MakkahHaram hotel districts → TaifCity centre · Al Hada · Al Shafa
Makkah to Taif, up the escarpment.
Ninety kilometres from the Haram to a city 1,900 metres up and ten degrees cooler. It is the shortest intercity run we do and the one that most rewards a driver who knows it: three roads up, hairpins, fog that arrives in the afternoon and a Friday evening queue back down. This page sets out which road we take, what the day costs and how we time the descent.
- Mountain-road drivers
- Day trips with the driver waiting
- Meeqat stop on the way back
This corridor at a glance
- Route
- Al Hada road, or Al Kar for coaches and anyone uneasy on hairpins
- Direction
- Both ways, on the same fixed-fare basis
- Vehicles
- 4 to 49 seats, named in your quote
- Included
- Fuel, tolls, parking, water and luggage handling
- Day trip
- From SAR 700, driver waiting all day
- Availability
- 24 hours, every day of the year
Send your Makkah hotel, the date and whether you are coming back the same day. A fixed fare comes back, usually in minutes.
Get this fareThe journey, minute by minute
What ninety minutes up the mountain looks like.
Times run from the moment we load at your Makkah hotel, for the Al Hada road in normal conditions. Add thirty minutes on Thursday and Friday evenings, and more if fog has come down on the escarpment.
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00:00
Collected at your Makkah hotel
The driver arrives early and loads the bags himself. Chilled water is in the vehicle, and child seats are fitted before he reaches you. If a large vehicle cannot reach the forecourt, the boarding point is agreed in writing the day before.
Loading is the driver's job -
00:20
Out of the Haram districts
Through the ring roads and east out of the city. As on every corridor from Makkah, getting clear of the centre is the slowest part of the first half hour, and in Ramadan it is slower again.
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00:45
The foot of the escarpment
The road starts to climb. On the Al Hada road this is where the hairpins begin; on Al Kar the gradient is longer and gentler. Anyone who feels unwell on mountain roads should be in the front seat by now, and the driver will have asked.
The road is chosen on the day -
01:05
The climb
Twenty minutes of switchbacks, taken steadily rather than quickly. The temperature drops as you go, and on a summer afternoon you can lose ten degrees between the bottom and the top.
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01:15
Al Hada, at the top
The escarpment viewpoint and the cable car. A stop here is free and as long as you like; most people ask for ten minutes for the view.
Stop for the view at no charge -
01:30
Arrival in Taif
Into the city centre, or on to Al Shafa or a hotel on the escarpment, which is twenty to thirty minutes further. The driver takes you to the door, not the nearest junction.
Most people are. The day trip is priced with the driver waiting rather than driving back empty and returning for you, and the return time is set before you leave Makkah, because the descent decides the shape of the day. It is set out in full further down this page.
Fares on this corridor · per vehicle, not per seat
What the mountain costs, by vehicle.
One fixed number for the whole vehicle, inclusive of the driver, fuel, tolls and parking. The day-trip column is the whole day: up in the morning, the driver with you at Al Hada, Al Shafa and the rose farms, and back to your Makkah hotel in the evening.
| Vehicle | Seats | Bags | One way | Day trip, return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Camry or Hyundai Sonata Most booked | 4 | 3 | 300 | 700 |
| GMC Yukon XL | 6 | 5 | 450 Confirm | 1,000 Confirm |
| Hyundai Staria | 9 | 7 | 500 Confirm | 1,100 Confirm |
| Toyota Hiace | 11 | 10 | 550 Confirm | 1,200 Confirm |
| Toyota Coaster | 30 | 30 | 1,000 Confirm | 2,100 Confirm |
| 49-Seat Coach | 49 | 49 | 1,300 Confirm | 2,700 Confirm |
Indicative starting fares. Coasters and coaches take the Al Kar road as standard. A longer day in Taif, or a half-day tour of Al Hada and Al Shafa once you are there, is quoted on Taif coverage. Operators running weekly groups up the mountain hold coaches on a seasonal allocation rather than booking trip by trip.
