Things to know before visiting Saudi Arabia

I put off visiting Saudi Arabia for years because I genuinely didn’t know what I was allowed to do there, and most of what I read before booking was either outdated or written by someone who’d never actually been. Riyadh isn’t a hard place to visit. It’s just a place where a handful of assumptions I carried in from other trips turned out to be wrong, and getting them straight before I landed would have saved me some awkward moments and a couple of wasted mornings.

This is the overview. I’m not going to walk through how the e-Visa works, what to pack, or the fine print on alcohol and abayas here — those get their own pages, linked below, once you know what to look for. What follows is the short list of things that actually changed how I planned the trip.

Getting in isn’t the obstacle it used to be

Saudi Arabia only opened to tourism in September 2019, which is more recent than most destinations I’ve written about, and it shows in small ways — some hotel staff still seem mildly pleased to see a tourist rather than a business traveller. Practically, most Western passport holders (EU and Schengen countries, the UK, US, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea) apply for an e-Visa online through the official portal, visa.visitsaudi.com, before flying.

Citizens of Gulf Cooperation Council countries don’t need a visa at all. Everyone else should expect to sort this out in advance rather than assume a visa-on-arrival will cover them — some nationalities qualify for that, but not all, and it’s not something to gamble on at the airport. Keep your passport valid for at least six months past your arrival date. I’m not quoting a visa fee here because portals change pricing without much notice; check visa.visitsaudi.com directly for the current figure.

No alcohol, anywhere — that part is not negotiable

This is the one people ask me about most, and the honest answer is short: alcohol is illegal across the country, and that includes international hotel chains where you might expect a minibar or a hotel bar out of habit. I didn’t find a loophole, and I stopped looking for one. If you want a full breakdown of what that means day to day, there’s a dedicated page for it — here I just want you walking in with the right expectation, because it’s the assumption I see visitors get wrong most often.

Dress code is more relaxed than the stock photos suggest

The flip side of the alcohol rule is that dress in Riyadh is less strict than I expected. Modest clothing is expected of everyone in public — shoulders and knees covered, nothing tight or sheer — but the abaya is not compulsory for foreign women, contrary to what a lot of older blog posts still claim. A headscarf is only necessary inside mosques, not as a general rule around the city, in malls, or at restaurants. I saw plenty of women in loose trousers and long sleeves with no headscarf at all, moving through Olaya and Boulevard World without a second glance. There’s a full page on what this actually looks like in practice if you want the detail; the short version is: pack modest, not conservative-costume.

Riyadh runs on a Friday-Saturday weekend

The weekend in Saudi Arabia is Friday and Saturday, not the Thursday-Friday pairing you’ll find in some neighbouring Gulf countries — worth checking before you book activities, since some shops and a few sights run reduced hours around the Friday midday prayer specifically, then open back up.

Women drive, and have since 2018

Women have had the legal right to drive in Saudi Arabia since 2018, and I mention it only because I still get asked whether it’s true. It is, and it’s no longer a talking point locally — it barely comes up.

Riyadh is a car city, and traffic eats your schedule

The thing that actually changed my itinerary was traffic, not culture. Riyadh is built at a scale that assumes a car, distances between neighbourhoods are genuinely long, and rush-hour traffic is dense enough that a trip which looks like twenty minutes on a map can take three times that. King Khalid International Airport sits roughly 35 km north of the centre, and the drive into Olaya runs 30-45 minutes outside peak hours — plan for longer if you’re landing in the evening rush.

The Riyadh Metro, an automated six-line network that opened in stages between December 2024 and early 2025, does connect to the airport and is worth using for some journeys, but for anything outside the centre, or any desert excursion, a private driver or a booked tour is the realistic option, not a rental car you navigate yourself on day one. I go into the pros and cons of Uber, Careem, and the metro on their own pages — for now, just build slack into your day, especially between anything scheduled back to back.

If your first stop is the old town rather than the desert, a guided city tour covering Masmak Fortress and Deera Square is a straightforward way to get oriented without driving yourself, and a half-day Diriyah tour that bundles At-Turaif’s admission tickets solves the parking-and-navigating problem for your first UNESCO site in one go.

The practical shortlist, if you’re skimming

Topic	What to expect	Read more
Entry	e-Visa online for most Western visitors; GCC citizens exempt	Saudi Arabia e-Visa and entry rules
Alcohol	Not available anywhere, including hotels	Can you drink alcohol in Saudi Arabia
Dress	Modest, not costume; abaya optional for foreign women	What to wear in Riyadh
Weekend	Friday-Saturday	The Saudi weekend
Getting around	Car city; metro since Dec 2024-early 2025; drivers for the desert	Riyadh Metro guide, Uber and Careem in Riyadh

A first look at what’s worth your time

None of this is meant to talk you out of going — quite the opposite. Once the entry paperwork and the ground rules are out of the way, Riyadh has a genuinely varied few days on offer: Diriyah’s At-Turaif district, the old-town streets around Masmak, and a proper desert day trip once you’re past the jet lag. If you want the broadest single overview of the city before diving into individual sights, things to do in Riyadh is the better next stop, and if you’re weighing how many days to give the trip, how many days in Riyadh walks through that trade-off.

A first full day covering the old town, the modern skyline, and dinner in Diriyah is realistic — see one day in Riyadh for how that fits together, or an orientation tour through Riyadh’s historic and modern landmarks if you’d rather have someone else handle the route on day one. If your trip lands during the city’s autumn-to-spring festival season, a pass covering Riyadh Season’s headline attractions is worth checking against your dates before you commit to a fixed schedule.

FAQ: first-time questions about visiting Saudi Arabia

Do I need a visa to visit Saudi Arabia?

Most Western visitors do. Citizens of the EU, UK, US, Canada, Australia and several other countries apply for an e-Visa online through the official visa.visitsaudi.com portal before travelling. Only citizens of Gulf Cooperation Council countries travel without any visa requirement.

Is alcohol available anywhere in Riyadh, including hotels?

No. Alcohol is illegal across Saudi Arabia, and that applies to international hotel chains as much as anywhere else. There is no minibar or hotel bar workaround.

Do foreign women have to wear an abaya in Riyadh?

No. Modest dress covering shoulders and knees is expected of everyone in public, but the abaya itself is not compulsory for foreign women. A headscarf is only needed inside mosques.

What day is the weekend in Saudi Arabia?

Friday and Saturday, not Thursday-Friday. Some shops and sights reduce hours briefly around Friday midday prayer.

Can women drive in Saudi Arabia?

Yes. Women have had the legal right to drive since 2018, and it’s not something that draws attention locally anymore.

Is Riyadh easy to get around without a car?

The Riyadh Metro, an automated six-line network that opened in stages between December 2024 and early 2025, connects to the airport and covers some central journeys well. For anything further out, especially desert excursions, a private driver or booked tour is the practical choice over self-driving.

How long does the drive from Riyadh airport take?

King Khalid International Airport sits about 35 km north of the centre. The drive into Olaya takes roughly 30-45 minutes outside rush hour, and noticeably longer during peak traffic.