Saudi Arabia Complete Guide 2026: AlUla, Hegra, Diriyah, Riyadh and Jeddah Through Vision 2030
Browse more guides: Saudi Arabia travel | Asia destinations Saudi Arabia Complete Guide 2026: AlUla, Hegra, Diriyah, Riyadh and Jeddah Through Vision 2030 TL;DR Saudi Arabia in 2026 is the most surprising destination I have walked into in a decade of writing this blog. For most of my reading life this country was closed to leisure travel. Then in September 2019 the tourist e-visa opened the door for citizens of 49 countries, and by 2024 that list had grown again. The Kingdom now wants visitors, and the proof is being poured in concrete and sandstone across the country. I went looking for three things on my first trip and stayed long enough to find five more. The headline act is AlUla in the northwest, where the Hegra archaeological site (Madain Saleh) holds 110 monumental Nabataean rock-cut tombs from the first century BCE to the first century CE. Hegra became Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, and walking through it feels like meeting Petra's quiete...