Taxis and other Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Transportation Tips

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Car/Motor Home
Getting TO/AROUND: Contrarily to what people think, taxis are safe and cheap in Riyadh. You'll see plenty of them in the street, usually white Toyotas or similar sedans called "limos" for some unexplained reason.
The only problem with taxis is that it may be hard to tell the drivers (usually from Pakistan or Bangladesh) where you're going unless it's a well-known place. Having it written in arabic does not always help.
In that case be prepared to ring someone who speaks arabic or urdu and knows where you're going.

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'Mode': TO
Category: Airplane
Getting TO/AROUND: Riyadh's King Khaled International Airport is as visually impressive as it is lousy.

The check-in counters seem to be run more or less at random, and my experience has seen me wait from 1 to 40 minutes in line.

There is no airline ticket offices, and tickets are purchased directly at the check-in counters, which adds to the confusion. The inability to hold too many people in the secured (?) check-in areas and the multiple security checks often means that queues extend all the way to the main door.

Immigration can also last up to one hour at peak time (which is around 7 pm, when most international flights seem to land - this must be a joint effort by all the too few airlines that serve the Saudi capital to inconvenience their passengers as much as they can).

When leaving, once you get to the other side of the passport queue you have absolutely nothing to do, no shops at all save for a couple of really bad kiosks and no lounges.

The only nice thing is baggage handling - luggage has almost systematically reached the belt before me on arrival.

Things get somewhat better at the Saudia terminals, but overall this airport makes for a good reason to travel to and from Riyadh only when really necessary.

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'Mode': TO
Category: Airplane
Getting TO/AROUND: Most foreigners (and many more Saudis than you'd imagine) go to either Bahrein or UAE once in a while to get a breath of fresh air and see a "normal" place for a few days: drink alcohol, see (and sometimes buy services from) women without abbaya, practice freedom of speech, this sort of stuff. There's several ways to do that.

Beware of driving as the distances are pretty long. Roads are ok, but populated with Saudi drivers (see my warnings and dangers tip). The only route you can drive in a reasonably short time is Riyadh - Bahrein, which takes 3h30' (4h30' if you stick to the speed limit, 3h if you're a Saudi).

Flying is a better option when going to all the other capitals. The routes are covered by numerous companies: Saudia (Riyadh to Bahrein, Doha and Dubai), Emirates (Riyadh to Dubai), Etihad (Riyadh to Abu Dhabi), Gulf (Riyadh to Bahrein) and Qatar (Riyadh to Doha). Fares tend to vary according to the day of the week and time of the year, but you should make it with just over a thousand riyals per person for a return fare.

All these airlines are safe, and in case of Etihad, Emirates and Qatar the aircraft is very comfy. Saudia has somewhat cramped seats, while Gulf is definitely the worst in terms of comfort. But then again, the flight is short.

No Middle Eastern airlines serve alcohol on flights to/from Riyadh (though you'll find it on European airlines).

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'Mode': TO
Category: Airplane
Getting TO/AROUND: Flying is the only reasonable way to get to Saudi Arabia from Europe. This said, there's not too many companies that serve the country, especially if you're going to the capital Riyadh.

This tip contains my experience with all the airlines that serve Riyadh since that's where I've been. Given that I always fly economy, that's what my judgement reflects. Business class travel may be a lot different so I don't dare judge that.

Saudia is a thing of its own. An airline that broadcasts a prayer before takeoff and has an arrow pointing to Holy Makkah in its inflight navigation screen cannot really be compared to others. But its service is ok, the food is often reasonable and it would be tolerable if they had less cramped seats and alcohol on offer.

The other airlines you're likely to travel on during your journey from Europe are Swiss, Lufthansa, Air France and Emirates.

Of these, Swiss and Emirates are the best: excellent aircraft, good legspace and, in the case of Emirates, an outstanding entertainment system with over 100 movies and games that you can use already before takeoff (genius at work here!)

Lufthansa is just ok. Their aircraft is modern (usually Airbus A340), but the food is lousy (well, German) and the service can be rude (again, German).

Air France is the absolute worst. They fly small aircraft (A319!!!) with very little if any leg space, crap food and terrible service. This also applies to business class (I was "upgraded" once - not much of an UPgrade I have to say).

Funnily enough, you're likely to get the best fares from Swiss!

Happy flying!

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