The 5 Best Road Trips in Saudi Arabia: A Complete Driving Guide for 2026

Saudi Arabia was built for road trips. With modern highways spanning deserts, mountains, and coastlines, these five routes — from 3-day coastal escapes to 7-day cross-country epics — reveal a count...

Key Takeaways

  • The Riyadh–AlUla route (1,100 km, Highway 65 north) is the most scenically diverse drive in the Kingdom — passing red dunes, basalt plains and the Hejaz Hijaz escarpment; allow 3 days minimum and pre-book accommodation in AlUla (prices start at SAR 400/night).
  • Petrol costs roughly SAR 0.67–0.83/litre so fuel is not a budget concern, but isolated stretches of Highway 10 (Taif–Abha) have no stations for 80–120 km — carry a 20-litre jerry can when crossing mountain passes.
  • The Asir Mountains road trip (Abha–Rijal Alma–Soudah, ~80 km) reaches 3,007 m at Jabal Sawda, Saudi Arabia's highest peak — temperatures here can be 20 °C cooler than coastal Jizan, making it ideal June–August when the rest of the country swelters.
  • All 5 recommended routes cross desert terrain where daytime temperatures exceed 40 °C from May–September — carry minimum 4 litres of water per person, a tyre inflation kit and a satellite communicator if travelling solo.
  • Mada'in Saleh (Hegra, AlUla region) requires a timed entry ticket booked in advance at experiencealula.com; tickets cost SAR 95 and the site opens 08:00–17:00 — sunset visits are not permitted inside the tomb area.