Jeddah is the Red Sea port and the usual base for diving on this stretch of coast. Umluj is one of the three points the Saudi coast is reached from, along with Jeddah and Yanbu. Putting the two together gives you the old city first and the water second.
The Saudi Red Sea coast runs more than 1,700 kilometres, and its reefs have had very few divers on them. More than 90 islands lie offshore. Development along the central stretch is arriving slowly and deliberately, which is the whole point of going now.
This one suits people who want to be in the water for part of the trip. Diving is optional throughout - every boat day works as well with a mask and snorkel.
Day by day
Arrive Jeddah
You are met at the airport and driven to your hotel. Jeddah has the country's second international airport and is the standard arrival point for the west coast. The evening is yours; Jeddah is the most relaxed of the big Saudi cities and the waterfront is the easy way to start.
Historic Jeddah
A guided morning in Historic Jeddah (Al-Balad), the old quarter added to the World Heritage List in 2014. The city has been the sea gateway to Makkah since the 7th century, and the pilgrim and Indian Ocean trade paid for what stands here: tower houses of coral stone faced in the carved wooden bay windows called roshan.
A good part of the quarter is propped and under restoration, so you are walking through a working site rather than a finished one, which is worth knowing before you arrive. The afternoon is yours.
Red Sea day from Jeddah
A full day on the water off Jeddah, on the Red Sea coast. You go out by boat to the reef with a qualified guide. Certified divers dive; everyone else snorkels the same sites from the surface.
The reefs on this coast sat outside mass tourism for decades, and that is the reason to be here: coral in a condition that has become rare in the northern Red Sea. Back in the city for the evening.
On to Umluj
You leave Jeddah after breakfast and travel on to Umluj.
You check in on arrival, and the rest of the day is left open so the following day on the boat starts properly rested.
A day on the water from Umluj
A full boat day from Umluj with a qualified guide. The day is spent swimming and snorkelling over reef, and diving is arranged for anyone certified who wants it.
Snorkelling equipment, lunch and drinking water are carried on board. You are back on shore in the late afternoon.
Depart Umluj
The morning is yours, then you are driven to your departure point for the onward journey. The transfer is arranged to suit, whether you are returning to Jeddah to fly out or carrying on to another point on the coast.
What is included
- Five nights' hotel accommodation with breakfast
- Private air-conditioned vehicle with driver throughout
- Guided walking tour of Historic Jeddah
- Two full boat days with a qualified guide, one off Jeddah and one off Umluj
- Snorkelling equipment and lunch on both boat days
- Transfer from Jeddah to Umluj
- Airport transfers on arrival and departure
- Drinking water in the vehicle and a 24-hour contact number
What is not
- International flights
- Saudi tourist eVisa, which you apply for yourself on the official government portal
- Scuba diving, equipment and certification
- Travel insurance
- Dinners, tips and personal items
The places on this trip
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