Saudi Pioneers Landscapes Adventure
Our 8 night Saudi Landscapes Adventure explores the stunning beauty of this incredible land. A goldmine for geologists, a paradise for photographers or for those with an adventurous spirit, a playground full of undiscovered cultural and historical treasures.
Saudi has only recently opened up to tourists and few have ventured there. It will be unfamiliar territory for most travellers but Marina and her local guides will navigate you through the historical, cultural and physical landscapes to ensure that you return with a lifetime of treasured memories.
- Approx 2000 kms – mainly on backroads with daily offroad forays
- Estimated 30 hours behind the wheel
- 2 Nights at a 4 or 5* hotel
- 1 night at a private villa with exclusive use for our group
- 1 nights at 4* hotel apartments
- 4 nights wild camping
- No previous offroad driving experience is required.
- Minimum 8 full price adults (driver/passenger 1)
- Maximum 8 guest cars/12 full price adults.

Tour Dates
Sunday 5th February – Monday 13th February 2023 (space for 3 cars/6 people)
Meet in Medina before 6pm on Day 1, Arrive back in Medina late afternoon on day 8 for an overnight stay. Tour ends after we have breakfast on day 9.
Travelling to Medina
Our Saudi Pioneers Landscapes Edition starts and finishes in the ancient city of Medina.
Guests who are joining us from overseas can fly from Edinburgh, Manchester, London and also many other European cities with a number of airlines, including Emirates (our favourite) . There are also daily flights from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Muscat.
We will give guests who are travelling from the UAE/Oman with their own vehicles, a recommended route with suggested stops and tried and tested accommodation options. The main road from the UAE to Medina is predominantly highway with speed limits of 120-140kph.
Our tour starts in Medina where we’ll welcome you with a coffee. We would like you to reach our selected 4* Hotel between 1400hrs and 1700hrs, in preparation for our short tour of Medina starting at 1730hrs, and culminating with a welcome dinner and pre-trip briefing in a Saudi Restaurant.
Day Two launches our adventure as we leave behind the city lights. We’re off to Yanbu to pay a visit to the home of Lawrence of Arabia which has now been restored. We’ll discover other century old buildings that are undergoing conservation and get a feel for a bygone time in the old quarter.
Next, we’ll take an offroad route around the shore of the Red Sea to visit the mangroves just outside the town and enjoy a short refreshment break.
We’ll setup camp in the wadi close to Jebel Khayshum and enjoy a barbeque supper around the campfire.
Our journey ventures northwards until we reach the awe-inspiring Wadi Disah, a truly spectacular wadi with high rocky sides, running water, and lush oases. We will drive approx 7kms up the wadi, through water, up to 40cms deep in some short sections, before setting up a base for our picnic lunch. For the energetic, there is an hour long walk to explore the upper reaches of the wadi, for which waterproof sandals will be required. Alternatively, you can just sit, relax and enjoy the fantastic scenery. Mid-afternoon we will move to our campsite, situated on a wide sandy area with acacia trees, and surrounded by huge red rock massifs, before settling down for the night under a dark sky with a cracking campfire.
Waking up surrounded by imposing red rocks, we will have breakfast then spend some time exploring the rocky outcrops and sandy valleys, before getting back on the tarmac. If time allows, we’ll stop at a small private Saudi Museum, before continuing on to the area’s major city, Tabuk. We will overnight in the 4* Holiday Inn and have dinner at a local restaurant.
The first half of today is all about the Hejaz Railway, a relic from the early 20th century. Moving south from Tabuk on road, after an hour we join a track which takes us to the old railway track and buildings. From here we will drive for a few kilometres along the line (making train sound effects is definitely allowed), passing through cuttings, past wadis and over a hundred year old viaduct which could easily still take the weight a train heading to Medina. After a picnic lunch, we will re-join the road and continue south towards our camp spot, which is accessed via a rough track. Now at 1200m above sea level, our tents will be pitched on a grassy area on a lava field. The nights here are dark, revealing the spectacular canopy of the night sky. We’ll need a campfire to keep warm as the sun sinks behind the hills and the mercury begins to fall.
