Behind the curtain of the spiritual Islam: A glance of Saudi Arabia

Traveler Reviews

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  julia Esther

  December 3rd, 2025
  5
  The tour is amazing. I'm very happy with this experience, visiting Saudi Arabia. The People is very friendly and I...
  The tour is amazing. I'm very happy with this experience, visiting Saudi Arabia. The People is very friendly and I got the opportunity to know more about their culture and traditions. The places we visited were fantastic.Show more
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  Traveled in November 2025
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  Jane

  February 26th, 2024
  4
  I thoroughly enjoyed the tour of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Considering this was a budget tour, the hotels, clean,...
  I thoroughly enjoyed the tour of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Considering this was a budget tour, the hotels, clean, comfortable rooms and bathrooms with good breakfasts. As we were only a group of 4 we travelled by car with a guide/driver. Salman in Riyadh was exceptional. What I appreciated most was the availability of Neis via WhatsApp or email. We had the odd hiccup which could be easily resolved. Great customer service. If opting for the Bahrain extension and traveling across the border by road, its very easy to obtain the visa at the border and you can even pay with Saudi currency – which is widely accepted in Bahrain. Tours in Bahrain are limited or quite costly, but we found it easy to get around to the places we wanted to see with Uber – efficient and reasonable prices. As I didn’t have global roaming I purchased an Esim in both of the countries – also simple and cheap.Show more
  Traveled in February 2024
  

  Reply from: Penguin Travel

  Thank you for the feedback. We will be looking forward to having you on another tour in the future

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  Glen

  December 2nd, 2023
  3
  The itinerary includes some wonderful sites, particularly in Al Ula. We've given an average rating because of...
  The itinerary includes some wonderful sites, particularly in Al Ula. We've given an average rating because of recurring issues around the tour plan and schedule, which wasted a lot of valuable time. We found that extremely rating every day. One example: a schedule change meant a full day travel to Al Ula. Rather than put us on a bus all day, we started with the high speed train from Jeddah to Medina (a good idea) , but once there we waited an hour and a half at Medina train station for the bus to arrive. The first stop was a Museum we could have easily gone to by a five minute cab ride but instead we wasted time which took time away from the most interesting sites in Medina, including the Mosque of the Prophet which became a frustrating 25 minute pit stop. Other examples were kiling 45 minutes at a square of coffee shops in Riyadh after we'd just had breakfast , waiting for a venue to open, Again this short changed us on more interesting venues later. In Jeddah we waited 40 minutes for a currency exchange to open because we arrived too early, again short changing us on other sites that afternoon. The Saudi guides accompanying us were efficient at meeting us at the airport but quite distant and uncommunicative and had to be prodded about the schedule so we knew what to expect, and the times involved. To their credit, their choices of restaurants for lunch and dinner were excellent. Hotels were basic and clean -- except for Al Ula where changes placed us in the Orange Hotel which was not even officially open yet. Arriving at 11:00 pm, rooms did not have towels or toilet paper, and some had no hot water. Fortunately the Al Ula site visits are the most interesting on the tour, and the guides who worked with us at those venues were far superior to the ones assigned to our tour. One definite plus was the optional tour arranged to visit the Edge of the World outside of Riyadh which was an excellent, well run tour with a local Saudi company/driver. On balance we enjoyed the trip but again we found the guides' inexperience limiting, and the Penguin Travel co-ordinator assigned to the tour, while very pleasant, had never been to Saudi Arabia before and therefore had no experience to address the poor planning from the Saudi guides.On balance, we enjoyed the trip but tours we arranged before and after in other countries in the region were far better executed and enjoyable. I would be very cautious about using Penguin Travel again.Show more
  Traveled in November 2023
  

  Reply from: Penguin Travel

  Hello Glen, Thank you for your thorough feedback. We are sorry to hear you were not completely satisfied with our services. We are looking into the situations you have mentioned and will take your comments seriously to make sure we do better in the future. We hope you still have enjoyed the tour overall and will be happy to see you on another tour of ours in the future. We wish you safe and happy travels. Best regards, Penguin Travel Team

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  Susan

  December 2nd, 2023
  4
  The tour was fascinating. The local guides were not good. They did not convey information or correctly anticipate...
  The tour was fascinating. The local guides were not good. They did not convey information or correctly anticipate timing of events, etc. Dimityr was very nice.Show more
  Traveled in November 2023
  

  Reply from: Penguin Travel

  Thank you for the feedback. We will take your comments into consideration and make sure we do better in the future. We will be looking forward to having you on another trip with us.

