It is reasonably well known that getting a visa to go through the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has some difficulties so a quick run through of the issues may be in order. There are a number of different types of visa – family, business, transit, Pilgrimage for Hajj etc. However, there is, at present, no such thing as a tourist visa (except as part of an organised tour) and therein lies the issue for overlanders. There is talk of an e-visa but the details are sketchy at the moment but is part of a long term drive to reduce the dependence on oil for the economy. This post is looking at transit visas and their idiosyncrasies.

Firstly, transits visa are normally used by people on stopovers at the airport rather than people travelling across the country. As a result the entry and exit points are specified on the paperwork and appear to be stuck with most of the time. You may get away with the wrong exit / entry point but don’t count on it and more than one traveller has been turned around.

Secondly, transit visas are normally of a short duration – as little as 72 hours has been suggested to me - when you consider that they are mostly used for people on stopovers at the airport you will understand why that is considered normal. However, they can also be for round trips and may be for as long as 90 days however this may still impose a 72 hour transit time at each end - the 90 days is the time between the start and finish of the visa validity but the clock starts for the 72 hours when you cross the border - i don’t know if this 72 hours is negotiable or fixed. If the duration is as short as 72 hours then this could be problematic as the distance from the Red Sea ferry port of Duba to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is around 2,000km (1,250 miles) and if that has to be done in 72 hours then the sightseeing may need to be curtailed.

Thirdly, the application for the visa needs to be done in advance and have accompanied to it the visa for the countries before and after the KSA. This is done to ensure that no-one gets stuck in the KSA. As a result you will need to get the KSA visa after you have them for, say, UAE and Egypt.

Fourthly, documents – particularly those relating to the vehicle - should be translated into Arabic for the border crossing – it may be prudent to have a couple of spare copies available. A carnet is required as is international driving permit etc - the normal sort of thing really. There is a requirement to have health insurance – this needs to be bought at the border but doesn’t appear to be very expensive.

Fifthly, motorcyclists can’t use the causeway to go across to Bahrain so the bike has to be trailered across. Driving styles in KSA are described as interesting.

Finally, Israel. If you have an Israeli stamp in your passport then you are likely to be turned back. If you have been to Israel and crossed over the land borders to say Egypt or Jordan then the absence of the Israeli stamp will not help as the Egyptian / Jordanian crossing point will give the game away that you have been to Israel so entry may still be denied. US citizens may be able to get a second passport to avoid this situation. Also remove all luggage labels etc that indicate you have been to Israel - they have been enough to be denied entry in some Arab states.

To have a read of what a UAE resident went through in June 2017 to go to Bahrain have a look at the web page - https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g294012-i871-k10623763-o30-Driving_from_UAE_to_Bahrain_via_Saudi_Arabia-United_Arab_Emirates.html - there is a huge amount of detail together with costs and time taken. Note 1 Arab Emirate Dinar = about 0.21GBP = about 0.27 USD. This webpage mentions a Tourism Certificate being needed for a transit visa but I am not sure whether this is obtainable outside the UAE or even what it is - if anyone can add to this bit it would be appreciated.