Umrah guide for first time pilgrims from Pakistan

The short answer. Umrah is far simpler than Hajj: no quota, no seats, and you can go almost any time of year. The two things that catch first timers from Pakistan are that you cannot file the visa yourself, it has to go through an approved agency, and that one of the mandatory vaccinations has a waiting period before travel. After that, the trip is decided by one number: how far you walk to the Haram, at the hour you will actually walk it.

This is the practical picture, not a book of rites. Learn those from your scholar. What follows is what we watch happen from an office in Karachi.

What is different from Hajj

Worth saying early, because many people assume Umrah is a small Hajj.

• There is no quota and no allocation. You are not waiting for a seat.
• You can go through most of the year, and the crowds change enormously with

the season.

• It is shorter, usually a week to a fortnight, and far less physically

demanding.

• It is mostly self-directed once you land, which is why who you can reach

while you are there matters more than people expect.

The two things that catch people out

1. You cannot lodge the visa yourself. Pakistan is not on Saudi Arabia's eVisa list. The Umrah visa is issued through a tour operator attested by Pakistan's Ministry of Religious Affairs, and the Nusuk app will not accept an application from an individual Pakistani passport holder. So the agency is not a convenience, it is the route. We have set out where that wall sits in the Umrah visa from Pakistan.

2. One vaccination has a waiting period. Two are mandatory and one of them cannot be done at the last minute. This belongs at the beginning of your planning. It is the single most common reason somebody loses the dates they wanted.

What decides whether the trip is good

The walking distance to the Haram. Not on a map. At two in the morning, in a crowd, with the people actually travelling with you. This is the largest difference between two packages and the thing most often described vaguely. Ask for the hotel by name and look at it yourself.

When you go. Ramadan is extraordinary and extremely crowded and expensive. The school holidays are busy. A quiet month is a completely different experience of the same place, and much cheaper.

Who answers while you are there. A delayed flight, a wrong room, somebody ill. Ask whether there is a representative in Makkah and whether the Pakistan number is answered at night.

What the price leaves out. Ask for the excluded list in writing. The usual omissions are internal transport, the Makkah to Madinah journey, Ziyarat and some meals.

How the days usually go

• Arrival, often in the small hours. Decide in advance whether you are going

straight to the Haram or sleeping first. Not deciding is what costs people the

next day.

• Umrah itself, which for most people takes a few hours.
• The days after, which are yours: prayers at the Haram, rest, and the pace you

choose.

• Madinah, before or after, depending on the package, and a different and

calmer city.

What people learn afterwards

Note your gate. The Haram is enormous and the buildings around it look alike at night. Note the gate number and photograph your hotel entrance on the first day. It is the most useful thing a first timer can do.

Carry the numbers on paper. Phones die and people get separated. The hotel name and address in Arabic, and the number of whoever is responsible for your group.

Go at the cooler hours when you have the choice, and carry water.

Buy the unscented things at home. Soap, toothpaste, shampoo. In ihram scent is a problem and buying again beside the Haram costs several times the Karachi price.

Do less. Fewer things, done properly, with rest between them.

The full list is in Umrah mistakes first time pilgrims should avoid, and the order to prepare in is the Umrah preparation checklist.

If you are taking parents

Most of our Umrah groups include somebody older, and the answer is always the same: the hotel distance decides it. If a parent cannot manage the walk, nothing else about the trip works.

Tell whoever is booking about mobility before the package is chosen. We can plan around a wheelchair, a knee or a heart condition when we know in advance, and very little of it afterwards.

Choosing who takes you

Because the agency files your visa, the checks matter. They are different from the Hajj ones: there is no Hajj Group Organiser licence involved, so verification is the company register, the travel agency registration, and a straight answer about who lodges the visa. That is set out in how to verify an Umrah travel agency, and the judgement half is in how to choose an Umrah travel agency.

Where to start

Send us your dates, how many of you there are and the ages. We will come back with what is available, what it includes and excludes, and anything in your file that needs attention first, including when your dates are too tight for the vaccination rule. Our departures are on the Umrah packages page.