The Saudi capital, Riyadh, is only 507 km from our home, Doha, but a road trip across the border seemed to be something many had not even thought about.

Until three years ago, entry to Saudi Arabia was very restricted, and visas only granted for a reason, which typically was work / business or pilgrimage. The country only started issuing tourist visas in 2019, and at the time there was a political dispute between Qatar and Saudi and the border was closed (and even the asphalt was dug up, which we saw traces of at the border).

Now for Finn who is eligible for an e-visa, it took a few clicks and less than 5 minutes to get a tourist visa online. In addition to the visa fee, its compulsory to get travel insurance. The total price came to 530 Qatari riyals, which is about 130 euros. The e-visa allows you to spend up to 90 days there and was multi-entry for one year.

The easy and quick process created a sense of disbelief – can the process really be so easy? The part about driving made me most nervous. It What if crossing the border by car is not allowed after all? I was so nervous that I didn’t get much sleep the night before.

Several stops at the border

At 6 am we headed out and in one hour we were waiting in along life at the Qatar border.

After passport and car insurance checks at the Qatari side, we drove a few kilometers of the border zone to the Saudi border. The crossing went completely smooth and at the last counter we welcomed “Welcome to Saudia”.

All this was very slow, however. The process from the first queue to the Saudi side took 3h 16 min and along the way there were eight different stages from checking papers to giving fingerprints. It was Friday morning and start of school holidays and the covid restrictions we’d just lifted.

When Returning to Qatar the afternoon at the border station was quiet.

The drive along the 80-Road did not offer much to see. The coastal area was shabby and full of abandoned-looking buildings and gas stations. Here and there were herds of camels in the desert and camels traveling on the stage of a car. The lush sandy desert was filled with car tires. If anyone knows why they were brought there, we are interested.

A sandstorm dusted surprisingly little dune sand on the road but Catepillars were around. At times, the color of the desert turned redder, and at times, rock formations in the style of western Qatar were visible.

Large, surprisingly liberal Riyadh

A huge, surprisingly modern city awaited us. Highways cross it in a south-north direction. For those accustomed to the Qatari street scene, the city looked like a typical Arab city but the Arabic language was more present in Riyadh. A visit to the sku view bridge of the Kingdom Tower showed how the city of 6.5 million people extended as far as the eye can see.

For some reason, I imagined Riyadh to be more old-fashioned, but there were a lot of interesting-looking cafes and shops in the center. The service was very friendly from the beginning and a tourist felt warmly welcomed. Knowledge of English was limited in some places. Especially in taxis we got to use all our Arabic skills. I’m sure one would learn the language here! All of our uber drivers during the trip were young Saudis and the amount of foreign labor was strikingly smaller than in Doha.

Outfit for the weekend: Abaya

On the first evening, we headed to a festival advertised online. The festival took place in an outdoor shopping area, as usual in Arabia. ”Welcome, where are you from?” was asked again. The atmosphere was relaxed and we saw all kinds of people there: families, men and women. I tried to see if the escorts of women were hiding somewhere around the corner. Can women nowadays go anywhere without a man?

Local women, without exception, wore an Abaya, and almost all also had a niqab facial veil, which is seen relatively rarely in Qatar. Many foreign women wore some form of Abaya, or at least long pants and a longer cardigan.

One of the things I wondered about in advance was the dress code. In the end I also had Abaya as a travel attire, even though women no longer need it officially. A friend who had recently visited Saudi advised to cover oneself and it was sensible advice, and there was no need to think about clothes.

I imagined women to be still largely outside the workforce, but that too has changed. I saw numerous saleswomen at the malls. At one perfume stall, the lady sprayed the scent and advertised that “This one is very sexy”. The lingerie stores had the same little lingerie as in Doha.

The atmosphere was so liberal that I had to remind myself where I was. Care should be taken when dressing and behaving. The Visit Saudi website lists e.g. fines given for wearing t-shirts with political or obscene text. I dare not even think about the penalties for more serious offenses. During our stay, the media reported how more than 80 people were executed in the country as a punishment for crimes.

History at the National Museum

The attractions and sights in Riyadh are so and so: shopping malls, parks and a couple of historical sites. In a big city, commuting from a place to another takes time.

The National Museum was worth a visit and surprisingly large. The most interesting offerings were scale models of sacred places in Mecca and Medina, the first of which is not relevant to non-Muslims. The Al Masmak fortress, also quite close by, also offered a piece of history.

As we walked through the older part of town ( Yes, Finns like to walk ), we got lost on a side street that showed the other side of the big city: residential houses almost at the point of collapse in the midst of houses being demolished. There is also a lot of poverty in an oil-rich country.

In a short distance we still have time to e.g. the large King Abdullah Park and a nice Asian restaurant.

How liberal will Saudi become?

On the way back home, we drove another route, along Route 10. It took the Riyadh south of the city and towards the UAE border. As we left the city, we drove through industrial areas and during the first hour we saw numerous date farms and Bedouins with their sympathetic camels. The rest of the trip was a wide variety of desert landscapes, and the trip was a good time to reflect on everything we saw on the short trip.

In Saudi Arabia, a wind of change really seems to be blowing. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, is currently renewing his country with a big hand and has promised a “more moderate Islam” to the country. For centuries, the rigid form of Sunni Islam, Wahhabism, has guided culture in Saudi Arabia.

MBS has reduced the role of religious police, allowed concerts and movies, and allowed women to drive cars. I wanted to show my thumbs up and clap for joy every time I saw a woman behind the wheel. After 2021, shops have no longer had to close their doors during of prayer. In the past, stores closed five times a day for at least half an hour at a time. At some malls, however, the staff at the small boutiques seemed to put a patch on the hatch during prayer if they were working alone.

A significant reform for tourists is that since 2019, unmarried foreign couples have been allowed to live in a hotel together, and women are also allowed to stay in hotel rooms alone. Women are also allowed to take part in sporting events. There are even rumors of letting the current total ban on alcohol.

It is clear that Saudi purposefully wants to attract tourists. At the same time, women are still hidden under face veils and legally under the patronage of men. The news of the executions reminded us that Islamic law and harsh punishments have not disappeared. Some of the activists who demanded women’s driving licenses are still in prison.

I wonder when and how the country’s reforms and the comfort level of individual tourists meet. For my husband and I the reception was warm and the people down to earth, but the news of the executions in the middle of the holiday did not make me feel comfortable. Traveling with a man made me feel safe, but I don’t know how nice a destination Saudi would be for a sole female traveler.

So, I believe tourism is expanding. However, Riyadh is not a straightforward easy destination. From Doha, I still urge you to give it a try.

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Jatka artikkeliin ”Weekend trip to Saudi Arabia”