This really is an untouched part of the world. Located off the coast of
Jizan in the south of Saudi Arabia. The Island was fairly easy to get
to with the local ferry which is FREE and can easily accommodate 100s
of passengers and light duty cars.The tickets can be obtained at the
Jizan port,a passport or Iqama is needed to book. Lines can be long at
time so come early. The Ferry leaves at 7am sharp. Transport or local
mini vans are available though sparingly. The cost will be 5 Riyal a
trip,best to do is to find a local driver and get his number. I
traveled all over the Island and the cost was minimal this way,remember
bargaining is a culture here so try to get a deal with the driver for
the weekend.
I stayed at the SASO Hotel at the cost of 200SAR per
night. The accommodation was adequate. The bathroom and rooms were
clean and the hotel had a very nice garden out back. I had a wonderful
experience diving off the coast of the smaller islands. The coral is
untouched and there is plenty of wildlife about. In one day I managed
to swim with a sea turtle,sting ray and many colorful fish. I visited
about three smaller islands by speedboat which can be rented per hour
for approximately 150 to 200 SAR per hour. These boats are located
close to the port by the Coral hotel. My second day on the main Island
we stayed at the Coral hotel. The hotel has a semi private beach with
outside accommodation styled in "traditional motif" from the province.
The main hotel was simple and adequate. The best attraction of the
hotel is the view of the ocean and the manicured grass and palm trees.
Our group left the island late the evening on Friday and we headed to
the main port. The ferry leaves at 14:00 the afternoon so we opted for
the adventurous trip back in the small speedboats. These boats cost
50SAR per person with a minimum of 8 people before departure. This part
of our trip was an unusual adventure in KSA as the Farasan Islands is
a gateway for illegal immigrants this area was patrolled by uniformed
military. It wasn't a major hassle to get on a boat but make sure you
have a copy of your Iqama or passport ready. Overall my stay on the
Islands was amazing,we had great sights,amazing fish bought at the
local market and a sense of "Island lifestyle" in Saudi Arabia.
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