Holidays with Downtown

Long ignored by tourists, Arabia is ready to welcome travelers seeking less traveled landscapes. It is fundamental to trust your guide, because it is a country which needs to be explained, which must be discovered with someone who knows it well. From the lights of the skyscrapers and beaches of Jeddah to the archaeological sites of Al-Ula, from the mountains of Ha’il to the deserts of the Void Quarter to the museums of Riyadh, there are a thousand ways to experience Saudi Arabia.

Day 1 – Fri: Riyadh

Arrival at Riyadh International airport. After immigration and customs formalities our representative will meet and escort you to an  A/C vehicle for your transfer to the hotel for check-in and  overnight.

Day 2- Sat: Riyadh

Breakfast at the hotel. We will start our tour of mystic Riyadh by visiting the National museum which is the primary custodian of the Saudi national heritage and culture. The Museum is a place of learning and discovery, it offers an overview to the history of Arabian civilization from Prehistory to our modern era. We continue thereafter to the nearby Murabba Palace that is one of the historic buildings of the city. The palace was named after its square with the form of 400 by 400 meters. We will stop then for lunch in a typical local Saudi restaurant. Afternoon we will continue our tour of mystic Riyadh by visiting the Masmak Fort and its museum that depicts the history of the history of the conquest of Arabia by the Al-Saud family. The palace was built during the reign of Abdullah bin Rashid in the year 1895 A.D. to serve as military garrison for the Abdullah bin Rashid army. His Majesty King Abdulaziz, the father of the nation today, captured the fort in 1902 making of this fort the birthplace of the 3rd Saudi Kingdom, the modern one we live in. Lunch in the city. And departure for the old city of Diriyah that used to be in the 19th century CE the capital of the high plateau of central Arabia called the Najd. Diriyah, which is located today in the outskirts of Riyadh, was built in the 15th century CE on the banks of Wadi Hanifa, a valley located in the eastern part of the Najd. It is one of the most important historical sites of Saudi Arabia as it is there that begins the history of the conquest of the Arabian Peninsula by the Al Saud family whose ancestors, known as the Bani Hanifa, settled there some five centuries agoIn the afternoon, At the end of the afternoon, back to your hotel. Dinner and overnight in Riyadh. [B/L/D]

Day 3 – Sun: Riyadh, Ha’Il

Breakfast at the hotel. This morning we depart for Riyadh’s railway station and board the fast-new train for Ha’il. The railway link was constructed very recently and allows us to reach Ha’il in just under 5 hours. The city of Ha’il lies at the foot of the imposing Shammar mountain range whose name is also the one of a large northern Arabian tribe. Renowned for its hospitable people, Ha’il is traditionally the home of Saudi Arabia’s poets and writers. An interesting fact about Ha’il is that most of the early European explorers passed by this city during the 19th century (Charles Doughty, Lady Blunt, Charles Huber, Julius Euting…). Lunch will be served on the train. Upon arrival, we will transfer to our hotel. As it will be early afternoon in Ha’il, we will visit the A’Arif Fort and the nearby heritage museum. Then we will have a walk at the traditional market where we will find the local delicacies. We will pass also by the Ha’il Regional Museum and, if it is open, we will drop there to admire its collections. Dinner and Overnight in Ha’il. [B/L/D]

Day 4 – Mon: Ha’Il, Jubbah, Al Ula

Breakfast at the hotel. This morning we will start our journey to Jubbah that lies on an ancient lake. Several archaeological sites of human settlement from the Middle Paleolithic period were found around the margin of the paleolake. Jubbah is surrounded by large sandstone outcrops that are filled with ancient petroglyphs and inscriptions. Jubbah benefited from past humid phases that turned the arid Arabian Peninsula into a savannah similar to what is found today in Africa. During the last humid period that took place from the 10th to the 6th millennium BCE the African monsoon rains filled rivers and lakes where wildlife thrived. If the animals that used to live there became instinct because of the desertification that started during the 6th millennium BCE, some men fixed forever their presence in Jubbah thanks to carvings of aurochs, cheetahs, lions…Those drawings are still visible today on several sandstone outcrops like the Jebel Umm Sanman. Jubbah and Shuwaymis, the other major carving site of Hail Province, where listed as UNESCO World Heritage in 2015 for their numerous petroglyph panels and rich inscriptions. The region between Ha’il and Al-Ula offers some of the best desert experience in the world …On our way, we will pass through the famous desert of Nefud Al Kabir which literally means the “great extent of sand dunes”. It is 180 miles long and 140 miles wide, with an area of 103,600 square kilometer. Lunch will be served en route. After lunch we continue our route to the famous Al Ula area. Early evening, we arrive and check-in at our beautifully located permanent desert camp, our base for the night. Dinner and overnight in Al-Ula. [B/L/D]

Day 5 – Tue: Al Ula

Breakfast at the hotel. Al-Ula is an ancient oasis that is inhabited for the last 7000 years as testify ancient carvings in and around the oasis. During the 1st millennium BCE the city of Dedan develops thanks to its strategic location on the frankincense trade road to become one of the oldest Arabian kingdoms that ruled over most of what is today Tabuk and Madinah provinces. During the 1st century BCE the Nabatean people coming from Petra settled 19 miles north of Dedan in Al-Hijr where they built 94 monumental tombs similar to the ones they dug in Petra. We will start our exciting day with the visit of two ancient carving sites in Al-Ula, then will pass by the ancient city of Dedan that was an important oasis on the frankincense trade route between Southern Arabia and the Mediterranean World. We continue then to the Old city of Al-Ula that became at the beginning of the Islamic era an important staging post along the pilgrimage route to Mecca. We will lunch en route then visit the ancient sites of Ekma and Abu ‘Aoud where the people of the oasis wrote texts in ancient scripts that we will decipher for you. We will finish this special day on top of the Harrat Al-Uwayrid for an amazing viewpoint of the oasis of Al-Ula. At the end of the afternoon, drive to the hotel, dinner & accommodation in Al-Ula. [B/L/D]

Day 6 – Wed: Al Ula, Mada’in Saleh, Tabuk

Breakfast at the hotel. Today we will start our journey with the visit of the famous Hegra (Mada’in Saleh) which is the first site of Saudi Arabia that was listed as UNESCO World Heritage site. Mada’in Saleh, whose original name was Al-Hijr or Hegra in Greek, is the southernmost important city of the Nabatean Kingdom that flourished thanks to the caravan trade between the 2nd century BCE until the Roman conquest in 106 CE. It is the second richest Nabatean city in terms of monumental tombs with 94 decorated funeral monuments including some of the most vibrant and well conserved architectural prowess of the Nabateans builders. We will lead you through this fascinating site and reveal to you the secrets of its tombs, ancient inscriptions, stone structures, and many others. Our visit will be followed by a lunch before we head towards Jibal Al-Rukkab & Leopard trail. We will then visit Jebel Al-Fil for a relaxing time next to the “Elephant rock”. At the end of the day, transfer to Tabuk – overnight in Tabuk. [B/L/D]

Day 7 – Thu: Tabuk, USA

Breakfast at your hotel and transfer to Tabuk airport to board your flight back home. [B]

[B] = Breakfast | [B/L/D] = Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner