Hotels in Madinah for Hajj pilgrims

The short answer. Madinah is a much easier city to get right than Makkah. Distances are shorter, the area around the Masjid is flatter and calmer, and most reasonable hotels are a manageable walk. The questions that matter are how many nights you get, whether they fall before or after the days of Hajj, and which side of the Masjid you are on.

After Makkah and Mina, Madinah is where people rest. That is worth saying plainly because it changes what you should be optimising for.

Why it is easier than Makkah

The area around Masjid al-Nabawi is open, the walking is flatter, and the crowds, while large, do not behave the way the Haram crowds do in Hajj season. A hotel that would be a long walk in Makkah is often a comfortable one here.

That means you can usually get closer for less, and a modest hotel in Madinah is rarely the problem that a modest hotel in Makkah can be.

What actually matters

How many nights. This is the first question, and the one packages differ on most. A short package trims Madinah before it trims anything else. If Madinah matters to you, check the number of nights before you compare prices.

Before or after the days of Hajj. Both arrangements exist and both work, but they are different journeys. Before means you arrive rested into the hardest days; after means Madinah is where you recover. Ask which your package does, and decide whether it suits you and the people with you.

Which side of the Masjid. The Masjid is large and has many gates. A hotel that is close on the map but on the far side from your usual gate adds a walk around the perimeter every time. Ask which gate the hotel is nearest.

The walk at night, as always, rather than the number of metres.

Lifts and the room's position in the building, which matter for an older pilgrim more than the hotel's rating does.

What matters less than people think

The star rating. In Madinah the difference between a good three and a good four is often breakfast and lobby furniture rather than anything that affects your day.

The view. It is a lovely thing and it is not worth paying a great deal for when the alternative is more nights or a better Mina camp.

For an older pilgrim

Madinah is usually the kindest part of a Hajj for them. Use it that way:

• A closer hotel here is cheaper to buy than in Makkah, so buy it.
• Ask about the lift and the distance from it to the room.
• Plan rest days. There is no obligation driving the schedule here.

More in Hajj for elderly pilgrims.

The questions to ask

• What is the hotel called?
• How many nights in Madinah, and before or after Hajj?
• Which gate is it nearest, and what is the walk in minutes?
• Is there a lift, and how far is the room from it?
• Are meals included here, and which?
• How do we travel between Makkah and Madinah, and is it in the package?

That last one is left vague in more packages than any of the others, and it is worth settling in writing.

Where this sits in the decision

The order of what decides a Hajj, by how much it matters:

1. The Mina camp category and position.
2. The Makkah hotel distance.
3. The group staffing.
4. Madinah.

That is not a reason to ignore Madinah. It is a reason not to spend the Mina budget on it.

Ask us for the names

Our departures name both hotels and say how many nights are in Madinah, on the Hajj packages page. Send us your dates and we will tell you which gate the building sits near and what the walk is like.

The fuller picture of what a package covers is in what is included in a standard Hajj package.