Q: When to Visit Saudi Arabia?

The best time to visit Saudi Arabia is between November and Early March when the weather is perfect during the day and with some cool breeze in the evening and up in the mountains. Be sure to pack a few jackets as the night can be pretty cold in the desert. I would avoid visiting Saudi Arabia in the summer months as, like most Gulf Countries, it can get extremely hot and humid. So much so that you wouldn't be able to do anything during the day, which is not ideal for such an action-packed itinerary that we have here.

Q: How to Get to Saudi Arabia?

From the US , there are only a handful of direct flights from the US to Saudi Arabia, such as the one from JFK to Riyadh operated by Saudia Airlines. But if you don't mind transiting, you should be able to find flights for your city to Riyadh via Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordan Air. From Europe , you can also take one of the many direct flights leaving from cities like Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and London to Riyadh via Saudi Airlines, KLM, or other local airlines. From Asia , the same applies to most direct flights operated by Saudi Airlines. You can also fly via Emirates and Etihad if you don't mind transiting through the UAE. To find a cheap flight to Saudi Arabia, I would recommend you use Skyscanner or Expedia to look for the cheapest route and schedule so you can compare and pick the best one.

Question 1

When to Visit Saudi Arabia?

Accepted Answer

The best time to visit Saudi Arabia is between November and Early March when the weather is perfect during the day and with some cool breeze in the evening and up in the mountains. Be sure to pack a few jackets as the night can be pretty cold in the desert.

I would avoid visiting Saudi Arabia in the summer months as, like most Gulf Countries, it can get extremely hot and humid. So much so that you wouldn't be able to do anything during the day, which is not ideal for such an action-packed itinerary that we have here.

Question 2

How to Get to Saudi Arabia?

Accepted Answer

From the US, there are only a handful of direct flights from the US to Saudi Arabia, such as the one from JFK to Riyadh operated by Saudia Airlines. But if you don't mind transiting, you should be able to find flights for your city to Riyadh via Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordan Air.

From Europe, you can also take one of the many direct flights leaving from cities like Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and London to Riyadh via Saudi Airlines, KLM, or other local airlines.

From Asia, the same applies to most direct flights operated by Saudi Airlines. You can also fly via Emirates and Etihad if you don't mind transiting through the UAE.

To find a cheap flight to Saudi Arabia, I would recommend you use Skyscanner or Expedia to look for the cheapest route and schedule so you can compare and pick the best one.

Question 3

How to Get Around Saudi Arabia?

Accepted Answer

For this itinerary, you are going to need to rent a car and drive since we will be covering more than 2,700 km, visiting far and wide.

Relying on public transportation between cities is only applicable if you just want to visit Jeddah, Medina, and Mecca (for Muslims only) as they are connected via a high-speed rail line, but that is pretty much it for Saudi Arabia.

Within the city, you can also take Uber or Careem, but taxis are pretty expensive here, and you will save more money by renting a car and driving yourself.

Gas is cheap at around 1.9 - 2 SAR per liter, and it should cost no more than 84 SAR (223 USD) to fill up the 42-liter tank capacity of a Toyota Yaris entirely.

There are 2 notable car rental companies I recommend, Yelo and Keys, both are locals. Yelo is a bit more expensive, but they are highly praised and are more professional to deal with. Keys are cheaper, but I had a few issues with them.

When Keys delivered the car to me, the car's interior was quite dirty. When we returned the car at another branch, they charged us 57 SAR for the stains that came with the car (not caused by us).

We forgot to record a video inside the car as proof when we got it, so we had to bite the bullet and pay. So don't make the same mistake as I did and record both the exterior and interior of the car when you get it from the car rental place.

For 14 days, you can expect to pay around 1,000 USD for car rental with an open-mile policy and full insurance. You are going to need this insurance as without the open-mile, you are limited to traveling only around 200 km per day, which is not enough to cover this itinerary. Saudi Arabia is way too big for a daily mile limit.

You also need full insurance as the Saudi roads are a complete jungle out here. Everyone drives like their houses are on fire here. Tailgating and sweeping across 4 lanes without turn signals are extremely common, and you are mostly at the behest of other drivers.

I have highlighted quite extensively why here, so be sure to check that out. Oh, and there are also risks of sandstorms, so it is always a good idea to go with full insurance.

You could also rely on international car rental places like Hertz or Budget, but you might not be able to return the car at a different location, so be sure to look into that first.

For this itinerary, you are going to have to return the car at a different location since our trip starts in Riyadh and ends in Abha, so don't forget to pick that option. Both companies allow a different drop-off location, and they both have a branch at Abha International Airport, so you are good to go.

Question 4

How Much Money Do I Need For A 2-Week Trip To Saudi Arabia?

Accepted Answer

From this 2-week itinerary, we can calculate approximately how much money you will be spending here as follows:

Accommodation: You can expect to spend around 835 USD minimum for 14 days' worth of accommodation.

Food: For 14 days, you can expect to pay around 336 USD for food at regular restaurants.

Transportation: For this itinerary, you can expect to pay around 1100 USD for transportation with the car rental being 1,000 USD including open-mile, different drop-off locations, and full insurance. 100 USD is for gas for the entire 14-day road trip.

Activities: Depending on how much you want to follow my itinerary, you can expect to pay around 200 SAR (53 USD) for activities, including entrance fees for tourist attractions, tours, etc.

Total Budget for 2 weeks in Saudi Arabia: 2,324 USD (Solo) or 2,713 USD (Couple)

Start Here

2 Weeks in Saudi Arabia: The Ultimate 2026 Itinerary

Planning

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