December and winter Umrah packages from Pakistan
The short answer. The winter months are the kindest time to perform Umrah: the weather is manageable, the crowds are far smaller than Ramadan, and your money buys a closer hotel. The one caveat is the school holidays, which pull December demand up for a fortnight. Travel just before or just after them and you get the best of the year.
Why winter is the easy season
The heat. This is the big one. Walking to the Haram several times a day in the cooler months is a different experience from doing it in summer, and it matters most for the people who find Umrah hardest: older parents and small children.
The crowds. Outside Ramadan and the holiday fortnight, there is room to move. Tawaf is calmer, the queues are shorter and the walk from the hotel takes the time the map says it takes.
The price. Demand is lower, so the same money buys a hotel closer to the Haram, which is the single thing that most improves an Umrah.
Our published rates, by room, are here:
| Package | Length | From, per person | Rooms published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hujjaj Essential Umrah | 15 Days | PKR 106,645 | Quint 106,645, Quad 114,000, Triple 127,300, Double 155,350 |
| Hujjaj Essential Value | 15 Days | PKR 137,907 | Quint 137,907, Quad 153,133, Triple 179,410, Double 233,500 |
These are the rates published on this website, read when the site was last built. They move with the riyal, the airfare and the season. Ask us for today's figure and we will confirm it before you pay anything.
What moves the figure, in order, is in the Umrah cost guide.
The school holiday effect
December is not uniformly quiet. The school holidays pull Pakistani families into the same fortnight every year, and in that window prices and crowds rise and the close hotels fill.
If your children's schooling allows any flexibility, travelling a week or two either side of that fortnight is the single most effective saving available in the whole Umrah calendar. It is worth more than any negotiation on the package.
If it does not allow flexibility, book early. More in how far in advance should I book Umrah.
Who winter suits particularly
Older parents. The heat is the thing that defeats them, and winter removes it. Combined with a close hotel, which winter makes affordable, this is the best combination of the year for a family taking a grandparent. Umrah for elderly pilgrims.
Families with small children, for the same reasons, and because the calmer crowds make keeping everybody together far easier. Umrah for families.
First timers. A quieter Haram is easier to understand, and you will do everything more calmly than you would in Ramadan. The first-time guide.
Anybody on a budget who would rather be close than be there in Ramadan.
What to pack differently
Not much, and this is the part people get wrong in both directions.
- It is cooler, not cold. Evenings and early mornings near the Haram can be
genuinely chilly, so one warm layer, not a winter coat.
- The marble is cold underfoot in the early hours. Socks are worth packing.
- Everything else is the same, including the unscented soap and toothpaste,
which people forget in every season.
What does not change with the season
The visa route. A Pakistani passport holder still cannot lodge it alone; it goes through an approved agency. And the vaccination with a waiting period still has to be started early, whatever month you are aiming for.
Those two are the same in December as in Ramadan and are in the Umrah visa requirements.
Getting the most out of it
- Buy closer rather than longer. In the quiet season the close hotel is within
reach; take it.
- Use the cooler hours properly. You can do more in a day than you could in
summer, so plan one real thing and some rest rather than a packed schedule.
- Ziyarat is easier now. If it matters to you, this is the season for it.
Ask us with your dates
Send us the dates you are considering and how many of you there are, and we will tell you what is available, what the same money buys a week either side of the holiday fortnight, and which hotel we would put your family in. Our departures are on the Umrah packages page.