How much does a trip to Saudi Arabia cost? Daily budget and prices

The table below is per person per day, assuming two people share a room at mid-range and comfort. It excludes international flights, the visa fee and multi-day desert tours. Figures are 2026 estimates.

The single biggest swing is accommodation. A budget room in Riyadh or Jeddah can be SAR 120–250; the same night in an AlUla resort in season runs SAR 800–3,000. Food and transport barely move between cities, so where you sleep decides your tier.

Street and canteen food is cheap: a shawarma or an Al Baik meal is SAR 10–25, and a kabsa or mandi plate for one is SAR 35–70. A coffee in a café is SAR 15–25. Sit-down restaurants in Riyadh and Jeddah run higher, and hotel restaurants much higher.

Transport is the second variable. Ride-hailing across 10 km in Riyadh is SAR 25–45; the metro is far cheaper where it reaches. Intercity travel is usually a domestic flight of roughly SAR 450 one way with a bag, or a long drive if you rent a car.

Paid sights and tours are where a mid-range day can double. A 4x4 desert tour adds SAR 300–800 per person, and AlUla's guided heritage tours are priced by type, roughly SAR 95–300.

Riyadh and Jeddah are the expensive end for hotels and restaurants, and Riyadh Season event nights push both up. AlUla is the sharpest spike: in-season hotels run SAR 800–3,000 a night, and the heritage tours are the reason most people go, so budget for them separately.

The Red Sea resorts are a category of their own, priced like international beach resorts. Asir, Ta'if and smaller towns in the centre and south are the cheap end: simpler hotels, local restaurants and little paid sightseeing.

Mecca and Medina sit in between for lodging, but pilgrim seasons fill rooms early and raise rates; book well ahead if your dates fall in those windows.

Eat where locals eat. Shawarma shops, Yemeni restaurants and canteens keep food at SAR 50–100 a day without much effort, and that is the same food the mid-range tier pays SAR 150–250 for.

Use the metro and ride-hailing instead of a rental car in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. Book AlUla and any event-period hotel two to three months out; last-minute in-season rooms are the single most common budget blowout.

Travel outside Riyadh Season and the school holidays, and put AlUla or the Red Sea at one end of the trip rather than weaving them in, so you pay for one expensive stretch instead of several.

The riyal is pegged to the US dollar at about 3.75, so your dollar budget barely moves with exchange rates. Cards and phone pay (Apple Pay, mada) work almost everywhere, including small shops and taxis.

Keep around SAR 200 in small notes for souqs, tips and the occasional cash-only counter. Service is often included in the bill; where it is not, 10% is common.

Tipping is not compulsory but is expected for drivers, guides and hotel staff. ATMs are widespread in cities and at airports; smaller towns and desert routes have fewer, so withdraw before you leave the city.

A 7-night mid-range trip for one person, sharing a room, lands near SAR 4,100–8,400 on the ground, plus an international flight and the visa. A backpacker week is roughly SAR 1,500–3,600 on the ground. A comfort week starts around SAR 12,000 and goes up quickly with AlUla or a resort.

Add the domestic flight if you split the trip between Riyadh and AlUla or Jeddah: about SAR 450 one way with a bag. Run your own dates and style through the trip cost estimator to see the number for your itinerary.