Cyprus, UAE, & Saudi Arabia [2025]

Dec 1, 2025
6 min read

Updated: Mar 19

We decided to visit friends in Cyprus and timed it with the Abu Dhabi Hash annual Rehydration run in Abu Dhabi, and ended the trip with an epic adventure to Saudi Arabia. We hiked, ran, scuba dived, and went canyoneering. It was special trip to see friends again and travel to the last of the Arab countries we'd yet to visit <3

Pre-trip Notes (Saudi Arabia)

Saudi visa: You definitely need one to visit! Oddly, there are multiple websites advertising Saudi visas, we used this one and it worked well.
Driving: Having lived in the UAE for five years previously and knowing Saudis are known to be even crazier when it comes to driving, we opted to hire cars and fly when needed. Driving in Jeddah was a lot more like Cairo than we expected lol. Also, women can drive! We had a female driver from our AlUla camp to the airport.
- We used DayTrip to schedule a driver to get us from Madinah to AlUla, and it worked out very well. Highly recommend if you aren't comfortable with driving.
Flights: When planning a few months ahead of time, we found that the Saudia flights changed often and significantly enough we were worried about our schedule being thrown off. So, we waited to book the Saudi flights until about a month and a half out from the start of our trip. We had no issues with flights being rescheduled or cancelled, but we did read this can happen so do a little research.
Tickets: Anything we could book and pay for ahead of time, we did (scuba, canyoning, tours, etc.).
Female attire: No hijab needed anywhere. Ash did, however, felt she blended better by wearing loose-fitting long sleeves and pants.

What We Did

Larnaca, Cyprus

Half Marathon: We ran the half as part of the Radisson Blu Larnaka International Marathon. It was a well-run, and flat race which took us through older parts of the city, and overall really enjoyed it!
Zenobia Wreck Dive: Our friend booked this for us, and we think it was with Zenobia Divers. Overall, a well-organized trip but we did feel a bit rushed (to be fair, we always feel this way on scuba trips lol). The chop was ROUGH. Our friends got sea sick, and getting in and out of the water was a bit of a challenge. It was so rough we had to go back to shore between dives. But, once we were underwater the wreck itself was AMAZING. A different friend of our highly recommended it, and we're so glad we did this one. Touted as one of the best wreck dives in the world, and we were wowed by just seeing the top of it. If we ever go back, we'll definitely get wreck certified to go inside!

Nicosia (Lefkosia), Cyprus

Selimiye Camii: We walked to the "North (Turkish) Side" of Nicosia, so we had to cross the UN Exclusion Zone and border customs (bring your passport). Once on the other side, we went inside this beautiful mosque that was formerly a Byzantine church. They even kept the original stonework above the entrance, as well as a room full of original rock reliefs.
Eleftheria Square: While it may have taken forever to finish, the water features at this modern park are super cool!
Nicosia Hash House Harriers: Really fun bunch of hashers and absolutely shitty trail. If you want to attend, have a joke prepared. Ash didn't and likely offended most of them XD

Troodos, Cyprus

Artemis Trail: Our friend recommended this trail, and it did not disappoint. Between the rocks, trees, and views...It was a perfect hike.
Troodos Geopark Visitor Centre: Ash had been to Cyprus for a geology trip back in uni, and none of the geopark had existed then. That said, they did such a great job with this museum, as well as tagging several important geosites for enthusiasts to plan a tour around. We made sure to go to at least the most iconic outcrop (Geosite #3)!

Geosite #3: Pillow lavas, sheeted dikes, and hyaloclastites associated with the Troodos Ophiolite <3

Kyrenia, Cyprus

We hiked this trail, but actually only did half of it. Our friend parked his bike at the end and drove us to the start. Once we hiked back to his bike, he rode back where he parked the car at the furthest point down up the road. Overall, a really beautiful hike with amazing views of the Pentadaktylos ("five fingers") Mountains. There was a surprisingly large amount of trucks around from the nearby quarry/mine, but we didn't encounter any of it on the actual hike. We even ran into some hunters towards the end who gave us some mandarins!

The Pentadaktylos (Kyrenia) Mountains, North Cyprus

Abu Dhabi, UAE

AUH4 Rehydration Run: The annual desert run full of debauchery and fun with friends. The theme was "Eras," and there were stops between dunes that ranged from Dinosaurs, Ancient Egyptians, and Asterix the Gaul. It was amazing seeing friends and camping in the desert again. The sunsets are truly unmatched. Also, Ash found our first medium-sized scorpion :O

AlUla, Saudi Arabia

Husaak AlUla: This was our accommodation, and it was super nice. The bed was cozy and the food was also very good. Notes: roosters go on at all hours of the night, so bring earbuds, also the food is not included (you need to pre-book it). Overall, we'd absolutely stay here again. The atmosphere and facilities were great, and the staff were extremely friendly and helpful!
Twisted Maze: Hands-down one of the favorite activities of the trip. If interested, it is not for the faint of heart, but definitely do-able if you're relatively in shape for hiking, climbing, and rappelling. Our guide (which happened to be the country manager the day we went) was really informative and encouraging. He actually pioneered the hike/canyoning with another colleague at Husaak - it was very much worth it.

Hegra: Meeting point for this and the Dadan and Jabal Ikmah tours was at the Winter Park Bus Stop/Parking Area. Seeing these incredible rock-cut structures by the Nabataeans (the same group of people who constructed those at Petra) was surreal. The precision they had 1 BCE to 1 CE was very impressive. The site had actually been inhabited by the Dadanite and Lihyanite people first, but it was the Nabataeans who left a significant footprint. This was the main reason for our trip, and we were not disappointed. It was 100% worth the visit.
Dadan and Jabal Ikmah: At these locations we were able to see vast amounts of rock carvings, so much one place is called "The Library."

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Note: It was really interesting to see so many people routing through the Jeddah airport to do pilgrimage to Mecca. There was a certain way people dressed, and there were dedicated signage and lines for those doing it. Very cool. Also also, our friend who works at the Abu Dhabi aquarium helped put together the tall aquarium in this airport!
Scuba: Two people recommended Al-Haddad Scuba, and they were great! We did two dives at the Crazy Eight Reef and saw so many amazing corals and fish. They even provided us with a grilled lunch. Overall, so happy we finally got the chance to dive in the Red Sea! We'd love to dive in that sea again, as it's some of the best in the world.

Old Jeddah: So many old buildings, and amazingly chaotic to get to. When we visited, there weren't that many people around, but there were more and more people as the night went on.
Fakieh Aquarium: Just OK, but we needed a break from the heat. We'd been spoiled by The National Aquarium in Abu Dhabi!
teamLab (Borderless Jeddah): Recommended by friends, and it was such a cool thing to do while we had some extra time to kill. Definitely recommend checking this out. The interactive art blew us away.

Food

Our friend cooked for us every evening in Cyprus. She's an incredible cook and insists on having a pressure cooker of every size and that cooking a meal should only "take 10 minutes!" XD