museum in Jeddah is 10 SAR.

 

It must be said that I found many museums and castles closed.