I make the mistakes so you do not have to. What my itinerary would have been should I replan to reduce detours to minimize driving mileage:
Arrive on Friday early morning,
- start driving as most businesses and attractions will be closed
- stop by al qurainah to get water/breakfast/food/toilet break
- skip hlewa as most villages are closed and the mudhouses have disintegrated due to the earlier rain.
- Reach ushaiqer village and roam around till 1pm
- Al Oqiylat museum reopens are 3.30pm, to have a quick look, if there is time. Museum door needs to be knocked as doors as closed and many think it is closed.
- Reach Hail early for the evening view on Al Samra mountain. You can take the transfer up for 25SR or walk up. There is no connection between the Hatem lighthouse trail with the viewing platform on top.
Saturday.
- Leave early for Alula, targeting to reach elephant mountain by 4pm for its opening.
- Hang around for 30mins, make the 30mins drive up to Harrat’s viewpoint which is reminiscent of the Golden canyon in the USA, so as to catch the gold-ness of the land way before sunset time.
- Grab a quick bite if you don’t have your food Head down to winter park and join the night tour at Hegra. Make sure to arrive 15mins before to use the bathroom and check in.
Sunday.
- Join the Dadan and Jabal ikmah tour at 7.45am. Make sure you arrive by 7.30am to use the toilet. This tour had less people and hence was more enjoyable than the regular Hegra tour. Tour ends at around 10am.
- Drive 15mins to Maraya for the Maraya tour which you have prebooked at the 11am time slot, reaching 1045am to allows for security clearance to the restricted area, and also to find a place to park and walk over for check-in, this ensures you have time for the tour itself and also time to explore around the building after the tour. The tour ticket of SR95 for access to the environs, is still far less than staying at the cheapest accommodation in the vicinity. The tour also allows access to the concert hall where the likes of Andrea Bocelli once stood and you are free to sing to test the acoustics if you like, along with the roof top. The building was supposedly a temporary building for the 41st GCC session in 2021 and cost a whopping SR1B.
- Leave Maraya site by 2pm to reach winter park by 2.15pm to check in for the Hegra tour at 2.30pm. The 3.30pm was too late and the sky became too dark and not the same site as Hegra after dark tour.
- Tour brings you back to winter park after 5pm and you can head over to Alula old town to explore. Both North and South carpark comes with shuttle service to the old town. The old town visitors’ centre is closer to the south shuttle point
- Check out the Alula public Library and Design Space Alula in Al Jadiah district, which are closer to the north shuttle point to the north carpark, as these will be closed on Monday and Tuesday
Monday.
- Join in the Alula old town tour at 9.30am to see the old town by day, as this is the only way to access the fort.
- Then join in the once-a-year Tantora festival where free food is distributed along with music and cultural performances in the vicinity of Tantora Square. This takes place around the winter solstice was on 22 Dec 2025 when I was there.
- Start driving the shortest route to Madinah by mid day, as there is no need to pass by Khaybar for now until the castle reopens to the public for visits.
- Try to get a free parking lot, walk over to Al Masjid e Nabawi by 4pm to catch post afternoon prayers and camp them to see the umbrellas close.
- Explore Madinah, starting with Al Safiyyah Museum and Park
- Then head to Quba walkway via underpass and explore the commercial areas, looping back to Al-Hayy where there is a triple deck vehicle for one to take in views in the evening.
Tuesday.
- Start off to Al Wabah Crater arriving for a picnic on site by midday. Many local families may be there to set up camping fires for their own picnic. The southern most pavilions offer the best views. Do not go down to the crater. Not sure if it is worth to walk 7km around the crater and maybe one should not do it under the hot sun.
- Head off to Jeddah, reach Jeddah corniche before 5pm as any later, there may be no parking lots and a huge traffic jam to enter after, with blocked roads. It is a pain to enter the corniche and it is only possible to do it from the north as there may be races in the vicinity. Spend the evening at Jeddah corniche walking northwards towards Al Rahmah mosque, and southwards towards to Jeddah sign.
- Back to the carpark and head to King Fahd’s fountain, which I think was not operational when I was there.
- Then there’s Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz Street which is Jeddah’s Beverly hills but with much faster traffic.
Wednesday.
- Go to Al TayBat International City Museum of Science and Information, this museum is a mish-mash of eclectic collections. The section on the Kasbah was interesting for me as used the silk drapes were exhibited there. One could spend a good whole day there but be aware they close between 1pm to 5pm. If you choose to stay to complete all 4 floors which I did, take lunch during this time and take outside pictures of AL Taybat, then continue from 5pm to 9pm, they start shutting down and switching off the lights 15mins before close time.
- Head to any large hypermarket to see if Zam Zam water is for sale, try the Zam Zam water, head to Al Balad to observe the nightlife. The Bayt Nassif Musuem was closed when I there for renovations.
Thursday.
- See Al Balad by early morning and take more shots.
- Drive over to Al Bahah. Do note that a detour around Makkah is necessary for non muslims, so the road tro Al Bahah will likely be some 6 hours
- The road to Al Bahah involves some elevational change and there may be so clouds/fog along the way, reaching by 2pm. I did try to go to some view points but they are all obsured by clouds.
- The road from Al Bahah to Thee Ain is a highly scenic 30mins drive down reminiscence of driving through swiss roads with avalanche protection. As the road is downwards, it is recommended to make the trip only if you do not need to come back up to Al Baha for the night. Otherwise reach Thee Ain by 4pm to see it by both day and night
- Overnight at Al Makwah, book early if accommodation is needed as hotel rooms are limited.
Friday.
- Drive to Jizan/Jazan since nothing is likely open on Friday morning.
- Stop by either at Al Qunfadhah or Al Birk or the Golden Beach for a breather.
