Last Updated on September 29, 2026 by Mohammed Sifeddine

Madinah Hop-On Hop-Off Tourist Bus: Routes, Stops, Price & How to Use It

The Madinah Hop-On Hop-Off Tourist Bus is a sightseeing service connecting the area around the Prophet’s Mosque with historic, religious, cultural and leisure areas across Madinah.

The current operator information shows two routes and 15 stops, including Uhud Battlefield, Al-Qiblatain Mosque and Quba Mosque. A 24-hour unlimited ticket is currently advertised at SAR 90 per adult, while a single stop-to-stop ride is advertised at SAR 15.

There is one important caveat: the operator’s website is not completely consistent about the number of stops. Its current route page lists 15, while the 24-hour ticket section still refers to 12 stops. I therefore recommend checking the current route before travelling rather than relying on an older stop list.

This guide focuses on what the service is actually useful for, how the two routes work, what the current ticket includes, and when a taxi or private vehicle may be more practical.

At a glance: is the bus suitable for your trip?

The bus is therefore not automatically the right choice for every visitor.

Its main advantage is that one ticket can be used to explore different parts of Madinah. Its main practical limitation is that you should allow flexibility rather than treating it like a precisely timed point-to-point transport service.

Quick facts

Important: The operator’s current route page lists 15 stops, but its 24-hour ticket section still says “all 12 stops.” This is an inconsistency in the operator’s own website. For this guide, I use the current 15-stop route page as the working route list.

What makes the Madinah Hop-On Hop-Off Bus useful?

The main advantage is not simply the open-top double-decker.

The bus gives visitors a relatively straightforward way to see parts of Madinah that are spread well beyond the Prophet’s Mosque without arranging separate transport for every destination.

For example, the current routes connect the central area with:

• Al Manakha
• Hejaz Railway Museum
• Uhud Battlefield
• Al-Qiblatain Mosque
• Aziziyah Overlook
• Al-Hijrah Walkway
• Quba Mosque

That makes the service particularly relevant if you want to understand more of Madinah beyond the central Haram area.

It can also be useful on a first visit when you are still getting a sense of how the city is laid out.

The two Madinah sightseeing routes

The current operator information divides the service into a Green Route and a Red Route.

Green Route: central and historic Madinah

The current route page lists stops 1–8:

1. Prophet’s Mosque
2. As Safiyyah Museum & Park
3. International Fairs and Museums & Al Baqi
4. Al Manakha Square
5. Quba Square & Al Mughaisilah Market
6. Mughaisilah District
7. Hejaz Railway Museum
8. Al Salam Gate

The Green Route is the more relevant route if you want to explore the central and historic side of Madinah.

The Hejaz Railway Museum and Al Manakha area, for example, provide a different experience from simply staying around the Prophet’s Mosque.

Red Route: Uhud, Qiblatain and Quba

The current route page lists stops 9–15:

9. Uhud Battlefield
10. Al Noor Mall
11. Sultanah – Abu Bakr Al Siddiq Road
12. Al-Qiblatain Mosque
13. Aziziyah Overlook
14. Al-Hijrah Walkway
15. Quba Mosque

This route is particularly relevant if you want to visit some of the major sites outside the central area.

Note: The operator currently marks Al-Hijrah Walkway as temporarily closed. Check its current status before planning to get off there.

Which stops are most relevant?

Rather than assuming every stop deserves the same amount of time, it helps to group them according to what you want to see.

Religious and Islamic-history sites

• Prophet’s Mosque
• Uhud Battlefield
• Al-Qiblatain Mosque
• Quba Mosque

Madinah heritage

• Al Manakha Square
• Mughaisilah District
• Hejaz Railway Museum
• Al Salam Gate

Leisure and outdoor areas

• As Safiyyah Museum & Park
• Aziziyah Overlook
• Al-Hijrah Walkway

Shopping and modern Madinah

• Al Noor Mall
• Sultanah – Abu Bakr Al Siddiq Road

This is why I would not describe the service simply as a religious sightseeing bus. Its current route also includes heritage, shopping and leisure destinations.

A note about the Prophet’s Mosque and the Prophet’s burial place

The Prophet’s Mosque is the central starting point of the sightseeing routes and one of the most important places in Madinah.

