Renting a car in Saudi Arabia

 


The most convenient and cheapest way, and often the only way, to visit places outside of the cities is to rent a car. However, it is not always that easy. Many car rental companies demand that you have a Saudi driver's license, others want you to have a credit card. But you can rent a car without a Saudi license or credit card, you just have to find the right place. Here, I present such car rental offices in 5 cities. 

Riyadh: Abu Diyab Rent A Car 

Located opposite the King Fahad National Library on Olaya Street, the Abu Diyab office is one of several rent a car companies next to each other. But only they rent a car without asking for a Saudi license and/or a credit card. The cost of a small car with insurance starts at around SAR 140. See location on Google Maps. 


Abha: Abu Diyab Rent A Car 

You find several car rental companies at the airport. Since I rented from Abu Diyab before, I went to them. The first person I talked to asked for a Saudi license, and I had to insist that I rented from them before without it. His colleague was more helpful and finally they gave me a car. The moral of the sory is that you may have to insist and talk to different people to get a car. With insurance the same type of car I rented in Riyadh cost around SAR 170 per day. 


Taif: Keys of Al-Reda Rent A Car 

The staff at the Abu Diyab office in town was extremly friendly but absolutely unhelpful - he did not want to rent a car, it was obvious. He said I should go to the airport, which I did, but they did not have any car at the time. The other companies at the airport only had big cars costing SAR 550-600 a day. I was about to give up, but a taxi driver took me to a place in the city where several car rental companies have officies. Only the company called Keys of Al-Reda, pictured in this post, deals with non-Saudi license holders. Abdullah, the young Saudi staff, was unhelpful and arrogant, but Mahmoud, his Egyptian boss, was extremely helpful and went out his way to make the deal. His phone number is: 053 836 1561. The car cost SAR 90 a day, but they do not provide insurance. See location on Google Maps. 


Al-Ula

You can get around Al-Ula without a car, but it is definitely more convenient if you have one. I did not rent a car, however, I talked to someone who did. He rented a car at the airport with a debit card, but I don't know which company it was. Anyhow, the bottom line is, it is possible to rent a car without a Saudi license or a credit card.


Tabuk: Budget Rent A Car

In Tabuk, I went to the office of Budget in the city centre. Fahad, the manager, was very helpful but he said I should go to the office at the airport. I did, and I rented a car without a problem. However, they took my debit card details, including the security code. They said they would destroy this information 2 weeks after returning the car. The car cost me around SAR 170 a day with full insurance.

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