Where to stay in Saudi Arabia

The three places

• Riyadh - the capital, business-focused, spread out and car-dependent, with Diriyah on the edge and the new metro finally making it navigable.
• Jeddah - the Red Sea city, warmer and more relaxed, with the UNESCO-listed old town of Al Balad and the corniche. The one Saudi city that feels like a place to wander.
• AlUla - the desert valley with Hegra, the Nabataean site that is the sister of Petra and has a fraction of the visitors. Hotels here range from camps to very expensive resorts and there is no budget end to speak of.

Practical

• Unmarried couples sharing a room is no longer prohibited and hotels do not ask - a change from the pre-2019 rules that a lot of old advice still repeats.
• Book AlUla well ahead. The valley has limited rooms and the season is October to April, because the summer is unbearable.
• Riyadh hotels fill around events, of which there are now many, and prices move accordingly.
• Hotel compounds are named in the FCDO's terrorism assessment as a potential target, alongside public places and tourist sites. This is context, not a reason to change plans.

Season

• October to April is the season. The summer in Riyadh and Jeddah is genuinely dangerous heat, and AlUla in July is not a holiday.
• Abha and the Asir mountains in the southwest are cool and are where Saudis go in summer - a completely different climate from the rest of the country.