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Mecca Hotels: 207 Reviews - 326 Photos
Medina Hotels: 212 Reviews - 320 Photos
Riyadh Hotels: 661 Reviews - 1104 Photos
Jiddah Hotels: 955 Reviews - 1191 Photos
Abha Hotels: 24 Reviews - 35 Photos
Dhahran Hotels: 86 Reviews - 129 Photos
Ad Dammam Hotels: 56 Reviews - 91 Photos
Najran Hotels: 14 Reviews - 18 Photos
Ras Tanura Hotels: 8 Reviews - 15 Photos
Sakaka Hotels: 9 Reviews - 10 Photos
Al Khubar Hotels: 66 Reviews - 144 Photos
Khamis Mushayt Hotels: 0 Reviews
`Usfan Hotels: 0 Reviews - 6 Photos
Tabuk Hotels: 13 Reviews - 4 Photos
Duba Hotels: 7 Reviews - 13 Photos

Saudi Arabia Local Customs

They discourage smoking, perhaps the...

by hajjabdullah

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They discourage smoking, perhaps the...
by hajjabdullah
This is me, hajjabdullah with some...
by hajjabdullah
Entrance to the Prohphet's Mosque in...
by hajjabdullah
Across from the Grand Mosque, Mecca;...
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You can buy a miswak [toothpick] from...
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Most Viewed Local Customs in Saudi Arabia

26.

Religion/History/Culture Jiddah

17 Reviews I recently have been to a Sufi service which is quite commong among the Sufi community men and women respectively. Since it's mainly a segregated culture when it comes to conducting such services,...

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27.

Mosques/Masjid Jiddah

13 Reviews Jeddah one of the famous cities in which the magnificence of the deep rooted past combines with the originality of the present with all its modernity. This allowed Jeddah to preserve its distinguished...

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28.

Wedding Customs Jiddah

4 Reviews this seems to be a long tradition that has originated in arabia but certainly not from jeddah. it's a mixture of henna and water i think. then, it's stirred and mixed in a bowl to make it a thick...

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29.

Holy Month of Ramadan Jiddah

8 Reviews ... you are either an invited guest in the Kingdom or by circumstance due to lack of opportunities, means, you were not forced directly by the host country to come here, therefore, you are subject to...

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30.

Schools/ Education system Jiddah

13 Reviews I liked 2 listen how school was introduced 2 Saudi Arabia & when women officially were given the right to education. Sixty yrs ago,only boys,against housekeeper girls,used 2 attend group studies...

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31.

Housing Architect. Jiddah

15 Reviews The last few years, witnessed a new architectural trend that was trying to combine modern architecture with the Arabic style. The interest in architectural heritage has gone beyond academic studies...

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32.

Wearing the veil. Jiddah

4 Reviews To cover or not to cover, that is the Western woman's question. Well, the first 3/4 of my trip I did not cover my head. The last 1/4 of my trip I did. I found that I was a lot more respected, even...

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33.

Eating Customs&Manners Jiddah

3 Reviews although i have spent most of my life in jeddah, i never thought of what the national dish could be or what jeddawi people eat in everyday life. perhaps i take everything for granted when it comes to...

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34.

Welcoming New babies to the World Jiddah

3 Reviews i guess every reader is aware that Saudia has got the highest birth rate in the world. perhaps Saudis are so proud of it, being the first generator (or exporter,lol) of human babies and resources,...

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35.

Prayertime Retreat Jiddah

3 Reviews This is what I miss most since I left home to have my break time 4 times per working day. This comes from the daily Five Islamic Prayers; Fajr (dawn), Dhohor (noon), Asr (late afternoon), Maghrib...

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36.

Local dress/Tradional wear Jiddah

1 Review For men: Shorts above the knee are not very welcome. You will feel uncomfortable anyway, cause nobody wears them. For women: Don't wear sexy clothes. Try to cover your body completely. The magic...

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37.

Eid Celebrations Jiddah

2 Reviews Eid means an annual event to be remembered by public. Jeddah celebrates two official Eids every year; Eid al Fiter and Eid al Ad'ha. The first means the celebrationf of breaking the fast, and the...

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38.

Greetings customs Jiddah

1 Review For both women and men, this greeting is common. It's to touch cheek by cheek three times on the right, one time on the left, no kissing, as one shakes hands. This greeting is only common among men to...

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39.

