The places to visit in Taif that work best for a family with a car and driver fall into five areas: the city itself, with Shubra Palace and the older streets; the south, with Al Rudaf Park; the west, with Al Hada and its escarpment; the south-west, with Al Shafa and the farms; and the north, with Souq Okaz. The simplest plan gives each area its own outing, booked as clear journeys from your hotel and back, rather than trying to see everything in one long loop.
This guide is for families and small groups staying a few nights in Taif, also written At-Taif or Al Taif, who want a sightseeing plan they can actually book. It groups the main places by area using official descriptions, shows how to turn each area into an outing, gives a sample three-day plan, and explains how stops, waiting at pickups, child seats and the Jeddah Cabs booking rules fit together. It does not repeat our detailed guides to individual places, which are linked where they help.
Places to visit in Taif, grouped by area
Taif is spread out. Saudipedia’s entry on Taif Governorate places Al Hada to the west of the city and Al Shafa to the south-west, at about 2,500 m above sea level. It describes Al Rudaf as an area in southern Taif and Souq Okaz as lying north of the city. So a single day that tries to take in all of them means a lot of driving in different directions.
Grouping by area solves that. The table below sets out each area, the places official sources name there, and what kind of family outing it makes.
| Area | Places named in official sources | Kind of outing | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| City centre | Shubra Palace, now a museum; older palaces and houses | Half day, mostly indoors and short walks | Older children, grandparents, hot or wet days |
| South (Al Rudaf) | Al Rudaf Park, over 500,000 m² | Half day in a park | Young children who need space to run |
| West (Al Hada) | Mountain views, cable car, nature trails | Half day or full day, weather dependent | Views, a ride, older children who like heights |
| South-west (Al Shafa) | Mountain scenery, farms, cooler air | Full day at an easy pace | Nature, farms, a picnic, rose season |
| North | Souq Okaz, the revived historic market site | Half day, often tied to the festival | History lovers, festival visits |
Every row is a separate direction from the city. That is the core of Taif sightseeing by car: one direction per outing, with the hotel at each end.
The city: Shubra Palace and old Taif
Of all the places to visit in Taif, the city sights are the easiest start for most families, because they are closest to the hotels and do not depend on mountain weather.
Shubra Palace
Saudipedia’s page on the historical Shubra Palace describes a building started in the early twentieth century with columns of lime mortar and stone, dark wooden rawasheen (carved window screens) and around 150 rooms over four floors. King Abdulaziz used it as a summer residence for government, and it now serves as a museum under the Ministry of Culture.
For children, the appeal is the building itself: the scale, the wooden screens and the sense of a royal summer house. Opening days and hours are not published in the sources we read, so check with the Ministry of Culture or the museum before you set the pickup time.
Other historic buildings
The governorate entry also names other old palaces and houses in the city, such as Al-Kaaki Palace and Jabra Palace. Whether any of them can be visited inside is not stated, so treat them as places to see from the street unless you have confirmed otherwise.
A city outing is usually short in distance but can still be tiring on foot. Book the car to a named place, not “the old town”, and agree a named pickup point for the return.
South: Al Rudaf Park and family parks
If you are travelling with small children, a park may be the most useful place in Taif. Visit Saudi’s page on Arruddaf Park describes green spaces, musical fountains and family-friendly entertainment. Saudipedia calls Al Rudaf an archaeological and tourist area in southern Taif, with a park that is one of the largest in the Kingdom at over 500,000 m².
Saudipedia’s article on tourism in Makkah Province also lists King Fahd Park, Arruddaf Park and the parks at Al Hada and Al Shafa among Taif’s tourist facilities. A park outing is ideal for the first afternoon after the drive up from Jeddah, when children need to move and adults need an easy plan.
A park is large, so the gate matters. Type the park name, check the pin in the route summary, and use the booking notes to say which entrance you want if you know it.
West: Al Hada, the viewpoints and the cable car
Al Hada is the most famous part of the Taif mountains. Visit Saudi’s page on Al-Hada Mountain mentions views, cable car rides and nature trails.
Two things make an Al Hada outing different from the others.
- The cable car is a ticketed attraction. Whether it runs on your date, and at what times, is controlled by the operator. Our guide to the Al Hada cable car from Taif explains how to build the outing around a confirmed ride.
