Things to do in Taif
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Taif
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Spring brings the rose harvest and festival and the mildest mountain weather.
Early autumn keeps cool evenings and the tail of fruit season without summer crowds.
Peak summer season, cool at altitude while the coast swelters, with peak prices and traffic.
Quiet winter, cold nights at altitude and foggy Al Shafa mornings, with the lowest rates.
What's on
- Taif Rose Festival April, roughly 21 April to 5 May in a recent edition
Floral displays, rose gardens and markets at the peak of harvest, anchored on Arruddaf Park.
- Rose harvest season mid March to late April
The working season itself, with petals at dawn and factories distilling across Taif.
- Souq Okaz Festival summer, dates vary by year
Poetry, theatre, heritage and crafts on the historic market site northeast of Taif.
Best things to do in Taif
Al Hada Cable Car
A 4.2 km cable car ride down the escarpment to Al Kar village, with the famous hairpin road unfolding below you.
Shubra Palace
Taif landmark palace in Hijazi, Roman and Islamic styles, once a summer residence for Saudi kings.
Al Shareef Museum
A huge private heritage museum in Hijazi stone, packed with cars, coins, weapons and pre oil everyday Arabia.
Al Gadhi Rose Factory
Taif oldest rose factory, where copper stills turn petals into rose water and precious rose oil in season.
Ruddaf Park
Taif great evening park of lawns, rock formations and a musical fountain, where local families picnic at dusk.
Souq Al Balad
The old town central souq for honey, rose water, spices and fruit, at its best after sunset.
Souq Okaz
The revived site of pre Islamic Arabia most famous market and poetry contest, alive during its festival.
Beit Kaki
A kept merchant palace with columns, carved wood and a garden courtyard, showing wealthy old Taif life.
Where to stay in Taif
Al Hada
couples and summer mountain weekends
Cooler air, cable car top station and mountain view balconies, a drive down to city restaurants.
Central Taif
first visits, food and no car
Walkable to the old town, souqs and Shubra Palace, with the full range of hotels and apartments.
Airport Road
resort style and business stays
Quieter and greener grand hotel strip, spacious but a drive from everything except the hotel.
Al Shafa
family self catering in the orchards
Chalets among terraced farms and fruit stalls, best with a car and local booking knowledge.
Think twice about
- Airport highway strip
Bleak, unwalkable and far from sights, restaurants and souqs. Not unsafe, just a poor base.
- Al Hawiya northern highway area
Industrial northern sprawl a long drive from everything worth doing. Not unsafe, just inconvenient.
Best restaurants in Taif
Hawazen
The InterContinental international restaurant, Taif closest thing to a special occasion dining room.
Khayal Restaurant
A big theatrical Turkish grill house that Taif families treat as their celebration venue.
Marella
A continental restaurant with an unusually high rating at high volume, the standout sit down meal in Taif.
Mabshoor Altaif
A Saudi barbecue institution for sizzling grilled meat and rice, best ordered across a group.
Al Bayt Al Romancy
A large traditional restaurant built for family feasts, with private seating and big rice platters.
Peacock Restaurant
A long established, calmer sit down restaurant near Ruddaf, serving international and Arabic menus.
Albaik
Saudi beloved broasted chicken with garlic sauce, a cheap civic ritual every visitor should do once.
Al Tazaj
The other homegrown chicken institution, charcoal grilled and broasted chicken with rice, open late.
Best coffee in Taif
Seven Huts Cafe
A scenic outdoor cafe in Al Shafa used as the mountain coffee stop on Taif day tours.
SCAPE CAFE
A city cafe praised by reviewers as among the best in Taif, good for Saudi coffee and a late evening.
Outdoor things to do in Taif
Al Shafa Mountains
The highest inhabited area around Taif, with juniper slopes, terraced farms and cool foggy mornings.
Jabal Dakka
The Daka Mountain viewpoint above Al Shafa, looking out over layer after layer of Sarawat ridges.
Al Kar Tourist Village
The cable car lower station village, with a toboggan run and family rides in the valley below Al Hada.
Green Mountain Park
A hillside amusement park on the Al Hada road, busiest and most fun on cool summer evenings.
Al Shafa orchards, honey farms and fruit picking
Roadside orchards and honey farms selling Taif pomegranates, peaches and mountain honey in season.
Al Wahbah Crater
A vast volcanic crater with a white salt flat, now visited as a silent rim walk on a full day trip.
Saysed National Park
A wilder picnic park around a small dam and seasonal stream, with space for families to spread out.
Quad biking, camel and horse riding around Al Shafa
Roadside quad bikes, camel rides and horse riding around Al Shafa, negotiated on the spot.
Best hotels in Taif
InterContinental Taif
Taif landmark luxury hotel with spacious rooms, gardens, pool and spa, classic and a little dated.
Le Meridien Al Hada
The mountain splurge by the cable car top station, booked for escarpment views and cool air.
Ramada by Wyndham Al Hada
Generous mountain suites by the cable car station, the mid tier way to sleep on Al Hada.
Awaliv International Hotel
The central tower on Taif Heart Mall, with a revolving restaurant and the city at your feet.
Velar Inn Hotel
A solid modern mid range city hotel, a sensible central choice when big names are priced up.
Awaliv Suites
Spacious serviced suites with kitchens and free parking, the named budget base in central Taif.
Al Shouq Chalets
Mountain chalets in the Al Shafa orchards, suited to families who self cater and wake in fruit trees.
Is Taif expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | SAR 250 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | SAR 550 a person |
| Splurge | SAR 1,200 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- InterContinental Taif: weeks ahead
- Le Meridien Al Hada: weeks ahead
- Ramada by Wyndham Al Hada: a few days ahead
- Al Shouq Chalets: a few days ahead
- Hawazen: a few days ahead
- Book mountain and luxury rooms ahead for summer weekends, Eid and rose season.
- Confirm Shubra Palace interior opening, as renovation phases can make it exterior only.
- Rose factories give the full spectacle only in harvest season, mid March to late April.
- Check Souq Okaz festival dates every year before building a day around it.
Is Taif safe?
- Do not feed the Al Hada baboons, it is illegal and draws aggressive troops onto cars.
- At Al Wahba there is no descent, no shade and no shops, so carry water and wear real shoes.
- Dress modestly, ask permission before photographing people, and expect prayer time closures.
- Check your own government travel advisory before a trip for current security advice.
Taif travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Treating the malls as a destination rather than air conditioning.
- Paying hotel or airport prices for rose water and honey sold in the souq and at farm shops.
- Doing Taif as a single August day trip spent in Al Hada traffic without an overnight.
Getting around Taif: public transport and more
- Rent a car, as sights span the city, Al Hada, Al Shafa, Souq Okaz and a crater two hours away.
- Jeddah is about 200 km and Makkah about 100 km by the Al Hada road.
- Ride hailing covers in city hops but not Al Shafa, Souq Okaz or Al Wahba.
- Drive mountain roads in daylight first, and expect Thursday and Friday getaway traffic to crawl.
Who Taif suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Taif your trip
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