Things to do in Sanaa
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Sanaa
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
The dry, cool window and the best season: mild walking days, cold nights near freezing in December and January, and the clearest mountain light.
Spring rains: afternoon showers, the greenest terraces of the year, and mud on excursion roads to Thula and the Haraz.
Warm and largely dry between the rains, with intense high altitude sun. Sightsee early and rest at midday.
The summer rainy season, peaking in July and August: violent afternoon storms, road disruption in the mountains, and the greatest risk to unmaintained historic houses.
What's on
- Eid al-Fitr Moveable, end of Ramadan
Multi day family festival closing Ramadan. Sites and restaurants close or change hours and sightseeing schedules should pause. The month varies by year.
- Eid al-Adha Moveable, about ten weeks after Eid al-Fitr
Multi day family festival following the Hajj period. Expect closures and heavy family visiting. The month varies by year.
Best things to do in Sanaa
Old City of Sanaa
A walled core of tower houses, mosques, hammams and gardens, inhabited for over 2,500 years and now war damaged.
Bab al-Yemen
The ornate main gate of the old walls and the front door to the souks, centuries old over older foundations.
Great Mosque of Sanaa
One of the oldest mosques in the world, closed to non-Muslims, so the visit is its walls and minarets from the lanes.
Suq al-Milh
The Salt Market quarter of specialised souks for spices, silver, coffee and jambiya daggers, best in the morning.
National Museum of Yemen
Tens of thousands of objects from the South Arabian kingdoms, closed a decade, reopened 2023, then damaged in 2025.
Jami ash-Shaab
Yemen's largest mosque, opened in 2008 as Al Saleh Mosque and renamed the People's Mosque after 2017.
Hammam al-Maidan
One of the Old City's historic domed steam baths, a working local institution whose present operation is unverifiable.
Samsarat al-Mansour
A merchant caravanserai of the souk economy that became an arts centre, half an hour inside an Old City day.
Where to stay in Sanaa
Old City
future window immersion and atmosphere
The walled core itself, home to the tower house hotels and walkable to the souks, gates and mosques.
Modern Sanaa
full service hotels and Haddah dining
The central and western hotel districts, from Tahrir Square and al-Zubairy Street to Haddah and the Berlin Street hill.
Think twice about
- All of Yemen today, including Sanaa, for leisure travel
Active conflict and no leisure access today. Save this trip for when that changes.
- Front line areas and the roads toward Hudaydah and the Red Sea coast
Contested in the war and off limits for the foreseeable future. The Haraz trip returns only when a local operator confirms the road is open and ordinary.
- Checkpoints, military sites, government security perimeters and the airport perimeter as photo stops
Never photograph checkpoints, armed positions or security arrangements, and treat the damaged airport area as a security zone, not a sight.
Best restaurants in Sanaa
Alshaibany Corporation for Restaurants
The big Haddah name for the full Yemeni repertoire, saltah and fahsa in stone bowls, plus grills and fish.
Al Fakher Restaurant
An established Haddah restaurant for Yemeni cuisine, the reliable second traditional table of pre-war Sanaa.
Al Khaima Restaurant
An established Yemeni group dining room in the Haddah orbit, built for sharing platters and long lunches.
Bilquis Restaurant
The Sheba Hotel dining room, mixing Yemeni dishes with Indian cooking from its Taj era management.
Hashem
A spacious Haddah cafe with outdoor seating for qishr, coffee and simple meals at local prices.
Outdoor things to do in Sanaa
Dar al-Hajar
A palace built onto a freestanding rock in Wadi Dhahr, the imam's summer residence 15 km from the walls.
Thula
A walled Himyarite stone town with a restored gate, watch towers and a great rock cut cistern still in use.
Shibam Kawkaban
Twin towns, a market below and a walled fortress town up a cliff stairway at about 2,931 metres.
Manakha
The market town at the heart of the Haraz, base for the fortified villages scattered across its terraces.
Al Hajjarah
A walled village built onto a precipice west of Manakha, its tower houses rising straight from the cliff face.
Best hotels in Sanaa
Mövenpick Hotel Sana'a
The pre-war five star on a hill above the city, a future window name whose operation is unverifiable.
Sheraton Sanaa Hotel
The other big international hotel of pre-war Sanaa, toward the airport, whose brand and operation are unverifiable.
Sheba Hotel
The former Taj Sheba in central Sanaa, the grand old landmark hotel, dated but the best placed in the city.
Mercure Sanaa Al Saeed Hotel
The Accor era business hotel on al-Zubairy Street, the practical mid range chain option of pre-war Sanaa.
Burj Al Salam
A tower house hotel in the Old City with a mafraj and rooftop terraces over the whole walled city.
Arabia Felix
A converted traditional house on the Old City edge with a garden courtyard, the independent traveller's base.
Is Sanaa expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | YER 15,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | YER 35,000 a person |
| Splurge | YER 90,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Mövenpick Hotel Sana'a: weeks ahead
- Sheraton Sanaa Hotel: weeks ahead
- Sheba Hotel: a few days ahead
- Mercure Sanaa Al Saeed Hotel: a few days ahead
- Burj Al Salam: a few days ahead
- Book any Sanaa trip and any hotel only through a reputable local operator who can confirm that month that the property is operating.
- Do not book any Sanaa trip while leisure travel remains impossible, and confirm access reality with a reputable local operator that month.
Is Sanaa safe?
- Do not travel today: Sanaa is in an active conflict and leisure travel is not currently possible.
- Embassies in Sanaa are suspended and there is no consular support or evacuation available in Yemen.
- Foreign nationals, including aid workers, have been detained in Houthi-held areas, and detention risk is highest for dual nationals.
- Medical care is limited and degraded by war, and Sanaa International Airport has been struck and closed in this war.
- Heavy rain can collapse unmaintained historic houses and close mountain roads. Excursions are cancelled on the morning's weather, without argument.
Sanaa travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- New-print rial notes issued in Aden may not be accepted in Sanaa at all. Carry Sanaa old rial in small notes and clean US dollars as a reserve.
- Listings outlive restaurants and hotels in Sanaa. Confirm every pick is open on the day through a guide or operator.
- Anything genuinely antique, including old jambiyas and manuscripts, may not be legally exportable. Buy modern craft and take advice first.
Getting around Sanaa: public transport and more
- Walk the Old City with a local guide. Drive everywhere else with a vetted driver arranged by an operator or hotel.
- Do every excursion as a daylight trip and be back in the city before dark.
- Checkpoints and heavy traffic slow everything, so build generous buffers into every day.
Who Sanaa suits
| Solo travellers | Not ideal |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Not ideal |
| Couples | Not ideal |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Not ideal |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Sanaa your trip
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