As a recent revert to Islam, a year ago I felt a strong urge to visit the two holiest cities in the Islamic world – Mecca and Medina. However, despite being born in that part of the world and leaving at a very early age, I never ventured back. So how did I plan and execute a trip to these sacred places? I will try to guide you through the process, the pitfalls, and the lessons I learned so that you can benefit from my experience.

Key Takeaways:

• Saudi Arabia is a very safe and secure country for tourists, both males and females, whether traveling solo or with one’s family.
• Saudi Arabia no longer requires females to travel with a male guardian.

Booking Travel

• Deciding your itinerary and whether you will visit one or multiple cities is very important.
• Arriving and departing from the same city will make for a cost-effective airline ticket, but additional travel within the country will be required if visiting multiple cities.
• Arriving and departing from different cities will require a multiple-route ticket which is generally more expensive.
• Flights to Medina are generally more expensive than flights to Jeddah.
• Mecca doesn’t have an airport so if you are going to Mecca, you will board a flight to Jeddah and take a half-hour car ride to Mecca.
• Although this will vary for each individual, generally, performing Umrah towards the end of one’s trip reduces the risk of exhaustion or sickness impacting the remainder of the trip.

Visa

• The e-visa facility is available for travelers from the US, UK, EU, and GCC Nationals, as well as permanent residents of these countries/areas and Schengen visa holders.
• The e-visa process takes minutes to complete the application and get the visa. You will need a standard 2×2 inch scanned passport picture to upload as part of the visa application.
• The visa is delivered via email and is generally valid for a year.
• It is best to get a visa before booking any hotels or travel.
• You will need to enter the name, address, phone number, and email address of the hotel where you intend to stay, in the visa application. You can get these details from Google once you decide where to stay.

Air Travel

• Book your airline tickets once you have your visa.
• Pay attention to your flight’s arrival time to ensure it falls within your hotel’s check-in times as you generally wouldn’t want to wait to check in after a 10+ hour flight.

Organization Tips

• Print out your airline ticket receipt, hotel booking receipt, and e-visa and keep it on your person as your electronic devices may not have charge or may not have a cell signal when you need to access these documents.
• Text PDFs of these documents to your number so they are all stored in one chat window and are easily accessible offline.

Hotels in Medina

• Hotels to the North of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina are in the touristy area with easy access to Medina Square, restaurants, shopping centers, coffee shops, etc.
• Hotels to the South of the Prophet’s Mosque are closer to the Rawdah, in a relatively less touristy area, and require a shorter walk to the Rawdah.
• Hotels to the West of the Prophet’s Mosque require the longest walk across the courtyard to reach the Mosque.

The Sanctum of Peace (the Roof Courtyard and the Prophet’s Tomb)

• Remember to visit the roof courtyard in the Prophet’s Mosque if you are a male visitor. Unfortunately, it is not permissible for females to access this area.
• Availability of time slots to visit the Prophet’s Rawdah and Riyazul Jannah is scarce. If you ask ten different people for tips on how to get an appointment, you will probably get 15 different opinions. However, what worked for me was checking on the top of the hour every hour when the calendar was supposedly updated. I don’t know whether it is updated at this frequency or if it was just a coincidence, but it worked for me.
• Otherwise, once you reach Medina, enable the geolocation on your phone for the Nusuk App and try again. The Saudi Government has made the rules more flexible and you can get more information on how to visit the Rawdah from this link (https://hajjumrahplanner.com/rawdah-permit/).

Haramain Train

• If traveling between the holy cities on the Haramain Train, booking the ticket well in advance may result in lower fares, similar to booking air travel.
• Only one large bag is allowed per person on the train, so if you have multiple pieces, you cannot take both.
• When you factor in the time it takes to get to the station, check-in, board the train, the restriction on luggage, and then take a car from the destination station to your hotel, the journey time is roughly equivalent to traveling by car (4.5-5 hours) and a lot less convenient than a car that is door to door.

Book your land transport through SaudiSayyah.com

• Booking all land transport well in advance through a reputable company such as SaudiSayyah.com is highly recommended based on my own experience. They are a professional outfit, highly organized, have the best customer service, the highest standard of service delivery, safe and secure, with highly trained and professional drivers, and meticulously maintained cars.  They also had the most competitive rates and the most consistently exceptional service.

