Plan Your Own Umrah, Step by Step

Umrah My Way is a family-run guide to planning Umrah yourself. I’m Jabeer: in 2023 I booked our family’s Umrah from India without a package, covering the visa, flights, hotels and the Madinah–Makkah bus. These guides share our real costs, the current Saudi rules (checked against official sources) and what we’d do differently.

How to book Umrah yourself
Work out your budget

Start here: plan your Umrah in 6 steps

1. Choose your dates

Seasons, crowds, weather and the 1448 Umrah season dates.

2. Get your visa

Tourist eVisa or Umrah visa: which route fits your passport.

3. Set your budget

Flights, hotels, visa and transport for India, the USA and the UK.

4. Plan the itinerary

A day-by-day 10-day plan, Madinah first.

5. Pick your hotels

Best areas in Makkah, plus our budget Madinah stay.

6. Perform Umrah

Ihram, Tawaf, Sa’i and Halq, step by step.

Zamzam water on flights

How much Zamzam 22 airlines let you bring home.

Saudi SIM card for Umrah

STC, Mobily, Zain and eSIM prices compared.

SAPTCO bus Madinah to Makkah

Booking, fares and what the 6-hour trip is like.

Nusuk app guide

Umrah permits and Rawdah booking explained.

Duas for Umrah

What to recite at each step, with meanings.

Umrah packing list

Everything to pack, including Ihram and documents.

Browse by topic

Visas, permits and costs

Travel in Saudi Arabia

Where to stay

Rituals and duas

Family and special needs

Planning from your country

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About Umrah My Way

This is an independent personal blog, not a travel agency. I write from our own trip and check visa, permit, airline and price details against official Saudi and airline sources, with the date we checked them. Read more about me and how the guides are prepared, or send a correction.