Destination Information – Riyadh, Saudia Arabia

I was in Bahrain at the Bahrain Airshow in 2022 and wanted to visit Riyadh as it was so close and although I’d traversed Saudi Arabia in Jeddah, I’d not had a chance to spend some time there. So I devised an itinerary to check out Riyadh.

Where Is Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Located?

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is located in the eastern third of Saudi almost in the middle of the country. iI is a landlocked region in the desert.

 

 

How To Get Here

Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia is served by air, bus and train services.

I flew in from Bahrain on Saudi and out on Gulf Air. I was able to get my points on as a Delta Gold Medallion member at the time as Saudi is a part of SkyTeam.

Airports Serving The Area

Riyadh is served by the King Khalid International Airport (RUH). The airlines serving this airport are:

AJet (VF), Aegean Airlines (A3), Air Arabia (G9), Air Arabia Egypt (E5), Air Cairo (SM), Air China (CA), Air France (AF), Air India (AI), Air India Express (IX), Akasa Air (QP), Ariana Afghan Airlines (FG), Azerbaijan Airlines (J2), BeOnd (B4), Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BG), British Airways (BA), Buffalo Airways (J4), Cathay Pacific Airways (CX), China Eastern Airlines (MU), China Southern Airlines (CZ),

Emirates (EK), Eqyptair (MS), Ethiopian Airlines (ET), Etihad Airways (EY), FlyDubai (FZ), FlyEgypt (FT), Flynas (XY), Gulf Air (GF), Himalaya Airlines (H9), ITA Airways (AZ), IndiGo Airlines (6E), Jazeera Airways (J9), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL), Kam Air (RQ), Kuwait Airways (KU), LOT Polish (LO), Lufthansa German Airlines (LH),

Middle Eastern Airlines (ME), Nile Air (NP), Oman Air (WY), Pakistan International Airlines (PK), Pegasus Airlines (PC), Philippine Airlines (PR), Qatar Airways (QR), Royal Air Morac (AT), Royal Jordanian (RJ), SalamAir (OV), Saudia Airlines (SV), Serene Air (ER), SriLankan (UL), Tarco Airlines (3T), Turkish Airlines – Star Alliance (TK), Virgin Atlantic Airways (VS), Wizz Air (W6), Wizz Air UK (W4), Yemenia (IY), airblue (PA), and flyadeal (F3).

The national airlines are flyadeal, Flynas, Riyadh Air and Saudi. You can fly from the U.S. on Saudia (SV) from JFK.

Bus Services

Once in Saudi, you can take any of these bus services to Riyadh:

• Northwest Bus
• SAPTCO

Train Services

There is train service to/from select cities in Saudi Arabia. Check https://www.arabiantrains.com/ for details.

Airport Lounges

There are several lounges at the airport.

You can find more details here.

Currency

Saudi Riyal (SAR).

Language

Arabic. English is also spoken.

Visa and Health Requirements

If you are a U.S. citizen, a visa is required at this time. Here is some additional information from the U.S. State Department including visa and health requirements. Use this link to check visa requirements for other citizenship.

I did the visa process online and it was very easy. Go to https://www.visitsaudi.com/en/plan-your-trip/visa-regulations for details.

Accommodations

I had no idea where to stay when i visited, but I had some IHG points and I want to stay at as many Intercontinental hotels around the world, so I chose the Riyadh Intercontinental and I was not disappointed at all.

Here’s a map to help you get started. The city is quite large and there are different areas you can stay.

 

 

Where To Eat In Riyadh

I have no idea where to tell you to go an eat. I ate at the hotel and at the airport.

The night I got there, I was told that there is a place downtown where every one goes on a Friday night. I didn’t go though. But they do have several places you can go to find local dishes.

 

Things To Do In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

I didn’t have much time to do much while here. I did visit Diriyah though and also did a quick drive through the city. I really need to return soon.

I’m intrigued by the city. It’s very well developed. I felt like was in any U.S. city, just that the language was in Arabic.

 

My friend Jyo have also visited Riyadh more extensively than I have. You can find some information on things to do at https://jyoshankar.com/2022/10/a-week-in-saudi-travel-guide-to-riyadh-and-jeddah/.

 

 

In addition, you can use my site here called 10in24.com. Here you can enter Riyadh and the country of United Arab Emirates and it will give you 10 things to do in 24 hours.

Start here.

 

Additional Information

Tourism Board

• Riyadh Tourism – https://www.visitsaudi.com/en/riyadh.
• Riyadh  Tourism twitter – https://twitter.com/VisitRiyadhNow

Please leave a comment below about your own experiences and tips.