Visited in February 2024. Visiting Hegra and the nearby town of Al Ula is a reminder that Saudi Arabia is not yet ready for the mass tourism that it's hoping to achieve. I arrived to Al Ula by plane and took one of the official Al Ula taxes from the airport to my accommodation which was a van parked in someone's date palm farm. Finding mid-priced accommodation (budget accommodation is non-existent) is still very hard in this town and that might lead you to stay in fun places like a van! Most people from my flight seemed to opt for rental cars but I tried to survive without one. Careem was working now fine but you had to usually wait for some time for a pick-up.

So next morning I ordered a Careem ride to the Winter Park which I had read from everywhere is the place to start your visit to Hegra. After arriving to the Winter Park visitor centre I ended up being very confused how the ticket policy works. I was first told that everything is fully booked for the day but there were still places for "hop-on hop-off bus tour" of Hegra. As I only had one full day here I happily took that option. Then I was told that the shuttle buses from the Winter Park to Hegra are totally booked for the day and I have to find a taxi to take me there. All this sounded very strange to me considering I was the only customer in the visitor centre and the Winter Park itself and the parking lot next to it had absolutely no one around. So I got my ticket and took a taxi to the south entrance of Hegra. I assume the entrance is usually from the north but now only the south entrance was open. At the entrance I got my audio guide (included in the hop on hop off ticket). While waiting for the bus I realised that the "sold out" tickets for the site were private jeep tours that they probably try to sell for western visitors first. The entrance had a gift shop, café and a small exhibition space.

The hop on hop off tour ended up being exactly what I wanted from this visit. You're dropped to the 4 main sights where you can walk around freely with your audio guide exploring the site. The buses come every 10 to 15 minutes. First you are dropped to Al Diwan which is a natural narrow canyon with some Nabataean writing on the walls. Then the buses take you to Jabal Albanat, a rock that has some of the biggest tombs with some interesting carvings on them. You can visit inside in some of the tombs here. There weren't too many other tourists around and you got these places for long periods just for yourself. Next the buses stop at Jabal Al Ahmar that's also a rock with high number of tombs. One of the best preserved tombs were found in here. The audio guide explanation was excellent through the whole visit. Last stop is the most famous tomb, the tomb of Lihyan. It was fascinating to learn that this magnificent tomb was actually never used and it's unfinished. I found the hop on hop off bus tour perfect way to explore the site with your own pace. The landscape around the site is also very beautiful with interesting rock formations. The whole Al Ula area is stunning!

Back at the south entrance I couldn't choose on the Careem app the south entrance as a pick-up point, it only allowed to choose the north entrance which was closed. Luckily I managed to hitch a ride from one of the "sold out" shuttle buses to the Winter Park. The big bus had maybe 15 passengers and I kept wondering what was all this "sold out" stuff about on my way back to Winter Park. Visitor experience is still bit lacking but the archaeological wonders are amazing and the site was definitely worth the visit despite all the struggles to get in and around Al Ula.