Day tripping in Saudi

Hey Mario,

Count me in, I am always in for such a trip!

Last year I wanted to do a road trip to a friend in Qatar through KSA and found out that I need a transit visa (valid for 72 hour I believe?) that I can get from a place in Hawally. I guess this would work for a quick day trip. At the end I did not go so this is all I learned so I would like to hear from someone who has first hand experience too.

Good day Ribosom

I will look into this a little further, make sure what are all the paperwork required, etc. and call the Saudi Embassy just to make sure.  See if I could link up with anyone working in KJO to see what thier experience is. Would let you know once through, about a week should be enough.

Mario

Mario; firstly getting into saudi is not as easy as other countries - by getting in i mean to visit for a period longer than Riba suggested - 72 hours. there are a lot of laws in saudi that are not in kuwait - such as women driving, being with a woman in the same car that you are not related to etc.

as far as tourist visas go, there are none - at least not for non-muslims as the closest thing to a tourist visa would be an umrah visa which is valid for 30 days.

on the other hand, whilst flying over kuwait en route from india via sharjah, i noticed that there are a lot of oases in the desert border with Iraq.

North, south? that would seem a more viable option.

and in any case, count me in for a road trip any time

one last thing; the saudi embassy is NOT responsible for visas, they have outsourced that to the offices located in Hawally as Riba mentioned; right behind the nuqra police station, just across the street.

Good day All

I went to the Saudi Arabian Embassy yesterday to get some information on driving to Dubai, UAE from Kuwait. The one guy (?) who could communicate in English (to some extent) said it was no problem.  The requirements are:
•    Copy of passport information page
•    Copy of Kuwait visa
•    Car registration (I think insurance should be included and company permission letter if under a company’s name)
•    Letter stating the purpose of trip
•    Copy of marriage certificate if going with wife and family

The visa is valid for 1 month and allows three days to go and three days return.  The process should take about 1-2 hours or if you want drop the documents and return the next day. If going on the 22nd Decemeber then apply on the 15th is good.   What was not said is cost and employment type. The guy at the Embassy saw my Civil ID and said no problem. From the Saudi Embassy Website (http://embassies.mofa.gov.sa/sites/Kuwa … fault.aspx ) the cost for a visa is about 10 USD.

(Any Arabic speaker could call to confirm this information as the guy's English is limited and my Arabic limited).

I was thinking of leaving on the 22nd December to arrive on the 23rd December staying in a hotel at Al Hofuf for a night then spend three or five days in Dubai and spend two days returning.  The drive is about 1200 kms, so breaking it into 600 km and one border cross a day as I have a two year old.

If you know anyone who may be interested let me know.  Partly safety and partly making the journey a bit more interesting in a group. 

Mario

wow TriniMario many thanks for the useful info!

im a bit confused tho as the two times i have been to saudi (2010 & 2012) we were told that the visa services was not at the embassy but outsourced to an office called Al-Jazeera.

worth looking in to definitely tho!

Hey Mario - thanks for going through the trouble to check this info. Interesting trip offer as well, I am very tempted. We were planning to take a quick trip to Oman in late December (by plane of course), but we also have a road trip to Bahrein on the to do list. Now that you mention it maybe we can reconsider our plans and join you. Safety in numbers!

We also have a 14-month old so we know what's involved. I'll discuss it with the head of the household and get back to you!

Not sure I would want to go to Dubai as I find it unexciting and was there multiple times already, but I would like to reach Doha  and visit a friend there.

Turns out Legacy is right, embassy is not issuing visas, they outsourced it to a number of places around Kuwait. Actually the list of places and contact numbers are posted right next to the embassy entrance. They allowed me to snap a picture, so I am posting it for everyone to enjoy.
It is in Arabic of course, but you will manage. For us south of the 7th ring road, the place is in Fahaheel, it is called Wataniya, located next to the LuLu on the third floor of the building where Mothercare is.
Office hours from 9-14 and 16-22. We need one picture each with white background and it is 9 KWD per person to process the visa, that is what I know so far.



Hope it helps someone.

(Y)

i need to pay a visit to the Qatari embassy. I've dealt with aljazeera, they are the most reliable when it comes to issuing saudi visas. it would be worth the trip Riba, plus we can catch up with some sheesha or atleast hook you up with the essential DIY kit for home usage

Good day Ribosom

Thanks for the information. Strange (or not) that we got different info from the same place about the same thing. Oh well once I am able to travel  will look further into this. The mystery continues.

