Turtle Bay Hotel

Clear water runs pale turquoise off a soft white beach, with reef visible close to shore. Turtle Bay Resort sits on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast, between the towns of Al Wajh and Umluj, roughly 500 km north of Jeddah, and uses its own nearby Red Sea International airport for arrivals from Jeddah, Riyadh, Dubai and Doha. Rooms number 144, most with a balcony or terrace facing either the sea or the garden, fitted with a Nespresso machine, a kettle and a mini fridge. Family rooms connect through an internal door and hold one king bed with two twins. The resort's Beach Club is the social hub, with a restaurant serving pizza and Mediterranean dishes alongside an adults-only pool for quieter lounging. Beyond the shore, guests dive and snorkel over coral, paddleboard, kayak or windsurf, all under instructor guidance. Laha Beach Club offers a stretch of private sand reserved for women. It is a short walk from the main resort. Golf, a waterpark and mountain adventure sites sit a few minutes further along the coast, giving the property a wider reach than its own footprint suggests. Rooms are non-smoking throughout, and step-free access extends to the pool, beach and public areas.