I wanted to share my Umrah experience from my visit to Mecca and Medina in Feb. 2017. I’m 35, and am Pakistani-American and my wife and I traveled from the USA. I hope to share some of the details that I had questions about and hope this will help others with some logistics in the future. I also hope to inform others about certain things from my experience. Let me start by saying my Umrah was very fulfilling, rewarding, and emotional. We are very happy we went as it was an overall wonderful experience.

My wife and I traveled via Saudia Airlines b/c they were cheaper than Emirates. The experience was average, food was hit or miss. The nice thing was the larger bathroom on the right side of the plane which gives you more space than a usual cramped airplane toilet. We planned to go Medina first so we connected from Jeddah. I didn’t care much for the Jeddah airport, it needs improvement. Use the handicap stall in the restroom for a western style toilet. We arrived in Medina and that airport was simply stunning. We got our bags and I paid 90 Saudi Riyals (SR) for a taxi to the Madinah Hilton by the Haram. There was an unmarked car that was offering the ride for 50 SR, but I felt more comfortable taking a real taxi. He asked for 100 SR initially and came down to 90 SR. The Madinah Hilton is more of a 4 star hotel than a 5 star. Rooms were clean, but dated. The breakfast buffet was superb, but crowded. Our hotel was just a very short walk to the Haram in Medina, which is ideal. You need to be close, as it makes the experience much easier.

I wanted to share my Umrah experience from my visit to Mecca and Medina in Feb. 2017. I’m 35, and am Pakistani-American and my wife and I traveled from the USA. I hope to share some of the details that I had questions about and hope this will help others with some logistics in the future. I also hope to inform others about certain things from my experience. Let me start by saying my Umrah was very fulfilling, rewarding, and emotional. We are very happy we went as it was an overall wonderful experience.

My wife and I traveled via Saudia Airlines b/c they were cheaper than Emirates. The experience was average, food was hit or miss. The nice thing was the larger bathroom on the right side of the plane which gives you more space than a usual cramped airplane toilet. We planned to go Medina first so we connected from Jeddah. I didn’t care much for the Jeddah airport, it needs improvement. Use the handicap stall in the restroom for a western style toilet. We arrived in Medina and that airport was simply stunning. We got our bags and I paid 90 Saudi Riyals (SR) for a taxi to the Madinah Hilton by the Haram. There was an unmarked car that was offering the ride for 50 SR, but I felt more comfortable taking a real taxi. He asked for 100 SR initially and came down to 90 SR. The Madinah Hilton is more of a 4 star hotel than a 5 star. Rooms were clean, but dated. The breakfast buffet was superb, but crowded. Our hotel was just a very short walk to the Haram in Medina, which is ideal. You need to be close, as it makes the experience much easier.