Saudi Arabia Road Trip Reflections 2021

We just returned from our second epic Saudi road trip adventure! This year it felt much more relaxed and more organised. Perhaps it was that we are a little older and wiser at road tripping this year or that the kids are also a year older and therefore that much easier than on last years trip.

(If you weren't following along with our adventures last year then in 2020 we went to Hail, Alula, Madein saleh, Wadi disah, Umluj, Al Wajh, Yanbu, Madinah, buraydah and home. You can read more about that trip here: https://www.sandcastlesinsaudi.com/post/planning-our-first-saudi-road-trip

and find out about the places we visited in previous blog posts.)

This years trip took us across the centre of Saudi Arabia from Dhahran on the East coast through Riyadh, Ta'if, Makkah to Jeddah and KAEC on the West coast then back home via Madinah and Ushaiger. We made our final plans, not with excitement but with a lot of apprehension; I was worried about my grandmother who was unwell in hospital and also exhausted from flying to London and back to visit her in a few days a couple of weeks before. The kids seem shattered lately and work has been insanely busy for my husband, so I wasn't sure if any of us were really in the right mindset to cope with the long drives that this trip required.

In light of the above circumstances we decided to cut down the trip slightly and make it more relaxed rather than cancel it completely and we were all really glad we did. I think one thing I've learned about travelling with children is to not abandon but to adjust and that it doesn't have to be epic to be an adventure.

On top of the general doubts, this trip got off to a very bumpy start. We arrived at our hotel in Riyadh where I had booked a family room with four beds. I had informed the hotel that I would be arriving and at what time to ensure that there were no problems. We arrived and had to wait half an hour as our room wasn't ready even though it was past 6pm. Eventually we were able to go to our room but we found it had only a double bed. I called reception and was told the room I booked wasn't available but they will send more beds. I agreed. We waited longer. A porter bought one single mattress to put on the floor. I called reception and said we need two beds and not a very thin mattress on the floor. He said there were no extra beds and we would have to make do. We told them if they couldn't provide the room we booked or at least the number of beds we booked then we would have to leave and stay elsewhere which we did after a lot of hassle. We eventually found another hotel and after a crazy nighttime drive getting lost in Riyadh we arrived and were so happy to be in a room that looked great and to order food that looked lovely. We were about to eat when my daughter vomited all over everything. That's right. Just when we thought the worst was over.

After getting everyone and everything cleaned up, fed and in bed we had to decide whether to continue or go home. We decided based on the fact that there was no further illness during the night and that we wouldn't be seeing any other people for a few days to continue on our journey the next day to Ta'if. This is the reality of road trips with kids.

Is it always Instagrammable? No.

But is it always fun? Also no.

But do you enjoy every minute? Absolutely not.

But I still think it is worth it!

Ta'if

The next day we set of on a drive to Meral Oases Resort. It took us about 8 hours and the drive was actually really fun as we saw the changing landscapes and what felt like every season of the year in that 8 hours! This was our longest drive yet and the kids did much better than we expected with keeping themselves occupied.

Ta'if was much cooler with fresh air and grey skies, in fact when we first arrived it was tipping it down with rain and we drove through flash floods and thunder and lightning.We enjoyed driving around the twisty mountain roads, taking in the views from the top of Jabal Dakka, experiencing a cable car ride and relaxing in Al Kar Tourist Village as well as taking a drive around Ta'if town which was really a quaint place.

Makkah

The following day we went to do Umrah in Makkah. It has been quite a few years since my first umrah and it was just as amazing this time round. Alhamdulilah. Since children are not allowed in to the Mosque due to Covid restrictions, we booked a room with a Kaaba view so the kids could still share the experience. They also enjoyed seeing the Clock Tower and learning that it is the third tallest building in the world and the worlds largest clock face.

Jeddah

Our day in Jeddah started with a tour of Al Ballad (the old town) where we learned about the history of Jeddah which is so interesting, I will attempt to do a whole blog post on Jeddah soon as I just love learning about Saudi History! The afternoon took us to Jeddah corniche where we had lunch at Blue ocean restaurant with its amazing cocktails and sea views and then we went to Fakieh aquarium which was really fun and well deserved for the kids.

KAEC

We had hoped for some bright sunny weather for KAEC to enjoy the beach but even though we had some rain and grey skies, this place was still awesome. With the row of lit up beach front restaurants and smells of shisha, this place has some serious vacation vibes and I loved it! The kids loved the beach and Juman Park and my husband loved the peaceful Marina walk.

Madinah

Next stop was Madinah where I was able to visit the Prophets Mosque for the very first time and wow how peaceful and ornate it was. Just a beautiful place to be in Masha'Allah. We did some shopping in the mall and walked away with some amazing Abayas and prayer mats as well as lots of blinging religious and Saudi themed paraphernalia that we really didn't need!

Ushaiger

Our final stop was Ushaiger Heritage village. It was a stop that I had planned to break up our very long drive back to Riyadh but it really was worth the visit. Those of you who read my blog posts will know by now that I love exploring all the old places in the kingdom so this was really fun for us.

I hope to look in detail at each place we visited soon and give you mini itinerary's to make each place easy to navigate if you wanted to replicate our adventures so stay tuned for that. In the meantime I still have lots of videos to share from our trip so check out TikTok or Instagram if you are after any inspiration for your own Saudi Arabia adventures.

Don't forget when planning your own trip; it doesn't have to look like everybody else's so make it fit your family. Do the things that you enjoy and leave out the things you don't. Build up to longer trips by starting with day trips then long weekends; it doesn't have to be epic to be an adventure.