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Travel and Tourism in Saudi Arabia
Travel alerts, currency, climate, transit, health, and safety information for visitors to Saudi Arabia.
Practical Information
Travel alert status, currency, climate, and transit details.
- Travel Alert Status
- Level 3: Reconsider Travel
- Time Difference
- UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- Currency
- Saudi riyal (SAR)
- Climate
- Riyadh’s climate has a greater difference between winter and summer temperatures than elsewhere in the Kingdom. Riyadh has practically no humidity, making summers especially dry and dusty. Annual rainfall averages 2 to 4 inches, usually concentrated in a few torrential rainfalls in early spring. Winters produce moderate daytime temperatures from November through February. Evenings are sometimes cool enough to require residential heating. Jeddah, the commercial center, has a tropical climate — mild in winter and hot and very humid in summer. Summer lasts 8 to 10 months, with temperatures moderating in November. Relief from the heat often comes at sunset when sea breezes arrive. Except on the few occasions when it rains, the sun shines daily. Winter is comparable to the spring and summer seasons of resorts on the Mediterranean Sea. Dhahran’s climate, like that of Jeddah, is very humid, 60% – 90%, with summer lasting from April through October. The average maximum shade temperature in July and August is 110 °F, with "in sun" temperatures up to 150 °F. From December to April, it is cooler and pleasant, with indoor heating required at times, especially in the areas north of Dhahran. Rainfall in both Jeddah and Dhahran is sparse, about 3 – 4 inches a year concentrated in a few heavy showers during fall and spring.
- Ethnic Groups
- Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%
- National Holiday
- Saudi National Day (Unification of the Kingdom), 23 September (1932)
- Geographic Coordinates
- 25 00 N, 45 00 E
- Location
- Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen
- Airports
- 204
Destinations
Regions and cities, top sights, national parks, UNESCO sites, and festivals for visitors.
Neom: The City of the Future
Among the megaprojects launched under Vision 2030, none is more audacious than NEOM. Located in the northwestern Tabuk province, NEOM is a planned city-state that will cover 26,500 square kilometers — larger than Belgium — on a site that currently contains little more than desert, mountains, and a stretch of Red Sea coastline. The project is budgeted at more than $500 billion and is intended to become a global hub for technology, innovation, and sustainable living.
The most visually striking component of NEOM is The Line — a proposed linear city 170 kilometers long, only 200 meters wide, and up to 500 meters tall, housing up to 9 million people in a structure powered entirely by renewable energy with no roads or cars. The concept has attracted both admiration for its ambition and skepticism about its feasibility, but construction has been underway since 2022.
Health and Safety
Medical facilities, vaccinations, disease risk, and sanitation conditions.
Medical care varies greatly in quality, and high profile cases of medical malpractice and errors have occurred. Consult your regular physician if you are considering serious medical treatment in Saudi Arabia. While Red Sea scuba diving is a popular past-time for many visitors, you should only dive with an experienced boat and crew. Some boats are not equipped with radio communications in the event of an emergency.