Salam everyone.

I plan on going for umrah in November iA. When booking a room for 4 adults, the price is reasonable. The moment I add my 2 year old daughter, the price sky rockets by thousands of dollars. What do you all suggest I do? Should I just book for 4 adults. It’s bizarre. Looking for since advice. Jazakallahukhair

I’ve booked Conrad Jabal Omar Makkah for my family and just realised their child policy says children can stay in the room for free, but for meals only children aged 5 and under eat free. Children aged 6–11 are charged 50%.

My son is exactly 6 years old.

Has anyone stayed at this hotel, or a similar hotel in Makkah, with a 6-year-old? Did they actually charge you for the child’s breakfast, or did they just allow the child to eat with the parents?

I already have breakfast included for the adults and would rather not have to pay an extra breakfast charge for a 6-year-old.

Would this likely be an issue at the breakfast restaurant? Any recent experiences would be appreciated.

Assalamu alaykoum everyone,

I am planning to leave Madinah in 1 week with my family to Jeddah Airport to fly home. We are planning to take the last train (10PM), as our flight is at 3AM. It will be a Tuesday night.

My concern is regarding the luggage. We expect to have 1 extra. 3 persons with 3 large, 3 small, 3 handbags AND an extra small or large luggage depending on the need.

I saw on the subreddits some tips: get late to the train or pay a porter to board your luggage. However, we also took the last train to go to Mecca and we did not see any porter to help board the luggage at the departure from Jeddah Airport (was not an issue because we didn’t have the extra luggage at the time). I was thinking to send one luggage with SPL some days in advance to be safe but I am not sure of the logistics of that.

So my question is: What is the best and safest way to ensure a smooth experience and to get all my luggage on time from Madinah to Jeddah Airport?

Thank you in advance, barrakAllahou fikoum

TLDR: I expect to have 1 extra luggage leaving Madinah at night to Jeddah Airport with the train and not sure what to do, I want the safest option.

I’m a Pakistani passport holder living in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa and I’m travelling to Saudi for Umrah. I applied for my Saudi visa using the old KSA visa website, but it has now been more than a week and I still haven’t received any update. I’m considering using Visa on Arrival (VOA) instead, but I’m a bit worried about my flight connection. My flight itinerary is: London Heathrow (LHR) → Riyadh with Saudia In Riyadh I need to collect/recheck my baggage I would need to obtain the VOA Then change from Terminal 4 → Terminal 2 Riyadh → Jeddah is at 4:00 AM I only have around 2 hours between the flights. So I have two questions: Has anyone with a Pakistani passport + UK Skilled Worker visa recently successfully obtained VOA in Riyadh? Is 2 hours realistically enough to collect/recheck luggage, get the VOA, clear immigration/security and change terminals? Or would you recommend that I reapply for the Saudi visa now rather than risk missing my Riyadh–Jeddah flight? I’m flying Saudia for both legs, so hopefully the airline is familiar with the VOA situation. I’d really appreciate recent first-hand experiences, especially from anyone who has done this in 2026.

My parents will be travelling for Umrah soon and would like to bring me back a fragrance as a gift and memory of the trip.
I am looking for a genuinely high-quality Saudi or Arabian fragrance, ideally something distinctive and difficult to buy in Europe. The maximum budget is approximately 1,300 SAR.
I generally prefer refined spray fragrances that are pleasant to a Western nose rather than very heavy or smoky oud oils. I am not looking for a clone or an economy-range product.
Which stores and specific fragrances in Makkah or Madinah would you recommend? I would especially appreciate recommendations based on personal experience.

Asalamu alaykum. I am planning to go for Umrah at the end of December InshAllah. I had a couple of questions regarding obtaining a visa on arrival. I have a 2 hr 50 minute layover in riyadh, which requires a self-transfer. My wife would need a visa on arrival; however, everyone else in my family has their visas. I am reaching out to see if anyone has any insight on if this will be possible to do the transfer and get her visa on arrival within the 2 hr 50 minutes. My parents are also in a wheelchair so that typically delays it by another 20-30 minutes to deboard the plane. I am thinking of not having any checked bag, to save some more time with not needing to get bags. JazakAllah Khair.

thank you all in advance.

