Exploring a Beautiful Desert
Location : Saudi Arabia - Jeddah
Saudi Arabia is a very big country with many interesting sites to visit, though we do consider our distance management carefully while building a compacted itinerary to allow our guest to gain the best value of their vacation tour.
Culture, archaeology and bit of adventure are the standing pillars of this program:
Highlights: Jeddah, AlUla, Hegra, Riyadh
Program ( 8 days )
-
Day 1
Arrival in Jeddah
Today you arrive to Jeddah, which is the commercial heart of Saudi Arabia and traditionally the port where pilgrims from all over the Islamic world arrive on their way to Mecca and Medina.
Depending on your flight schedule you will arrive during the evening or (early) morning. You will be picked up at the airport and taken to the group hotel in the city.
Overnight in Jeddah hotel.
-
Day 2
Jeddah City Tour
Visit some of Jeddah’s most captivating old Ottoman houses. The old quarter is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is known for its coral-built houses. The Nasif house is one of the few historic buildings that have been restored and now serve as a museum. You walk further through the old town and visit the Al Alawi Souq, the market that winds through the old neighbourhoods and where products such as incense, jewelry, coffee and clothing are sold. The art collection of Abdulraouf Khalil is exhibited in the Al Tayebat museum. The museum includes items from the pre-Islamic period, furniture and traditional clothing from different regions of the country.
Overnight in Jeddah hotel.
-
Day 3
Jeddah Desert Safari Tour
Enjoy the VIP desert safari and a starlit dinner on this 40-minute experience from Jeddah. Ride over the dunes by 4WD and visit a Bedouin-style camp in the sands.
Back to Jeddah for overnight.
-
Day 4
Jeddah – Al Ula (Flight)
After breakfast we Fly to Al Ulla, the birthplace of two ancient Arabian kingdoms. During the 1st millennium BC, Al-Ulla saw the rise of the ancient city of Dedan that became the capital of two successive kingdoms, Dedan and Lihyan, that ruled over the northwest of the Arabian Peninsula.
A small fort still stands in the middle of the Heritage Village of Al-Ulla and is known as Musa Ibn Nusayr Fort. It was probably a fortified structure as early as the Dedanite or Lihyanite times as some Dedanitic inscriptions were carved on the rock where the fort was built.
Al-Ula Heritage Village (ghost town), also known as Ad-Deerah, is the traditional Arabian village where people of the oasis moved some 8 centuries ago and inhabited until the 20th century. It was built on a higher part of the valley in order to be clear from the floods that can occur during the raining season. At its maximum expansion the town contained over 1 000 houses that were built adjacent to one another thereby forming a wall around the town to defend the population.
Overnight in Madaen Saleh camp.
-
Day 5
Hegra
Hegra is the most iconic historical site of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the first to be listed as a UNESCO Word Heritage, back in 2008. The Nabateans, called it Hijra (as it appears in some ancient inscriptions at the site), and the Romans used to call it Hegra.
The Nabatean Kingdom
The Nabatean people were Arab merchants actively involved in the frankincense trade originating from ancient Yemen from which they gained their great wealth. The Nabatean Kingdom developed from the 2nd century BC.
The extensive settlement of the site took place during the 1st century AD, when it came under the rule of the Nabatean king Aretas IV Philopatris (Al-Harith IV) (9 – 40 BC), who made Hegra the kingdom's first capital, before Petra, located 500 kilometers to the north.
In the early 19th century BC the Ottomans built a railway station at Hegra that was along the Hejaz Railway linking Damascus to the holy city.
Continue to Tabuk for Overnight.
-
Day 6
Hegra – Riyadh (Flight)
After breakfast transfer to Airport to catch our flight to Riyadh.
Meet & assist, transfer by an A/C car to your hotel.
Overnight in Riyadh hotel.
-
Day 7
Historical Riyadh
After breakfast Start your tour exploring the country's capital.
visiting The National Museum of Saudi Arabia. Established in 1999, It is part of the King Abdul-Aziz Historical Centre in Riyadh. driving on Makkah Road towards old Camel Caravan Trail, where one can enjoy walk on old camel tracks which is always very fascinating.
Continue to Masmak Fort, enjoy a step back in time and explore Saudi Arabia’s roots. A short documentary also re-enacts the capture of the fortress by King Abdul Aziz, whose spearhead you can still see embedded in its wooden gate.
visit Murraba palace, among the most important palaces built by King Abdul-Aziz. this Palace was to accommodate his family, it was built on the local traditional Najid style by using local building material only.
Dira Souq is famous for its variety of old copper and brass objects including silver daggers, silver Bedouins Jewelry and dresses. While entering from the main access point, visitors always smell sandal wood fragrance. Dira Souq is a great place to purchase antique carpets and other useful Saudi heritage antiques.
Then visit The National Museum of Saudi Arabia. Established in 1999, It is part of the King Abdul-Aziz Historical Centre in Riyadh.
Overnight at Riyadh hotel.
-
Day 8
Departure Riyadh
Today you fly back home.
Activities
- Adventure
- Off Road
- Exploring
- Jeep
Select Day
Following things are included
- All transfer and transportation with A/C bus or car.
- All nights’ accommodation B/B at selected category hotel.
- English speaking tour leader/driver.
- All entrance fees in Saudi as listed in itinerary.
- All Taxes.
Following things are Excluded
- Visa cost to Saudi.
- All Lunches.
- All Dinners.
- Drinks during meals.
- Domestic Flight.
- Tips.
- Any personal expenses.
- Anything not mentioned in the Include items.