How Muslims Can Get Affordable Umrah Packages with Ease

by Safeena Rahman Travel Addict

About two decades ago, Muslims who wanted to perform their Umrah had to depend on one of their nearest travel agent specialising in the Islamic religious tours to have their journey arranged to the holy city of Makkah in Saudi Arabia. They did not have enough choices in travel agents as they were very few and the costs involved in arranging the journey from their place of residence to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was quite high. As a result, many of the Muslims kept on postponing the plans of performing their Umrah, also referred to as the ‘lesser pilgrimage’.

In recent times, the Umrah packages offered by numerous tour operators or travel companies have made the lesser pilgrimage easy and affordable. Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in the numbers of tour operators throughout the world and this has given several choices for those intending to perform this pilgrimage. It is the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and is held in high regard by Muslims across the world. Although it is lesser in importance when compared to Hajj, it brings great spiritual rewards for the one who performs it. This pilgrimage can be performed at any time of the year and it is not at all compulsory.

Today, most of the travel companies or tour operators offering such packages have them arranged and classified on their websites. As this is the age of smartphones and high-speed internet, almost all these websites have been made mobile-friendly. This gives the prospective pilgrims the required convenience in going through the packages using their smartphones and selecting the one best suited to their travel preferences and budget. Once they have made the choice, they can easily go ahead with the booking of their chosen package.

Most of the tour operators give a significant amount of discount on packages that are booked several months in advance. If an individual wants to perform his or her lesser pilgrimage at a later date and is certain about the date of departure and the number of days that he or she would be spending in Makkah, then the booking can be made well in advance. Upon doing this, the cost of package would be significantly reduced and the amount saved can be utilised during the time spent in Makkah for buying souvenirs or during visits to some of the important religious sites in and around the sacred city.

Another interesting way of reducing the cost of packages for Umrah is to make comparisons between the packages made available online. It begins with an online search made on any of the popular search engines for the desired package. The search results would give the prospective pilgrim several options in such packages, which can be compared and then an ideal one can be chosen based on the comparisons made. One important aspect to be kept in mind before selecting a package is to verify whether the tour operator offering it has been authorised by the Hajj Ministry of Saudi Arabia. The prospective pilgrim can also go a step further and see whether the tour operator has a good track record with regards to customer satisfaction by going through reviews posted online by past customers.