Embarking on an Umrah pilgrimage is a deeply spiritual and meaningful journey for Muslims. If you’re planning to book your Umrah trip from the UK, it’s essential to ensure that the process is smooth and well-organized.
Going for Umrah has to be the best thing we do as a family and it really helps us connect with our faith. This article will guide you through the steps involved in booking your Umrah trip and we hope it is beneficial for you.
✔️Fix Your Dates and Determine Your Budget
This is one of the most important steps, as once you have decided on your dates and your budget, you can look at flights and also what hotels to book in Makkah and Madinah. Generally, the price is a lot more expensive during Ramadan and during the holiday seasons such as December.
✔️Going Solo or with an agent
You can either join an organized tour package or choose to go solo.
When you go with a tour package, you will be part of a larger group and they will plan your itinerary for you. However, if you choose to go with an agent, you will not have much flexibility on hotels, dates of travel, and how long you want to stay in Makkah and Madinah.
If you choose to go solo, then you can choose everything and you are in charge. You can choose your own flights, your own accommodation, and even choose how you want to move around within Saudi. This is our preferred option.
✔️Book your flights
You can book any flight that takes you to Jeddah or Madinah.
If you want to visit Makkah first then the best option is to fly into Makkah. However, if you want to visit Madinah first then you should choose a flight to Madinah.
Ensure you have a valid passport with at least six months of validity from your planned date of departure.
When we normally book our flights and our hotels we always choose Itravel in Leicester. Check out their website by clicking here.
✔️Book your hotels
This is a very important step, and the hotel you choose will have an impact on your overall Umrah experience.
✔️Makkah
When we book our hotel in Makkah we always choose to stay in the Jabal Umar area. This is where there are a few new hotels and they are very close to the mosque. The hotels here include Hilton Suites, Hayat Regency, and much more. The prices of the hotels in this area are usually higher than some of the other areas.
If you are booking a hotel in the Jabal Umar area, make sure you check the reviews as some hotels have a slight hill when you are walking which could make it a bit difficult for elderly people.
We normally always book the Hilton suite in this area and it is perfect for families and is a 3-minute walk to the mosque.
✔️Madinah
In Madinah, we always choose to stay in any of the hotels that are 5-10 minutes away from the mosque. Our favorite is normally the Shahad Hotel or the Movenpick.
The main thing to consider when booking your hotel is the distance you would need to walk.
Some people choose to stay further away as it’s cheaper however you will need to get taxi`s to and from the mosque.
✔️Travel Visas and Vaccines.
All visitors to Saudi Arabia, including pilgrims, need a visa or an Electronic Visa Waiver (EVW) to enter Saudi Arabia. You do not need to go to an agent to apply for this and you can do it yourself via the Saudi website.
The Visa Waiver is very quick and you normally get the waiver within a few minutes.
Check out the official Saudi website by clicking here.
What to do next
Once you have booked your umrah, it is very important to remain humble, as you have just booked to become the guest of Allah and his prophet. The trip is very spiritual and we have to approach it in the correct manner.
Check out our blog on how to prepare for your Umrah trip by clicking here.
We hope you have an amazing trip and please remember us in your prayers.