EDITION VII — SPRING
Mirage & Meridian
TRAVEL DOSSIER // KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
// RED SEA  ·  EN

The reef stretches 1,800 kilometres along the coast. The water is clear to twenty metres.

EN  ·  2026-04-19  ·  EDITION VII — SPRING

RED SEA

The Red Sea — new destination
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The Red Sea — new destination

TYPEArchipelago + resort cluster FOUNDEDProject 2017 / opened 2023 LOCATION90 islands off Tabuk coast BEST TIMEOctober – May STATUSNew
BY THE NUMBERS · 28,000 km² · 16 resorts by 2030 · own RSI airport

The first tourism mega-project of Saudi Vision 2030. Shumayh, Ummahat, Sheybarah — islands with Six Senses, St. Regis and Nujuma Ritz-Carlton Reserve hotels. A domestic airport by Foster+Partners is in service. A night in an overwater villa from $3,500, but swimming with zebra sharks and turtles is included.

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Farasan Islands
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Farasan Islands

TYPECoral archipelago, biosphere reserve FOUNDED1 million years LOCATION40 km off Jizan port BEST TIMEOctober – March STATUSOpen
BY THE NUMBERS · 176 islands · 311 coral species · 2.5 h ferry

The ferry from Jizan runs twice a day and is free. Small hotels on the main island; beaches are white coral sand and mangroves. The Wreck of al-Farsi dive site — a Turkish vessel sunk in 1942 at eighteen metres. Humpback dolphin migration: December to January.