Mecca Hotels

• The distances one must walk to reach the Mosque are much greater in Mecca due to the sheer size of the Holy Mosque and its encircling courtyards.
• The closest hotels are the Dar Al Tawhid, Mecca Towers, and the Hotels in the Clock Tower.
• The second closest hotels are those located in Jabal Omar. I recommend the Address on Jabal Omar as it is meticulously maintained and features the World’s Highest Musalla which is truly an incredible experience.
• Elevators are an absolute mess in all hotels in Mecca’s tall towers.

The first thing I want to emphasize is that any anxiety associated with safety and security is completely unjustified. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries are some of the safest places for travel and tourism. It is always important to practice common sense and stay away from areas off the beaten path, but in general, I never felt any sort of danger. Of course, I am a middle-aged male, so my experience would be different from that of a female solo traveler. However, I have guided multiple female friends who traveled solo and had similarly safe and secure experiences.

Deciding on your Itinerary

Starting in Mecca

The first thing to consider is your itinerary, specifically, will you be visiting one or both of the holy cities? If you are visiting both then where will you start? In Mecca or Medina? There are pros and cons to both. I will try to break them down here.

If you start in Mecca, then you will have to book your trip to the Red Sea city of Jeddah as there is no airport in Mecca. You can book transportation from Jeddah airport to Mecca, which is half an hour away. You would also have to enter into the state of Ihram from the point of Miqaat based on your point of origin, you can calculate where this may be for you using this link (https://hajjumrahplanner.com/miqat/). The state of Ihram has quite a few stipulations that must be followed, you can find more information about these stipulations using this link (https://hajjumrahplanner.com/ihram/). I was quite nervous about accidentally violating these stipulations so my strategy was to perform Umrah without delay once I entered the state of Ihram and swiftly exit the state of Ihram afterward. You should ideally perform Umrah after a few hours’ rest upon reaching Mecca and preferably in the late hours of the night when it’s less crowded. There are many guides written by esteemed scholars which I will link in this blog to assist you in your preparations.

After performing Umrah, you can exit the state of Ihram, continue your stay in Mecca, and potentially visit other cities.

Pros of starting your trip in Mecca:

• You can perform Umrah at the peak of your physical condition, having just arrived in the kingdom.

Cons of starting your trip in Mecca:

• Most often, visitors fall sick or feel exhausted from performing Umrah for a couple of days after, which may compromise the rest of your trip.

Starting in Medina

I want to just take a second to note here that Medina is known as the City of Peace. Most visitors note that immediately upon landing in Medina, a calming and peaceful feeling overcomes you. The city is much slower-paced and less crowded as compared to Mecca (at least during the December-January period when I visit) and much less chaotic.

You will not have to enter the state of Ihram from your point of origin or somewhere along the way if you start your journey in Medina. However, airline tickets are generally more expensive for Medina as compared to Jeddah. My personal preference and recommendation are to begin in Medina. You will be able to enjoy the peace and tranquility of this city, go on various Ziarahs (trips to destinations of religious and historical significance), and easily enter the state of Ihram in familiar environs when leaving for Mecca. It is also important to note that if you leave the act of performing Umrah for the end of your journey, falling sick or suffering from exhaustion will have much less of an impact on the rest of your trip.

Pros of starting in Medina:

• Minimize the risk of exhaustion from performing Umrah from affecting the rest of your trip.
• Enter into a state of Ihram from Medina, instead of from a foreign country.

Cons of starting in Medina:

• Airline tickets to Medina are generally more expensive from Western points of origin.

Finally, if you are visiting both holy cities, you also need to consider from which city you will depart. Arriving in one city and leaving from another will require you to book a multi-city ticket (arriving in one city and departing from another). These are generally more expensive and some budget websites don’t even offer the option to book a multi-city ticket. Otherwise, you must travel back to the city of your arrival to board the return flight.

Documentation for the Visa

To prevent any surprises, I would recommend you follow a certain flow when booking your trip. I always start with getting a visa to the Kingdom. This process takes minutes to complete, and visas are generally issued to Western travelers in seconds.

