The University is easily accessible from any point within the Kingdom, or by international air, sea, and road routes from Europe, Asia, Africa, or other Middle Eastern countries. Travel for recreation and for serious study of the culture of Saudi Arabia and the surrounding region is an important incidental advantage of residing in Dhahran. Only the two Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah are inaccessible to non-Muslims.
Roads connect Dhahran with nearly all sections of the Kingdom.
A visit to this exotic area is a rare privilege, however, and is usually limited to brief trips by aircraft to one of the seismic or drilling camps of the Oil Company. In addition to these land routes, Dhahran is connected with the nearby island of Bahrain by a causeway, which stretches a distance of approximately 35 kilometers. Although the University does not recommend it, except to seasoned travelers thoroughly familiar with the Middle East, a number of faculty families have driven to Europe via Turkey and the Balkans Air travel is the more usual method of transport for both business and recreational trips in the area, and a wide selection of possible tours are available to surrounding vacation spots. Special excursion fares are often available between Dhahran and several beautiful Mediterranean cities notably Cairo, Athens and Rome. Any spot in Europe can be reached in half a day, and any destination in America, Canada, Australia, or Japan can be reached in one very long day of jet flying.