Saudi Arabia in November: Weather, Events and Where to Go

November sits in the middle of Saudi Arabia's best travel window. The interior has properly cooled, AlUla and the Asir highlands are at their most pleasant, and Riyadh Season - if the historical October start holds for 2026/27 - is in full swing. One thing worth knowing if you have read older travel content: the Jeddah Formula 1 race, sometimes assumed to be a November fixture, is not happening in 2026.

Quick facts for November

• Riyadh: roughly 28°C highs / 15°C lows - comfortable for a full day outdoors.
• Jeddah and the Red Sea coast: roughly 33°C highs / 22°C lows - still warm, less humid than October.
• AlUla: roughly 27°C highs / 12°C lows - one of the most comfortable months to visit.
• Abha and the Asir highlands: roughly 19-20°C highs / 11°C lows, cooling further as the month goes on.
• Eastern Province (Dammam/Al-Ahsa): roughly 28°C highs / 21°C lows.
• Ramadan 2026 overlap: none - Ramadan 2026 is expected in February-March.

These are aggregator-derived averages (see sources below); the National Center for Meteorology is the authority to check for a live forecast closer to your trip.

A correction worth making plainly: no Jeddah Formula 1 race in 2026

The Jeddah Corniche Circuit has hosted a Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix since 2021, and some older guides describe it as a November or December fixture because the inaugural race was run in December 2021. In fact every subsequent race has been held in March or April, and the 2026 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix has been cancelled, along with the Bahrain Grand Prix, following the outbreak of regional conflict in early 2026. If you are planning a November or year-end trip around F1, that plan needs to change - check the official F1 calendar for 2027 before assuming the race returns to its usual slot.

What November is actually good for

AlUla is arguably at its best this month - warm days, genuinely cool nights, and inside the destination's main October-to-March season. Abha and Asir continue to be the coolest option in the country, good for hiking on the escarpment. Riyadh is comfortable enough for the city's heritage sites (Diriyah, Masmak Fort) without the summer heat management that dominates a visit from May to September - see our Riyadh city guide. If Riyadh Season's 2026/27 edition has opened by November, it will be running through the month; check our Riyadh Season guide for confirmed dates as they are published.

Winter is close behind

November is the transition into the country's cool season proper. If your trip runs into December, our Saudi Arabia in December hub covers the two confirmed December anchors - MDLBeast Soundstorm and the Red Sea International Film Festival - and our Saudi Arabia in winter guide covers the coldest months beyond that, including AlUla's cold desert nights from December onward.

Sources and Verification

This guide was checked on 30 August 2026. Regional temperature figures come from climate-data aggregators (Weather Spark, climate-data.org, Wanderlog), cross-checked against each other, because the National Center for Meteorology's own site did not expose a machine-readable monthly-average page at the time of research. The Formula 1 cancellation is corroborated by multiple independent outlets reporting the same 14 March 2026 announcement.

• National Center for Meteorology (NCM) - the official Saudi authority for weather and climate.
• Formula 1 official site - for the current race calendar, given the 2026 Jeddah race cancellation noted above.

Reviewed by the Explore Saudi Editorial Team, 30 August 2026.