format_quote Originally Posted by
Revert alYunani
Salam alaikum guys
in shaa Allah,in shaa Allah by the permission of Allah i will perform umrah this year. I am thinking of it but i havent planned anything yet.
I cant go with an agency cuz they require me to have covid vaccine and i dont have (nor do i want to have) so i have to do everything alone.I am an EU citizen and i dont speak arabic.
What do i need to know? Any help is appreciated
Wa Alaikum Asalaam,
Masha Allah my brother it is good you have made the intention to go Umrah as that is the starting point and I pray that Allah makes it easy for you to go Umrah and to visit the holy lands this year insha Allah.
I booked Umrah myself a few years ago before the Pandemic and it is relatively easy to do so yourself. I think people in general find it easier to pay a group and everything is done for you. However it does work out to be more expensive than booking it by yourself. I booked the flights via Saudi Airlines to Jeddah and Hotels using price comparison websites like Travelsupermarket, Kayak, Sky Scanner etc. Some of the more expensive hotels are closer to the Harams in Makkah and Madina, otherwise the cheaper hotels may be a reasonable walk away. I always read reviews to see which hotels are worth booking in accordance with price, distance and value for money. Also bare in mind that Saudi 3, 4 or 5 star may not be the same as those in your country. Hence why I would not personally book lower than 4 star. But each to their own and it will be in accordance with your budget.
With regards to the duration of your time spent in the holy lands then I would personally suggest no less than 5 nights each for Makkah and Madina as one day each way will be spent on traveling alone. So altogether no less than 12 nights. But again it will be in accordance with how much time you can take off and whatever duration suits you best inshaAllah. So once you have booked your flights and hotels, then the next thing to do is to book your Umrah visa. Every country has a list of approved Umrah Travel Agents who can provide you with the Visa for a fee. You can find information on the application for an Umrah visa here:
https://www.saudia.com/before-flying...rah/umrah-visa
List of approved Umrah Travel Agents for each country:
http://www.hajinformation.com/umrah_agents.php
After that your good to go insha Allah. With regards to what you need to take with you on your journey then the following website has some very useful information:
Umrah Essentials : A Complete Checklist For First-Time Pilgrims
https://zamzam.com/blog/umrah-essent...ing%20umbrella.
How to perform Umrah:
https://hajjumrahplanner.com/umrah-guide/
https://thepilgrim.co/how-to-perform-umrah-guide/
Umrah guide that you can take with you:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hajj-and-Um...6280604&sr=8-1
Dua guide for Umrah:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dua-Guide-U...6280604&sr=8-3
It is also highly recommended especially as this is your first time to the holy lands to get a private or bus tour to all the places of relevance around the holy lands (Ziyaarah). Uou can arrange this with your hotel to either get a bus tour or private tour with your own driver. Please see the following link for a guide on the places to visit:
https://zamzam.com/blog/ziyarat-guid...akkah-madinah/
Finally I highly recommend for you to download the Taxi app "Careem". It is similar to Uber in that you can see the profile of the Taxi driver who will pick you up and how far they are etc. Their prices are also very low and they have very nice air cars. They never take tips by the way! This app you can use for your airport transfers and to get you around.
I hope the above helps. If you need anything else then please do not hesitate to ask.
May Allah enable us all to regularly visit the holy lands. Ameen.