Pro tip: Visas are also available on arrival for citizens of the United States but it is recommended you get one before you leave to prevent delays at the immigration counter in the Kingdom. I called their helpline to inquire about this facility and was advised that it may take 30-40 minutes to be granted an on-arrival visa. You can also check this link (https://www.visitsaudi.com/en/plan-your-trip/visa-regulations) to see which other countries Nationals are eligible for this facility.

If your visa process gets delayed due to unforeseen circumstances, getting a visa first would prevent you from losing any money on airline ticket cancellation or rescheduling fees. You can get a visa for Umrah travel from the Saudi Government’s official website (https://visa.visitsaudi.com/Registration/Verify). The visa process will require you to identify the hotel you will be staying in and provide their phone number and email address. All of these details can be found through a quick Google search and will also be included in the booking receipt. I always google these details to include in my visa application as I book the hotel after getting the visa. You will also need a standard 2×2 inch passport picture to upload on the portal as part of the process. Finally, the Saudi Government has updated the vaccinations required for anyone traveling to the Kingdom to perform Umrah or Hajj in 2025. You can find additional details regarding which vaccinations are necessary for each country using this (https://www.saudiembassy.net/hajj-and-umrah-health-requirements).

After securing the visa, I recommend booking the airline tickets.

Pro tip: Book your flights so you arrive in Jeddah or Medina within the hours of your hotel check-in! You don’t want to come off of a 10+ hour journey only to wait another few hours before you can check in to your hotel room.

I will write another detailed How-to for booking the best hotels based on your needs. Another tip is to print your hotel and airline bookings and keep them in your carry-on to easily access them. This has always worked very well for me as sometimes your phone battery may be dead when you need to show the bookings or you may not have cell signal or cellular roaming and may be unable to access them in tight situations. Another tip to keep things organized is to send PDFs of these documents to yourself as a text message so they are all conveniently located in one place. Another unrelated tip is to text yourself your flight number and if you are using IOS, the flight number will be displayed as a link that will display the flight status when clicked!

Arrival at the Airport

I have always had an enjoyable experience in Saudi Airports. The Immigration Officers are almost exclusively female and very pleasant compared to the ones we have to deal with in the West. I have never had to wait more than five minutes in line or more than a minute at the immigration counter. They will take your fingerprints using the digital machine and wish you a pleasant journey and you will be on your way. Then you collect any checked luggage and proceed to the arrivals area. There will be one final baggage scan before you exit. But don’t put your visa away just yet! After you exit the arrivals area after the final baggage scan, airport staff members will inquire about the purpose of your visit and request to see your visa. They will take a glance at the visa and you will be on your way. At this point, you are free to roam around the Kingdom!

Pro tip: Throughout this process, having a physical printout of your visa makes life a lot easier!

A few words about Medina

As I previously mentioned, Medina is the city of peace. It is truly remarkable how your worries, anxiety, and burdens seem to dissolve away upon arrival in Medina. I truly hope your experience is the same as mine!

The ride from the airport to the Prophet’s (PBUH) Mosque is approximately 30 minutes and depending on the time of your arrival, traffic is usually quite light until you approach the immediate vicinity of the Prophet’s (PBUH) Mosque. On your way you will pass by Mount Uhud and other landmarks of religious and historical significance, so do ask your transportation provider to inform you of these points of interest.

In my most recent trip, I booked all of my land travel and Ziarah trips through the SaudiSayyah.com website. I found them through their Instagram profile and was intrigued by their commitment to service delivery. I have experienced terrible customer service on previous trips booked through other transport providers and websites found through Google. I have endured awkward conversations with drivers in cars, unsafe driving, and unhygienic conditions. SaudiSayyah.com is such a breath of fresh air in this regard. Their drivers were very well-trained and knowledgeable about the locations we visited as part of the religious Ziarahs. I was thinking of hiring a guide but was told by the company that their drivers are better trained than most guides. For example, the last time I came, my guide took me to a “Masjid Bilal” in Medina and told me it was established by the Prophet’s companion Bilal RA. During my recent Ziarah arranged through SaudiSayyah.com, their driver informed me that Masjid Bilal has nothing to do with the Prophet’s companion Bilal RA. They told me that this was a commonly held misconception among people and most untrained travel guides promote this falsehood. I was also pleasantly surprised by their very cost-effective Ziarah packages.

Medina Hotels

The best hotels in Medina are within the ring road that encircles the Prophet’s (PBUH) Mosque.

