The Province of Tabuk can be reached via several airports. These include the international airports in Tabuk City, NEOM Bay Airport, Read Sea Int’l Airport and the airport in Al-Wajh, which is limited to domestic flights. The futuristic-looking Amaala Airport is currently still in the planning stage.
The Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport, which has also been open to civil traffic since 2011, is usually referred to as Tabuk International Airport , TUU. It is located close to the city in the south-east of the capital, just a few kilometres from the city centre.The majority of flight routes are to and from domestic destinations in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Medina and Abha. A large proportion of the carriers serving the airport are low- cost airlines. A sufficient number of (green) taxis are available at the airport until late at night and will take you to any destination in the city in about half an hour. The airport and the city are therefore a convenient starting point for your trip to the Tabuk region.
The long-distance road network is also very well developed in the Province of Tabuk. However, the geographical dimensions of the country will make you think twice about whether and which routes you want to cover by car.
For example, the M 55 motorway runs parallel to the Red Sea from the border with Jordan for almost 1,900 km to the border with Yemen along the towns of Haql, NEOM, Duba, Al Wajh, Yanbu, Jeddah and Jazan.
Intercity routes with destinations in Tabuk Province are operated by the bus company NW-Bus. SAPTCO, the otherwise dominant bus transport company, has little presence in the province in terms of intercity transport. Long travel times are also to be expected here. In fact, the journey from Tabuk City to Jeddah is said to take 15-16 h.
City transport is currently being developed and will be organised by SAPTCO as the ‘Tabuk Bus’.
In smaller urban areas, such as Umluj, it is difficult to book a taxi, Uber or other transport services. In some cases, these services do not yet exist or are insufficient. This means that you either need your own rental car or a so-called ‘private driver’ for shorter trips within the town or to the surrounding area.
