Dammam is the capital of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and is also the largest city in the Eastern Province and third largest in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh and Jeddah. Dammam Port is the largest on the Persian Gulf and is second to Jeddah’s port for import-export traffic. As with many places in Saudi Arabia Dammam in the past relied heavily on the sale of oil, in this oil-rich region, however the city of Dammam now attracts a large number of tourists thanks to its moderate climate. It is also easy and economic to get to with cheap flights to Dammam departing from most UK airports.
Some of the beautiful coastal beaches on the Gulf include the Half Moon Bay which is one of the most popular beaches especially for the young who enjoy lots of water sports. There are also many tourist spots to enjoy, one of most famous tourist attractions in Dammam is the Dammam Corniche which features some amazing natural beauty, lots of relaxation and calmness as well as activities by the sea. Dammam also offers the towering Coral Island where family fun comes first with plenty of activities for the whole family to enjoy and lots to see like the lighthouse where you can climb up to the top and see out into the Persian Gulf or you can relax with a spot of fishing. Or you can roam around King Fahad’s Park which covers an area 1,120 million square meters, and is one of the largest parks in the region and has a number of artificial lakes and green spaces as well as large waterfalls, fountains and children’s play areas.
Dammam is also popular for shopping due to many shopping malls that feature a good choice of diverse goods and many well known brands as well as a number of independent retail outlets. You can also find plenty of traditional markets selling a wide range of local produce and individual hand made goods. There are not lots of up market restaurants in Dammam as many places tend to feature speciality local food which is defiantly worth a try, they do however have a few well known fast food outlets.
Quite a few new hotels have now sprung up in Dammam since it became more popular with tourists, although many have modern amenities they have still been built in a traditional style in keeping with many parts of Dammam.