As you can see from the satellite image above, the mosque is being expanded in the Northeast quadrant and the Baqi cemetery is located in the Southeast quadrant. There is a vast courtyard to the West which would require anyone staying in the hotels to the West, to walk quite a bit to get to the mosque. The most conveniently located hotels are those to the North and South of the Mosque.

The hotels south of the Mosque are closest to the Rawdah (the final resting place of the Prophet PBUH) denoted by the green box in the above image. This area is much less touristy than the Northern side of the Mosque but also has fewer dining options and places to shop. However, suppose you are traveling with elderly family members with mobility issues, and want to visit the Rawdah. In that case, it might be a good idea to stay in the hotels located to the South of the Mosque to reduce the distance one would have to walk to reach the Rawdah.

The northern side of the Mosque is where Medina Square is located. Medina Square is a pedestrian-only area and includes the international food kiosks one often sees in Instagram reels. There are multiple shopping centers and restaurants in Medina Square. I have included a video I took of the Square to give you an idea of what it is like.

Medina Hotels

Having been to Medina a few times, I have realized that due to the sheer number of visitors and the very high occupancy rates of pretty much all hotels near the Mosque, most hotel rooms will exhibit a healthy amount of wear. This is true for every five-star hotel in which I have stayed. However, the service and hospitality in these establishments are always top-notch. I think this is partly due to most of the hotel staff being of Bangladeshi and Pakistani origin. Workers of these nationalities are exceptionally kind and helpful. Most male workers in the two Holy Mosques are also from Bangladesh or Pakistan. As a result, Bengali or Urdu (the national language of Pakistan) are probably the most widely spoken languages in the cities. Even local Arab people understand the languages!

Pro-tip: Always call a day or two in advance of your arrival to confirm the booking and prevent any surprises. I once booked my hotel through one of the most popular travel portals in the world and upon arrival had to wait for an hour to check in as the website hadn’t paid the hotel for the booking despite having charged me two weeks in advance! To make matters worse, I had to call the website to sort out the mess. So please call and confirm your booking in advance.

If you do end up arriving outside the check-in hours, you can always have the hotel hold your luggage and use their facilities to freshen up and just go to the Mosque to pass the time.

I always recommend paying for Breakfast as part of your booking, for two reasons. Very few restaurants are open 24 hours or in the early hours of the morning and don’t serve the healthiest options. If you are going to the two holy cities, you will most likely want to offer prayers in the Mosques and especially in Fajr time, will find it very difficult to find breakfast places serving decent options. The second reason is that Hotels in this part of the world take their breakfast buffets very seriously, there are enough options to spoil you rotten! For me, the breakfast buffet is always one of the highlights of any hotel stay. I would advise against getting full board and including lunch and dinner, as I would rather explore the local restaurants and cuisines during normal business hours.

Masjid Al-Nabawi Roof Courtyard

If you happen to be staying in a hotel located North of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina Square, you can enter the mosque through the King Fahad Gate.

To the right and left of the King Fahad Gate under the arches are staircases that lead to the Roof Courtyard. I am sure many other gates also lead to the roof, but this is the one that I used to get to the roof. At the top of the stairs is an area of the Mosque that I find the most peaceful. There are no crowds on the roof (at least in December-January when I usually visit), it is vast and open, serene and peaceful. I have included some pictures of what it looks like.

Visiting the Prophet’s Rawdah and Riyazul-Jannah

To visit the Prophet’s (PBUH) Rawdah (Tomb) and Riyazul-Jannah, one must book an appointment through the Nusuk App on the App Store and Google Play. Unfortunately, as there are millions of people trying to book at any given time, the availability of slots is quite scarce. However, due to the relaxation of rules by the Saudi Government, one can now book an appointment upon arriving in Medina, enabling geolocation on your phone for the Nusuk App, and trying to book when near the Rawdah. I have not personally tried to do this but this has been heavily promoted through official Saudi Government portals. Additionally, previously one could only visit the Rawdah once every 365 days, this rule has also been relaxed allowing people to visit multiple times with an appointment. You can get additional information about an appointment from this link (https://hajjumrahplanner.com/rawdah-permit/).

