oneworld82

RohanDXB

Depending on how long you're in Riyadh for, you should try to go to the Edge of the World - it's not easy to reach and requires some off-road driving but it is definitely worth the effort. The Ad Diriyah district on the north-west of the city is a pretty cool (if a bit sanitized) look at the original home of the royal family.
Also, for quite a while, Madain Saleh has been closed and a quick google search did not give a conclusive answer on whether it has reopened to the public - some comments say that it will be closed for two years.

Riyadh does get surprisingly cold in the winters so pack accordingly (in case you haven't considered that already). The Blue Abaya is a great resource to find interesting things to do.

Ro

JamesKidd

Yes a few:

• Don't talk positively about Qatar
• Don't talk about Jamal
• Don't be critical of the ruling family
• Don't criticise any decisions made by the ruling family
• Don't eat breakfast with women you aren't related to
• Don't shake hands with women
• Keep saying how wonderful the country is at regular intervals

Other than that, it's a brilliant country and welcoming of tourists

bwiadca

Please tell me what to do in Riyadh. I've been here almost a year and I'm yet to find anything to do after work.

Zol

Its not that bad, there is definitely an amplification of the strictness of governance. Its pretty easy going, yes be careful of breaking laws but otherwise nothing to worry about that much.

I have had coffee and breakfast with women in public for meetings and nobody bat an eye lid. I actually enjoy my trips to Saudi Arabia, if you like meat then I definitely recommend having meals at the traditional Saudi/Yemeni restaurants.

JamesKidd

Oh ok, but still most of the points hold true. Though I believe the bone saw crown prince has withdrawn religious police from the streets, so maybe not as many public caneings.

OccasionalFlyerPerson

These are all things that I could do easily in Iran. (Substituting government for ruling family.)

AlanInDC

Heh. I love to travel, but Saudi Arabia is about the last country on my want to visit list, with South Sudan and North Korea.

bwiadca

Yemeni restaurants maybe, but Saudi restaurants are bad. I've been to 10-15 different Saudi joints around Riyadh and yet I'm to find one with good food. Kabsas are as bland as they come. I had it with chicken, beef and camel. All taste the same, bland...

All western food places (Shake shack, BK, McD, Five Guys, Subway, Dominos, Pizza Hut etc.) are bad. All other local fast food places are also bad. Kudu and iBurger being the worst of them all.
I love Indian food but what I've got in Riyadh so far was just plain crap. I have better Indian food in US or even in Frankfurt Germany!
From what I've noticed over the last year while living in Riyadh, they simply don't know how to cook meat. Don't order anything with beef or you will be surprised.

Shawarma in Riyadh is probably also one of the worst ones I had in my life. Everybody is raving about Shawarma House. Nope. Shawarma at Mama Noora? Nope. These are supposedly the best shawarma places in Riyadh, but they go for quantity over quality.

If I want to have some meat with flavor, I go to Jordanian places on Sulamaniyah street. They have mancif style bowls where the meat actually have some flavor.
We also found mid range price joint with decent food. Turkish kabob place on Prince Muhammad Abdulaziz Road. For two people we've paid only $25, and the food was pretty good. Before we knew about this place we were going to other restaurants on Abdulaziz Road. At Abd El Wahab don't expect to pay anything under $75 per person. Food is good but expensive. There is another Lebanese restaurant couple of minutes walking north from this place, also, good food but minimum $100 per person for dinner.
Another good restaurant is called Tokyo. It's a sushi place. Very expensive but one of the best sushi I had in my life. For two people we've paid $200.

Another good food option in Riyadh is Egyptian kusheri. The only one that is recommended is from El Moez Street. Kusheri from other restaurants were bad. This one is amazing.

To conclude my post, you can either eat good in Riyadh if you are willing to spend a lot of money, or you have very limited options for budget dining.

Thanks god that more people from my office got Saudi visas, because of it I don't have to got back to that place anytime soon

ArnoldMuller

I wouldn't go to KSA unless I have to, it's not the best country for vacations or trips

Nayef

A Saudi-linked PR firm posted this teaser video ahead of the presumptive tourism/visa announcement on the 27th.