Getting there & away

Land

Bus

The Saptco Bus Station (647 8500; Ba’ashan St) has daily departures to Abha (SR100, nine hours, every two hours), Dammam (SR200, 14 to 15 hours, three daily), Jizan (SR100, nine hours, every two hours), Najran (SR130, 14 hours, four daily), Riyadh (SR135, 12 hours, every two hours), Taif (SR30, three hours, every hour) and Yanbu (SR60, five hours, every two to three hours).

Buses also go to Medina (SR50, five hours, every two hours) and Mecca (SR10, one hour, every hour), though you must be Muslim to travel here.

For Al-Ula, passengers travel to Medina, then change to Al-Ula (SR55, five hours). If you’re a non-Muslim, you’ll need to inform the ticket vendor when you buy your ticket. The driver of your bus will be asked to drop you at a partner bus station outside the haram (forbidden) boundaries and another bus should come and pick you up from there. As it’s all a bit of an unknown quantity, you should check details first.

Car

Rental agencies can be found in the arrivals hall of the airport and in Jeddah’s centre.

Budget (642 0737; www.budget.com; King Abdul Aziz St) charges the usual rates, and the local company, Sahary Rent A Car (645 0770; King Abdul Aziz St), offers a cheaper alternative (from SR70 per day for a 2WD, including full insurance with 150km daily included (SR0.30 per extra km thereafter).

Air

Jeddah’s King Abdul Aziz International Airport (684 1707, 688 5526; Medina Rd) is north of the city centre. Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia; 632 3333; King Abdul Aziz St), departs from the south terminal (25km from the city centre). Foreign airlines use the north terminal (35km from the centre). There is also a separate Haj terminal, as well as a Royal Terminal (exclusively for the use of Saudi’s royals and VIPs).

Daily domestic departures include Abha (SR190), Dammam (SR390), Hail (SR250), Jizan (SR200), Medina (SR140), Najran (SR250), Riyadh (SR280), Sakaka (Jouf; SR300), Taif (SR110) and Yanbu (SR110). There are less regular departures for Sharurah (SR330).