- The road can close. Saudipedia’s entry on Aqabat al-Kurr, the Al Hada road, says it is one of the roads most often closed temporarily in the Kingdom, especially in fog and rain. It is also the only road in Makkah Province where trucks and large buses are prohibited all year, so a coach group needs a different plan.
If you are arriving from Jeddah and want a viewpoint on the way up rather than a separate outing, read about adding a scenic stop to the Taif transfer.
South-west: Al Shafa and the rose farms
Al Shafa is higher and further out. Visit Saudi’s Al-Shafa Mountain page mentions views, a cool climate and nature trails, and Saudipedia lists roses, figs, berries, vegetables and honey among the area’s produce.
This is the area for a slow day: a drive into the mountains, a stop at a farm or viewpoint, a picnic and an unhurried return. Because it is the furthest area from most city hotels, it is rarely worth combining with anything else. Our guide to an Al Shafa day trip from Taif covers choosing one anchor place there.
Rose season
Taif’s roses are its best-known product. Saudipedia’s governorate entry puts the harvest at about 650 million roses a year, with more than seventy distilleries. A farm visit depends on the farm being open to visitors on your date, so confirm it with the farm first. Our guide to a Taif rose farm visit by taxi sets out what to check.
North: Souq Okaz
Souq Okaz is the most historic site in this list. Saudipedia describes it as one of the largest and most famous Arab markets of the pre-Islamic and Islamic eras, revived in 2007 as an annual festival after a long gap.
Because the festival is seasonal, what you find at the site depends on your dates. Check the official festival announcements before you plan an outing around it. Outside festival time, confirm with a Taif tourism source whether the site is open to visitors before you book the car.
Taif sightseeing by car: turning areas into outings
Once you know which areas you want, each one becomes an outing made of journeys.
The basic shape
A Jeddah Cabs journey has one pickup place, one destination, and a pickup date and time in Saudi local time. The pickup and destination must differ, so an outing from the hotel to a place and back is two journeys, each booked with its own time. The car takes you there; a separate journey collects you later.
This shape has one big advantage for families. Nobody watches the clock in a parked car. You spend the time you planned at the place, and the return is already arranged.
Adding stops
A single journey can include up to eight stops, in journey order. On a Taif outing, stops suit short pauses along the way: collecting a relative from another hotel, a quick photo at a viewpoint, or a shop for water and snacks. They are not a way to keep the car for a two-hour visit. For anything longer than a short pause, end the journey and book a separate return.
Waiting at the pickup
Children rarely leave a park on time. Free waiting counts from the booked pickup time, not from when the car arrives. The free minutes and the rate after that depend on the class:
| Vehicle class | Free waiting from booked pickup time | After the free period |
|---|---|---|
| Economy | 15 minutes | SAR 1.50 per minute |
| Business and Executive, Staria, H1 | 30 minutes | SAR 2.00 per minute |
| Premium SUV (Tahoe, Yukon) | 45 minutes | SAR 2.50 per minute |
| Minibus and Coach | 30 minutes | SAR 2.50 per minute |
If you expect the return to be slow, you can add extra waiting at checkout in 15-minute steps, up to 2 hours, priced at the class’s per-minute rate. The driver’s instructions then show the total. The driver will not wait beyond what was booked, so set it honestly.
A three-day plan for Taif with family
This is a sample plan for a family staying three full days in a city hotel. It keeps one area per day and leaves the evenings free. Swap the days around to suit the weather and any tickets.
| Day | Morning | Afternoon | Journeys to book |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arrival day | Transfer from Jeddah | Rest, then Al Rudaf Park if everyone is fresh | Airport to hotel; hotel to park; park to hotel |
| Day 1 | Shubra Palace and the city | Hotel pool or rest | Hotel to museum; museum to hotel |
| Day 2 | Al Hada, cable car if confirmed | Return before late afternoon | Hotel to Al Hada point; Al Hada point to hotel |
| Day 3 | Al Shafa, farm or viewpoint, picnic | Unhurried return | Hotel to Al Shafa place; Al Shafa place to hotel |
Souq Okaz replaces one of the days if the festival is on during your stay.
Keep the hardest mountain day away from the arrival and departure days. The drive up from King Abdulaziz International Airport to the InterContinental in Taif measured about 197 km in our live route checks, and from Taif to the Jeddah Hilton about 202 km. That is enough road for one day. Our guides to arriving from Jeddah Airport for a first night in Taif and to choosing a Taif base for mountain day trips go into those decisions.
