Saudi Arabia Travel Budget: What a Day Really Cost Me
When Saudi Arabia opened up to tourists I assumed it would be expensive, the kind of country you budget for the way you would a trip to the flashier Gulf capitals. My first visit corrected that assumption in both directions. Some costs ran higher than I expected, while others landed far lower, and the daily total settled somewhere genuinely comfortable for a midrange traveler. Here is the honest breakdown of what a day in Saudi actually cost me, straight from my own notebook.
I travel with a running cost ledger, jotting down every room, meal, ride and entrance fee so that at the end of the trip I can look back at the real numbers rather than a rosy memory. For Saudi that ledger told a story of value I had not expected, a country that can be done well without the glitzy price tag its neighbors are famous for.
Rooms in Riyadh, Jeddah and Beyond
Accommodation is the biggest variable, and the range genuinely surprised me. In Riyadh, a clean midrange hotel room set me back about 90 to 120 euros a night, with the big business hotels sitting at the top of that scale and a few pushing higher. In Jeddah I found similar rooms closer to 80 to 100 euros, a welcome dip. Budget options exist too, with hostels and basic guesthouses from about 30 euros, though I learned to book early in the mild season because places fill quickly when the weather is good.
Outside the main cities the picture changes. Places like AlUla, which draw travelers for the spectacular desert scenery, were dearer for the week I wanted, the premium driven by genuine demand for a region that trips over itself to impress. The lesson I took away was to plan my sleeping budget around the city rather than trusting a single national number. Know where you are staying and price accordingly.
Food: Bigger and Cheaper Than I Feared
Food was the pleasant surprise, and where my assumptions were most wrong. The large rice and meat dishes that anchor Saudi cooking are generous and filling, and a solid lunch of grilled chicken, rice and flatbread ran me about 8 to 12 euros. Street food and cafes were cheaper still, with shawarma and falafel from a corner shop around 3 to 5 euros. In nicer restaurants dinner pushed toward 20 to 25 euros, especially in Riyadh’s fancier spots, but everyday eating stayed comfortably midrange.
I averaged maybe 22 to 28 euros a day on food and ate very well throughout. Hearty breakfasts, juicy shawarma wraps, slow cooked lamb and endless fresh bread, plus a serious coffee culture that added a pleasant little extra on top. For anyone who treats food as one of the joys of travel, Saudi delivers rich reward for a fair price.
Moving Around a Big Country
Transport is where Saudi’s sheer scale makes itself felt, and it deserves a plan. The fast train between the big cities and the domestic flights I took came at reasonable prices, roughly 40 to 70 euros for a flight between Riyadh and Jeddah and a similar range for the big rail hops. Inside the cities, ride hailing apps were my daily workhorse, with short trips around 4 to 8 euros, and they gave me a clear price before I ever got in.
Taxis also worked, but the apps were my consistent choice for the transparent cost alone. For the huge distances Saudi asks you to cover, transport sat at a level I never found shocking, and folding it into the budget beforehand kept my daily figure steady. Getting around this country is not cheap, but it is fair, and the reward is access to places few travelers reach.
My Real Daily Total
Balance it all and a comfortable day in Saudi Arabia ran me about 150 to 190 euros: a good midrange room, three proper meals with coffee, local rides and the occasional entry fee spread across the week. With a long stay I could stretch it, but that figure felt right for a generous midrange trip. It costs more than its budget neighbors but far less than its glitzy Gulf cousins, and the value for what you experience is genuinely strong.
Book early in the mild season, choose a midrange room outside the very center and eat where the locals eat, and that number slides comfortably under 120 euros a day. Saudi gave me a rich, comfortable trip that never made me feel I was being priced out of the adventure, and that balance of experience and cost is a rare and welcome thing.
That is the honest figure to plan on, a number that struck me as fair the moment I wrote it down and seems fairer every time I recall the trip. If you have been hesitating over cost, let this be the marker that settles your mind.