Traveling on the Haramain Train

Booking

You can book your ticket on the train using the Haramain Train App (HHR App) on the Apple App Store or Google Play. Train ticket prices range between $50 to $100. There are two classes, Economy and Business. I usually book my tickets after booking my hotels, once I know the check-in and check-out times. Booking as early as possible will also result in lower fares.

Pro-tip: Hotel check-in usually starts at 3-4 pm in Mecca and Medina. The journey time between the cities is 2.5 hours. Meanwhile, check-out is at 11 am. I usually request late check-out at noon, book the non-stop train for 1 pm, the ride to the train station takes half an hour, and I get to the destination train station around 3:30 pm. By the time I reach my hotel, I will be within check-in hours.

The Train Stations

The train stations are very sleek, modern, and clean, better than most train stations in Western countries. The lines for the trains are a bit chaotic and the signage needs to be improved. Once you get to check-in you pass through a turnstile and scan the QR Code on your ticket in the HHR app and then you go to the platform and board the train.

The main disadvantage of traveling through the Haramain Train is that you are limited to a single piece of luggage. If you are traveling with two smaller pieces instead of one big piece, you cannot board the train with both pieces. You can ship the additional piece via the HHR shipping service but it will arrive at a later time and I’m not sure how it works. If you have multiple pieces of luggage, I recommend hiring a car to take you to the other city.

I have traveled between the two holy cities using various car-hire companies and service delivery is always a mixed bag in this part of the world due to a lack of standards, training, and regulation. Before my recent visit, I discovered SaudiSayyah.com through their Instagram profile and decided to use their services during my trip.

I booked with them well in advance of landing in the Kingdom. Before each trip, they sent me the name, phone number, and picture of the driver, in addition to an image and license plate number of the vehicle. Their drivers always arrived five minutes ahead of time and were very well-trained. They never engaged in any awkward or uncomfortable conversations. Their drivers are also focused on safety, never once did they drive in a rash or unsafe manner. They were very courteous along the route from Medina to Mecca and offered to stop at rest stops so I could stretch my legs. Upon reaching the point of Miqaat they stopped so that I could offer the obligatory prayer. They also pointed out all the points of interest along the route. I reached my hotel on time and stress-free. I prefer it over the train at this point because it eliminates the hassle of going to the train station, checking in, boarding, offboarding, and taking another car to the hotel. When you factor in all that, the amount of time is equivalent to the 4.5-5 hour journey by road and a lot less hassle considering it is door-to-door and can accommodate multiple pieces of luggage.

The Train

The train is very modern, exceptionally clean, and quite comfortable. The ride is far smoother than trains in the United States (I’m looking at you Acela!). When traveling from Medina to Mecca the train reaches the point of Miqaat approximately two minutes after departing, and the conductor announces to inform passengers.

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner is served in Business class along with light refreshments. The dining car has always been located in Coach #5. There is a non-stop service between the two holy cities and a service that makes two stops along the way. The stops are very short – about 5 minutes – to let passengers on/off and roughly add 11-15 minutes to the travel time.

Transportation in Mecca

It is always a good idea to book your transportation in advance to prevent having to haggle or negotiate with cab drivers. This process becomes especially stressful if the cab driver doesn’t speak your language! I have used many different car services to travel in the Kingdom but recently I have been exclusively using SaudiSayyah.com to book transportation. I have found their service to be the most cost-effective, their drivers are very well-trained, professional, respectful, and courteous, their customer service is the absolute best I have experienced, their service is always punctual and they arrive on time. Their cars were always immaculate and quite new. They also accept credit cards or cash and even received a different currency when I ran out of Saudi Rials! Overall, I can’t recommend them enough.

Mecca Hotels

I have stayed in most hotels on Jabal Omar (Mount Omar) which is to the West of the Mosque in the below satellite image. Similar to Medina, the Holy Mosque is encircled by a ring road, however, the distances are much greater. The Mosque is being expanded to the North in the below satellite image and the expansion is several times the size of the original mosque! Furthermore, the courtyards that surround the Mosque are also quite vast. This makes for a lot of walking when visiting the Mosque.

