Is it safe to travel to Saudi Arabia?

Tourism and Saudi Arabia:

Saudi Arabia houses many breathtaking sites such as Rub Al Khali, which is a vast desert known as a tourist attraction in Saudi Arabia. Mada'in Saleh is also located in Saudi Arabia, it's a very ancient city that is known to captivate tourists' attention because of its carvings and the morphing of the rocks in that area. There are also many beautiful beaches on the coast of Saudi Arabia which tourists come to. If you are a person that loves to go on big adventures you are going to love your trip to Saudi Arabia.

Recently with the Saudi Arabian Prince's new outlook toward tourism in Saudi Arabia, he has said that in the next few years the laws of Saudi Arabia might change. A few of the laws of Saudi Arabia have changed in the past few years. The ban on women driving cars was lifted in recent years in Saudi Arabia.

The government of Saudi Arabia hopes to build Saudi Arabia as a more tourist-friendly place in the upcoming years. Now, tourist attractions have more recognition, and more tourist sites are getting built to attract more foreigners to Saudi Arabia.

Many things that may seem normal to you, will be illegal in Saudi Arabia. Because of the deep-rooted traditions of Saudi Arabians, there are so many things that the locals in the country consider forbidden, or illegal to do, which might seem normal to you.

Taking all of these facts into consideration, you may wonder if it's worth traveling to Saudi Arabia and if it's safe to go to visit Saudi Arabia. It is best to know what you will need to avoid during your stay in Saudi Arabia so you can steer clear of any trouble.

Knowing the religion and culture of Saudi Arabia:

The views of the people of Saudi Arabia are quite conservative because of their primary religion. Islam is the primary religion in Saudi Arabia, and the laws created in Saudi Arabia are known as Sharia law.

The people of Saudi Arabia are very welcoming, helpful, and nice. The locals are always willing to guide you when you need it. A few things such as,

• Showing too much skin for males and especially females is considered bad behavior. For females, you should wear loose clothing, not fitted, and you should not show legs or shoulders skin.
• The use of alcohol, or even asking for it is considered illegal.
• Showing too much public display of affection is considered bad behavior.
• Getting intoxicated is considered bad behavior.
• The use of drugs can get you arrested.
• Taking pictures of locales and government buildings and police army troops can get you a penalty.
• Holding any sort of pornography on your device, or even drawing it can get you a penalty and confiscation of your device. Eating or ordering pork can also get you in legal trouble.

Now as long as you don't do these things, you will not have any problem visiting any place, and you will be welcomed with open hands.

How to visit Saudi Arabia safely:

Getting your Saudi Arabia e Visa for Saudi Arabia has become so much easy now. With so many countries now eligible for applying to visit Saudi Arabia, anyone can visit the country. The country even issues an e-Visa within a week of your form submission.

With hopes of reforming the economy by 2030, the Saudi Arabia government is offering e-Visa to many countries all around the world. If your country is on the list of countries eligible for traveling to Saudi Arabia, you can request an e-Visa.

The process is very smooth and effective, applying for an e-Visa takes less time and is efficient, but you should consider a few things when traveling to Saudi Arabia.

When traveling to Saudi Arabia, you should avoid packing alcohol, liquor, wine, or beer because it will get confiscated. You can not bring pork meat or cooked dishes to Saudi Arabia, it will get confiscated at the airport. The use of drugs or bringing drugs into Saudi Arabia can get you jailed. You should not drink on your flight to avoid any disputes.

Saudi Arabia is a law-abiding country, if you do not take any of these items on your trip, you will not encounter any problems on your trip.

Visiting Saudi Arabia solo:

The country of Saudi Arabia has a low crime rate overall, and the police are quick to the action. Most foreigners have no problems during their visit to the country. You will not get into any trouble there, as long as you do not commit anything that offends a culture or a tradition of hinders the lives of the local people residing there. Foreigners usually don't encounter a problem during their stay in Saudi Arabia.

If you are traveling to Saudi Arabia alone you should take general advice like you take in every country during your visit. Since you do not know the places and need directions, you should always take these few points mentioned below, into consideration.

• You should try to take care of your bag, phone, and wallet in public places so you don't become a victim of theft.
• You should keep some cash on hand, in case you have an emergency, and there's no ATM nearby.
• You should not wear a lot of expensive or flashy clothes, jewelry, or items. If you take many expensive items out in public, they might get stolen by someone.
• You should avoid walking late out at night on streets and alleyways with low and dim lights.

Female tourists and Saudi Arabia:

Saudi Arabia is a country that is quite strict with its laws on females especially. Saudi Arabia is quite a conservative country in today's world, with laws that were established hundreds of years ago. Only just in the last five years was the ban on female driving, and watching sports games lifted. Female lone travelers used to avoid coming to Saudi Arabia with all of the restrictions placed on females in the country, but now those laws have lessened, and tourists have developed quite an interest in visiting Saudi Arabia.

If you are a female that is traveling alone to Saudi Arabia, these are a few things you should keep in mind when packing for your trip to the country. Because of their restrictions, you can not wear off-the-shoulder clothes, skimpy clothes, mini skirts, bikinis, and tight jeans.

The government of Saudi Arabia prefers that women don't show much skin in places that are open to the public, so you will not be able to wear clothes that show off any leg skin, or shoulders and back.

The government even advises foreigners if they could wear a coat, abaya, or a scarf during their visit so that they will not get any unnecessary stares, and enjoy their trip without any problem.

If you're going to Saudi Arabia to perform religious duties, such as Hajj and Umrah, you should go with a male. The male companion has to be a mahram for you or you will not be allowed to perform the pilgrimage.

You should avoid traveling outside of your hotel, or place of residence when it's late at night without a male companion in Saudi Arabia. You should avoid walking in poorly lit streets and alleyways at night.

Traveling to Saudi Arabia as a member of the LGBTQ community.

In Saudi Arabia, it is less likely for you to get into trouble if you don't do anything that is considered out of character for the normal lives of the locals.

LGBTQ and Saudi Arabia:

The people of Arab are mostly Muslims, and the laws of the country of Saudi Arabia are loosely based on the religion Islam, which is called Sharia law.

According to Sharia law, gay marriages, men dressing like women, women dressing like men, basically the entire LGBTQ views are considered Haram. Therefore, the law of Saudi Arabia is against transgenders, queers, and gays. If you are caught engaging in sexual activity with a partner of the same sex you will get jailed, deported, or worse, a death sentence.

You should be cautious about acting like a couple, you should not even hold hands in public in Saudi Arabia, and wear clothing that does not attract negative glances to avoid any illegal problems.