Our Saudi Arabia tour runs from Riyadh to Jeddah, through Ushaiger, Buraydah, Hail, Jubbah, Hegra, AlUla and Medina. It’s built for travellers who want more than the standard highlights: Nabataean tombs, desert landscapes, a first-generation Islamic mosque, and a date market that’s been running for generations.
Here are seven experiences from the route.
1. Travel Back to the Nabataean Era in AlUla
AlUla sits in the northwest of Saudi Arabia. For centuries it was a stop on trade routes crossing the Arabian Peninsula, an oasis that gave merchants and pilgrims water and shelter between longer stretches of desert.
The region holds four major heritage sites: Hegra, Dadan, Jabal Ikmah, and AlUla Old Town. Sandstone cliffs, palm groves, and tombs carved directly into the rock sit within walking distance of each other, no separation between the archaeology and the landscape it’s cut into.
2. See the “Lonely Castle”: Qasr Al-Farid
Qasr Al-Farid is Hegra’s most photographed tomb, and its most isolated. Every other major tomb at the site sits in a cluster; this one stands alone in the open desert, carved into a single sandstone rock. That isolation is where the name comes from: “the Lonely Castle.”
It was carved in the 1st century CE, when the Nabataeans controlled trade across this stretch of Arabia. The facade rises about 22 metres, the tallest at Hegra, and follows the Nabataean method of carving top-down. It was never finished: the lower third still shows rough, unsmoothed chisel marks, left exactly as the stonemasons abandoned them. The interior isn’t open to visitors, but the facade alone is the reason people come.
3. Discover Medina’s Religious Heritage
Medina holds sites from the earliest years of Islam. Quba Mosque is the first mosque built in Islamic history; Prophet Muhammad laid its foundation stone on arriving from Mecca, and the mosque now holds up to 66,000 worshippers. Mount Uhud, 1,077 metres high, marks the site of the Battle of Uhud in 625 CE, where the Prophet’s uncle Hamza was killed.
Modest dress and respect for prayer times apply throughout the city. We brief the group on dress code and access rules before arrival, since some sites have restrictions that depend on the current regulations in force.
4. Experience Saudi Hospitality
Guests here are welcomed with qahwa and dates. Qahwa is a light, cardamom-infused Arabic coffee, poured from a long-spouted dallah into small cups, filled no more than a third of the way. That’s tradition, not stinginess: it means the host keeps refilling as you drink.
We sit in a majlis, the traditional space where families and guests gather to talk and share coffee, and learn what the small rituals around pouring, accepting, and declining actually signal.
5. Taste Traditional Saudi Cuisine
Food changes by region here. Jareesh, cracked wheat cooked slowly with meat and spices, is a Najd staple. Kabsa, rice layered with meat, dried lime, and a mix of warm spices, comes closest to a national dish. Add flatbreads, slow-cooked meats, dates in every form, and more qahwa along the way.
Rather than one “national dish,” the more interesting thing to track is how the food itself shifts as the route moves from the central desert toward Medina and the Red Sea coast.
6. Visit a Date Market in Buraydah
Buraydah, in the Qassim region, is home to the largest date market in the world. Farmers bring their harvest here every August and September, and the market offers more than 30 varieties to taste and buy. Qassim alone has over 7 million date palms, more than any other region in the kingdom.
Dates aren’t just a souvenir here. They’re served alongside qahwa in nearly every hospitality ritual on this trip, so the market visit connects directly back to what you’ll have already experienced at someone’s table.
7. See the “Edge of the World”: Jebel Fihrayn
About 100 kilometres northwest of Riyadh, the Tuwaiq Escarpment ends abruptly at Jebel Fihrayn. The cliffs drop roughly 300 metres into what was once an ancient seabed. Camels still cross the plain below along routes that once carried caravan traders between Yemen, the Levant, and Persia.
Getting there means off-road driving and a short walk across the plateau to the edge. Go at sunset, when the sandstone turns gold and red and the cliffs cast long shadows across the escarpment. Bring water, sun protection, and proper shoes: the terrain is uneven and the site is remote.
A Different Way to Discover Saudi Arabia
This route covers Nabataean tombs, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a living pilgrimage city, and a date market that’s been running since long before tourism arrived. Small groups mean time to actually sit with a host over coffee, not just photograph a facade and move on.
Ready to see Saudi Arabia this way?
Check our upcoming Saudi Arabia tours, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Continue your journey with us to Socotra Island, Yemen on the direct flight from Jeddah after this trip!
