Hajj My Financial Journey | Part 1
Time is ticking sisters and brothers. I have been in deep contemplation about how fast time is running away from me. All I can ask is how have I prepared to face my Lord? And yet, I sit. I procrastinate. But, now I am wide awake! So…One of my top items in my Muslima’s bucket-list, is to go for Hajj. Insha Allah I will go! When? Allah knows best. But, I can do my best to prepare. Right?
Firstly, I wanted to find out which travel website would give me a good range of prices in order to know my costs. Therefore, I can save money and plan my budget accordingly. So, Bismillah! My first stop was to go to Expedia.com and Kayak.com to see the cost of the airfares from Washington DC to Jeddah. Oh, I am thinking to myself, those prices that I see aren’t so bad — here, let me show you some sample airfares I got (you need to go to Kayak.com and select all the different sites to compare prices) – ah, prices are really not so bad… So, on average it’s about $1,500-$2200 per roundtrip ticket. So, I figure I can take my family of four (4) and camp out at my very good friends house in Jeddah in which she has mentioned many times that it’s only 1 hour away from Makkah. Wow, how convenient! I’ll rent a car and mosey on down to Makkah and boot strap my trip and complete my last obligatory Pillar in Islam!
BUT!! WAIT AND STOP HERE!
TO SEARCH AIRFARES ONLY TO JEDDAH WILL NOT GET YOU TO DO HAJJ OR UMRAH!
Sister’s and Brother’s this images on the RIGHT is the INCORRECT way to BUY your HAJJ or UMRAH tickets!
WHY?
SCROLL DOWN TO READ MORE!
Ok, here are the reasons (I FOUND OUT!) why!
- You need to have Iqamah or simple terms a Visa that is specific for Hajj OR Umrah entry. You can no longer go to Saudi Arabia as a tourist (visitor) and include a trip to do a “quick” Umrah or Hajj trip. For one, Saudi Arabia has (new information) separated the airport into to 2 major departure and arrival areas. One for business visitors or those expats living in Saudi. And the Second one is strictly dedicated for Hajj and Umrah visitors/pilgrim. Without the correct paperwork it would have been a futile visit (not futile to see the friend but not being able to go for Hajj or Umrah)
- To enter any of the Holy Cities you must have your Iqamah / correct visa’s that state you are here to perform the pilgrimage.
- The flight above only gives you the International leg of the journey (in and out of the country) but does not take into consideration traveling within Saudi from Jeddah to Makkah and Makkah to Medina — these cities have good distance between them. Also, there are strict checkpoints at these locations. You can’t just “mosey” on in.
- The hotel / accommodation in Mekkah or in Medinah are very expensive and many times difficult to obtain. It isn’t like in the USA where you can simply go online or be on your mobile and book a room for a couple of nights. I have heard that prices to stay in the MovenPick hotels (located on the Makkah – Haram Mosque Plaza) run from $700-$1500 / per night!
So what IS the right way?
You need to contact one of the travel agencies that are officially recognized by the Saudi Embassy in Washington DC to issue Hajj and Umrah packages.
Here is a quick list: (for updates please check this site often for updates are made randomly!)
Travel Agencies for Umrah
Adam Tour | Starts at $6,900 | Tel: (212) 938-0999 | |
Adam Travel | Mid price $7,900 | Tel: (617) 367-7155 | |
Aleman Groups USA | Start at $7,600 | Tel: (212) 967-9679 | |
Ainul Haramain Hajj & Umrah | Start at $6,900 | Tel: (718) 581-8906 | |
Aqra Travel | Unavailable | Tel: (718) 785-05 16 | |
Aviation | Unavailable | Tel: (212) 244-5554 | |
Atlantic Travel | Unavailable | Tel: (202) 337-5900 | |
Chicago Hajj & Umrah Group | Start at: $5,999 | Tel: (773) 680-4700 | |
Dar Elsalam | Start at:$5,800 | Tel: (212) 725-2022 | |
Evia Travel (New York Branch) | unavailable | Tel: (347) 403-8945 | |
Flying Angel Travel Services | Start at: $6,280 | Tel: (973) 624-9111 | |
High Fly Travel | This is interesting as it gives packages in Saudi only. You have to find flights to Jeddah on your own. | Tel: (732) 266-2548 | |
Karnafully Travel Inc. | Unavailable | Tel: (718) 205-6050 | |
Makkah Tours & Travel Inc. | Start at: $6,200 | Tel: (773) 338-0720 | |
Metro International travel, Inc. | Start at:$7,700 | Tel: (703) 243-2200 | |
Peak Time Travel & Tour, Inc. | Unavailable | Tel: (718) 803-0400 | |
Prime Time Travel & Tours | Start at: $6,999 | Tel: (718) 505-1800 | |
Sara International Travel 106-08 Liberty Ave. Ozone Park, NY 11417 | Start at: $8,799 | Tel: (718) 848-1222 | |
Travel Home Inc | Unavailable | Tel: (201) 287-1411 | |
Got the jist? We can see at a glance how much it roughly costs per person. Add 20-30% to that cost and you have arrived at your estimated cost per person. Part 2 of this article will discuss how we can achieve and save the amount of money needed. In the meantime you can use the links above to gauge some of the different packages offered by these travel agents.
For those sisters not living in the USA, please email me or post to me on Facebook some tips and best agents to use so we can all discuss how we can meet (insha Allah!) in Makkah for Hajj or Umrah.
Wassallam