Intrepid Travel’s all-female expedition to Saudi showcases the Kingdom through the eyes of local women, promoting female empowerment in the process. Olivia Palamountain reports
Intrepid Travel’s latest addition to its range of all-female expeditions is a trip to Saudi that offers an authentic and transformative travel experience while placing women centre-stage.
The 12-day Saudi Arabia Women’s Expedition will be hosted exclusively by female leaders and guides, and aims to spotlight life in the Kingdom beyond its luxury resorts.
Beginning in Riyadh and finishing in Jeddah, groups will stay in a female-owned boutique hotel, a heritage property and a desert camp, directly supporting a total of nine female-owned and operated businesses.
Experiences include a sunrise visit to the Nabataean site of Hegra guided by a local ‘rawee’ or storyteller, and the opportunity to meet two sisters running a local citrus farm near Alula to sample their produce over lunch.
Travellers will also visit Madinah – the second holiest site in Islam, after Mecca – with a local female guide.
A limited run of five departures, each with a maximum of 12 travellers, will begin on November 26, 2024. The 12-day expedition will start at £4,795pp.
Jenny Gray, product manager for Women’s Expeditions, says: “This new trip has been a year in the making, as we challenged ourselves to create a trip in Saudi in line with our values that would be a genuine force for good.
Gray adds: “With tourism to Saudi focused on vast ultra-luxury offerings, we wanted to balance that by creating something completely unique in Saudi Arabia: a trip putting local women’s voices centre stage. With activities like joining a cooking class with a local female chef and getting pampered at a women-owned salon, the trip will give our travellers the chance to see a side of Saudi few get to experience.” 
With an itinerary designed to open dialogue and foster connection between women from vastly different backgrounds, the trip features several visits to women’s homes and female-only spaces, putting equal focus on the host communities as it does the travellers.
Intrepid has developed this trip independently and is proud to partner with a female-owned local operator run by Sara Omar, a Saudi mother of two and passionate traveller, to bring this trip to life.
According to Omar, travellers to Saudi often arrive with misconceptions about the country. “A lot of people think Saudi women are unable to do anything, that we’re not educated, that we don’t work. Meeting the locals is the best way to understand what the lifestyle is really like,” she says. 
Highlights of the Saudi Women’s Expedition include:
- Visit Madinah – the second holiest site in Islam, after Mecca – with a local female guide. Non-Muslims have recently been allowed to visit the holy site up to the perimeter
- Take a sunrise visit to the Nabataean site of Hegra, the southern capital of the Nabataean kingdom, guided by a local ‘rawee’ or storyteller
- Take a bullet train to Jeddah and explore Al Balad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with Saudi’s first female guide
- Head to a female-owned, female-only salon for a spot of pampering. Chat to the locals and learn how these types of businesses have created opportunities for the women who live here
- Meet two sisters running a local citrus farm near Alula, sample their produce and have lunch under the trees
- Visit an abeya shop to learn how women are modernising this staple piece
- Jump on a boat and cruise the Red Sea, snorkel, swim, and enjoy a barbeque lunch before ending the day on a private female only beach
While Saudi remains an extremely conservative society, ranking low in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index, women have acquired certain freedoms in recent years and now represent 30 per cent of the tourism and hospitality workforce.
Zina Bencheikh, managing director EMEA at Interpid Travel has recently visited Saudi, and it’s her team that will oversee operations She says: “We know that for some travellers, the decision as to whether to visit Saudi Arabia, as it transitions to a more moderate society, is not an easy one. However, we strongly believe that travel, when done right, can be a positive force for change. It connects people, broadens perspectives, and builds empathy. Travel allows us to learn about lives very different to ours.” 
Intrepid Travel’s Women’s Expeditions launched in 2018 with the aim of breaking down the cultural barriers of traditional tourism with all-female adventures.
These specific tours are about fostering discussion and creating immersive local experiences for women, that wouldn’t be possible in mixed gender groups.
With the addition of Saudi Arabia, the product range will now feature seven itineraries including Morocco, Pakistan, Nepal and India.