North Obhur is the northern side of the Obhur coast in Jeddah, where addresses often read Abhur Ash Shamaliyah, and it is home to beach resorts, villas, Al Lulu Beach and the city’s newer public sandy beaches. Getting there by taxi is straightforward once you use a full address rather than the area name. Getting back is the part that needs planning: the return is its own journey, timed from the place you are leaving, with enough waiting booked for a family coming off the sand.
This guide is for two kinds of traveller: people staying there, at a resort, villa or chalet, who need journeys in and out, and people based in a city hotel who are heading up the coast for a few hours. It explains what the local names, including Sharm Obhur, mean, why the side of the creek matters, how the airport arrival works, how to plan outings into the city from a base on the northern shore, and how to set up the ride back. If you are still choosing between a public beach, a resort day and a boat trip, start with our guide to Obhur beaches, resorts and the ride back, then come back here for the journeys.
North Obhur, South Obhur and Sharm Obhur: what the names mean
Obhur appears in several spellings. Saudi Press Agency reports use Obhur, while street addresses often use Abhur. You will also see the area split into two halves:
- North Obhur, in Arabic Abhur Ash Shamaliyah, the name that appears in many addresses on the northern side;
- South Obhur, the southern side, which has its own beaches, marinas and addresses.
Between them lies Sharm Obhur. “Sharm” is an inlet of the sea, and English speakers often call it Obhur creek or Obhur Bay. A Saudi Press Agency report from June 2024 on Sharm Obhur beach (French edition) describes a stretch of about 10 km with white sand and clear water, modern rest areas, kiosks and swimming spots on one side, and chalets and hotels on the other. It mentions yacht and boat trips as a favourite summer activity.
People who search for Obhur creek Jeddah are usually looking for Sharm Obhur itself or for a place on its shore. For a taxi booking, the practical meaning is simple. “Obhur” alone does not tell the system or the driver which side you mean. The northern and southern sides are different destinations.
Why the side of the Obhur creek matters
Places on opposite sides of Obhur creek in Jeddah can look close together on a map, because only water separates them. By road, the drive between them may be longer than it looks, depending on the route the roads take. We do not quote journey times, and our live route checks do not include Obhur, so the route summary in the transfer finder is the place to see the actual road distance for your trip.
This matters in three situations:
- Staying on one side, visiting the other. A resort on the northern shore and a marina on the southern one are two different journeys, even if you can see one from the other.
- Meeting friends. If friends are staying on the other side, agree a named place to meet rather than “Obhur”.
- Evening plans. A restaurant across the creek is a separate return journey, not a short hop.
What is in North Obhur
Official reports describe several kinds of place on the northern side.
Al Lulu Beach
The Saudi Press Agency’s April 2026 piece on Al Lulu Beach places it in the Northern Obhur area and describes swimming, diving and water sports, spaces for families, seaside cafés, and municipal and security services.
New public sandy beaches
In January 2025 the agency reported that Jeddah Municipality had opened a free public sandy beach in North Obhur (French edition), staffed by certified lifeguards and lit by solar lamps. The report says notices at the beach set out its rules and the hours when it may be used, and that the municipality was preparing two further sandy beaches nearby. Those posted hours are the natural limit for your return pickup.
Resorts and villas
Several resorts sit on the northern shore. The operator’s page for Rixos Obhur Jeddah Resort and Villas, for example, gives its address as Abdullah Al Faisal Street, Abhur Ash Shamaliyah District, and describes a private beach on Obhur Bay, a day experience for non-residents and a kids club for ages 4 to 12. Other resorts, chalets and private villas have their own entrances and rules. Ask your host which gate a car should use.
The agency’s August 2026 overview of Jeddah’s beaches also lists Obhur Waterfront among the city’s coastal destinations.
