Pristine turquoise blue waters may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Saudi Arabia. Known for its vast desert lands, the country is not exactly a beach destination. But that may change once you discover Umluj.
The western region of Saudi Arabia enjoys the coastal shores of the Red Sea, which includes Umluj – over 400 kilometers away from Tabuk, its home state. From the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport, you need to travel by land to reach the governorate of Umluj and find a suitable hotel for your stay there. Unfortunately, the majority of their hotels are not yet available on booking sites for advanced reservations. The option to go for a packaged tour with a licensed tour agency such as Alsarh Travel. In this case, it’s a do-it-yourself itinerary.
The main attraction of Umluj is its “Maldives-like” waters that can only be accessed by hiring a boat at the Boat Rental Docking Station to bring us to that sweet swimming spot. It is best to schedule your visit in the earlier hours of the day starting at 6:00 AM but some visitors (like us) don’t mind getting a tan and we started at 9:00 AM. The prices for boats vary depending on the season, number of people, and/or type of boat preferred (yachts are available too). For our trip, it cost 300 SAR per hour for a basic boat and six passengers. Food, water, and towels were not included, so we made sure we packed our own. It’s also important to note that the Saudi Border Patrol supervises the dock, hence all registrations of visitors will require a valid iqama before sailing off.
Our journey by boat lasted for about 30 minutes before we could finally spot the crystal clear waters that we have been imagining since our trip started. The sun was making it sparkle from afar and its turquoise blue color was enchanting to the eye. It was a sight to behold and we took a moment to grasp that this amazingly beautiful place was indeed, in Saudi Arabia.
The boat anchors in the usual swimming spot for tourists and we are all set to experience the water. Around us, other boats were parked from a distance and from what we could see, men and women could wear anything they wanted in this part of the sea. The boatman reminded us that we had about two hours of swim time before leaving us to our own devices.
As we submerged ourselves underwater, the cool waters became a reprieve from the hot summer weather and we could feel the fine white sand beneath our feet. While there was no marine life in our swimming area, basking in the waters was very relaxing and if you closed your eyes and floated around, time seemed to stop still. Other groups from a distance were playing some water sports while others forayed a little more towards the deeper parts of the sea. Nonetheless, the parked boats made the perimeter of safety known to the tourists. 
Once we’ve relished enough of the waters and taken a lot of pictures and videos documenting our awesome find of a beach in Saudi Arabia, the boatman called up his passengers to prepare our return. The usual timeframe for the boat rental is three hours (travel time included). When asked if we can actually visit one of the islands, he said that it was prohibited. Although after reading on the Visit Saudi website, a licensed tour operator called Shamal offers exclusive island hopping access.
Back in Umluj, the town is still under development and there are limited options for tourist spots such as the old town and the lava fields. However, those serene blue waters are truly mesmerizing that I wouldn’t mind seeing it all over again.
