Half Moon Bay: Which Part of It You Can Actually Use

Key Takeaways

• The eastern part of the bay — just over 3 km of coastline — is Saudi Aramco Beach and is open only to Aramco staff. Separate stretches belong to King Faisal University and KFUPM. None are open to visitors.
• What a visitor can use is the commercial side: resort compounds and beach villages on a day-entry or chalet basis, plus the public sections between them.
• The bay averages around 22 feet deep with a few spots near 50, and has shallow entrances — which is why it has been a scuba teaching bay for decades.
• It is known for sailing and grouper fishing rather than for surf, and has been in recreational use for roughly eighty years.
• October to April is the window. Summer on this coast pairs high heat with high humidity, and the sea stays warm into autumn.
• Before it was called Half Moon Bay it was known locally as Doha Dhalum, a name in use in the early 1900s.

Half Moon Bay is the crescent of water south of Al Khobar, on the Gulf coast near Dhahran, and it has been where the Eastern Province goes to the beach for the better part of eighty years. It is shallow and forgiving — an average depth of around 22 feet, with a few spots dropping to about 50 — which is why generations of divers in this part of the Kingdom learned in it, and why it is a sailing and fishing bay rather than a surf one. Before it was Half Moon Bay it was Doha Dhalum, the name in local use in the early 1900s.

Most of this shoreline belongs to someone

This is the fact that decides your day, and it is the one most guides leave out. The bay is not a single open beach. Its eastern portion — a little over three kilometres of coastline — is Saudi Aramco Beach, open only to Aramco staff. Separate stretches belong to King Faisal University and to King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. None of these are open to a visitor who turns up.

What remains is the commercial and public side: resort compounds and beach villages that charge for entry or for a chalet, and the public sections between them. So the useful question at Half Moon Bay is not where is the beach — it is which part of it can I actually use today, and the answer depends on which gate you drive to.

The resorts and villages

The bay carries a row of named properties — among them Dana Beach Resort, Palm Beach Resort, Half Moon Village, Alkhaleej Makarim Village and King Fahad Coastal City, with Prince Mohammad Amusement Park nearby. They work on a day-entry or overnight-chalet model rather than as open beach, and the practical approach is to pick one in advance and check its current opening and entry terms directly, because these change with the season and we do not republish prices that go stale.

What people actually do here

Sailing and fishing, with grouper the fish the bay is known for. Diving, including a great deal of instruction — the shallow, sheltered entry is what makes it a teaching bay. Swimming from the resort stretches. And a large amount of sitting under a shade structure with a barbecue, which on a Gulf coast in the cooler months is the point rather than a consolation.

The bay has its own small folklore, of the kind that accumulates around a place used for eighty years: a cove named for an oil family who spent time there in the 1950s, and a thirty-foot whale that wandered in around 1968 and has been retold ever since.

When to come

October to April. Gulf summers on this coast combine high temperatures with high humidity, and the sea itself stays warm well into autumn, which is pleasant in November and not the relief you want in August. Winter afternoons are the bay at its best.

Getting there

Half Moon Bay is a short drive south of Al Khobar, past Dhahran, reached from Aziziyah on the coastal road. It is close enough to Khobar to be an afternoon rather than an expedition, which is how most people use it.

For the region around it, see our Eastern Province guide and hotels in Dammam and Al Khobar. North of here, Tarut Island makes the other half of an Eastern Province weekend.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Half Moon Bay open to the public?

Partly. The eastern portion is Saudi Aramco Beach and is restricted to Aramco staff, and two further stretches belong to King Faisal University and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. Visitors use the resort compounds, beach villages and public sections along the remaining shoreline.

Can non-Aramco visitors use Saudi Aramco Beach?

No. Access is limited to Saudi Aramco staff. Turning up without that access will not get you in, which is why it matters to know which gate you are driving to before you set off.

What is there to do at Half Moon Bay?

Sailing, fishing — grouper is what the bay is known for — swimming from the resort stretches, and diving. The bay is shallow, with an average depth of around 22 feet and shallow entrances, which has made it a long-standing place to learn to dive.

When is the best time to visit Half Moon Bay?

Between October and April. Summers on the Gulf coast combine high temperatures with high humidity; the sea stays warm into the autumn, and winter afternoons are when the bay is at its best.

How far is Half Moon Bay from Al Khobar?

A short drive south, past Dhahran and reached from Aziziyah on the coastal road. It is close enough to Khobar to be an afternoon out rather than a day trip.