Meals

Daily delicious buffet breakfast at the hotel restaurant. - Your choice of egg live station - Cheese, salads, and cold cuts selections - Cereals, granolas, yogurts, nuts, and seeds selections - Fresh fruit selections - Arabic cold mezzeh selections - Fresh pastries like croissants, danish, and others. - Hot food items

Accommodation

Jeddah: Ruve Hotel 4* or similar Located in Jeddah and with Jeddah Mall reachable within 4.1 miles, Rove Jeddah Hotel provides express check-in and check-out, non-smoking rooms, an outdoor swimming pool, free WiFi and a fitness Centre. Featuring a business Centre, this property also welcomes guests with a restaurant and a terrace. The property has a 24-hour front desk, room service and currency exchange for guests. Complete with a private bathroom equipped with a shower and a hairdryer, guest rooms at the hotel have a flat-screen TV and air conditioning, and certain rooms include a seating area. All rooms will provide guests with a closet and an electric tea pot. Rove Jeddah Hotel offers a buffet or à la carte breakfast. Al Andalus Mall is 6 miles from the accommodation, while Al Shallal Theme Park is 7 miles away. The nearest airport is King Abdulaziz Airport, 10 miles from Rove Jeddah Hotel. Taif: Velar Inn Hotel 4* or similar 5 minutes’ drive from Taif Regional Airport brings visitors to the VELAR INN HOTEL, the Gateway to the Holy Cities of Makkah and Medina. Guests have a choice of 95 spacious modern rooms, which all offer AC, minibar, free WiFi internet access, coffee/tea facilities, in-room safe box, and satellite TV. A restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner or dine in the comfort of your room 24-hour room service. there are variety of meeting rooms for your business meetings arrangement. Medina: Meridien hotel 4* or similar Meridien hotel is a contemporary 4-star property set in 10 minutes’ drive away from The Seven Mosques and a 10-minute ride from Mosque Al-Qiblatayn. Boasting dry cleaning, valet parking service and 24-hour security, this family friendly hotel also provides guests with a baggage storage and a barber shop. Le Meridien Medina Hotel features 190 rooms equipped with a flat-screen TV with satellite channels as well as a mini fridge bar and coffee/tea making facilities. These units also have a marble floors. A buffet breakfast is offered in the restaurant. Guests can enjoy a meal at the a la carte restaurant on site. This Medina hotel offers a gym as well as a barbershop and a spa salon to enjoy your stay. Business travelers will also appreciate a meeting room and a conference space including a photocopy machine, banquet and meeting facilities. The modern accommodation offers a perfect location within 23 minutes’ ride from Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International airport. The contemporary hotel is located in the heart of Medina. Mount Uhud is nearly a 15-minute ride away. Al Ula: Sahary Resort 4* hotel or similar Set among majestic desert landscape, the Sahary AlUla Resort’s village-like layout comprises a series of traditional mudbrick-style buildings and two long avenues lined with individual bungalows. Each is air conditioned, decorated in colorful Arabic styling, and features its own furnished terrace, where you can sit, relax and soak up the scenic surrounds. An oasis-like pool is lined with palm trees, although if you fancy a swim you can do laps in the hotel’s indoor pool. As well as strolling around the resort’s extensive grounds, you’ll find lots of places to relax including a Bedouin-style tent, well-equipped desert-view fitness room, and games room with pool tables and board games. Ha’il: Golden tulip 4* hotel or similar discover the Golden Tulip experience. For short weekends or longer vacations, our hotels, residences and resorts offer you delightful breaks worldwide. Whether you’re skiing, having a city or seaside break, in a suit or a bathing suit, relax in our elegant rooms and suites with top-class services. A haven of peace and refined warmth, our 4-star Golden Tulip hotels add a nice touch of pleasure to the rank of a high-class establishment. There, you can enjoy a range of entertainment and cozy rooms, whether travelling with family, or friends, for a romantic get-away or travelling for work. You can go for a tandem bike ride, enjoy a quick snack from a food truck or create your own beauty combination in a soap bar. Days interspersed with relaxation sessions in the spa, gourmet meals in the restaurant or creative drinks in our cocktail bar. Buraydah: Golden tulip 4* hotel or similar At the center of Al Buraidah city, the Golden Tulip Buraidah hotel is a 4-star establishment which will provide you with the best comfort and services. Only 4 km away from the city center, the hotel is also less than 30 minutes away from the airport. An airport shuttle is set by the hotel to facilitate your transfer. In the area, you will have the possibility to visit some local places of interest such as the Buraidah Museum located in the King Khalid Park and the Aloqilat Museum. Once you are back at the hotel, the best services are waiting for you. Riyadh: Centro Hotel 4* hotel or similar Centro Olaya by Rotana is a modern, stylish and affordable lifestyle business hotel in central Riyadh. Centro Olaya, the latest Centro property in Riyadh under the ‘Centro by Rotana’ brand, is centrally located in the heart of the Saudi capital, close to the city’s major business centres, leisure attractions and transportation services. Strategically situated between King Fahd Road and Olaya Street and few steps away from Tahliya street – renowned as the city’s premier shopping district – major retail centres including Faisaliah Centre and Centria Mall are located a short walk away, while the city’s Exhibition Centre is a short drive away from the hotel. Note: If the event hotel is on a sold-out basis. Grayline will guarantee a similar hotel of the same category. Contact us. Hotel Standard Check-In: 12:00 hrs Hotel Standard Check-Out: 15:00 hrs Early check-in and late check-out are not guaranteed.