Obhur journeys at a glance
Most journeys to and from the northern side fall into one of five patterns. The table shows what sets the time and how to handle the wait.
| Trip | Pickup | Destination | What sets the pickup time | Waiting to think about |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrival | Jeddah Airport | Obhur resort or villa | Flight arrival, plus immigration and bags | Add extra waiting at checkout |
| Day visit | City hotel | Named beach or resort on the northern side | Beach hours or day-pass start | Free waiting is usually enough |
| Return from a day visit | Obhur beach or resort | City hotel | Permitted hours or day-pass end | Add extra waiting for changing and showers |
| City outing from an Obhur base | Resort or villa address | Named place in the city | Venue opening or booking | Free waiting is usually enough |
| Departure | Resort or villa address | Jeddah Airport | Flight time, working back | Be ready at the booked time |
Arriving from Jeddah Airport
If your first night is on the northern shore, the airport journey is an ordinary arrival transfer with your resort or villa as the destination.
Type the full name from your confirmation, then check the pin in the route summary. If you are staying in a private villa or compound, use the exact address and put the gate name or a landmark in the booking notes. The notes help the driver, but they are not a promise about where a car may stop; that is managed on the day, and a short walk to reception is possible.
Add your flight number at checkout. Free waiting counts from the booked pickup time, not from landing and not from when the car arrives. It is 15 minutes in Economy, then SAR 1.50 a minute; 30 minutes in Business and Executive, the Staria or the H1 family van, then SAR 2.00 a minute; and 45 minutes in a Premium SUV, then SAR 2.50 a minute. If immigration and bags may take a while, add extra waiting at checkout in 15-minute steps up to 2 hours. The driver’s instructions then show the total. For more on arrivals, see our page on transfers from Jeddah Airport to your hotel.
Beach gear adds up. Count cool boxes, snorkel bags and folding chairs as luggage, because the results show only vehicle classes that pass the capacity check for your party and bags.
Staying on the northern shore: trips into the city
A base up here is quiet and close to the sea, but most of Jeddah’s sights, souqs and restaurants are elsewhere. Every trip into town is two journeys: out to a named place, and back from a named place.
A few habits make this easier:
- Book both legs together. The return is the one people forget, and it needs 48 hours’ notice like any other journey.
- Use the place’s own name. A restaurant, museum or mall name the search can find is better than a district.
- Let the return start where you finish. If a walk ends somewhere new, book the return from there.
Our guide to dinner in Jeddah by taxi shows how to time a return from a restaurant, and our guide to the pickup after a late event covers late finishes.
Visiting for the day from a city hotel
From a city hotel, a day on the northern shore starts with a named destination. A public beach has no booking but has permitted hours. A resort day needs written confirmation of access, the day-visitor entrance and the closing time. Before you book, work through the resort questions in our guide to Jeddah’s public beaches and private beach access. If a boat trip is part of the plan, the operator controls the marina, meeting point and return, as our guide to the Jeddah Yacht Club for dining or a boat trip explains for another marina.
Getting back from North Obhur
The return is where a coast day usually goes wrong. The morning is fixed; the afternoon depends on the sea, the children and the light.
Set the time from the place
Work back from something fixed: the end of a resort day pass, the permitted hours shown at a public beach, a boat’s stated return to shore, or a dinner table time plus a relaxed meal. Then allow time to shower, change and walk to the meeting point.
Agree a pickup spot that is easy to describe
After sunset, one stretch of sand and one car park can be hard to tell apart. So the return pickup should be somewhere with a sign on it: the resort’s gate, a café whose name the driver can search, or the entrance to a numbered car park. Once a driver is assigned, the driver-assigned email gives the vehicle registration and meeting instructions. A quick message with your position and a live location pin does the rest.
Book the waiting you need
Free waiting counts from the booked pickup time. If you know that a family of five takes a while to leave a beach, add extra waiting to the return at checkout, rather than hoping the driver can stay. The driver will not wait beyond what was booked.
If the time needs to move
You can request a new pickup time from your account before the pickup. An approved change carries a £5 rescheduling fee, converted into the booking currency and added to the cash paid to the driver. A rejected request costs nothing. Only the time can be changed online; the pickup place, destination, passengers and vehicle cannot.
Leaving for a flight
On the last day, work back from the flight time and your airline’s check-in deadline, and set the pickup early enough to be relaxed. Check the terminal on your ticket before you book; our guide to checking the terminal for a Jeddah Airport drop-off explains why. Be ready at the booked time with bags packed, sand shaken out and the room keys handed back.
