Be Careful for Wrong Bus Stop! Trying to Take a Midnight NWBUS from AlUla to Medina – Nearly Stranded in the Heart of the Desert! A Saudi Arabia Travel Story

In the night of AlUla (Ula), the desert silence enveloped everything. Released from the scorching heat of the day, this place turns cool at night, with midnight temperatures feeling quite pleasant. On such a night, I was about to head to Medina on a midnight bus. The departure time was 12:09 AM. However, as that time approached, anxiety began to grow in my heart. In this article, I will detail the ordeal and the miracle that befell me as I attempted to use a long-distance overnight bus in Saudi Arabia.

Long-Distance Bus Crossing the Desert

To explain the situation, I was attempting to take an overnight bus from AlUla to Medina, traversing a vast desert region. As I aimed for efficient inter-city travel while trying to save on hotel costs, the midnight bus that could take me from AlUla to Medina in just over 5 hours was perfect. Many long-distance buses in the Hejaz region, including this route, are operated by a Saudi Arabian company called NWBUS.

However, long-distance bus travel in an unfamiliar place comes with its risks. With this in mind, I meticulously researched the exact location of the bus stop. I checked the bus stop’s location in advance based on the official website and Google Maps, and even went so far as to contact an agent by email for confirmation. But when I arrived at the supposed bus stop site about an hour before departure, it turned out to be nothing more than an empty lot.

A Bus Stop with Nothing There

I was told that this location once housed an NWBUS office, but as of 2024, it had been reduced to what looked like ruins with concrete blocks haphazardly piled up, transformed into what resembled a corner of a ghost town. Being extra cautious, about 40 minutes before boarding time, I even called the customer center to ask, “There are no markers at the place where the bus stop should be. Is the information on the site really correct?” The customer center staff replied, “Of course. There’s no sign at the bus stop, but the position on the site is accurate. Don’t worry, the bus will come at the scheduled time.” Believing those words, I decided to wait for the bus’s arrival at the empty lot for a while.

I realized it was midnight in AlUla. The town was silent, with hardly any open shops. If I missed the bus, there would be no alternative options. In the middle of the night in AlUla, with no hotel reservation and no alternative transportation secured, I absolutely had to catch this bus. But as the departure time approached, the bus was nowhere to be seen. Just as I began to feel that simply waiting at the spot based on official information might lead to disaster, fate stepped in to help.

A Miraculous Help from a Local Young Man

A local young man who happened to be driving by approached me and asked, “What are you doing here at this hour, friend?” When I explained my situation, he said, “I just saw a bus that looks like what you’re looking for over there. Hurry!” When I quickly followed his guidance and ran to the spot, indeed there was a bus waiting. The correct bus stop was about 200 meters northwest from where I had been waiting, on the shoulder of a back street with no markings whatsoever. Without his guidance, I would have been completely stranded in AlUla in the middle of the night.

Fortunately, thanks to that young man, I was able to catch the bus by a hair’s breadth. Without his kindness, I would have been at a loss in the middle of the night in AlUla, stranded in the middle of the desert with nowhere to go. As I boarded the bus at the very last minute, a feeling of relief washed over me. Of course, I made sure to file a proper complaint with the bus company afterward about this incident (while it was water under the bridge for me, I couldn’t let future travelers using the overnight bus be left high and dry).

The journey to Medina was more comfortable than I had anticipated. The seats reclined well enough to soothe the fatigue of travel. If I had to nitpick, the air conditioning was a bit too strong, making it feel chilly, so having something to wear over would have made it even more comfortable. The road at night was quiet, and as I fell into a deep sleep, I found myself arriving in Medina before I knew it.

Final Thoughts

This incident taught me how unpredictable travel in Saudi Arabia can be. Especially in provincial cities, I felt that interaction and support from local people are more important than relying too much on official information. Without meeting the kind local young man, I might have had a completely different, terrifying experience.

To those who plan to visit Saudi Arabia: Planning is important, but gathering information on-site and adapting flexibly can make or break your journey. Don’t hesitate to ask local people for help when in trouble. My own experience proves that encounters with people can color your journey in unexpected ways.