The expectation is often to fly between AlUla and the Red Sea. However, we encourage making this journey part of the overall experience within Saudi Arabia.

This is one of our favourite journeys within the Kingdom, by far. The road navigates the Hejaz Mountains, and the relationship between the interior and the coast goes back thousands of years. Near Al-Wajh, the ancient Nabataean port of Akrakomi once served Hegra, connected to it by an ancient route stretching some 170 kilometres inland. The wider Red Sea coast has also been travelled for centuries as part of historic pilgrimage and trading routes.

Allow around three and a half hours and don’t expect to rush. Before leaving AlUla, ask the hotel to pack a picnic: local breads, cheeses and mezze-style accompaniments, and local fruit, of course.

We often leave from AlUla, driving out through the Old Town and always taking the mountain road rather than the highway. Wonderfully wide-open stretches follow, where one might see only two or three other travellers, passing tiny villages and roadside petrol stations that look straight out of the 1950s, sometimes with a single pump. Herds of camels, donkeys and goats still share the route.

Depending on where along the Red Sea the journey ends, there is also Umluj, a working coastal town where fishing remains part of everyday life. Offshore lies an archipelago of more than 100 islands, surrounded by coral reefs and rich marine life. From here, the journey can continue onwards to the Red Sea resort.

The enormity and scale of the Kingdom is felt, not just seen. As the road winds through mountains and villages and across the final stretches of desert, there is a beautiful transition as the height, scale and volume of the AlUla landscape eventually gives way to the sparkling Red Sea, famous for its coral reefs and seascapes.

Of course, the journey is equally spectacular in reverse, starting at the Red Sea and heading towards AlUla.

Make the time, take the road. We do.