Services At The Corniche Jiddah

2 Reviews In Jeddah, a lot of families/friends have picnics in the evenings (once the sun sets it gets a bit cooler). Common sites are: around the monuments, sculptures and grassy median strips, and also along...

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40.

Condolence Customs Jiddah

2 Reviews its divided into 2 steps:The burial: the deceased, Islamically, should be buried ASAP as a sign of honouring them by giving them home. the deceased's body must be washed in a certain way by family...

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41.

Local Drinks Jiddah

1 Review The drink of choice in Jeddah seems to be freshly made juice. There are juice stands everywhere, and prices start at about SR 3 a glass. You choose your own fruit combinations. My favourite is...

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Arabian hospitality

by Manyana

"who should pay for the dinner?" is a long tradition of Arabian hospitality. Please don't miss this when everyone around the dinner table at a restaurant just fight who should pay for the dinner. Everyone is strongly offering to pay for everyone else, half of the table or at least their close friends. If the dinner includes two families, one should be fighting to pay for the other one. It is a sign of good hospitality and enjoyable friendship (supposedly).This is specially common among older generations, though my generation sometimes does it. well if i do it, know i like you or care for you a lot whether you're a friend, partner, acquaintance or just yourself, for me...which usually i adore!well, you are expected to say, 'no thank you, i'll pay for myself'. if they insist on paying for you,know they are willing to. This happens almost in everything, not only while dining out, but also...

a prayer for everything

by Manyana

Yes, true! integrating religion into Saudi society is just an essential part of self and group-identity. there is a prayer almost for everything you can imagine. if you want to use the bathroom, leave the bathroom, go to bed, eat and drink, dress up, have sex, sneeze, watch the lunar and solar eclipse, wait for rains, and definitely the religious festivals like Eid and Ramadan. These prayers have become a social convention and a part of daily life. On the state level, if the rain hasn't fallen in a while or there would an eclipse, the government would make announcement on TV that main mosques should perform a special prayer service across the kingdom. On the individual level, you'll see many people remind to say a little line of prayers if you sneeze, eat and finish eating or whatever. People always say, 'inshallah' or if God wills, i will do it' for everything you want to do. Even if...

Eating habits

by Manyana

i assume many people think that arabs eat with their hands. ture but not exactly. the norma nowadays is to eat with forks and spoons, following the western style i suppose. however, bread and gravy and similar stuff are eaten with hands. Using hands, i think, is an islamic tradition that became integrated into saudi culture. Eating with two fingers can be viewed as arrogance. Eating with five fingers might be seen, 'hey have you never seen food before?' and that's why it's always the best to be in the middle using three fingers or as the islamic traditions dictate or so i heard,lol.even using forks and knives has become saudised or islamicised. this's the fun part i like the most. in restaurants, the waiters always arrange my utensils as the western etiquette states, forks and spoons on my left side. and i always put them on the right side. saudis eat with their right hands on all...

Driving Rule No.1: No Rules

by Manyana

I think we have the craziest and most careless drivers in the world! well, 'cause women are not allowed to drive, so men must have gone crazy,lol.Seriously speaking, you can attend driving lessons for one week, and obtain a driving license passing that 'lame' test, literally! my brother obtained his license and he was saying 'i don't know how to drive yet and i have a license'! The legal age to obtain a driving license is 18. But you may see lots of kids of 10 years old, literally, are learning how to drive in alleys or unmonitored areas out in the desert or so! I once heard that Saudi or the GCEs have the highest rate of car accidents in the world! i think it's a heritage i should be proud of,lol.So the driving rules are:-Use the horn if the traffic light is 10 seconds late and anywhere anytime-The speed limit is 120km in city, 180km on motorways,lol.-Never fasten your seatbelt unless...

Housekeepers: Accessory or Necessity?

by Manyana

Does it sound luxury? Hmmm, in Saudi, it is a must to have a housekeeper! After the oil discovery in the 70s (I think,lol), Saudi lifestyle had become totally dependent on other-service. I mean by that, all social classes have a housekeeper at some point. Even when an architect or a real-estate agent has a deal, they do mention 'housekeeper's room available'. It is in the map! Housekeepers are not saudi females but come from different countries. Middle-class usually hires two housekeepers, depending on the number of children. Some children have their own nannies who's more likely to be the housekeeper as well. Most of the nannies live in-house with the family and co-raise the children until they get married or each 23 or so. Yes, it is the case sometimes. I know a friend whose housekeeper has been with her since she was 3 years old. My friend now is 22! Household shores; cooking,...

