Alright I am quit new to the site but then I see that the maximum no. of questions that most people want answers to is basically "what can I do in Saud Arabia?" 
A very very valid question. So I have been in Khobar for a year now, and I have done my share of roaming around the city finding new things to do for my bored self. And I thought the I should share what I know.
1. There are a lot of places that are setup for playing pool, snooker, billiards and such. My favorite is Snolardo on King Khalid (?) street, near the corniche. Yes, its a guys only place, and Yes, Its always better to bring your own partner, because well Everybody else does.
2. There is a decent Bowling alley in al Gosaibi hotel. quite a few no. of lanes, and the machines do work. But they have tournaments sometimes during th eweekends, adn You ll have to ewait till they are over. Thy do open @9 in the morning on the weekdays, and then they dont have any restriction for women and such. Go for playing 5 games, that should be 50 a head.
3. ATV on the halfmoon area: keep going towards halfmoon, you should be able to see these two dunes, after which there are a lot of ppl who rent out ATVs. You might have a problem with language, but a basic understanding of Arabic should be enogh to bargain the prices down to around SR 70 for the Medium sized ones for an hour. Ofcourse the bigger the are, the more you ll have to shell out. On wednesdays, even ladies ca come along for a bit of offroad fun. on thursdays ad fridays, the dunes are attacked by 4X4s and if u do have one of those, then You should really find out if your ride can tackle this.
4. Halfmoon: excellent place for bbqs, and in the closed structures that they have made recently, families have the maximum privacy. Also possible to have a camp out. the cops dont mind much unless You start disturbing the locals. Wednesday nights are the ideal nights for this Thursdays see a lot of arabs coming.
5. Malls: well what can I say, thats kinda the same like anywhere lese. Dhahran mall is basically families only during the evenings, I usually shop there during my lunch break!
6. Food Joints: Will have to make a whole new post for that, since I am a big foodie, have been trying out various places here for the past year.
7. Sheeshah bars: some decent places for having a sheeshah (water pipe) in Aziziah area. I am not a big fan of the place because most of the places are dirty and poorly maintained. but some have decent outdoor facilities, and since Kobhar does have some good weather at times, its nice to have a sheeshah (apple is the best!! 
) with friends, (again, males only 
)
As and when I do find something of interest here in Khobar, I should be posting it here. Meanwhile if you find something of interest to do around Khobar please share it here, I enjoy trying out new things anytime.
Thing to do In khobar
Great, informative post, RedGoblin! Could you tell us if the Khobar corniche is worth visiting too, and if so during what time of the day, etc (before it gets too crowded with people)?
belishabeacon wrote:Great, informative post, RedGoblin! Could you tell us if the Khobar corniche is worth visiting too, and if so during what time of the day, etc (before it gets too crowded with people)?
Khobar Corniche, great place to hang out with friends and family. The best time is to go is during the evening just after sunset. Another excellent time to go is during the day time/mornings, especially when the climate is really pleasant like it is now. No swimming allowed though, but you can bring your fishing rods and try your luck. The cornich being developed after and before the Bahrain causeway, gives a lot of wide open spaces and also very few people. Its the best place to have a small gathering even.
Thanks for the info! Two thumbs up, will be looking forward to more of your Khobar guides
Hey Goblin, thanks for the info man. Let me go and check some of the gaming posts ....
m_r wrote:Hey Goblin, thanks for the info man. Let me go and check some of the gaming posts ....
Check em out.. And yeah if u have any other options please do share!! I am desperately looking for new stuff!
Winter is here! and the winter activities are? well some of the best time to got the corniche is int eh late mornings, and in the afternoon. Can get a bit windy at times. SO bring out the kites!
Chilly during the evenings and nights, make it ideal to get in one of the numerous coffee shops around the place to have a good cup of Hot coffee wit friends! 
Another Bowling alley found in the Doha District, though I am not exactly sure where it is again. I found it by accident..
somewhere behind the Farm stores there.
Are there any nice beaches there apart from the private ones,
even if they are far away from the main city, it's OK, but someplace with nice sandy beach, the ones in the city are totally crowded and ugly
@sly: For some clean beaches you should really try and go towards the half moon area. some privatehuts too built there. you will be able to see it on the way. else there are really clean beaches int he rastanura corniche. but then its a bit too far to go all the way there.
well i will be coming from riyadh so basically everything would be too far
@sly: hmm.. yeah. Well I am just happy to help you out!
can i add to this list ?
- Visit the old Turkish fort at al-Uqair, near Abqaiq.
- Go to the Hofuf caves, you'll be surprised by the cool air (although carrying a bad smell some times) in the caves if u visit during summer.
- Visit Hofuf, its an oasis town and lots of greenery, farms etc. You will forget that you are in the middle of a desert. Lots of irrigational canals, date farms, birds etc.
- See the Hofuf fort. I have the GPS co-ords if anybody wants it.
- Visit the science museum on khobar corniche (although we have never been there) just for the sake of checking it out.
- Wadi shaibah near Urayirah (150kms towards Riyadh) is green and amazes you with a carpet like earth covered in little flowering plants after the rains. You will find wild cucumbers and if lucky, will spot a desert dhub (2ft long, very fast)
- Go to the Tarut fort in Qatif. not spectacular, but Qatif is a nice green town.