Let us know when you go, consider it remote security support.

Enjoy your Christmas and New Year.

Oh, I don't find it strange at all, we all learned to know better than that.

Thanks, although it is not yet clear whether I'll be going or not as I am having a bit of a skirmish with my emploter now about by days off. I will be ready though and let you know if we do leave. If you don't hear back from me by Jan 1st, alarm the police.

We made it! 

Did a road trip to Bahrain over the holidays, and it was a ton of fun. The drive is a bit boring-ish and it is mostly a truckers country out there, but arriving at Bahrain made it all worthwhile. Recommended!

Hi there Rib,
interesting post! Can you give us more details.. say how were the border crossings? .. is there anything worth visiting while on the way.... maybe any sites to visit in northern saudi while on the way to bahrain..

thanks

Glad you asked.

Saudi border has that North Korea vibe with all the barbed wire and grey buildings. You can tell that KSA-Kuwait border crossing is not frequented by tourists.

Apart from that, there are 4 booths, at each one you get a paper that you hand over at the next one. No clue what the paper said or was. On the last one you pay car insurance which was just a few KDs for two weeks.

They almost turned us back because my wife residency was valid for less than a month, which is a no-no. Finally the "captain" decided we can continue, but warned us that Bahrainis can ask about it too, but they didn't even blink.

I wouldn't say there is anything worth visiting along the way. It is sparsely populated industrial area. Most of the time you are dealing with the following scenery:



There are some interesting parts with palms, camels and sandy dunes though, and even swamps it seems:





Causeway to Bahrain:



Detail caught on our way back:



And I especially liked this, just across the Kuwait - KSA border there is a gas station with a convenient Falcon shop:



Bahrain has a lot of greenery compared to Kuwait thanks to natural sources of fresh water:

how long did the drive take? were you required to produce any docs in saudi for bahrain or did they just say drive on through to bahrain?

It can be done in 4-5 hours plus time spent at the crossings. We took it easy, drove within limits, stopped a couple of times for a rest and made it in just under 7 hours.

Saudis don't care about your Bahrain documents, they confirm your exit at the crossing (and I believe they have cameras that recognize license plates as the guy at the Saudi side towards Bahrain knew my name without me producing any documents as soon as I pulled over )

Thanks so much for the info and the pictures.. does look interesting and it is a change of scenery.

One point to add is that that every Thursday evening the crossing into Bahrain may take long hours, for the very obvious reason I will not discuss on here   Not sure it's true or not though as have never done it myself but just a note that may help.

It is definitely true, do not go there on Thursday evening, you will wait for hours at the causeway crossing.

i was in bahrain over a weekend, suffice to say i saw a lot more "foreign plates" from a "certain neighbor" than i did local plates.

'nuff said.

Hi Guys,

I'm planning for road trip from Kuwait to Bahrain this month, so wanted your opinion about road condition en route to Bahrain in Saudi including short break while touring through Saudi like Restaurant, nature' call

Waiting for your valuable response

I believe I already addressed your concerns in this very thread.

The road is rough at times, but it is a 4-lane road all the way. There are many stops along the way but they are good for emergency stops mostly.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Thanks Ribosom

oh so I need to be cautious while driving in Saudi due to rough road, I'm planning to drive on Wednesday and preferably before sun-rise since I reside in Salmiya planning to leave by 5AM, can you provide some tips for smooth trip through Saudi

A year ago there were some roadworks going on so parts of it should be in better shape now. There is nothing special to it, traffic is light and consists mostly of trucks, and there isn't much to see along the way.

Dude

good piece of information I will keep a note it, and surely I will update this forum with my experience too 

Hoping it will be comfortable ride during my transit through checkpoint

Most probably will. Bahrain is worth a trip at least.

Thanks mate .. good day

Hi Ribosom,

Finally I made my round trip from Kuwait - Bahrain - Kuwait, I must say it was really awesome, in couple of days I will be posting my road trip experience

Glad to hear that, hope you enjoyed the destination as much as I did!

On Thurdays; after 12:00 noon it might take longer than if you make it in the morning...