Regional Dances

by Manyana

I assume what people know of Middle Eastern dances is bellydancing. It is true but not Saudi at all! Regional dances are interesting. When I find the opportunity to shake my body, i just instinctively rock until someone reminds me, 'hello, this is Saudi',lol. Women's dance is usually different from men's as they dance separately. 1)Women's dance: - Rags Khaleeji or Gulf's Dance: usually in weddings. I believe there's no big difference across regions. Saudi women are 'supposed' to know it instinctively unless for me,lol. The name derived from the Gulf's region or the GCEs. It's the most popular dance perfomred by women. Individually, they just walk forward with slight swings, shaking both shoulders back and forth (not upside down), and slowly shaking necks (not heads)!Sometimes, they walk in pairs, or two women facing each other, dancing back and forth with each other.2)Men's dance:- Rags...

Religious Diversity

by Manyana

Islam is the only official religion as Saudi Arabia is an Islamic state. However, there is no one version of Islam across the kingdom. The majority is Sunni 90%, Shia 9% and Ishmaeli 1%.Even the Sunni consists of two main groups; Wahhabi which is the majority and then Sufis who are a small minority like Shia and probably less.Shia occupies mainly the eastern province where the oil is.Wahhabi usually in the central region, and scattered across the kingdom.Sufism is mostly in the western province where the two Holy Mosques are, yet it's a minority.There are around 500,000 non-Saudis from other religions like Christianity and Hinduism. But they are on work permit.

washing dishes in Saudi

by Manyana

I was compelled to write this tip after what i got to know in Germany!!Saudis usually wash their dishes one by one; meaning, you pour some soap in a small plastic bowl, add some water, mix the soap with the water. Then, you will wash one plate by one with the soap mixture, then wash them again by water (one by one). Leave them to dry at the end. A friend of mine who is German told me this is water and time consuming. She showed me how to wash the dishes in the German way. I never considered that before!! see my washing dishes in my Munich page.It can be funny to write about this but this has taught me to appreciate cultural diversity even in dish washing, i'd learn something new!

Look me in the eye VS impoliteness??

by Manyana

Women generally are private and protective and they don't like men to gaze at them or look them directly in the eye. You'd often see Saudi men generally look away when talking to women, depending if they sense a woman is over-protective or not. Some women will consider men who look them directly in the eye as bad guys with bad intentions.This is less like to be common in more open cities like Jeddah or the western region for its cultural diversity and reception of pilgrims from all over the world. The problem is one cannot tell the difference if this woman is protective or that man is innocent!!So just take this into account

On Flight...

by Manyana

If you are traveling domestically within Saudi by plane, be aware of this. Usually many Saudi women refuse to sit next foreign men and Saudi men refuse to sit next to foreign women. I mean by foreign strangers not family relatives. I am a woman and don't mind sitting next to men on the airplane but often I meet women who ask the flight attendant not to allow men sitting next to them. Actually they ask the attendant to place me next to them as if I already gave them my consent,lol!!So don't feel offended or unwanted if you are a man or woman. It is a social convention. The first I traveled by plane alone, my father asked me if a man sat next to me or not. I said, yes. He said, 'you'd have asked the flight attendant to change his seat'.Let's say that Saudi society is a jealous and protective society. It is not that serious but highly respected.

Top 3 Hotels in Saudi Arabia

Hilton Hotel Jiddah

3 Reviews and 67 Opinions i have a long history and ties with Hilton Jeddah; have been to many conferences, bazaars,...

Hotels in Jiddah

Al Faisaliah, A Rosewood Hotel Riyadh

7 Reviews and 56 Opinions The Al-Fasaliah hotel in Riyadh is part of the leading hotels of the world, from check in to check...

Hotels in Riyadh

InterContinental Dar Al Taqwa Medina

2 Reviews and 10 Opinions Dar al Taqwa is the CLOSEST hotel to the Haram in Madinah! It offers a breathtaking view of the...

Hotels in Medina

167 Hotels in Saudi Arabia

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Local Customs: Cities in Saudi Arabia

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Questions and Answers

Q: Greetings! I have a friend/business partner who would like to do some traveling in the United States. He is a Saudi citizen...

A: The answer is that your friend cannot count on any "typical" scenario. He could be in and out of immigration in five minutes, or it could take 50 minutes, or 5 hours, or...

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