Travel to Saudi Arabia

Flying to Saudi Arabia

The national carrier is Saudia (www.saudia.com), based in Jeddah. Many airlines also fly to Saudi Arabia. Among them are British Airways, Emirates, Etihad, KLM, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines.

Saudi Arabia has four international airports, namely:
• King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) in Jeddah
• King Khalid International Airport (RUH) in Riyadh
• King Fahd International Airport (DMM) in Dammam
• Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport (MED) in Medina

Flight times

To Jeddah: from London – 5 hours 50 minutes; from New York – 11 hours 10 minutes.

To Riyadh: from London – 6 hours 15 minutes; from New York – 11 hours 30 minutes.

Departure tax

SAR 50 (applicable to all except crew members, diplomats, Hajj pilgrims and infants). The tax is often included in the airfare.

Travelling to Saudi Arabia by Rail

Driving to Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia shares borders with eight countries, namely Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen. In theory, you can drive from all these neighbouring countries into Saudi Arabia, but from time to time, conflicts may lead to Saudi closing its land borders with another country.

Getting to Saudi Arabia by boat

Cruise ships

Cruise lines that focus on the Red Sea may stop at Yanbu, King Abdullah Economic City and Jeddah, three cities along the Red Sea coast.

Ferry operators

Namma International Marine Services run ferry services from Safaga (Egypt) to Duba and Jeddah, ports on the Red Sea coast in Saudi Arabia.