Voyages sur mesure à AlUla

All AlUla site access is booked through the Experience AlUla app (available on iOS and Android) or the alula.sa website. Timed entry tickets for Hegra cost SAR 95 per person; advance booking is mandatory (walk-up entry is not available). The site fills its limited daily capacity, especially in the October–March peak season — book at least 2–4 weeks ahead. The ticket includes the electric tram tour; the North Tombs and South Tombs groups require separate timed entry bookings. The RCU app also books guides, accommodation, and activity packages.

AlUla's Hegra and Petra are both Nabataean sites — same culture, same architectural style, same period (1st century BCE–1st century CE). Hegra is better preserved (sealed by sand for 1,800 years vs. Petra's continuous occupation), receives significantly fewer visitors, and is set in a more dramatic volcanic landscape. Petra is larger (800+ structures vs. 111 at Hegra) and has the Siq canyon approach and the Treasury facade that Hegra cannot match. Petra's infrastructure is more developed; AlUla's is newer and designed for a different visitor experience. If you can only visit one, Petra is the more complete experience; if you've done Petra and want the less-visited counterpart with better preservation, Hegra is the choice.

Saudi Arabia opened to international tourism in September 2019 (previously tourists could only enter on Hajj/Umrah religious visas or business visas). The e-visa is available online for citizens of 60+ countries (Saudi eVisa, USD 120, multiple entry, 1-year validity). The country is generally safe for tourists; the security situation is monitored by all major Western governments. AlUla, as the RCU's flagship tourism project, has significant security and visitor infrastructure. Dress code: women are no longer legally required to wear abaya in tourist areas (relaxed 2019), but modest dress (covered shoulders and knees) is appropriate in all public spaces outside hotels.

October–March is the window when AlUla is comfortable for outdoor exploration: temperatures range from 10–28°C, the desert nights are cold (below 5°C in January), and the site lighting for photography is optimal. April–September is progressively hotter; the Hegra site management closes the site at noon from March onwards due to heat (temperatures reach 45°C). The Winter at Tantora festival (December–February) brings international arts programming to the Maraya venue and attracts the highest visitor numbers of the year — book accommodation 3–4 months ahead for this period.

The Hijaz Railway was built by the Ottoman Empire between 1900 and 1908 to connect Damascus to Medina, facilitating Hajj pilgrimage and Ottoman troop movement through the Hejaz region. The 1,300-km narrow-gauge railway crossed some of the most difficult desert terrain in the world; the AlUla section cut through the volcanic Harrat landscape. During the Arab Revolt of 1916–1918, T.E. Lawrence ('Lawrence of Arabia') and Hashemite forces systematically destroyed sections of the railway to disrupt Ottoman supply lines — the section south of AlUla was never repaired. The Al-Mu'azzam station near AlUla is the most intact surviving station building, with its steam locomotive preserved on the original track, frozen in 1917.