This is going to be a short one, and perhaps updated from time to time. What I am going to share is what others have shared to me; tips from Ustadhas, Shaykhas, dear friends, and what worked for me for my Umrah.
Pre-journey Planning
Visa
you can go on an Umrah visa or Tourist visa
I went with the tourist visa (only Umrah is permissible, not Hajj), pretty easy to apply, you get a confirmation in 24 hours, the only major difference is that you won’t be able to buy Zamzam water to bring home
Apply for a tourist visa online here
Vaccinations
Yellow Fever and Meningitis ACWY
although it isn’t a necessity for tourist visa, I didn’t want to take any chances because I was performing umrah on a tourist visa
Book a flight
Book hotels
Book the speedy Haramain train from Madinah - Makkah here
Changing money to Saudi Riyals
Apps To Download
Nusuk - for Rawdah, and sometimes at busy times, for umrah slots
Tanaqol - if you wish to use the scooters for tawaf, sa’ie, or the whole umrah, you can pre-book instead of queuing
Careem app - the Uber of Saudi Arabia
HHR Train
For food delivery - Hungerstation, Mrsool, Jaheez (tbh, I never needed to use it!)
What’s in My Haramain Bag?
Small prayer mat
Quran
Du’a book/notebook
Wudhu spray bottle
Small face towel
Tissues (for crying, of course)
Small scissors for trimming hair after sa’ie
Sunglasses
Masks - not specifically for Covid, but to avoid falling sick throughout your journey
Drawstring bag for slippers
Umrah Essentials
Ihram
Ihram underwear
Ihram extras - safety pins and suctions hooks (to be used in toilets to hang ihram)
Jubah - I personally feel that you only need 7x for 2 weeks
Pants - 3x
Jilbab/hijab/khimar - 4-5x
Niqab - 2x
Mini telekung 2-3x (if I can recommend one thing, this would be it!)
Anak tudung
Hand socks
Socks
Tawaf soft shoes
Light jumper for cold mornings and windy nights
Other Essentials and Comforts
Pyjamas 2x
Underwear
Hat
Slippers
Trainers/comfortable shoes
Toilettries
Fragrance-free facial/body care
Fragrance-free sunblock
Nail-clipper
Medicine
Travel hangers - we were so glad we brought foldable ones with us!
For the Littles Ones
Stroller
Child-carrier
Activities - colouring books, small toys, anything to keep your child content!
Snacks
I’ve recently discovered childcare services at Sand Beach in Clocktower P2 (Level 2) - we’re thinking of using this next time!
Check out their website
Opens 24 hours
Price 1 hour SAR 69, 3 hours SAR 139, 8 hours SAR 189
Some tips
The benefits of going d-i-y is practically you can do to your heart’s content. I booked a couple of nights in Conrad Makkah, it came with only breakfast but it was so fabulous that I had a dates’ milkshake, carrot juice, ginger saffron tea, all simultaneously, with my morning plate, and the Mufti Menk was in my lift.
The benefits of going with an umrah agent is that you can choose front-row hotels (Al Safwah Royale Orchid in Makkah, and Al Rawdha Royal Inn in Madinah) paying a fraction of the normal price, it came with 3 wholesome meals a day, it was great, and Anwar Ibrahim was in the building (I’m not joking!).
I loved Conrad, and I loved Safwah Tower.
Conrad was probably 250 metres away from the mosque on the sleek streets of Jabal Omar, whilst Safwah was 100 metres, a stone throw away, from the Bab Al-Umrah gate. Does it make much of a difference? For me, a 100% percent.
My intention was to be in iʿtikāf, and that wasn’t always easy, with a 3 year old, so a 150 metre does make a difference when navigating through the crowds after prayers. The human traffic jam post-prayers from King Fahd gate can take from 20 to 40 minutes!
Plus, I would take into factor the time that I had to be in between prayers, for example, I would have 3 hours between Zuhr and Asar, and I personally prefer to be at the masjid 2 hours before, so I would be left with just 1 hour to go in and out of the Haram and eat/nap/sort out my restless toddler.
Choose, book and plan in a way that works for you. There’s a million and one recommendations out there, but at the end of the day, if Allah intends for you ease, it doesn’t matter where you stay, how you get there or what you bring, you will be at ease.
May we all be invited over, and over again, to Al-Haram!