Sunday, March 4, 2012

8 Things To Do In Riyadh This March

Here's a list of some suggested activities for those in Riyadh this March.

1. Visit the International Riyadh Book Fair. The fair starts 6th March and runs through the 16th, open daily from 10 am to 10 pm at the Riyadh International Exhibition Center. There is an English books section, a female only area and an excellent children's book and activity area. Be sure to check out the religious police's hilarious stall where they display confiscated items such as T-shirts and poker chips.


2. Go to the desert! Spring is almost over and now is the time to see the desert in full bloom and the weather is not too hot yet. Easy to reach even with two wheel drives are the Red Sands area on Mecca highway and Thumamah sand dunes and park in the North. For further expeditions out of the city try Rawdhat Khuraim, directions in desert treks tab.
3. Visit the National Museum. SCTA is holding an exhibition "Recovered National Antiquities" in conjunction with the events of Al Janadriyah Heritage and Cultural Festival 2012 until the 12th of March at the National Museum. Around the museum you will find lovely parks and fountains perfect for a stroll. http://www.imagesofsaudi.blogspot.com/search/label/National%20museum


4. Visit a compound function. For the expat ladies in Riyadh there are monthly coffee mornings in compounds such as Kingdom and Jadawel. Kingdom compound has the largest expat bazaar in Riyadh every first Monday of the month(5th March) and Jadawel 11th March. This month there's also a bazaar at Cordoba on the 15th and a craftsmarket at Najdi compound on the 21st.

5.Go watch the horse races at Riyadh Equestrian Club!
Located next to the Janadriyah village, the Riyadh Equestrian Club is open and free entrance for all. Races start after Asr on Fridays. There's singles, family and a VIP sections. You can rent your own viewing room complete with private service and dinner included, no abaya needed.
http://www.imagesofsaudi.blogspot.com/2012/02/winner-takes-it-all.html


6. See (or participate in!) a golf tournament. The Dirab Golf & Country Club is hosting the AMEX 19th Annual Golf Tournament on the 28th and 29th March. This golf club is worth visiting because it has stunning scenery, a nice restaurant, swimming pools and horse stables with beautiful Arabian horses. http://www.dirabgolf.com/Default.aspx

7. Join the Riyadh Road Runners! The running season continues until end of April and all levels of runners are welcome to participate. The next 10 km run is in Salwa compound on the 16th March starting at 8 am. More info on their website: http://riyadhroadrunners.com/index.html

8. Go to the desert every weekend for a nice walk with a group of expats! Email me for details, expats only!

P.S for those asking details for opening times/family days of National Museum please check this link: http://www.arriyadh.com/Eng/Tourism/Left/KingAbdula/getdocument.aspx?f=/openshare/Eng/Tourism/Left/KingAbdula/National-Museum.doc_cvt.htm

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

These sound fascinating - I really am interested in desert trips and the book fair!

Anonymous said...

hi, thanx for the information.im new here and want to go the craftsmarket at najdi and the bazaar at jadawel. do you have any info as to locations and timings? is najdi compound the one in ghirnata? fantastic blog by the way!

Anonymous said...

hi, thanx for the information.im new here and want to go the craftsmarket at najdi and the bazaar at jadawel. do you have any info as to locations and timings? is najdi compound the one in ghirnata? fantastic blog by the way!
Umm saalih

Layla said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tiffany Wacaser said...

Thanks for the info. I'm new to the Kindgom, so this was very helpful!

Farooq said...

Hello Laylah,

I know that this isnt the place to ask but I do not know how to contact you. If I do offend you then I do apologize for it. I thought since you know Riyadh so well, maybe you knew something about what I wanted to ask. Anyway here goes..

I wanted to know whether Riyadh has a spa for babies...you know the kind where babies can swim around in small pools. My two month old son absolutely loves swimming and while he was in Singapore, he had enough chances to have a swim. Was wondering if any such thing is available in Riyadh.

Layla said...

swedemom-you're welcome nice to see you around!

Layla said...

Farooq-No worries, of course you can ask!
You have a good question, i might like to go to one with our baby as well!
The only one that comes to my mind is the DQ recreation center pool which has kiddy pools,baby pools and a wave pool! You would have to buy the annual membership to enter and it's open from May until September only.

P.s you can find my email on the contacts tab.

Farooq said...

Thanks for the info, will check that out.

Stupid me, I was checking for the contacts tab at the bottom of the page rather than the top lol.

Anonymous said...

Dear Traveller,

I will be staying in Riyadh for only few days and would really really love go around the city to show my friends the beauty of the country.

Unfortunately my travelling partners are females and they are afraid to go out. I saw my male colleagues who been to Riyadh and had taken so many beautiful pictures themselves (very jealous).

Do you have any recommendation for a trustworthy tour company I can join the package?

Unknown said...

Hey thank you for the info! I'm new to Riyadh and I'm a fashion designer. I would like to know if by any chance you know when there will be an upcoming proper fashion exhibition? In a hotel maybe? And is there a website that informs us about all the coffee mornings and events?

Thank you

www.demariafashion.com
Info@demariafashion.com