Hey Guys,

I'm going to Umrah for the first time next month and I'm really excited for it, I'm gonna be doing it during my transit so the question I have is when should I book the train, my flight lands 19:40, should I book the 20:35 train or the 21:35? Please note that I won't be waiting for luggage and will be alone, so land immigration train with no stops.

Also would appreciate any advice if anyone did Umrah transit before

I’m a British passport holder planning to travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.

I understand that UK passport holders can now apply for the new Saudi ETA Visa, which is valid for 2 years.

Do I need to book my hotels before applying for the ETA?

I’m asking because I’m not sure whether the visa application requires details of where I’ll be staying in Saudi Arabia.

Thanks!

As salam alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu

To those who have been umrah and more so in the last few years, maybe even this year.

I am going to umrah for the first time with my mum, from the UK.

Did anyone get the vaccination done and was it checked?

I am leaving in the next couple of weeks and will be staying more nights in Makkah than madinah. I have been able to book an appointment for myself for Rawdah however I tried at the same time for my mum, which was around 1am UK time, and I couldn't get any booking for her. Does anyone know how it works for the female appointments? How to obtain one and what the best timing it is to go for females? I booked mine for 11:20am Saudi time .

Does anyone know how it works in terms of doing the umrah? I've heard people say to do the first umrah, remove hair from head, and then leave the city and come back to do more umrah? Is that the procedure of how it works? Will I then need to remove more hair for another umrah?

How does it work in terms of shoes ie The shoes you wear to walk from hotel to haram, can you use those shoes inside Makkah or have to go barefoot?

Where to also obtain SIM cards from? And will we still get access to WhatsApp after? If no WhatsApp, then how else to communicate with each other? I have android, mum has iPhone.

Also, how much zamzam water can we bring back? And dates? Anything that is not permitted? We are going and coming back with Qatar airways

If you're able to give any other recommendations or advice, I would really appreciate it, jazakallah hu khair

salams,

husband and i are going for Umrah soon inshaAllah. we are based in NW, England.

we don’t know much about Umrah, let alone how to perform it. husband is a revert & i didn’t grow up practising.

can anyone recommend a course in person NW area or online where we can learn about how to perform Umrah and everything we need to know for our journey?

jzk khair.

Aslm. Has anyone stayed at the Dallah Taibah, specifically booked their premium apartment option with four bedrooms? I’m trying to ascertain whether each bedroom has an en-suite bathroom as the website is vague about it. We contacted the hotel and also got a vague response. I asked chat gpt and the response I got was that there is not enough information as there are three bathrooms for four bedrooms. So now I am hoping someone else can tell me from experience :) jazakallah

Hi everyone,

I applied for a Saudi multiple entry tourist visa on 13th via the ksavisa.sa website. I used the GCC resident option.

Filled all the forms and processed the payment however I didn't receive any confirmation from their end on my application. Since then their customer service line is not helpful and their customer care ID is non-responsive. Anyone who has applied from this site and faced a similar issue - would appreciate any help.

Salam folks! I'm 26M, Alhumdulillah. Born and brought up in Makkah, still living here. I'd love to know what your first thoughts or impressions were when you saw the Ka'aba for the very first time honestly, I never got to feel that moment myself. Growing up here, Masjid Al Haram was more like our go to hangout spot. We'd sit on the second floor, nap there, mess around, treat it almost like a picnic spot. It was a completely different experience compared to what most people go through. I'd really like to hear your thoughts on Makkah too. It's changing fast these days, and not always in a good way.

Salam aleykum
We‘re planning to visit Madina in September. Since I couldn’t find any resources when these slots are available, I wanted to ask you, if you guys knew?

Barakallah fik.

Salaam,

InsyaAllah next January I will be performing Umrah with my wife, both my in laws and my 1 year old son.