Practical details for a coast day
Children and beach gear
A day by the creek with children means more kit than a city outing. Count it honestly in the search, because the results show only the classes that pass the capacity check. An Economy car seats 4 with 2 large bags, a Staria 6 with 2, a Premium SUV 6 with 4, and an H1 family van or a GMC Yukon XL 7 with 6. Enter a cool box, a beach umbrella or a snorkel bag as a large bag, not a cabin bag, so the vehicle offered really fits.
Add an infant seat, child seat or booster in the search so it is confirmed for the vehicle. Children coming off a beach are hot and tired, so a meeting point in the shade, and a return booked before the hottest part of the afternoon or after it has passed, makes the ride home calmer. For general advice on heat and children, see our guide to Jeddah with kids and a family day out.
Gates, receptions and villas
Resorts, compounds and private villas along the shore each manage their own entrances. Some have a main gate and a separate day-visitor entrance; villas may sit behind a shared compound gate. We cannot promise where a car may stop, because that is managed on the day by the place and the driver.
What helps is detail. Put the gate name, the villa number or a clear landmark in the booking notes, and keep your host’s phone number to hand in case security at the gate asks who you are visiting. When the driver is assigned, send your live location if you are waiting somewhere other than the main entrance.
Booking for relatives staying on the coast
Families often book for parents or cousins who are staying at the coast while the organiser is elsewhere. That works, but the checkout asks for more. When the booking is for someone else, it needs the traveller’s name, the traveller’s phone number and an emergency contact, and there is an optional group leader phone field. Give a number that will be answered on the day, because the driver needs someone to call at the gate.
The basket can also email a secure review link, so a relative can check the pickup place and time before one person pays.
Worked example: the Menon family’s week by the creek
Priya and Arjun Menon are staying at a resort on the northern shore with their daughters, Meera, ten, and Asha, five. They land in Jeddah late in the afternoon.
For the arrival, they book an H1 family van from the airport to the resort, type the resort’s full name from their confirmation and add their flight number. The H1 gives them 30 minutes of free waiting from the booked pickup time. Knowing immigration can be slow, they add 30 minutes of extra waiting at checkout.
Midweek, they want a morning in Historic Jeddah and lunch in the city. They book the resort to a named gate of the old town at 09:00, and a return from a restaurant nearby at 14:00, before the afternoon heat.
On Friday, friends invite them to a café on the South Obhur side. The map makes it look close, but the route summary shows a longer drive than the straight line suggested. They book it as two journeys, with the return from the café at 21:00 and a named car park entrance as the meeting point.
For the flight home, they work back from the check-in deadline and book the resort to the airport with a comfortable margin. All six journeys are booked more than 48 hours ahead, and each reads Confirmed before they rely on it.
Booking rules for Obhur journeys
- Notice. Online bookings need at least 48 hours’ notice before each pickup.
- Minimum value. Each journey has a minimum booking value equivalent to £40. A short hop along the coast may show a “Minimum booking amount” line.
- Status. Payment secures a provisional request. The status updates within 1 to 12 hours, and a journey is booked only when it reads Confirmed.
- Payment. Jeddah Cabs may take a deposit online, with the balance paid in cash to the driver. The checkout shows both amounts, and your account shows the cash due to the driver.
- Cancelling. Bookings are subject to our cancellation terms (free cancellation with a full refund up to 48 hours before pickup; inside 48 hours the deposit element of the price is kept) if you cancel. If we or the transport partner cancel, or cannot supply the journey, you receive a full refund for the affected journey. See the cancellation and refund policy.
Checklist for your Obhur trip
- Decide whether your place is in North Obhur or South Obhur, and use the full name or address.
- Check the pin in the route summary before paying.
- For a villa or compound, put the gate name or a landmark in the booking notes.
- For a resort day, get the day-visitor entrance and closing time in writing.
- For a public beach, note the permitted hours on the signs.
- Book the return with the outward journey, timed from the place’s own hours.
- Choose a named meeting point for the return that you can find after dark.
- Count beach gear as luggage and add child seats in the search.
- Add extra waiting at checkout for airport arrivals and slow beach exits.
- Book every journey at least 48 hours ahead and wait until each reads Confirmed.
When you know where in North Obhur you are going, and where you are coming back from, open the Jeddah Cabs transfer finder, book both journeys together, pay the deposit online and keep the balance in cash for the driver.