- and if you are the adventurous types and need something more, do a desert trip (400kms approx) from Khobar to Hafr al-bathin or Khobar-Riyadh, without using the Highways (except to get gas) !!! Thats what's on our plan for the next weekend. Get in touch if you want to join.
cheers
Vicks
Vicks wrote:can i add to this list ?
- Visit the old Turkish fort at al-Uqair, near Abqaiq.
- See the Hofuf fort. I have the GPS co-ords if anybody wants it.
cheers
Vicks
Hi Vicks,
Welcome to forum. I am also trying to find new places and visited some you wrote. I am planning to go Al Uqair (sea shore) and checked google earth to find a way. Is it accessible if I follow the road from half moon beach or I have to go through to Hofuf? Is the Hofuf fort "Ibrahim Pasha Palace" or there is another fort? If you know GPS coordinate of a ruin near Uqair they called "Al Margab castle" or "Bu Zihmool Watchtower"?
oracletrek wrote:Vicks wrote:can i add to this list ?
- Visit the old Turkish fort at al-Uqair, near Abqaiq.
- See the Hofuf fort. I have the GPS co-ords if anybody wants it.
cheers
Vicks
Hi Vicks,
Welcome to forum. I am also trying to find new places and visited some you wrote. I am planning to go Al Uqair (sea shore) and checked google earth to find a way. Is it accessible if I follow the road from half moon beach or I have to go through to Hofuf? Is the Hofuf fort "Ibrahim Pasha Palace" or there is another fort? If you know GPS coordinate of a ruin near Uqair they called "Al Margab castle" or "Bu Zihmool Watchtower"?
mornin' Oracle,
To go to the Turkish fort at Al-Uqair you can follow the Half moon road, without having to go via Hofuf. Detailed route below.
Khobar=>Halfmoon road=> take right turn towards Qurayyayh power plant at the fag end of the halfmoon road =>proceed straight at intersection with the ARAMCO sea water injection plant on your left=>take right turn 500mtrs before Qurayyah power plant => Take left turn at police check point=>proceed straight untill you see the white washed fort by the sea (probably 20ft high walls) to your left. The beaches before al-uqair are usually deserted and lined with date palm trees, making a perfect setting for lunch and a siesta. The water will be warm during winters, but the lava rocks which form the beach front hurt like hell if you walk bare-footed on them. Don't ask me how i know. Carry a pair of slippers/flip-flops if you want to get into the water...
There seem to be two forts in Hofuf, we have only visited the Ibrahim pasha palace. (as everything else in Saudi is, its closed on fridays)
The "Al Margab castle" and "Bu Zihmool watchtower" are new names to me, looks like a good reason to get out and do some exploration.
Let me know if you need a partner.
cheers
Vicks
Vicks,
Man you have roamed around quite a bit!!
Good for us..
Cheers!
Check-out Scitech at Khobar corniche... It is a very interesting place,,, must go there atleast once.
In case you have school-going kids, they will have a lot of fun
the documentaries in the IMAX theater are also excellent!
Wow, KSA is a great place afterall. I heard a lot of negative feedbacks from ex-expats coming from KSA. Well, i'll be joining you guys soon if ill be get lucky on my application to KSA. tHANKS REDgoblin for your very informative KSA travel guide.
Hi all
Lots of interesting stuff!!
Do you have also advise on what to do as expat female in Saudi (Khobar and jubail)?
Any advise on where to enjoy outdoor pool/beach without abaya? And with some (expat) male friends?
Thanks
if anyone are in the mood for some mountain bike cycling we found a very nice track of 30km or further outside Khobar near Hofuf where we go on weekends. Sometimes a bit windy but mostly deserted with only camels and the occasional little desert fox for company. We always pack a quick bite to eat after getting back to the car, very nice way to unwind after a busy week. And also further along a wonderful rock ridge going into the sea to wade and cast a line or two. Have to make the best of what is available otherwise living here could get you down.
infect i spend 6 years in Riyadh and now since 3 years im living in khobar ... with many other drawbacks .. there is nothing to do in KHOBAR except going Bahrain ... or ARMCO AREA FOR MOVIE .. if u have any friend living inside the camp.... khobar cornice is one of the pathetic place starting from dammam to half moon beach... always crowded ... dirty and lots of noise with smelly sea water....so as western expats its better for u guys to make some social circle with ppl who r living in compounds , there are usually hings are available for ... whole family like bowling , swimming, squish courts etc.......
@astumke,
That's amazing !! I definitely would be super excited to join you on a biking trip. Not sure how long I would last on trek but for sure give it a go. Work demands me driving back and forth from Hofuf & Dammam multiple times a week. This would be a welcoming change.
British Male new to Al Khobar, finding it very different to Jeddah. I've been working in Jeddah for 2 years and thought it would be similar but its not. Looking to meet new people for going out
astumke wrote:if anyone are in the mood for some mountain bike cycling we found a very nice track of 30km or further outside Khobar near Hofuf where we go on weekends. Sometimes a bit windy but mostly deserted with only camels and the occasional little desert fox for company. We always pack a quick bite to eat after getting back to the car, very nice way to unwind after a busy week. And also further along a wonderful rock ridge going into the sea to wade and cast a line or two. Have to make the best of what is available otherwise living here could get you down.
Do you have the location of the mountain biking by any chance? The road to Hofuf is a long one . Thanks
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