Best of Saudi Arabia: Riyadh to Asir

Salam! Welcome to Saudi Arabia. Your adventure starts with a 6 pm welcome meeting in Riyadh – the birthplace of modern Saudi Arabia. Once a walled, mud-brick wallalong desert trading routes, this capital is now a contemporary metropolis with more than 4000 mosques, shopping centres, palaces, museums and traditional souq. If you arrive early maybe explore one of the mosques, wander through the National Museum or visit Kingdom Tower. Tonight, maybe head out for dinner with your group.

After breakfast, begin the day with a walking tour of Riyadh’s Deera district. Stroll through Souk Al Zal, a colourful market selling traditional clothing, antiques and jewellery, then continue to Al Murabba Palace – a historic square-shaped residence once home to King Abdulaziz Al Saud. Explore its rooms, exhibitions of personal belongings and photographs, and a remarkable collection of antique cars. Next, take a short walk to the Riyadh Metro. With 85 stations spanning 176 km, the network features distinct architecture designed by world-renowned firms at each station. Ride the metro to a local home, where you’ll be welcomed with warm hospitality and treated to a local Saudi lunch – a local experience of the country’s generous and welcoming hospitality. Later, head to Diriyah, birthplace of the first Saudi state and home to Turaif, a UNESCO World Heritage site with beautifully preserved adobe structures.

After breakfast, you’ll hit the road. On the way to Buraydah, stop at the small town of Al-Ghat – one of the largest and best-preserved traditional villages in Saudi Arabia. Learn about the Najdi architecture and the historical significance of this ancient oasis town, which once served as an important centre of the Saudi state. Visit Qasr Al-Imarah (Amara Palace), a 19th-century emirate palace with 50 rooms built around a central courtyard, complete with a small mosque and adjoining residences. Then sit down to a traditional Najdi lunch, prepared as part of a project supporting local women through training and employment. After lunch, with farm views, you’ll continue to Buraydah. This evening, visit the Old Market – a living museum of Najdi heritage, where traditional crafts, clothing, aromatic coffee and 140-year-old homes sit side by side.

This morning, travel to Hail – a historic city once considered the capital of the Arabian Desert and a key stop for pilgrims travelling to Mecca from the north. Enjoy some free time for lunch, then continue to Jubbah. When you arrive, explore Umm Sinman with a local guide. This UNESCO World Heritage site is one of the most significant rock art locations in the Middle East. With carvings dating back more than 12,000 years, the site reveals depictions of humans, animals and inscriptions from the Neolithic period through to early Islam, offering a fascinating glimpse into ancient life and culture. Return to Hail in the evening and head to the outskirts of the city for a traditional Kishta dinner. Enjoy a meal cooked over coals beneath the stars, with rugs, cushions and a welcoming tent creating an authentic Saudi picnic experience.

After breakfast, you’ll travel to AlUla – home to Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage site, Hegra (Mada’in Saleh). Today is bit of a long travel day, so it’s a good idea to get stuck into your book or favourite podcasts. This desert region is filled with striking rock formations, ancient canyons, rock art and over 100 tombs carved by the Nabataeans more than 2000 years ago. Your accommodation for the next two nights is a camp surrounded by palm groves and sandstone cliffs. Later today, you’ll visit Elephant Rock (Jabal Alfil). Rising 52 m above the desert, this sandstone giant glows red at sunset. With food trucks, music and occasionally DJ’s, sunken seating and deck chairs it’s the perfect spot to sit back and soak up the atmosphere. Tonight, you’ll have dinner at a local Yemeni restaurant before returning to camp.

Start today with a guided visit to Hegra, the southern capital of the Nabataean kingdom and Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage site. Explore intricate facades of monumental tombs carved into sandstone cliffs, from the smallest tomb at just 2.7 m to the largest at an impressive 21.5 m, as your local rawee storyteller brings the site’s history to life. Later, head back to camp for some free time before an afternoon walk along the AlUla Heritage Oasis Trail – a scenic path through palm groves, farms and mudbrick houses leading into AlUla’s Old Town. Once a crossroads of the Silk Road and Incense Route, the Old Town is now a blend of ancient alleys, artisan shops and cafes. Tonight, you can continue to explore Old Town at your own pace or join an optional stargazing and storytelling experience in the desert, followed by dinner under the stars.

This morning is free for you to do as little or as much as you like! Maybe visit Jabal Ikmah, a UNESCO site of ancient inscriptions known as AlUla’s open-air library, or join a guided tour of Maraya – the world’s largest mirrored building. After lunch, you’ll journey through volcanic landscapes of black lava stone and rugged mountains along an ancient pilgrimage route to Madinah. Along the way, stop at the old Hijaz Railway station – once the arrival point for pilgrims travelling from as far as Damascus. Then continue to Madinah. When you arrive, join a local female guide and take in the incredible atmosphere around Al Masjid an Nabawi, the Prophet’s Mosque, with its 10 soaring minarets. Then, visit Quba Mosque, the first ever built, and learn about the city’s 1,400 years of history before sharing a simple dinner at a local market in Madinah.