Saudi Arabia 4 Day Itinerary
Saudi Arabia opened to leisure tourists in 2019 and has moved faster on social liberalisation than almost any other Gulf state, but it is still a country where alcohol is not sold or served anywhere, public behaviour is expected to follow Islamic codes, and the rules change frequently enough that checking current guidelines before travel is worth the 15 minutes it takes. The tourist eVisa is available online to citizens of 66 countries (US, UK, EU Schengen, Australia, Canada, Japan, among others) for around $140 USD, valid for one year with multiple entries of up to 90 days each. Note that as of February 2025, 14 nationalities lost access to the year-long multi-entry version and now receive single-entry 30-day visas; check the current list if you are from the Subcontinent or parts of Africa. Non-Muslims cannot enter Mecca or Medina under any circumstances.
Dress code and practical notes
Western-style clothing is acceptable in Riyadh and Jeddah. Women no longer need an abaya in public (that rule changed in 2019) but modest dress, covered shoulders and knees, is appropriate and expected at heritage sites and mosques. Men should avoid shorts at fine-dining restaurants and religious sites. The Saudi riyal is pegged to the US dollar at 3.75 SAR. Credit cards work widely in cities; carry small SAR notes for souqs and street vendors. Careem and Uber both operate here and are the correct way to get around cities.
Day 1: Riyadh, Diriyah, and the National Museum
Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport connects to the city centre in 30-45 minutes by taxi (80-120 SAR). The Metro is operational and cheap at around 4-10 SAR per trip, though the network is most useful for the airport and the main Al-Olaya business corridor; for Diriyah you need a taxi or Careem.
Ad Diriyah, 20 minutes north of central Riyadh, is the ancestral home of the Al Saud dynasty and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The At-Turaif District, a mudbrick palace complex from the 18th century, has been restored and opened to visitors; entry costs around 95 SAR. The complex is best visited in the late afternoon when the light is lower and the temperature less aggressive (Riyadh in summer hits 40-45 degrees Celsius; all sightseeing should be planned around this). A Diriyah Season runs October through March each year with concerts, light installations, and cultural events added to the regular site.
The National Museum of Saudi Arabia is in the Al Murabba district near the Riyadh clock tower. It covers the full arc of Arabian history from the pre-Islamic period through the formation of the modern state, with genuinely strong exhibition design. Entry is free. Allow 2-3 hours.
Dinner: the stretch of restaurants on Tahlia Street in the Al-Olaya neighbourhood runs from upscale Saudi to Lebanese to Japanese. Budget 80-150 SAR for a good meal without alcohol (Saudi restaurants are uniformly dry; the non-alcoholic drinks programmes have become creative by necessity).
Day 2: Jeddah, Al Balad, and the Corniche
Riyadh to Jeddah by Haramain High Speed Rail takes 80 minutes for around 200-300 SAR, which is the correct choice over flying for a day or overnight trip. Trains run hourly from King Abdullah Financial District station.
Jeddah is the most cosmopolitan city in Saudi Arabia. Al Balad, the UNESCO-listed old city, has more than 600 coral-stone buildings from the 7th century onward with distinctive wooden mushrabiyya lattice balconies. The Al-Nasseem District within Al Balad has been partially restored with heritage house museums and independent restaurants. Al Balad restaurants are busiest Thursday to Friday evenings; Saturday or Sunday morning visits are quieter and the food quality is the same. Traditional restaurants here are often cash-only.
The Floating Mosque (Al-Rahma Mosque) sits on the Red Sea and appears to hover above the water at high tide. Modest dress required for entry; women must cover hair. A short walk along the Jeddah Corniche gives you 30 km of waterfront promenade, the King Fahd Fountain (one of the tallest in the world, visible from the road), and abundant seating for watching the Red Sea at sunset.
Overnight in Jeddah: the restored boutique guesthouses inside Al Balad have lantern-lit alleyways and merchant-house rooms for 400-700 SAR a night. Or stay on the Corniche for easier access to the wider city; mid-range hotels run 350-500 SAR.
Day 3: Taif and the mountain road
Taif sits 80 km east of Jeddah in the Hejaz Mountains at 1,800 metres elevation, which means temperatures run 10-15 degrees Celsius cooler than the coastal cities. The mountain road up from Jeddah (Highway 15) is dramatic enough to justify the journey. By car or taxi the drive takes 1.5-2 hours.
Taif is the rose capital of Arabia. The local damask rose (Taif rose) produces an attar that goes into some of the world’s most expensive perfumes; the distillation season runs February through April, but the rose farms and perfumeries operate year-round. The small rose market in the old town sells attars at a fraction of what perfume houses charge elsewhere. This is the thing Taif offers that no other Saudi city does and it is worth making the journey for.
The old town walking district, Al-Shafa, has traditional merchant houses and several winstub-style teahouses serving qahwa (Arabic spiced coffee) and dates. The Taif National Park above the city has good views down the escarpment to the coastal plain.
Return to Jeddah or travel directly to your departure city from Taif’s Taif Airport, which connects to Riyadh and some Gulf cities.
Day 4: Departure or extension to AlUla
If flying home from Riyadh or Jeddah, Day 4 is a straightforward transit day. If you have the time, extend this itinerary by 2-3 days with AlUla.
AlUla, 1,100 km northwest of Riyadh, is the site of Hegra (Mada’in Salih), a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Saudi Arabia’s first: a Nabataean city with 131 monumental tombs carved into sandstone outcrops, a near-sibling to Petra in Jordan but with a fraction of the visitors. The Hegra Hop-On Hop-Off Tour runs from 150 SAR per person (available November through February when temperatures are tolerable; summer visits are extremely harsh at 38-45 degrees). Flights from Riyadh to AlUla take 2 hours and are reasonably priced.
If you are short on time, the 4-day framework of Riyadh, Jeddah, and Taif covers the main historical and cultural range without requiring internal flights. Save AlUla for a dedicated trip when you can give it 2-3 days: the light in the early morning on the sandstone tombs at Hegra is genuinely extraordinary and deserves more than a rushed day excursion.
The one thing the original itinerary got wrong: it routed Day 4 to Madinah, which is accessible only to Muslims. Taif is the correct substitute for non-Muslim visitors wanting a third distinct city with historical depth and cooler air.