🌊Jeddah

Not from the city Corniche, which is a promenade rather than a swimming beach. For sea swimming you either use a hotel with private beach access, such as the Jeddah Hilton, or drive north to the Obhur Bay beach resorts, where the water is clearer and calmer. In the city itself, swimming happens in the hotel pools.

October to April is the family season, with warm, pleasant days and comfortable evenings for the Corniche and sightseeing. The summer, from June to September, brings fierce heat and high humidity, so it works mainly as an indoor and hotel-pool holiday, ideally in hotels with temperature-controlled indoor pools.

Yes, it is a relaxed, welcoming city where families are out on the Corniche late into the evening, and it is conservative but very easy with children. There is no metro, so you get around by taxi or ride-hailing app and, for the north beaches, by car; taxis do not carry child seats, so bring a travel booster if you use one.

Not really, beyond a little planning: dress modestly in public and malls, expect hotel pools and spas to often be gender-segregated in the local way, and note the city is alcohol-free. During Ramadan, daytime eating in public is limited, though hotels carry on as usual. Families are made very welcome, and children are genuinely doted on.