Working out what to wear in Saudi Arabia as a woman, and what to wear in Saudi Arabia as a tourist and foreigner is a bit difficult as you may have heard, seen, and can imagine. Many Muslim women in Saudi Arabia outside of their homes wear an Abaya to cover their body, a Head Scarf to cover their hair, and often a Niqab to cover their face.
So I bet you are thinking — what do female tourists wear in Saudi Arabia ?? Since it is no longer compulsory for women to cover their hair and wear an Abaya in Saudi Arabia which means that foreign women do not need to wear an Abaya or cover their hair. This change in law is really good for non-Muslim woman visiting Saudi Arabia because it means you are more free to wear what you want. I felt more comfortable wearing an Abaya in Saudi Arabia and I still wore one every day!
Using my experience, I will help you work out what to pack for Saudi Arabia, what women wear in Saudi Arabia and what to wear in Saudi Arabia as a tourist. In late it was announced that women do no longer need to wear an Abaya in Saudi Arabia. This was at the same time that the tourism e-visa for Saudi Arabia came into place. I have met foreign women, ex-pats specifically, who stopped wearing an Abaya in Saudi Arabia at that time in Jeddah and Riyadh.
During my time in Saudi in and my experience as a foreign woman and tourist in Saudi Arabia, I always wore an Abaya outside of my accommodation. They wore a fairly modest dress instead, covering most of their arms, legs and chest in Jeddah, Al-Ula and Riyadh and they were comfortable doing so. Need accommodation in Riyadh? See the best offers here! Personally, I got a lot of stares and looks from people here as a blonde, white, western woman in Saudi Arabia, which is understandable, but I feel that if I was not wearing an Abaya I would get even more looks.
Before I arrived in KSA I thought that an Abaya might make me stand out because it was obvious this is not my usual dress sense, but that is far from what happened. If you do not wear an Abaya, legally, no one can tell you off. You may have heard of the religious police in Saudi Arabia, the Religious Police lost a lot of control a few years ago and are no longer around.
