Commute Ras Tanura/Dharan

We are on RT and my husband commutes by bus to Dhahran daily. He doesn't find it much of a bother - they are relatively comfortable, a/c buses and he can read/study/sleep. (Commuting to London took longer and the trains were terribly unreliable). Since they changed the bus times, there is an increased number of employees who now drive down the highway. It's a terrible road, with a high incidence of accidents, so it would be completely up to you and your husband as to whether you both felt comfortable with him driving. My husband has no desire to drive the journey and is happy to leave the car with me so at least I am mobile around camp.

Driving in Saudi is not the same as driving in Bahrain. As you have lived in Khobar before, you may be familiar with the Jubail highway which is the route taken to get to Ras Tanura. Over the years it has become much busier and there are a number of roadwork projects which exaccerbate the danger. The Aramco bus is a safer option although it does not allow much flexibility should your husband wish to get home earlier. My husband arrives home by 5:30 at the latest, only 45 mins later than before the new bus times, so there's not really much difference. It is still much earlier than where we lived before coming here, and he had only a 20 min commute.

RT is a great place for families. It's very welcoming, there's loads of activities for most age groups, a thriving mums and tots, plenty of private pre-schools and the beach is a huge draw. I am sure you and your family will be very happy here. There are certainly worse places to live in the world!