Decouvre Saudi Arabia

Pourquoi visiter

• AlUla and Hegra (Mada'in Salih), Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site: Nabataean tombs carved into the sandstone, cousins of Petra but without the crowds
• Une destination neuve : l'e-visa touristique n'existe que depuis 2019, le pays se decouvre avant l'afflux de masse
• Extreme landscapes: dunes of the Rub al-Khali, green mountains of the Asir, pristine Red Sea reefs
• Une hospitalite arabe authentique, entre qahwa, dattes et majlis

Quand partir

From November to February, when temperatures become bearable. Summer (May to September) is crushing, up to 45-50 degrees inland.

Budget moyen par jour

Top experiences

1. 1Explore Hegra, the Nabataean city of AlUla, at sunrise
2. 2Se perdre dans le vieux Jeddah (Al-Balad), classe UNESCO, avec ses maisons de corail et moucharabiehs
3. 3Climbing to the top of Kingdom Centre and exploring Riyadh's museums and souks (Al Masmak, Al-Zal souk)
4. 4Camp out in the desert around AlUla, under a starry sky in front of the Elephant Rock formations
5. 5Hiking in the green mountains of the Asir, around Abha, light-years from the desert image
6. 6Diving on the pristine reefs of the Red Sea

Infos pratiques

Se deplacer

Riyadh metro fully open since January 2025 (6 lines), Uber/Careem/Jeeny in the city, SAPTCO buses and domestic flights between big cities. Rental car advised for AlUla and Asir. Note: Mecca and the heart of Medina are off-limits to non-Muslims.

Gastronomie

• Kabsa (spiced rice with meat)
• Mandi cooked in an underground oven
• Dates and qahwa (cardamom coffee)
• Street mutabbaq in Jeddah

Securite

Tres sur au quotidien, criminalite faible. Respecter les regles locales (alcool interdit, code vestimentaire modeste, pas de gestes affectueux en public). La Mecque est interdite aux non-musulmans, la mosquee du Prophete a Medine aussi.