No charge for the viewpoint stop, no waiting charge on a day trip, no night surcharge for a late descent and no weekend uplift, even though Thursday and Friday are the busiest days on this road. The number agreed in writing before you travel is the number you pay.
Corridor conditions
What changes the drive, and when.
A mountain road behaves differently across the week and across the day. None of this is a problem if it is planned for, and every item on this list has caught out somebody who did not plan for it.
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Fog on the escarpment
Common in the afternoon and evening, especially in summer. Al Hada is the first road to close in heavy fog. We move a departure rather than drive a coach into it, and we say so as early as we know.
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Weekend traffic
Thursday evening up and Friday evening down are the worst hours of the week, when an hour and a half can become three. Where the plan allows, we time the journey around them.
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The descent
Coming down takes longer than going up, with a loaded vehicle on a long gradient. Drivers take it in a low gear and without hurry, and the return time is set with that in mind.
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Summer
Taif fills from June to September with families escaping the heat. The road is busier, hotels on the escarpment fill early and a day trip is worth booking a few days ahead.
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Rose season
The harvest peaks in April, and the farms are busiest early in the morning when the picking happens. In season we start the day earlier so you reach the farms while the distilleries are running.
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Ramadan
Getting clear of Makkah takes far longer, and departures are timed around Iftar rather than through it. A day trip in Ramadan usually starts later and returns after Isha.
The roads up the mountain
Three roads, chosen for the passenger and the weather.
Most quotes for this journey assume there is one road. There are three, and they behave differently in fog, traffic and heat. The choice is agreed at booking and confirmed by the driver on the day, so the fare and the timing never depend on it.
| Route | Distance & time | When we use it |
|---|---|---|
| Al Hada road | 90 km · 1h 30m | The default for cars when the weather allows. The classic ascent: hairpins, the cable car above it and the best views. |
| Al Kar road | About +15 min Confirm | Newer and wider, with gentler gradients. Our standard for coaches, elderly passengers and anyone prone to travel sickness. |
| Al Shafa road | Day trips only | South of the city and higher again, through the terraced farms. Part of a day out rather than a way to arrive. |
What we run at each end is on Makkah and Taif. For a car and driver for the whole day, see Private & Family Transport.
Say so when you enquire. We route via Al Kar, take the climb steadily, give them the front seat and stop whenever they ask. It costs nothing extra and makes the difference between a good day and one nobody wants to repeat.
The same corridor, the other way
Taif back to Makkah, and the Meeqat on the way down.
The return is the same road at the same fare, but for a pilgrim it is not the same journey. Anyone travelling from Taif to Makkah to perform Umrah passes the Meeqat on the way, and that stop shapes the departure.
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The Meeqat for travellers from Taif
Qarn al-Manazil, at As-Sayl al-Kabir, and Wadi Muhrim on the Al Hada road Confirm are the Meeqat for this direction. We stop there so you can change into ihram and pray, with no time limit and no charge. Say at booking that you intend to perform Umrah and the route is chosen to pass it.
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Change at the hotel, or at the Meeqat
Both are normal. Tell us how many in your party are changing at the Meeqat: it is the difference between a short stop and a long one, and we would rather plan for the long one.
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The descent sets the time
Fog and the weekend queue both build in the late afternoon. On a day trip we agree the return time before you leave Makkah and remind you of it at lunch, so the way down is in daylight and ahead of the traffic.
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Into Makkah
Makkah is open to Muslim travellers only, and the checkpoint on the way in enforces it. If anyone in your party will not be entering the city, tell us and we will plan their part of the day from Taif or Jeddah instead.
Why a mountain run is different work
Ninety minutes that show who has driven it before.
On a flat airport run a tired driver and a worn car get away with it. On the escarpment they do not. Hairpins with a full vehicle, brakes on a long descent and a family who did not expect the cold at the top are the reasons this short journey is planned like a long one.
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Drivers who run this road all year
We keep vehicles and drivers in Taif through the quiet months, so the busy ones are covered by people who already know the bends, the fog and where to stop.
