Saudi Arabia
Business/social hints
Attire for business meetings: men should wear a lightweight suit. Women should dress conservatively, revealing clothes should not be worn. A headscarf is essential.
Etiquette: men shake right hands on meeting and taking leave.
Invitations: be punctual and dress as for business meetings unless otherwise indicated. There are many restrictions on photography. Gratuities in restaurants are around 10%
Laws: alcohol is strictly forbidden by law, penalties are severe. smoking is generally accepted.
Local time: GMT +3hrs.
Capital: Riyadh.
Language: Arabic (all correspondence with government departments must be in Arabic) and English.
Electricity: 125/215V AC 50/60Hz.
Int. direct dialling code: 966.
Driving: national licence accompanied by officially sanctioned Arabic translation required. International Driving Permit with translation recommended. Women are not allowed to drive.
Currency: Saudi Riyal (SAR 1 = 1, Qurush = 50 Halalah).
Notes: SAR: 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500.
Coins:Qurush: 1,2,5,10. Halalah: 5, 10, 25, 50.
Business hours
Banks:Saturday-Wednesday 8.30am-12noon and 5pm-7pm; Thursday 8.30am-12noon.
Offices:Saturday-Thursday 9am-1pm and 4.30pm-8pm, (during Ramadan 8pm-1am), Saturday-Wednesday 7.30am-2.30pm (Government offices).
Shops:Saturday-Thursday 9am-1pm and 4.30pm-8pm (during Ramadan 8pm-1am).
Emergency Services
Police: 999.
Clothing
Lightweights or tropical throughout the year.
Health
Compulsory vaccinations: yellow fever certificates if arriving from infected areas.
Weather
The climate is very dry and arid throughout the year, with unreliable rainfall. What little rain there is falls between Nov-May. Temperatures from May-September are high, with winter temperatures generally mild/warm, but inland cold enough for snow.
Riyadh Temp C Humidity % Rain
Max/Min am pm (mm)
January 20 8 70 44 3
February 23 9 63 36 20
March 28 13 65 36 23
April 32 18 64 34 25
May 38 22 51 31 10
June 42 25 47 30 0
July 42 26 33 19 0
August 42 24 35 19 0
September 39 22 42 24 0
October 34 16 47 25 0
November 29 13 60 33 0
December 21 9 75 52 0
Dhahran International DHA
Postal Address: PO Box 74, Dhahran Airport 31175.
Telephone:+966 3 8640817.
Telex: 801901 CIVAIR.
Fax: +966 3 8910342
Transportation to city centre: Bus: fare SAR 10, journey time 12mins. Taxi: fare SAR 20, journey time 15mins
Airport departure tax: none.
Flight information: tel: 8914900/8793112, available 24hrs (Saudia).
Business facilities: conference room in Airport Directorate Building with a capacity for 35 persons.
Passport and Visas
Required. Passports must be valid six months before intended length of stay.
Customs
Import allowances
a) 600 cigarettes or 100 cigars or 500 grammes of tobacco.
b) a reasonable quantity of perfume.