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  Christian Roman

  November 26th, 2023
  1
  The Guesthouse Orange Resort Al Ula was only basic bungalows without hot water! The Breakfast must come by catering!...
  The Guesthouse Orange Resort Al Ula was only basic bungalows without hot water! The Breakfast must come by catering! For the high price is this an very bad Tour!Show more
  Traveled in November 2023
  

  Reply from: Penguin Travel

  Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to hear some parts of the tour did not meet your expectations. We hope you still enjoyed the trip overall and enjoyed the other aspects of it. If you would like to share more details about your trip, please send us an email at info@penguintravel.com However, we would also like to point out that we do believe the accommodation in AlUla meets the standards for this kind of trip and corresponds to what is advertised. In the description of the tour, it is mentioned that the accommodation in AlUla is in a guest house/farm (shared accommodation). In the region of AlUla, the only options for accommodation are tent camps, guesthouses/farms like the one you stayed or extremely luxurious resorts. We believe that the option we choose - the farm accommodation is the best suited for the type of tour we do.

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  Eugene

  December 14th, 2022
  4
  A wonderful tour, pretty full on .. on the go daily. More like a glimpse of Saudi Arabia. Enjoyed Al Ula, Madain...
  A wonderful tour, pretty full on .. on the go daily. More like a glimpse of Saudi Arabia. Enjoyed Al Ula, Madain Saleh, an amazing site.Show more
  Traveled in November 2022
  

  Reply from: Penguin Travel

  Thank you for your feedback, we're happy to hear you enjoyed your tour. We will be looking forward to having you on another tour with us in the future.

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  stefano

  December 6th, 2022
  4
  Really very interesting experience in visiting this 'secret' country newly opened to tourism. I appreciate above all...
  Really very interesting experience in visiting this 'secret' country newly opened to tourism. I appreciate above all the Desert experience in Hegra and the stunning elephant rock. Good food and good organization resulted in a beautiful week. Our leader made every effort to get us satisfied, It's a hard work though! Personally Taif is not woth visiting, I would rather spend one more day to explore the desert.Show more
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  Traveled in November 2022
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  MMosaed

  December 2nd, 2022
  5
  Wonderful tour and saw the sites I intended to see. I give this tour five stars solely on its price, which is at...
  Wonderful tour and saw the sites I intended to see. I give this tour five stars solely on its price, which is at least twice less compared to other tour operators offering tours in Saudi Arabia at this time. For price alone, please consider this tour.Show more
  Traveled in November 2022
  

  Reply from: Penguin Travel

  Thank you for your feedback, it's much appreciated. We will be looking forward to having you on another tour with us in the future.

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  Tiffany

  November 29th, 2022
  4
  Overall this tour was amazing! Packed full of experiences all over the country. I recommend this tour for the iconic...
  Overall this tour was amazing! Packed full of experiences all over the country. I recommend this tour for the iconic EDGE OF THE WORLD, I recommend Elephant Rock. The palaces, the food, the new modernized Saudi and the new Prince providing ease with travel now. I would definitely recommend this tour. The only thing that kept me from giving an excellent was that several of the tour guides had zero information for us. They did not seem knowledgeable about the land or were not trying to share. The excitement and knowledge was not there. The personalities were not adequate for quides. Other then that the tour was amazing. Do your own research before you go until the guides can fulfill that part. Take this tour!Show more
  Traveled in November 2022
  

  Reply from: Penguin Travel

  Thank you for your feedback. We will be looking forward to having you on another tirp with us in the future.

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  Paolo

  November 29th, 2022
  4
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  Jeddah: very beautiful the old city and the mosque on the water. Ryad: beautiful the KING TOWER and the desert hike...
  Jeddah: very beautiful the old city and the mosque on the water. Ryad: beautiful the KING TOWER and the desert hike where there are rocks and the wonderful view from the top. Alalula: spectacular the Concert building with the mirrors reflecting the mountains around. Beautiful old Alalula and also nice cafes and restaurants area. It was pious to see Arab women who are more emancipated than in more fundamentalist Arab countries like Yemen or Pakistan. The extension in Barhain is worth it only because you are already close, otherwise it says nothing. Best regards PaulShow more
  Traveled in November 2022
  

  Reply from: Penguin Travel

  Thank you for your feedback, we are happy to hear you enjoyed your tour.

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