For accuracy, however, it is better not to say simply that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is “buried in the mosque.”

The Prophet ﷺ was buried in the room of his wife Aisha, which was adjacent to the mosque at the time and is now within the expanded Prophet’s Mosque complex.

This distinction matters when describing the site respectfully and accurately.

How much does the Madinah Hop-On Hop-Off Bus cost?

The operator currently advertises two relevant ticket options.

24-hour ticket — SAR 90

The current advertised adult price is SAR 90 for 24 hours.

The ticket provides unlimited hop-on/hop-off travel on the Green and Red routes.

The operator currently lists:

• unlimited rides for 24 hours
• both routes
• audio guide in 16 languages
• free Wi-Fi
• complimentary water
• partner-program discounts

Single ride — SAR 15

The operator also currently advertises a SAR 15 stop-to-stop ticket.

This is worth knowing because not everyone needs a 24-hour sightseeing ticket.

If you simply want to travel from one stop to another once, the single-ride option may be more relevant.

Why you may see different prices online

Older visitor reviews and older travel pages contain different prices.

For example, some Tripadvisor reviews mention SAR 80 or older prices. Those reports should not be used as the current ticket price.

For this guide, SAR 90 for 24 hours and SAR 15 for a single ride are the current prices advertised by the operator.

Prices can change, so check the current ticket page before paying.

Is the SAR 90 ticket worth it?

That depends on how you plan to use it.

The 24-hour ticket makes more sense if you intend to:

• visit several destinations
• get off and explore
• continue later on another bus
• use both routes
• spend a substantial part of the day sightseeing

It makes less sense if you only want to visit one place.

For example, if Quba Mosque is your only destination, compare the convenience of the sightseeing bus with direct transport.

The same applies if your only objective is Uhud.

The important question is therefore not simply:

“Is SAR 90 cheap?”

Instead ask:

“Will I use the bus enough during those 24 hours to make the ticket useful for my itinerary?”

How I would use the bus

I would not try to get off at every stop.

A better approach is to choose the parts of Madinah that you actually want to see.

If you have several hours

You could use the Green Route to explore the central and historic areas, then use the Red Route for destinations farther away.

If your priority is Uhud, Qiblatain and Quba

Concentrate on the Red Route.

These three destinations are among the most obvious reasons to consider the sightseeing service if you want to combine several outer sites during the same outing.

If this is your first day in Madinah

You can also use part of the service simply to see the city.

You do not have to get off at every stop. Staying on the bus for part of a route can help you understand the geography of Madinah and identify places you may want to return to later.

How long does the sightseeing tour take?

The operator currently gives approximately:

• Green Route: 50 minutes
• Red Route: 75 minutes
• Full tour: approximately 125 minutes

These are best treated as approximate journey times rather than guarantees.

Traffic, boarding, passenger activity and stops can affect the actual duration.

If you have a flight, appointment, prayer-related arrangement or another timed activity afterwards, leave a reasonable buffer.

What about bus frequency?

The operator currently advertises a 30-minute bus frequency on its website.

That is useful information, but I would still avoid constructing an itinerary that depends on a bus arriving at exactly the advertised interval.

The reason is the visitor experience.

Tripadvisor currently contains both positive and negative reviews of the service. Some older reviews specifically complain about long waits, buses not following expected schedules, or service interruptions. These are individual visitor reports and do not prove that the same problem occurs on every journey.

The practical lesson is simply:

Allow extra time between connections.

This is particularly important if you are travelling during hot weather or with elderly people or children.

What if I only want to visit Quba Mosque?

Quba Mosque is Stop 15 on the current Red Route.

That makes the sightseeing bus useful if Quba is part of a wider sightseeing day.

However, if Quba is your only destination, you should compare the bus with direct transport.

The sightseeing ticket becomes more attractive when you intend to continue to other destinations afterwards.

What about Uhud?

Uhud Battlefield is Stop 9 on the Red Route.

The bus can therefore be useful if you want to combine Uhud with Qiblatain and Quba.

Again, allow extra time rather than planning your entire day around precise bus connections.

If visiting Uhud is your only objective, a direct vehicle may be simpler.

Hop-On Hop-Off Bus vs taxi or private transport

Neither option is automatically better for every itinerary.

The sightseeing bus is therefore best thought of as a city sightseeing service, not a replacement for every taxi journey in Madinah.