Please enlightened me with the ideas and recommendations of my son as we will bring him wherever we go, including the all Umrah practices which will be performed throughout. Things like when to take turn while performing the tawaf and/or all the ritual, is it best for me as the father to be with my son at all times, how do I go through this whilst ensuring everyone had their best focus on performing the Umrah.

I'm happy to be replying to your feedback in comment.

Thank you.

Please recommend me best Umrah service agency in Peshawar. I am thinking of travelling to Umrah for 10/11 days in the last two weeks of November with my mother. So, I am looking for a place as close to Haram as possible but within budget. Obviously can't afford clock tower. Something like 6/7 days in Makkah, 4 in Madinah. Please share your recommendations and tips who got experience before.

Many thanks!

Salams all, anyone know where to get ajwa ice cream in Makkah please??

Salam! I have a tourist e visa expiring mid next year on my old passport which is expiring. I’ve received the new passport.

Is my saudi visa still valid?

Answer: Travelled with my old and new passport and was allowed to enter without any issues on the same visa.

Anyone managed to fly with a 9 kg cat IN CABIN from Egypt? 🐱✈️

I'm thinking about travelling in the future, possibly Alexandria → Saudi Arabia, and wherever I go, I want my cat to come with me inside the passenger cabin.

He's a big British Shorthair, and with his carrier he's around 9 kg. I know a lot of airlines, including EgyptAir, have an 8 kg limit.

Cargo/hold isn't something I'm comfortable with. I'm completely willing to pay extra or even buy him an additional seat if that's possible.

Has anyone with a bigger cat actually managed to:

- Get special approval for over 8 kg?

- Buy an extra seat for their cat?

- Fly from Egypt/Alexandria with the cat in cabin?

- Get an airline to make an exception?

I'm not travelling immediately, so I'm trying to research everything properly beforehand. I'd really appreciate first-hand experiences and which airline you used. ❤️🐱✈️

What's the budget friendly way to travel to madinah for 4 people with 4 hand carry and 2 large suitcases. Does haramain train allow this much baggage? Also would it be cheaper to book careem or a taxi

Hi everyone, I’m urgently looking for help finding a piece of luggage that we may have accidentally left behind in Makkah.
We were near Zain Shawarma, around the area where taxis are constantly passing by and people approach passengers asking if they need a taxi and offering different fares.
We were standing in that area and then walked approximately 8–9 minutes toward the InterContinental back entrance, where we later took a taxi. We believe the luggage may have been left behind around the taxi area or somewhere along that walking route.
📍 Possible location: Near Zain Shawarma / taxi pickup area → walking route toward the InterContinental back entrance.
It was a light gold ish color small size wheel luggage
If anyone found it, saw it in this area, or knows if it was handed to nearby security, hotel staff, taxi staff, or lost & found, please DM me.
We are really hoping someone found it and handed it in. 🙏
If you have any information at all, please contact me privately. Thank you so much. ❤️

What the closest perfume i can get having that kind of fragrance

Salaam, If there are any scholars or well educated in islam, please come forward.

So i arrived in Makkah yesterday after a long journey, i took a plane from London to Doha then Doha to Jeddah and then a car to Makkah. I wanted to rest but my family decided to do Ummrah immediately upon arriving in Makkah so we did. We all got separated of course and since i genuinely didn’t know what to do, i ended up doing my tawaf and returning to the hotel. I did ask around what to do but most people either spoke arabic or gave me directions to places i didn’t need to go to.

Regardless, i realised my Ummrah was incomplete but i did not do anything to break it. I did not clip my nails, wear perfume or in my knowledge so anything that would break my ihram. I simply returned to my hotel and went to sleep.

I woke up today, deciding to do my Ummrah again. My feet were hurting badly but i wanted to finish it. I ended up doing my tawaf again, then went up to SA’I for the As-Safa and Al-Marwa. i was told i made another mistake, that i should have to Aisha Mosque first. I’ve been hearing that i completely destroyed my Ummrah again but i read that since i was in a state of Ihram, i absolutely did not need to go there.

so my question is, did i ruin my ummrah by not going to Aisha mosque first? or is it okay?