The closest hotels to the Mosque are the Dar Al Tawhid, hotels in the Mecca Towers, and the Clock Tower, the iconic 600-meter-tall building directly across from King Abdullah Gate. This area is in the green box in the above satellite image. The hotels in Mecca Tower are directly across from the Shah Fahad Gate or Gate #79 which leads to the Mataf area of the Mosque. Once again, if traveling with elderly family members or persons with mobility issues, I would recommend staying in these establishments. However, wheelchairs with someone to push them can be hired for nominal amounts of $30-$50 depending on whether one simply needs to go to the Mosque or if one is performing Umrah.

The other area which is also close to the Mosque is Jabal Omar. This area is in the green box in the satellite image below.

The hotels on Jabal Omer are a short walk to Shah Fahad Gate #79 which leads straight to Mataf. There are several hotels located in Jabal Omar including Double Tree, Hilton Convention Center, etc. I have stayed in these hotels, and as is the case with hotels in Medina, the modern and clean rooms exhibit a healthy amount of wear. The best hotel by a country mile was the Address on Jabal Omar. This hotel consists of two 37-floor towers connected at the top with a sky bridge that houses the world’s highest Musalla. Praying in this Musalla is truly an incredible experience and it is worth staying in this hotel for this reason alone!

Word of Caution: The hotels in the taller buildings in Mecca all suffer from the same problem, atrociously bad elevators. The elevators are modern and fast but considering the sheer number of occupants in the buildings, and the fact that the elevators lack smart features and end up stopping on almost every floor almost all the time, makes for a harrowing experience. The problem is especially bad in the Clock tower as not every elevator goes to the higher floors, requiring one to switch elevators midway through. While staying in the Address on Jabal Omar, there wasn’t a single occasion when the elevators arrived in less than 10 minutes and the average elevator ride was 5-6 minutes. So, if you are leaving to pray in Haram, leave yourself enough time to deal with this mess. I asked the Hotel Manager why they haven’t implemented the smart systems one usually sees in the West where the elevators do not have any buttons and people select the floor to which they are headed when they call the elevator on each floor. These commands are then routed smartly by the brains of the system which dispatches the appropriate number of elevators to the floor instead of every elevator answering every call, every time a button is pressed. He said he had only ever seen the system in Qatar when he visited during the World Cup. I find it shocking that these multi-billion dollar establishments lack such common sense technology.

A few words about Mecca

Compared to Medina, Mecca is very chaotic. It is fast-paced and has an electric vibe to it. You will find the traffic as chaotic as New York, Karachi, or New Delhi. The cars share the road with hawkers and amidst the chaos you will find kids playing in the street, pilgrims walking barefoot, and Saudi police yelling indecipherably and indiscriminately at everyone, it’s chaos! But it’s a good kind of chaos, the kind you miss when you leave, the type of chaos you will seek elsewhere in the world from whence you came but will never quite be able to find anywhere else. Mecca is something else. Mecca is the holiest place in Islam and a sense of the history of the place permeates every part of its old town, of which very little now remains. When walking the courtyards of the mosque or the narrow alleys of the old city, one can’t help but wonder about all those who previously traversed those paths and their significance in Islamic history.

Departure from the Kingdom

I have flown in and out of both Mecca and Medina. When flying out from Mecca, I took a private taxi to Jeddah Airport which is much simpler than catching the train with its luggage restrictions. The car ride was half an hour long and brought me to my terminal at Jeddah Airport. Jeddah Airport is on the smaller side compared to its counterparts in this part of the world but it is shiny and new. I have never experienced any delays at the airline counters, security has always been a breeze, and the departure gates are never as packed as other terminals in this part of the world. Every departure from the Kingdom has been unremarkable, which is very good.

Adjusting to life after

Before visiting the Kingdom, I came across multiple social media posts about adjusting to life upon your return from the Kingdom. I didn’t quite understand why that was even a phenomenon. But I now understand it. When you visit those places, you are immersed in an energy unlike anything you’ve previously felt. For the few days you experience it, it permeates every fiber of your being and you submit to it completely.  You crave the calls to prayer, the familiar sounds of the Mosques, the air filled with Arabic Bukhoor, the slightly nervous energy of Makkah, and the serene calmness of Madinah.  To return from that to a comparatively monotonous existence in the West, at least for me, represents an absolute shock to my system.  I try to preserve my connection to what I have returned to after a long absence by engaging in prayer, dhikr, or charity.  Everyone has to figure it out for themselves, it is a process, and it is a good problem to have…the best of problems!