Dubai & Saudi Arabia

Discover Dubai’s past as a small sea-trading and pearling centre on today’s privately guided tour. Visit the atmospheric gold and spice souqs, ride an Abra water taxi on Dubai Creek, enjoy the traditional Arabian architecture of Bastakiya, and view the historic Al Fahidi fort. An Emirati lunch will be shared at the Sheikh Mohammad Centre for Cultural Understanding. On returning to your hotel, make photo stops outside the Dubai Frame and Museum of the Future. The late afternoon will be at leisure.

The morning will be at leisure. This afternoon’s privately guided tour of Dubai is focused on showcasing the city’s visionary modern landmarks. Start your tour at Dubai Marina, an awe-inspiring city-within-a-city, then drive to the Madinat Jumeirah and walk through the modern souq. After a photo-stop outside the ‘7-star’ Burj Al Arab, continue to Downtown Dubai and explore the opulent Dubai Mall. Then take the lift to the 148th floor (At the Top SKY) of the Burj Khalifa – the world’s tallest building – for an unmatched bird’s-eye view of the city before concluding your sightseeing with a boat trip on the Burj Lake with an up-close view of the magnificent Dubai Fountain.

View the famed Palm Jumeirah from The View Observation Deck (Next Level & Fast Track) before driving to the iconic Atlantis Hotel to visit the Lost Chambers Aquarium, where you will see a fabulous array of marine animals and experience the myth of Atlantis. Then, after free time back at your hotel, set out with your guide on a street food-tasting experience through Dubai’s backstreets. The undoubted kings of the Dubai culinary landscape are Middle Eastern & Indian cuisine, with countries from all over the region creating a culinary hybrid that has become synonymous with the city.

Fly from Dubai to the oasis of AlUla. On arrival, a private transfer will take you to your hotel. After check-in, the remainder of the day will be at leisure to relax and enjoy the wonderful canyon setting of your hotel. AlUla lies at the meeting point of the Silk Road and Incense Route and is a place of great natural beauty as well as Saudi Arabia’s most important cultural site.

AlUla’s stunning natural beauty, as well as its fascinating past, will be revealed on today’s tour. Your first stop will be the Maraya, the world’s largest mirrored building. A private tour in a vintage-style Land Rover with a local ‘Rawi’ (storyteller) will then take you to the 2000-year-old city of Dadan (noted for its Lion Tombs) and to Jabal Ikmah’s to see the centuries-old rock art. Then, stroll along AlUla’s shaded Heritage Oasis Trail and enjoy the sight of tens of thousands of palm trees. Set off this afternoon on a 4WD desert adventure to see the striking desert canyons, golden dunes, and weathered terracotta-hued mountains that lie just outside AlUla. Conclude your sightseeing with a visit to Elephant Rock.

Continue your AlUla sightseeing with a guided tour (shared) of Old AlUla where you will climb up to the fort and walk through a maze of crumbling mudbrick ruins that were once surrounded by 14 gates. Then, travel off-road to explore the canyon of Wadi Abu Aoud and admire the impressive rock art that includes several ‘magic carpets’. This afternoon discover the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hegra on a private tour in a vintage-style Land Rover with a local ‘Rawi’ (storyteller). The fabulously situated tombs of the ‘second Petra’ are considered Saudi Arabia’s premier cultural attraction. Built by the Nabataean Arabs between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD, Hegra had been ‘lost’ to the world until its ‘rediscovery’ in 1876. The day’s sightseeing will conclude with a drive up to the Harrat Unwayrid to see a fine panorama over the oasis of AlUla and the desert beyond.

Drive through the desert to Medina, Islam’s second most holy city and have lunch overlooking the Prophet’s Mosque. Anciently known as Yathrib, the city was renamed Medina by the Prophet Mohammad after he and his followers were welcomed following their flight from Mecca – an event known as the ‘Hijrah’. Pilgrims recreate this journey every year as part of the Hajj. Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter the city’s mosques – but can now visit the previously off-limits ‘Haram’ area where the main places of pilgrimage, including the vast Prophet’s Mosque, are located. After an orientation tour of Medina travel by high speed train to Jeddah on the Red Sea coast.

Jeddah, known as the ‘Bride of the Red Sea’, has been the port for nearby Mecca for centuries. Start your guided sightseeing at the Tayebat Museum – a fine example of traditional Hijazi architecture – then drive along the beautiful manicured modern seafront Corniche to the ‘floating Mosque’. This afternoon the new city is juxtaposed with the old as you walk through Mecca Gate and enter Jeddah’s UNESCO World Heritage listed Al Balad district. The lively souqs and multi-story houses built of coral stone with their distinctive ‘roshan’ wooden windows provide a fascinating insight into an age-old way of life in Saudi Arabia.

Private transfer to Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airport and check in for your onward flight.