If you only have one day
If Taif is a day out from Jeddah, choose one area only. The city or Al Hada usually suits a single day best, because Al Shafa is further on. Our guide to a Taif day trip from Jeddah by private car explains the timing.
Worked example: the Okafors’ three days in Taif
Grace and Emeka Okafor live in Jeddah and are taking their children, Tobi, aged nine, and Ada, aged four, to Taif for a long weekend. Grace’s father, Samuel, is coming too. They have booked a city hotel.
Their first draft is ambitious: Al Hada and Al Shafa on the same day, with Shubra Palace squeezed in on the way back. When they mark those places to visit in Taif on a map, they see that the three sit in different directions from the hotel. They drop the combined day.
Instead they book one area a day:
- Friday afternoon: hotel to Al Rudaf Park, with a return pickup two and a half hours later from the same gate. Ada rides in a child seat and Tobi in a booster, both added in the search.
- Saturday morning: hotel to Shubra Palace, after Grace has checked that the museum is open that day, with a return pickup before lunch.
- Sunday: hotel to a farm at Al Shafa that has confirmed it welcomes visitors, and a return pickup mid-afternoon.
For five travellers with a folded pushchair and a picnic bag, the results include a Hyundai Staria, a Premium SUV and larger classes. They choose the Premium SUV, which gives them 45 minutes of free waiting from each booked pickup time. On the Sunday return, knowing Samuel walks slowly, they add 15 minutes of extra waiting at checkout.
All eight journeys, including the transfers up from Jeddah and back down, are booked on the same evening, more than 48 hours ahead. Each one reads Confirmed before they leave Jeddah.
Weather, routes and who is travelling
Taif is cooler than Jeddah, and the mountains are cooler again. Pack a layer for each child, especially for Al Shafa and for evenings.
Mountain weather can change a plan. If fog or rain closes the Al Hada road on your Al Hada day, swap it with the city day and move the pickup time if needed. You can request a new pickup time from your account, as described in the booking rules below.
If anyone in your party is not Muslim, say so in the booking notes. The Saudi Press Agency, reporting a Makkah Police statement, referred to laws that prohibit entry to Makkah for non-Muslims. Routes around Taif and down to Jeddah can be planned lawfully, and the booking team can advise.
Seats and vehicles for Taif with family
The search asks for adults, children and infants, and for large bags and cabin bags. Results show only classes that pass the capacity check for your party and luggage, each with an example model “or similar”.
For outings, the luggage is light, but seats go quickly. An Economy car seats 4, a Staria or Premium SUV 6, and an H1 or GMC Yukon XL 7. Each child seat takes a seat.
Add an infant seat, child seat or booster in the search so it is confirmed for the vehicle. Saudipedia’s summary of the traffic law states that child seats must be used. A wheelchair requirement is added the same way.
Count a folded pushchair as a large bag. If you are carrying a picnic cool box, count that too.
Booking rules that affect a Taif sightseeing plan
- Notice. Online bookings need at least 48 hours’ notice before each pickup. Book the whole weekend together.
- Minimum value. Each journey has a minimum booking value equivalent to £40. Short hops within the city 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 each driver.
- Changing the time. 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. Only the time can be changed online; the place, destination, passengers and vehicle cannot.
- 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.
Because cancelling an outing remains 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), confirm tickets and opening days before you pay for the car.
Checklist for your Taif sightseeing plan
- List the places you want and mark which area each one is in.
- Give each area its own outing, and keep the long mountain days away from arrival and departure.
- Confirm the cable car, museum, farm or festival for your date before booking any car.
- Write each outing as two journeys, hotel to place and place to hotel, with times.
- Use stops only for short pauses along the way.
- Enter every adult, child and infant, and add the right seat for each child.
- Count pushchairs and cool boxes as large bags.
- Check the free waiting for your class, and add extra waiting at checkout if the return may run slow.
- Mention in the notes if anyone in the party is not Muslim.
- Book every journey at least 48 hours ahead and wait until each reads Confirmed.
When your list of places to visit in Taif is settled and each outing has its times, open the Jeddah Cabs transfer finder, enter each journey with your party and seats, pay the deposit online and keep the balance in cash for each driver.