Places to Visit in Jeddah

The commercial and entertainment capital of Saudi Arabia, Jeddah offers a dazzling range of sites and activities combined with mouthwatering cuisine.

 

Now serving as an open-air museum dubbed the “Gate to Makkah,” historic Jeddah has been placed under UNESCO protection, having been a major Red Sea port for 2,500 years and an indispensable pilgrimage hub since the seventh century.

Sightseeing in Jeddah includes a huge stone wall featuring a number of gates, and a traditional urban core with many old-style houses and mosques.

The city also offers a plethora of shopping options for tourists, from traditional souks to top-notch multi-level malls.

It is also the largest sea port on the Red Sea, offering a few sea-related attractions worth visiting.

Here is a list of some places to visit in Jeddah:

If you’re looking for more family-friendly fun, this theme park is definitely a good choice because it has a wonderful combination of adult and children’s entertainment activities.

The park has various leisure areas with beautiful landscapes, a lake and restaurants. Spread over a 60,000 square meter area, and located on Jeddah’s Cornish, Al-Shallal receives around 1 million visitors each year, according to its website.

It features an arcade gaming zone, an ice skating rink, roller coaster and a theme area called the Amazon Ride, which has a lagoon and a 15-meter high water fall.

There is also an auditorium, theaters, education facilities and various activities and programs. Only women and boys up to six year old and height less than 120 cm are allowed.

The expected entrance fee amounts to SR.25 to SR.50 to enter. Certain rides are included in the entrance fee.

Google Map Location: Al-Shallal Theme Park

Donated by King Fahd to the city in 1985, this fountain is the tallest in the world, spraying water up to 260 meters above the Red Sea.

The fountain, which only comes on at dusk and runs during the night, is so high that there are 16 tons of salt water from the sea in the air at any one time, reaching speeds of 375 km/hour.

Google Map Location: King Fahd’s Foundation

• The Floating Mosque

Registered as the Rehma Mosque, named after an influential Saudi merchant family, the Floating Mosque is striking in its architecture.

Built into the coast on a set of pillars, this beautiful white mosque appears to float during high tide, and is best visited at sunrise or sunset.

Google Map Location: The Floating Mosque

• Fakieh Aquarium

Fakieh aquarium is the only aquarium for the public in Saudi Arabia and offers educational and entertainment by presenting the wonders of the underwater environment of the Red sea and marvels brought from other seas and oceans around the world.

It has more than 200 species including Sharks, Groupies, String Rays, Napoleon Wrasse, sea horses, Murrays etc.

Families can also enjoy the amazing Dolphin and Seal Lion show every day.

Google Map Location: Fakieh Aquarium

• Sail Island

Sail Island is a fantastic place for children and adults to enjoy in the hot weather.

It is characterized by beautiful seating under shading sails and well equipped swimming pools for children.

Further, rides and sandy playground are also there. It also has a restaurant and cafe by the shore with its breath taking sunset view and entrance tickets can be redeemed at the restaurant for meals.

Google Map Location: Sail Island

• Obhur Bay

A long inlet of the Red Sea in the north of Jeddah, Obhur offers hotels, restaurants, scuba diving shops, and a nice walk by the Corniche (coastal walkway).

Here one can enjoy a boat ride on the open Red Sea with family and friends, where a number of boats and yachts are available for rent on an hourly or daily basis.

Some are fishing boats, while others have been turned into floating restaurants. In this area, jet skis are also available for youth, in addition to many resorts for families to enjoy swimming and picnic.

Google Map Location: Obhur Bay

• The Jeddah Corniche

If anyone visits Jeddah, he or she should never leave without visiting the Corniche, where most recreational facilities for sports, enjoyment, and tourism are available.

The Jeddah Corniche is divided into the southern and northern corniche, stretches almost 110 kilometers, with plenty of international hotels, restaurants, amusement parks, places for fishing, picnic areas, a science museum, and mosques.

The South Corniche is lined up with numerous facilities and services, such as playgrounds, amusement parks, lush landscape, and spacious paved areas, as well as many shaded seating, walking and jogging areas for families to enjoy the ocean view.

The North corniche has been established according to international standards. New swings, challenging sports activities, slopes, monkey bars, shaded areas, grass gardens, tiled pavement, sitting areas and benches — almost all facilities are available for family fun and a picnic.

In the new Corniche, barbequing is not allowed, but visitors can still enjoy the barbeque at the sea front in the Northern Corniche.

Google Map Location: Jeddah Corniche

• Dhaban Marine Park

Dhaban Marine Park is a really great and large park for families to visit, located about 20 minutes north of the private beaches in North Obhur on the front of the red sea.

It has large play and sports areas for children. It also has a beach area with sand where kids can enjoy the swimming and playing in the shallow water.

As build on the front of the sea it offers a spectacular view of red sea especially the sunset when the fire ball (sun) disappearing in sea is breathtaking. Barbeque facility is also available at the sea front.

Overall, It’s a nice park for a leisurely stroll and just to sit back and relax. It’s fairly quiet during the daytime but very crowded in the evening.

Google Map Location: Dhaban Marine Park