This article, God willing, will be a summary of ” How to do Umrah at the lowest cost, two ways “
A lot of people asked me how I did Umrah and the details of my trip.
To start, what I’m about to say has nothing to do with what I did myself, since I already have a Saudi visa, thank God
What I’m sharing in this article is based on the experience of 2 friends of mine who actually did both methods, and their trip took place during the first week of September 2023
🔵 Let’s start with the first method: an Umrah transit visa on ( Saudi Airlines ) :-
You go into the Saudi Airlines website itself, not any other site, and choose your flight.
For example, from Egypt to Lebanon, transiting through Jeddah
As for flight prices, they vary, and there’s a schedule you can use to pick the cheapest ticket that suits you, and the further out the date, the cheaper it usually is.
⚠️Important: the transit must not exceed 96 hours, so you don’t end up overstaying your visa
1- First, we’ll go to the Saudi Airlines website
and do a Round Trip, from Egypt to Beirut.
2- It’ll load for a bit, then show you prices — pick the suitable price and continue until an option appears: Perform Umrah
3- Click on it, and it’ll ask whether you’d like to perform Umrah on your way there or on your way back from Beirut
and it’ll ask for the name of the city you’ll be staying in
( I chose to do the Umrah on my way there ) because I found that doing it on the return leg meant a very long transit time on the outbound ticket
So, after choosing to do the Umrah on the way there, I’d stay in Jeddah for 4 days ( Jeddah is the closest city to Mecca )
4- After the new update, it’ll show you your flight details, and it’s very, very important that the transit time doesn’t exceed 96 hours under any circumstances, so you don’t end up overstaying your visa!
5- After choosing your outbound flight and confirming you haven’t exceeded 96 hours, choose your return flight with the shortest transit time.
6- After that, it takes you to the Passenger page, and here you add all your details and make sure they’re 100% accurate — your passport details, your numbers, and the email where you’ll receive your ticket and transit visa
7- After that — and this is one of the most important points to focus on —
it’ll take you to the Seat & Extras page, and this is where you apply for the transit visa
8- A Transit Visa box will appear, saying Get your Visa — click it and fill in your details, making sure everything is exactly correct, and have a personal photo ready in advance, no larger than 20KB
9- After that, you’ll move to the payment step, where it’ll show the visa cost as exactly 762 EGP, and it’ll then be added to the total trip price
10 – You’ll get a quick review of the itinerary, the number of flights, and everything, and then you’ll pay by bank card — a 10% currency conversion fee will still be added to this transaction, even if you pay in Egyptian pounds.
And keep in mind that some bank cards don’t work
But I booked for my friend using a foreign bank card and it worked fine.
11- The last thing — you’ll receive your ticket by email, and shortly after that, you’ll receive the visa; download and print them
🔵 The second method ( direct Umrah ) on Flynas :-
The experience was from Sphinx Airport, and I’ll tell you how to book the ticket and get the visa, since the visa here is a bit different
1- Open the Flynas website or app and select Book a flight, choose Round Trip, and enter Sphinx Airport as your departure, heading to Jeddah Airport
2- The second very important point: when choosing your departure and return, it must not exceed 96 hours under any circumstances, so you’re guaranteed to be able to get a transit permit
For example, I chose to fly on October 20 and return on the 23rd. It wouldn’t work to fly on the 19th and return on the 24th, because that would mean overstaying your visa. The flight time itself has to be within the 96 hours.
3- Choose the flights that suit you in terms of time and price, and keep in mind that Flynas adds extras that increase the ticket price, so you can remove them one by one if you don’t need them.
4- You’ll go in and enter your details and passport details, and as mentioned before, you need to focus while filling them in.
5- Also on Flynas, there’s an option to choose your seat on the plane, and it’s reasonably priced at 15 riyals for a standard seat, not in a particularly special spot. If you don’t want it, just remove it, and at Check-in at the airport, they’ll assign you a random seat.
This is a photo of the transit visa, whether you booked with Saudi Airlines or Flynas
🔵 A Few General Tips I’ll Share With You.
1- Right after you receive your transit visa, download the Nusuk app — it’s the one for Umrah permits and entry to the Rawdah al-Sharifah
Go in and book your Umrah, and most importantly, try to book the Rawdah al-Sharifah, since they check the permit very strictly, and if you don’t have it, you won’t be let in — take a backup screenshot just in case
2- Transportation
▫️From Jeddah Airport to Mecca: 30 riyals per person by private car or shared taxi.
▫️Or by private car from Jeddah Airport: around 130 riyals.
▫️ Haramain High-Speed Rail from Jeddah Airport to Mecca: 35 riyals, I believe
▫️From Mecca to Medina: around 70 riyals by SAPTCO bus, private car, or shared taxi.
▫️Haramain High-Speed Rail: 140 riyals from Mecca to Medina, and this I especially recommend if you’re heading back from Medina to the airport to fly out
Some train prices change depending on the time.
Link to the high-speed train
https://sar.hhr.sa/ar/mobile-web
3- Accommodation
Honestly, I can’t say much about this since I didn’t stay in hotels myself, but it’s best that your hotel or accommodation be close to the Haram, especially in Mecca since its roads are mountainous, and it’s essential to check the reviews on the hotel for its cleanliness standards! .
4- Food
Prices are affordable and portions are good and filling
For example, breakfast can be 6 riyals for a local breakfast like ( taameez, qalaba, and lentils )
Average sandwiches start from 5 riyals
And for lunch, for example, the standard is a quarter-chicken kabsa for 10 riyals and a half for 20 riyals, and so on
And of course, Al Baik meals start from 17 riyals, whether it’s a wrap or broasted chicken.
In Mecca, there’s a spot called Jabal Omar, on the fourth floor, with a large food court, and there’s a Koshary El Tahrir branch there.
And downstairs there’s a large supermarket with everything, right in front of the Masjid al-Haram.
5- The last thing — it’s essential to review the ( Umrah rituals ) and how to enter Ihram from the Miqat, and everything related to the rituals, since I don’t have enough information on that, or on entering Ihram from the plane, and so on.
🔵 As for the airports, no one talked at all about an Umrah barcode or even asked about it, and it’s best not to go to the airport already wearing the Ihram — you can wear the Ihram after clearing passport control and finishing all the procedures.
🔵 Transportation and flight prices change depending on the season.
🔵 If you’re booking a transit Umrah — currently the safest option — it’s best to choose to stay in Beirut, or wherever your destination is, for a bit more than two or three days, since they find it odd at the airport if you entered for a very short period.
And in the end, this was the experience of 2 friends of mine, one of whom I handled all the bookings for, thank God, and we didn’t run into any problems with them ❤️
And please don’t forget us in your prayers there ❤️