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Brakes and cooling checked before the climb
A vehicle we would send across the city is not automatically one we send up the mountain. Brakes, tyres and cooling are checked before every run on this corridor.
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The descent is planned first
Coming down takes longer than going up, and fog and traffic peak in the late afternoon. The return time sets the shape of the whole day.
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Hairpins and elderly passengers
Motion sickness on the ascent is common and avoidable: the front seat, the gentler road, a steady climb and a stop when asked. None of it costs extra.
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The driver waits, the fare does not run
A day trip is one fixed fare with the driver staying with you, not a meter, not a return trip to fetch you and not an hourly charge for the time you spent at a rose farm.
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Someone answers while you are on the mountain
One coordinator holds the day from pickup to drop-off, reachable on WhatsApp throughout, including when fog changes the plan at four in the afternoon.
Book this corridor · reply within 30 minutes
Send your Makkah hotel and the day you want to go up.
That is enough for a fixed fare, a road and a return time we can defend. Nothing is charged at enquiry, and if the day you have planned meets Friday traffic or the afternoon fog, we will say so before you book.
Makkah → Taif journey
About a minute. Fields marked optional can be left blank.
No payment at enquiry · typical reply within 30 minutes
Enquiry received
The intercity desk will reply on your preferred channel, normally within 30 minutes, with a fixed fare, the vehicle named and a departure time for the day you have given us. For anything urgent, call us on +966500000000.
Makkah to Taif questions
Asked before almost every trip up the mountain.
Anything not answered here, ask the desk directly. Someone picks up at any hour.
How far is Makkah from Taif, and how long is the drive?
About 90 km and roughly 1 hour 30 minutes by the Al Hada road in normal conditions. Add thirty minutes or more on Thursday and Friday evenings, and longer when fog is down on the escarpment. The gentler Al Kar road takes a little longer.
How much does a private car from Makkah to Taif cost?
From SAR 300 per vehicle one way for a standard sedan carrying up to 4 passengers, or SAR 700 for a day trip with the driver waiting. Larger vehicles, up to a 49-seat coach, are priced per vehicle too and quoted on request. Fuel, tolls, parking and the driver are inside the fare.
Is a day trip from Makkah to Taif possible?
Yes, and it is the most requested booking on this road. Up in the morning, Al Hada, Al Shafa and the rose farms during the day, back to your Makkah hotel in the evening, from SAR 700 per vehicle for the whole day with the driver waiting throughout.
Which road do you take up the mountain?
Al Hada for the views when the weather allows, Al Kar when we are carrying a coach, elderly passengers or anyone uneasy about hairpins. The driver chooses on the day based on conditions and tells you why.
Someone in our party gets travel sick. Can you help?
Yes, and it is worth saying at enquiry. We route via the gentler Al Kar road, take the ascent steadily, offer the front seat and stop if needed. None of it costs extra.
Where is the Meeqat on the way from Taif to Makkah?
On the road down from Taif, before you reach Makkah. Tell us at booking that you intend to perform Umrah and we confirm the stop with you then. We stop so you can change into ihram and pray, with no time limit and no charge.
What time should we come back down?
Earlier than most people plan. Fog on the escarpment and the weekend traffic both build in the late afternoon, and the descent takes longer than the climb. We agree the return time before you leave Makkah so the way down is in daylight.
How cold is Taif compared with Makkah?
Routinely around ten degrees cooler, and colder again at Al Hada and Al Shafa in the evening. Visitors who packed for Makkah are often caught out, so bring a layer for the day.
Can you take a group up to Taif?
Yes, up to 49 seats in one vehicle and more with several. Coasters and coaches take the Al Kar road as standard. Seasonal group programmes are usually held on an allocation rather than booked trip by trip.
Can we visit the rose farms?
Yes. The harvest peaks in April and the farms are busiest early in the morning, so in season we start the day earlier. Many distilleries are open all year, and we will tell you honestly what you will see in the month you travel.