OZU /SAUDI ARABIA /JEDDAH /GUIDE
From Jeddah airport to the city
1 h route3 stopsBest: Stable. The bus isn’t 24 h, ride-hailing isUpdated July 2026
Nineteen kilometres separate the airport from central Jeddah, and there’s an option that is rare in the Gulf: a high-speed rail station inside the airport grounds, connected to Terminal 1.
And a confusion worth clearing before you land: **Jeddah has no metro**. The metro that opened in Saudi Arabia in December 2024 is Riyadh’s, another city a thousand kilometres away. Jeddah’s is planned and in design, and its future line will indeed reach the airport, but today it does not exist.
The route, stop by stop
3 STOPS- 01
The Haramain: high speed from the terminal
King Abdulaziz station sits inside the airport grounds and connects to Terminal 1 through the arrivals area, via a branch line of under four kilometres joining the mainline. From here you reach Jeddah city station, Al-Sulaymaniyah, and also King Abdullah Economic City and Medina.
It’s genuine high speed: the run to Mecca takes under half an hour.
Frequency is not metro-like, there are a handful of direct services a day, so check times and buy ahead on the operator’s site, especially in pilgrimage season.
- 02
Bus and ride-hailing
Jeddah recently launched a city bus network run jointly with the national transport company, with a handful of lines covering the main axes and running from early morning to late evening, not around the clock. It’s by far the cheapest option, but it doesn’t reach everywhere.
What nearly everyone uses, locals included, are ride-hailing apps, which work nationwide and have pick-up points at the airport.
They usually beat the taxis waiting outside on price, and they avoid haggling.
- 03
Pilgrimage season
Millions of pilgrims enter through Jeddah every year, and there are periods (Hajj and, to a lesser extent, Ramadan) when the airport, the train and the roads east operate on an entirely different scale. There is a terminal dedicated specifically to pilgrims.
If your trip coincides, allow more time for everything: longer queues, dense traffic leaving the airport and full trains.
It isn’t a problem, but it is a big difference from any other month.
Frequently asked
Is there a metro in Jeddah?
No. The Saudi metro that opened in December 2024 is Riyadh’s. Jeddah’s is at project stage and its planned line will include the airport and the Haramain station, but it isn’t built yet.
Can you get from Jeddah airport to Mecca by train?
Yes, the Haramain does it in under half an hour from the airport’s own station. But Mecca admits Muslim visitors only and there are access checkpoints, so that route isn’t available to everyone.