Others

What is included and excluded in our on the traces of history self-drive tour package • Personalized meet & assist upon arrival at Jeddah airport in English • 12 days car rental including CDW insurance and 300 km/day • Car category C – Toyota Corolla or similar • Road Book: what to do (ALULA visits need to be pre-booked) • Assistance 24 / 24 of our staff • Accommodation in the above-mentioned hotels or the same hotel category according to the periods mentioned • Daily Buffet breakfast at the hotel • Local taxes • Drop off charges in Riyadh DO NOT INCLUDE: • Flights • Excess Mileage • Additional Insurance • Optional excursions • Porterage & Personal expenses • Visa fees if needed • Lunches & Dinners

Transport

Car category C – Toyota Corolla or similar

Not included:

Insurance

Flights

Please note that the international flight is not included in the tour package. You will need to make your own arrangements for your international flights to Jeddah from Riyadh.

Guide

This is a self-guided tour. We will provide you with a complete road map and 24/7 assistance by call or email.

Others

Note: No entertainment during the holy month of Ramadan

Optional

In this tour, we offer you limited excursions, but we will be happy to give you a special discount on all our tours and attractions as a valuable TOUR RADAR client. And get a Special discount using the Promo code on Exit: RADAR10

Start planning your experience

Day 1 Jeddah (Arrival)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Jeddah (Arrival)

Upon arrival at Jeddah International Airport, after formalities, you will be able to direct yourself to the Car rental area at the BUDGET car rental counter, or just pick up your car at the BUDGET outlet in Downtown Jeddah. After the car formalities are done, you will receive the keys, and you will be ready to discover the region. Drive to your hotel. Check-in at the hotel.

Overnight in Jeddah.
Day 2 Jeddah
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Jeddah

Breakfast at your hotel. We will start our tour with the visit of Abdul Raouf Khalil Museum that presents the local and Arabian heritage. A unique site. We will then hit old Jeddah. We will enjoy a wonderful walking in Al-Balad, the old part of the city. This walk tour of the old Town will take you along all the less known must-see local spots: Old Market hidden gems, Old Jeddah hidden galleries, local Jeddah food only for locals… While visiting Al-Balad, visitors will be taken to see Beit Nassif, one of the prominent renovated structures in the old city, which dates back to the mid 1800’s. The five-story building provides a rare opportunity for the visitors to experience the blend of traditional architecture with modernity. We will see also the Baghdadi house . We will visit also the Old gold market in Gabel Street and the Ukash Mosque. We will pass by the Al Rahmah Mosque. After that, we will visit The Floating Mosque, this single domed architectural marvel that sits literally on the sea, symbolizes Jeddah’s bold storm into the modern age. Sitting on an enviable location, the mosque’s courtyard offers unencumbered views of the Red Sea. Our tour will end with the Jeddah Corniche which is the 30 km coastal resort area of the city of Jeddah. Located along the Red Sea, the corniche features a coastal road, recreation areas, pavilions and large-scale civic sculptures as well as King Fahd’s Fountain, the highest fountain in the world.

Overnight in Jeddah.
Day 3 Jeddah - Al Hada - Taif (180Km)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Jeddah - Al Hada - Taif (180Km)

Breakfast at the hotel. We will start our journey to the mountains of TAIF located over the Hada Mountains above Mecca and on the Eastern slopes of the Al-Sarawat mountains. The city of Taif, has a cool and green Summer People travel to TAIF for its Green nature and its weather, its beautiful scenery and the town’s relaxed atmosphere. Our tour will start with a drive to enjoy the majestic panoramic view of Al Hada mountain. We will pass by a Rose Farm/factory. We will then reach the Sharif Museum before we enjoy a traditional lunch in the mountains. In the afternoon, after enjoying the view of mountains, the old stone paths, and cars that pass through the road from Alhada Cable car. Then check in in our hotel.

