There are few thrills that match the sensation of having a city all to yourself, even just for a day. If you only had eight or nine hours to get a feel of that city’s essence, where would you go to make the best of it?
As the bustling airports of Riyadh and Jeddah display, there has never been a better time to fly to a dream destination, with Saudia, Flynas, and the soon-to-launch Riyadh Air offering direct and multi-stop journeys all over the world, not to mention the other international carriers offering Saudi flyers a quick stop-off to see the sights of their home country.
We’ve put together a guide of fantastic summer voyages for you and your family: from checking in to landing, and everything in between – make the most of your vacation, discover a new city and travel in the lap of luxury.
Journeys From Jeddah
By the shores of the Red Sea, taking advantage of that outward-facing orientation that defines Jeddah’s character, King Abdulaziz International Airport is a gateway to Makkah too. As such, the airport has been built to welcome the world, sparing no detail in making the transit experience as calm and impressive as can be. Our first trip from Jeddah is a long, long journey that warrants a break in between – Jeddah to Sydney through the national airline, Saudia, taking a momentary pause in Kuala Lumpur.
Heading far westwards, our second trip from Jeddah to Paris through Royal Jordanian offers first-class facilities and options that are completely befitting of the airline’s regal title. Through their Zuwar Stopover Program, travellers are welcomed into the ancient city of Amman for the duration of their layover. It’s a city that’s steeped in history and heritage, in cultures colliding and coalescing together. Paris is beautiful, of course it is, but Amman is every bit as beguiling and cosmopolitan.
Whichever journey you go for, know that like any great city by the sea, from Jeddah, you can end up just about anywhere.
Jeddah – Kuala Lumpur – Sydney
Across all classes of flight, Saudia’s focus is fixed upon hospitality, making the journey as homely as can be. This experience begins in the airy lounges of King Abdulaziz International Airport, where facilities are open 24/7 for business, pleasure, or relaxation. On Saudia’s route to Sydney, first- and business-class flyers will have access to Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Lounge and Platinum Lounge, both operated by the airline’s route partner, Malaysia Airlines. These lounges are another level of luxury. You can sit down to a freshly cooked ribeye steak, sleep in total seclusion, or enjoy a coffee, brewed to order, in the elegant, flower-adorned reception areas.
Or, if you’re after more of an adventure, grab a taxi into the heart of the city and head straight to the iconic PETRONAS Twin Towers, where, right alongside, you’ll find the beautiful Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur. Situated right next to a placid park, as well as the looming towers above, the Four Seasons lives up to its international standards here, offering unparalleled access to the country’s national landmark next door. Should you want to be a bit further from the PETRONAS Twin Towers – if you’d like a room with a view of them, for instance – stay a little further out, at the Banyan Tree Kuala Lumpur, where you can take in the cityscape from the 55th floor.
Malaysia offers some of the most daring and imaginative food in all of Asia, with a generation of talented young cooks with a broad base of European and American training all returning home to elevate their national cuisine. No better is this exemplified than at the Michelin-starred Dewakan Restaurant, which takes the very best produce Malaysia has to offer and reimagines it in all manner of delightful forms: red mullet in puckeringly sour Malay broths, crunchy bites of choy sum flavoured with soy, giant barbecued prawns from the coast of Sabah. Find the time for a table, even if it’s the only thing you do – it’ll be worth it.
Once you’ve taken in the aforementioned towers, from the ground, your bed, or the dining room at Dewakan, go and explore the trendiest neighbourhood in Kuala Lumpur right now – Taman Paramount. This is where the effortlessly trendy youth of the city congregate, and as such, the area fizzes with vitality and activity, with boutiques and tea stalls abounding. An hour or two here will allow you to take in the pulse of Kuala Lumpur’s urban culture like nowhere else – take the detour, and you’ll come away from it with a widened mind and an eye on next year’s new trends.
Jeddah – Amman – Paris
Modern, open, and appointed in the ornate historical style that characterises Jordanian culture, the Royal Jordanian Crown Lounge inside Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport is a calm and charming space, perfect for a moment’s pause between Jeddah and Paris. It is, in fact, the food offering that stands out most here, and with good reason. You can have pizza and pasta, sure, but also olives, moutabbal, hummus, and kabsa, all freshly made and deliciously constructed – a taste of home before a fortnight of Parisian cuisine, perhaps.
The regional luxuries continue onto your first- and business class flight, too, with Arabic coffee awaiting you as you take your seat and dishes like mansaf available onboard. Flying with Royal Jordanian gives you access to the airline’s Zuwar Stopover Program, which allows the chance for a quick tour of Amman and ventures out to some of the country’s other historical treasures, using the nearby hotels as a base for your adventures. If you want to stay for a couple of days, head from the airport to the Bubble Luxotel Petra and use your stopover to see the ancient tombs of the Nabataeans – the same tribe responsible for the grandeur of AlUla. Or, in the capital, head to the imperious The Ritz-Carlton, Amman, and you’ll find yourself amid a spot of rare calm at the very centre of the city’s activities.
For a truly memorable yet chilled and casual afternoon’s lunch, take yourself to one of Amman’s coolest modern eateries, Shams El Balad, in the city’s hilly downtown. Opened and operated by a young couple, the restaurant has emerged as a hotspot for Jordan’s well-heeled creatives, looking for satisfying modern takes on traditional Jordanian home cooking. The focus is on sustainability, simplicity, and beyond all else, gastronomical delight; it’s the place to see and be seen in Amman and absolutely worth your time and your tastebuds.
Back in the centre, Amman has so much to offer, with ruins on a parallel of beauty with Athens and Rome. The Amman Citadel is home, famously, to the uncompleted 2,000-year-old Temple of Hercules. By the site, mysteriously well-preserved, is a stone hand purportedly from a statue of Hercules destroyed by an earthquake. Grander still is the 6,000-seat Roman theatre. Despite its age, the space is often used for displays of contemporary art, making for a scintillating juxtaposition between the old and new, a contrast that Jordan proudly embodies.