After a hearty breakfast we will continue on the track, emerging near the village of Abu Rakah. A visit to Mushroom Rock is an absolute must, marvelling at the natural forces that shaped this rock and its nearby neighbours. Now heading towards Al Ula, we will endeavour to do a little off-roading enroute, and hope to be in the city by mid-afternoon, giving you 3-6 hours of leisure time. We will have dinner down in the Old Town, before retiring for the night at a nearby villa, which is hired for our exclusive use.
You have the morning at leisure in Al Ula giving you the opportunity to take in the Hegrah Tour, if you wish.
Our first major stop of the day is for a picnic at the Hudrayamil Railway Yard and Viaduct, where you will see an old locomotive and some rolling stock, as well as our favourite bridge. Our camp spot for the night is a wadi some 100kms away from here and we will take a road and track to head eastwards to it, ending up near the city of Khaybar.
Today is the last day of our tour but we stil have some amazing sights to share with you. Leaving Khaybar early, we will journey to the White Mountain Park, where we will spend some time exploring the black and twisted Lava fields. An easy hike through this amazing volcanic area will give ample opportunity to wonder at the eruption that created such a landscape.
Before we head back to Medina, we will visit the Al Bint Dam, the best in a series of dams in the Khaybar areal, hinting at a lost land where water flowed and communities thrived.
Our tour ends in Medina with an overnight in a carefully selected hotel to the east of the city. Our farewell supper will be in lovely Saudi restaurant
Citizens of the following countries are eligible for a tourism e-visa.
Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland. France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, Ukraine, United States
Important: Not all Nationalities are granted a tourist visa for KSA. Please check that you carry a passport from one of the above countries. If your country is not on this list, we are sorry you will not be able to enter Saudi for tourism purposes at this time.
Saudi Pioneers Landscapes Accommodation and Catering
Saudi Pioneers Landscapes What's Included
Details | Included |
---|---|
Guide Services by The Desert Diva (Scottish Guide) | yes |
Guide Services by Saudi Guide | yes |
Breakfasts, lunch, dinner | yes |
2 nights hotel | yes |
four nights wild camping | yes |
one night hotel apartments | yes |
one night isbah (farmhouse) | yes |
Campfires | yes |
Saudi Visa | No |
Flights and transfers | No |
Souvenirs | No |
Petrol | No |
Car Hire | No |
Snacks outwith meals | No |
Saudi Pioneers Landscapes Edition Prices USD (Payment also possible in GBP, EUR, AED)
Details | Price |
---|---|
Two Adults in Own 4x4 | 3780 USD (equivalent to 1890 USD per person) |
1st Child (aged 6 to 12) - in car with 2 adults | 537 USD |
2nd child (aged 6 to 12) in car with 2 adults | Dependent on room arrangement/availability in hotels - POA |
3rd adult* | 974 USD |
4th adult* | 847 USD |
*Adults 3 and 4 in a car do not count towards the minimum number of 8 principal adults required for the trip to be confirmed | |
1 adult in own car (sharing hotel rooms) | 2350 USD |
1 adult in own car with own rooms in Medina, Tabuk | 2720 US |
Payment Options | Visa/Mastercard in GBP/EUR/USD/AED. Bank transfer in GBP |
Saudi Pioneers Landscapes Edition Prices AED
Details | Price |
---|---|
Two Adults in Own 4x4 | 13884 AED (equivalent to 6942 AED per person)* |
1st Child (aged 6 to 12) - in car with 2 adults | 1972 AED |
2nd child (aged 6 to 12) in car with 2 adults | Dependent on room arrangement/availability in hotels - POA |
3rd Adult* in car | 3577 AED |
4th Adult* in car | 3112 AED |
*Adults 3 and 4 do not count towards the minimum number of principal adults required for the tour to be confirmed | |
1 adult in own car sharing hotel rooms | 8631 AED |
1 adult in own car own hotel room s in Medina and Tabuk | 9990 AED |
Payment Options | Visa/Mastercard in AED/USD/EUR/GBP. Bank transfer in GBP |
Empty Quarter Enterprises Ltd T/A Xpedition Arabia, 39/8 Hyvot View, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, EH17 8PQ
Call/whatsapp us +971509478563 UK number +447565570827
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