By air: King Khalid International Airport serves Riyadh and the centre of Saudi Arabia. Situated in the middle of the desert 35kms north of the city, the airport includes one terminal used exclusively for Saudi Arabian Airlines international connections.

These include regional destinations like Qatar, Tehran and Abu Dhabi along with routes much afield including Washington DC, Singapore and Johannesburg. Flights run by other airlines are fairly limited although big names such as Air France, Emirates and Turkish Airlines fly to Paris, Dubai and Istanbul respectively.

Buses do, however, run across the King Fahd Causeway from Bahrain to Al-Khobar before heading to the capital. Travellers are discouraged from crossing over from Iraq but routes from Jordan and Yemen, among others, are available by bus.