Jeddah
You can be here in February for about €818, 4 days, 1 stop.
Why now
Prime time in February: 28°C days, dry, sea 25°C.
November to March is the season for the Corniche and the old town; summer is hot and humid, worse than Riyadh's dry heat. Hajj and Umrah seasons crowd the airport and hotels, since Mecca is an hour away, and the Jeddah Season programme runs in the cooler months.
Best months here: January, February, December. Daytime highs, sea temperature and rainy days from three years of Open-Meteo reanalysis; a rainy day is one with at least 1 mm of rain, which is the WMO threshold and not the same as "it drizzled".
The place
Jeddah is the Red Sea port that has received pilgrims for fourteen centuries, and it shows in a mixed, easygoing city that Riyadh has never been. Al-Balad, the old town of coral-stone houses with wooden rawashin balconies, is being restored block by block; the Corniche runs for miles with public sculpture and the King Fahd fountain. It suits people who want Saudi Arabia at its most relaxed, with diving on the doorstep.
What you can do
- 01Walk Al-Balad in the late afternoon: Bab Makkah, the Nasseef House, the alleys of rawashin and the evening markets.
- 02Dive or snorkel the reefs north of the city, or the Red Sea wrecks, with a licensed centre.
- 03Eat saleeg or mandi in a local restaurant on Al Andalus Street rather than a hotel, then karak on the Corniche.
- 04See the open-air sculptures on the Corniche, Moore and Miró among them, and the fountain after dark.
- 05Take the Haramain high-speed train to Medina or, for non-Muslims, to the outskirts of Mecca at Rusaifah.
Where to stay · neighbourhoods
Stay in or near Al-Balad for character and walking, or on the Corniche for hotels and the sea. The northern resorts suit divers and families staying put.
Unusual things
- ◦The Floating Mosque, Al Rahma, built over the water on the Corniche, best at sunset when it seems to sit on the sea.
- ◦Tayebat Museum, a private collection in a rebuilt Hejazi complex covering the region's history and Islamic art.
- ◦Fakieh Aquarium and the nearby fish market at Bangalah, where the day's Red Sea catch is grilled on the spot.
Day trips
Flight options
Routes come from OpenFlights (historical) and a 2026 route reference compiled from public timetables. Durations are the published schedule where we have it, otherwise a block-time model fitted on measured nonstop flights. Verify schedules with the airline before booking.
Flight.Deals has not measured this route from Catania yet, but it does measure Jeddah from Rome (€272 typical).
Entry requirements · IT passport
Saudi Arabia: e-visa or visa on arrival for eligible passports, ~SAR 535 incl. insurance.
Source: passport-index-data, March 2026 (coarse indicator), covering 258 of our 268 destinations for each of 199 passports. Always confirm with the destination's official site.
Airports
Distances are centre to airport derived · nonstop counts are our route reference for 2026, not every flight that exists.
Local transport
- Airport to city
- Taxi, 30 min, ~€15
- Car needed?
- Recommended for most of what is worth seeing
- Getting around
- Taxis and ride apps are the only realistic way around, and the city is spread over a long coast. King Abdulaziz Airport is about 30 minutes north; the Haramain train station is beside it.
- Clock
- 2 hours ahead of Catania (Asia/Riyadh) derived
- Daylight
- 11.4 hours of daylight in February · sunrise 06:55, sunset 18:20 derived
- Currency
- SAR
Good to know
Jeddah is relaxed by Saudi standards, but the law on alcohol and public behaviour applies; non-Muslims cannot enter Mecca, and checkpoints on the road enforce it.
Alternatives at a similar price
Whole trip per person for 4 days from Catania in February, then the flight time; estimates, like the total above.
Riyadh
Addis Ababa
Muscat
Delhi, Agra
Cape Verde
Salalah