Overnight in Taif
Day 4 Taif - Medina (480Km)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Taif - Medina (480Km)

Breakfast at the hotel. This morning we set off early driving through the open desert to the spectacular Al-Wa’bah Crater, a dramatic volcano formation with a salt field at its center. Here there is the option to circumnavigate part of the crater or you may opt for the more challenging steep climb down to the basin and then back up again (approx. 2.5hrs return). After our exploration, we will enjoy the crater’s edge taking in this awesome natural wonder. In the afternoon we make our way to the outskirts of the holy city of Medina. In the city centre, the vast Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (Prophet’s Mosque) is a major Islamic pilgrimage site. Its striking Green Dome rises above the tombs of the Prophet Muhammad and early Islamic leaders Abu Bakr and Umar. The Masjid al-Qiblatain (Qiblatain Mosque) is known as the site where the Prophet Muhammad received the command to change the direction of prayer to Mecca. We will visit the outskirts of the city ONLY, except the holy pilgrimage areas and we conclude the day with a short hike up Mount Uhud to enjoy the sunset over the city. Check in hotel.

Overnight in Medina.
Day 5 Medina - Al Ula (330Km)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Medina - Al Ula (330Km)

Breakfast at the hotel. We will head this morning to the ancient town of Al Ula was an important staging post on the frankincense trade route to Oman and Egypt. We will follow the same route than the historic Hijaz Railway. We will stop at the abandoned Buwayr & Muduraj train stations both of which offer an eerie reminder of a turbulent and bloody past. The Hijaz Railway, which connected Medina with Damascus and eventually Istanbul was built by the Ottomans in the early 20th century to speed, up the journey to Mecca during the pilgrimage season, but the railway was only in use for a short period. During WWI, Lawrence of Arabia and his Arab allies blew up the railway in their revolt against the Ottoman Empire. We will visit the ancient city of Khaybar. This is probably the best-preserved ancient oasis of Saudi Arabia as it is built in a natural depression that can be flooded, reason why the modern city was built further away. It is mention in a Neo-Babylonian text that tell its conquest in 552 BCE by Nabonidus, the last King of Babylon. It became in the year 7 of Islam an important battle place between the Muslim and the Jews that saw the troops of Mohamed (PBUH) and Ali victorious. Arrival in Al Ula area at the end of the afternoon. Check in in our camp.

Overnight in Al Ula.
Day 6 Al Ula
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Al Ula

Breakfast at the hotel. This morning we propose to discover Al-Ula which is an ancient oasis that has been inhabited for the last 7000 years. During the 1st millennium BCE, the city of Dedan developed thanks to its strategic location on the frankincense trade road to become one of the oldest Arabian kingdoms that ruled over most of what is today Tabuk and Madinah provinces. Continue to Jebel Ikmah which with its amazing and numerous rock inscriptions, looks like an open-air museum. We continue then to the Old city of Al-Ula which became at the beginning of the Islamic era an important staging post along the pilgrimage route to Mecca. Then we will visit the ancient sites of Ekma and Abu Aoud where the people of the oasis wrote texts in ancient scripts that we will decipher for you. We can finish this special day on top of the Harrat Al-Uwayrid for an amazing viewpoint of the oasis of Al-Ula. At the end of the afternoon, drive to hotel. Accommodation in Al-Ula.
Day 7 Al Ula - Madain Saleh - Al Ula
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Al Ula - Madain Saleh - Al Ula

Breakfast at the hotel. Today we will start our journey with a visit to the famous Hegra (Madain Saleh). We will be exploring the first UNESCO World, heritage site of the Saudi Kingdom, the monolith of Mada’in Saleh, also known as “Southern Petra“, dating from the Nabateans period 100-500 BC Our visit will be followed towards Jibal Al-Rukkab & Leopard trail. We will then visit Jebel Al-Fil the Elephant Mountain. The visits are exciting and full of emotions. At the end of the day, we go back to our camp. Overnight in Al Ula.
Day 8 Al Ula - Jubbah - Hail (577Km)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Al Ula - Jubbah - Hail (577Km)

Breakfast at the Camp. This morning we will start our journey to Jubbah which lies on an ancient lake. Several archaeological sites of human settlement from the Middle Paleolithic period were found around the margin of the paleolake. Jubbah is surrounded by large sandstone outcrops that are filled with ancient petroglyphs and inscriptions on the rock face. Jubbah benefited from past humid phases that turned the arid Arabian Peninsula into a savannah similar to what is found today in Africa. During the last humid period that took place from the 10th to the 6th millennium BCE the African monsoon rains filled rivers and lakes where wildlife thrived. If the animals that used to live there became instinctive because of the desertification that started during the 6th millennium BCE, some men fixed forever their presence in Jubbah thanks to carvings of aurochs, cheetahs, lions. Those drawings are still visible today in the sides of several sandstone outcrops located on the western side of the paleolake like the Jebel Umm Sanman. Jubbah, the other major carving site of Hail Province, where listed as UNESCO World Heritage in 2015 for their numerous petroglyph panels and rich. We will pass through the famous desert of Nefuda Al Kabir or Al-Nefud , it is occupying a great oval depression. It is 290 kilometers long and 225 kilometers wide, with an area of 103,600 square kilometer. After this visit, we continue our route to the famous city of Ha’il. Renowned for its hospitable people, Hail is traditionally the home of Saudi Arabia’s poets and writers. An interesting point about Hail, most of the early European explorers passed by this city during the 19th century Charles Doughty, Lady Blunt, Charles Huber, Julius Euting. Upon arrival , we will transfer to our hotel.