Is the bus suitable for families and older visitors?

It can be.

One advantage is that the bus can reduce the amount of walking required between widely separated areas.

However, waiting at stops is a separate consideration.

Because visitor reports include complaints about long waits, I would allow more time when travelling with:

• elderly family members
• young children
• people who have difficulty standing for extended periods
• anyone particularly affected by heat

If predictable door-to-door transport is more important than sightseeing, a direct vehicle may be easier.

What is included with the 24-hour ticket?

The operator currently advertises:

• open-top double-decker buses
• unlimited travel for 24 hours
• Green and Red routes
• audio commentary in 16 languages
• free Wi-Fi
• complimentary water
• partner-program discounts

The audio guide is useful for background information while travelling.

It is not the same thing as having a private guide accompanying you at each destination.

If detailed historical or religious information is important to you, it is worth researching the individual sites separately before visiting them.

Where does the bus start?

The operator identifies the Prophet’s Mosque, near King Fahad Gate 334 ( click on link for exact location on google maps) , as the main terminal and starting point for both routes.

This is particularly convenient for visitors staying in the central hotel district.

Before travelling, check the current route information because stops and operating arrangements can change.

What I would check before buying

Before purchasing a ticket, I would check:

1. Is your intended stop currently operating?
2. Is the route still following the same sequence?
3. Is the price still SAR 90?
4. Is the single-ride ticket still SAR 15?
5. What frequency is currently being advertised?
6. Are any stops temporarily closed?
7. How much time do you actually have?
8. Would direct transport be easier for your particular destination?

This takes only a few minutes and can prevent an itinerary from becoming unnecessarily complicated.

What visitor reviews tell us

Visitor reviews are useful here, but they need to be interpreted carefully.

The current Tripadvisor listing has a substantial number of reviews, and experiences are mixed. Some visitors praise the open-top experience and audio commentary, while others complain about waiting times, route execution, traffic or the usefulness of the stops.

I would not use those reviews to claim that the service is either “excellent” or “unreliable.”

Instead, they support a more practical conclusion:

The service can be useful, but visitors should leave flexibility in their schedule and should not assume that every connection will work exactly as planned.

That is a more useful conclusion than simply calculating an average review score.

My practical assessment

The Madinah Hop-On Hop-Off Bus is most useful when you want to combine several parts of Madinah into one sightseeing outing.

Its strongest feature is the current route coverage. The two routes connect the Prophet’s Mosque area with places including Uhud, Al-Qiblatain Mosque and Quba Mosque, while also covering heritage, leisure and shopping areas.

Its main limitation is predictability.

The operator currently advertises buses every 30 minutes, but visitor reports show that actual experiences can vary. I would therefore treat the service as a flexible sightseeing option, rather than something around which to build a tightly timed itinerary.

The bus is particularly relevant if you:

• want to see several areas in one day
• have enough time to tolerate some flexibility
• want an audio guide
• like the open-top sightseeing format
• plan to use the 24-hour ticket more than once

Another transport option may be more practical if you:

• only want to visit one site
• have a strict schedule
• need door-to-door transportation
• are travelling with someone who cannot comfortably wait outdoors

What I could verify

For this guide, I separate information into three categories.

Operator information: Prices, routes, stops and advertised facilities are based on the current City Sightseeing Al-Madinah website.

Visitor reports: Reviews are used to identify practical issues that a promotional page may not mention. Individual reviews are not treated as proof that every passenger will have the same experience.

VisitAlMadinah assessment: The comparisons and practical advice are my assessment of how the service fits different visitor itineraries. They are not presented as claims made by the operator.

An important current discrepancy

The operator’s route page currently lists 15 stops, while its 24-hour ticket section still says the ticket covers 12 stops.

I have used the 15-stop route page for the current stop list because it is the more detailed route-specific information, but I recommend checking the operator’s current route before travelling.

The operator also currently marks Al-Hijrah Walkway as temporarily closed, so do not assume every listed stop will be available on the day of your visit.

Related Madinah transport guides

For more practical transport information, see:

• Madinah Transport Guide
• Medina Airport Bus
• Masjid an-Nabawi Parking System
• King Fahd Quran Complex
• Women Prayer Areas at Masjid an-Nabawi