- Arrive at Jazan Heritage Village for a quick look. Skip Al Marjan Park. The corniche was under construction. Adosareyah castle is also closed and the roads blocked. Enjoy the greener environment
Saturday.
- Start early at daybreak to drive up to Faifa mountains which is a single lane climb up when the climb starts. It’s not really comfortable to hang around and I do not see people hiking per se.
- PM head for Wadi Lajab which is a drive downhill from Faifa mountains then climb up to Al Hasher, then down again to Wadi Lajab. The drive up Al Hasher is a hair-raising series of hairpin bends, and unfortunately due to the strong sun, it was not possible to see a very nice view of the landscape.
- Reaching the Wadi Lajeb entry, I do see non 4WD cars entering/exiting. I chose to park the rental car outside and take a walk into the Wadi. Watch out for the baboons though who will squeal at you to convey their warning. At the deep end of the Wadi, there is not a proper path and it is required to climb up a large boulder to walk further in.
Sunday.
- Early drive to Rijal Alma’a Museum. To note that there are two ways to access the museum, and this itinerary recommends accessing via the south access area turning left at the nujoom supermarket and bakery. The alternative is from the north on the right before the last tunnel road towards Al Shabain, though this exit should be used to head towards Ahba. The museum costs SR20 to enter and there is only a single permitted point of entry and exit. The compound of the area is not large per se, and it probably wouldn’t take more than 90mins even if one were to read through all available English and venture into the various terraces for phototaking. Most of the paths leading out and above are closed and there’s not much to see. One can also visit the visitors centre to see the series of videos exhibited.
- Having seen the Rijal Alma’a area, drive up to Soudah where these is another series of hairpin bends upwards enroute to Abha. There are balconies and terraces to stop by to admire the views, with a mosque on the first. The drive up should take about an hour with the stops, and there are local peddling honey and local dishes (possibly good for lunch) which one will need cash to pay if interested. There are a few more view points along the way and one is the stronghold of baboons waiting to raid the trash of visitors. Even with a cleaner positioned during the day to deal with litter, it is frustrating to see anything cleaned up, thrown all over by the baboons.
- Continue on to Abha, taking in the views from a series of lookout points on the west of Abha called the Eastern Point views towards Abha. Abha lake lookout was closed when I was there, and I would skip the Art Street and The Al Bahah Square, and headed straight to Shamsan castle. Certain roads leading up to Shamsan castle were pretty steep and reminded me of driving up a steep portion of nob hill in San Francisco.
- Head over to Al Rashid mall to do some shopping
Monday.
- Ensure your gas tanks for full and fill up when there is a chance. It is about a 1000km drive back to Riyadh.
- Stop by for refuel at Bisha or refuel where possible. I had a pretty satisfying brunch at a certain falafel restaurant hear to the west end of Prince Sultant Street and had no yummy upsets after.
- Make a time check and take benefit of the daylight for driving. I also saw a lot of cars being transported back to Riyadh on trailers presumably by those who left the trip from Riyadh. The road to Riyadh was always at least two lanes wide and it is recommended to keep to the speed limit as there are plenty of speed cameras lurking, some unidentified on Google maps.
- I rested 45mins at the rest stop and had to drive about 90mins in the dark using the tail lights of passing cars in front to maintain speed after AR rayn, before the street lights to Riyadh started appearing on the approach near Al Muzahmiyya.
- At this time, you may choose to squeeze in a visit to any shopping malls for a nice dinner as they close late.
Tuesday.
- Al Masmak Fortress and Imam bin Turki mosque
- The national Museum and Historical Murabba which only opens at 5pm
Wednesday.
- Boulevard World
- Kingdom centre sky bridge by 4pm to hand around till senset to soak through the last of the city before leaving
Thursday.
- Diriyah by 3pm for free, come out by 6.30pm with the night light show which only starts at 6.30pm in English. This only happens once every hour and alternated between English and Arabic. Hang around Bujairi terrace and Zailal till satisfied.
Friday.
- Visit the Al Rajhi mosque as mosques are likely the open establishments open on Friday mornings if you do not have a late buffet breakfast to enjoy at the hotel, since most other places won’t be open till late.
- Edge of the World tour. Be sure to arrive early at 1.15pm in case all tours leave by 1.30pm instead of 2pm. I didn’t take the dinner option but was fortunate to see how the dinner option is like, which I agree with some reviewers isn’t worth the USD30 price difference for food served on plastic plates.
- Visit the King Salman Science Oasis at the pickup point which closes at 9.30pm.
Saturday
- Final Shopping for souvenirs in Riyadh.
- Start heading to the airport 4 hours before the flight:
- Allow time for traffic jams especially when the airport road changes from 4 lanes to 2 lanes near Roshn Front
- Allow time to find the car return and to do repeat loops for missing turns. At T5, turning left is necessary unless what some car rental companies advise. Do not, break any traffic rules at any time, as there could be hefty fines for doing so, and more so at the airport. Do check Google Maps for the exact routes and turning points to prevent taking the wrong turn.
- Allow time for the rental car company to check the car and to settle any final bills
- Allow time for the tax refund process. This needs to take place before the check-in as customs will want to see where these purchases are. They also need to still have their tags on or unused.
- Allow time for check-in. There would be many trying to cut queues. With 1.5hours left before the flight, there was already not much of a queue left, and yet, there are people who would not hesitate to still jump queue when they arrive
- Allow time for security check. Though, honestly the security check was a breeze at 15mins, but you never know. The security allowed water through.
- Allow time for boarding. With 30mins left, I was already amongst the last to board for my flight.
- I clocked 4600km which was 600km over the mileage limit and paid off the excess mileage at SR0.35/km.