Overnight in Ha’il.
Day 9 Hail - Buraydah (280Km)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Hail - Buraydah (280Km)

Breakfast at the hotel. We will start our day with the visit of Al Ha’il, we will visit the A’Arif Fort and the nearby heritage museum. Then we will have a walk at the traditional market where we will find the local delicacies. We will pass also by the Hail Regional Museum, and if it is open, we will drop there to admire its collection. Then we start our way to Buraydah, we will pass the imposing Shammar mountain range, and we will stop at a major historical site on our road called Fayd. It is the most important pilgrimage city that thrived during the golden age of Baghdad as it is located half way between Baghdad and Mecca. We will visit a small museum and a large archaeological site that has been restored. Buraydah is the capital of Al-Qassim Region in North central Saudi Arabia in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula, and it is considered being the most conservative city of Saudi Arabia. On arrival, quick orientation of the city before we check-in at hotel. Overnight in Buraydah.
Day 10 Buraydah - Ushaigar - Riyadh (390Km)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Buraydah - Ushaigar - Riyadh (390Km)

Breakfast at the hotel. Today we need to start early to make the most of a truly unique Saudi experience. Buraydah’s lively camel market is located just a short distance outside modern-day Buraydah but the experience may feel like stepping into a distant era of times gone by. This is the world’s largest camel market where thousands of camels, goats and sheep are traded every day and this morning is sure to be a feast for the senses. We head back into the city to stroll through the mouth- watering date market to pick some tasty treats before driving towards the capital city of Riyadh. En route we will pass the villages of Mithnab and Al-Ghat, before we reach the highlight of our day the heritage village of Ushaiger, one of the oldest settlements in the region which boasts some stunning traditional Najdi architecture and considered one of the most attractive places in the country. We will reach finally Riyadh the capital at the end of the day. Check in, overnight in Riyadh.
Day 11 Riyadh
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Riyadh

Breakfast at the hotel. We will start our tour of mystic Riyadh by visiting the National Museum. The National Museum is the primary custodian of the Saudi national heritage and culture, the Museum is a place of learning and discovery, it completes the story of Arabian civilization from the creation of the universe to our modern era. We continue thereafter to the Murabba Palace which is one of the historic buildings of the city. The palace was named after its square with the form of 400 by 400 meters. It is one of the museums in the city. We will continue our drive through the city passing the famous Kingdom Tower, and the Faisaliah Hotel, both a great architectural achievement. We will see also many other landmarks that make the city famous today. Afternoon we will continue our tour of mystic Riyadh by visiting The Masmak Fort, one of the most important monuments in Saudi Arabia from where modern Saudi history start. This Fort is the birthplace of the 3rd Saudi Kingdom, the modern one we live in. The palace was built during the reign of Abdullah bin Rashid in the year 1895 A.D. to serve as military garrison for the Abdullah bin Rashid army. His Majesty King Abdulaziz, the father of the nation today, captured the fort in 1902. We will then visit the Dira Souq famous for buying antique carpets and other useful Saudi heritage antiques, while walking we will always smell sandal wood fragrance. At the end of the afternoon, back to your hotel. Overnight in Riyadh.

Optional: Access to Skybridge on Kingdom tower: 25$ pp
Day 12 Riyadh (Departure)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Riyadh (Departure)

Breakfast at your hotel. Check out at 12h00 noon. Depending on your departure time to Riyadh airport. You can return the car to the airport, go to the car rental return parking, hand over your car to the BUDGET team, and direct yourself to the departure area.

12 days tour

On The Traces Of History - Self Drive Tour

This tour includes:

Not included:

Start planning your experience

Itinerary of your trip On The Traces Of History - Self Drive Tour

Jeddah (Arrival)

Jeddah

Jeddah - Al Hada - Taif (180Km)

Taif - Medina (480Km)

Medina - Al Ula (330Km)

Al Ula

Al Ula - Madain Saleh - Al Ula

Al Ula - Jubbah - Hail (577Km)

Hail - Buraydah (280Km)

Buraydah - Ushaigar - Riyadh (390Km)

Riyadh

Riyadh (Departure)

Experience Style

Accomodation level

Experience Type

Physical Rating

Age range

Who talk about us:

Best cities to travel to

America

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania