A large share of the pilgrims who travel with us have never been on an aeroplane. If that is you, none of what follows is obvious, and there is no reason it should be.
At the airport in India
You meet the rest of the group at the departure airport — Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai or one of the others, whichever suits your family. You do not check in alone. Bags, documents and the counter are handled together, with someone from the office who has done it many times.
Reach the airport when you are told to, not when it seems reasonable. International check-in closes earlier than people expect.
On the aeroplane
- Drink water often. The cabin air is very dry.
- Get up and walk once or twice on a long flight, particularly if you are older.
- Keep medication and documents with you, not in the checked bag.
Arriving at Jeddah
Immigration takes time, sometimes several hours, and it takes longer in Ramadan and Hajj season. That is normal and it is not a sign that anything has gone wrong. Stay with the group.
Transport is waiting on the other side. From Jeddah it is the coach to Makkah and to the hotel your itinerary named before you left home.
In the Haram
It is bigger than photographs suggest, it has many gates, and the gates look alike. Three habits prevent almost every problem:
- Note the gate number you entered by, every single time.
- Agree a meeting point with your family before you go in.
- Carry the hotel card and your group leader’s number on you.
If you get separated
Do not walk further looking for people. Stay where you are, or go back to the gate you came in by, and call your group leader. Everybody gets separated at some point; it only becomes a problem when someone keeps moving.
What surprises people most
- The walking. More than expected, on hard marble. This is what to prepare for physically.
- The heat outside, the cold inside. The coaches and the mosque are strongly air-conditioned.
- The crowds at prayer times. Going a little earlier makes a considerable difference.
- How quickly the days pass. Almost everyone says afterwards that they wished they had stayed longer — which is worth remembering when choosing between the fifteen, twenty and twenty-eight day packages.
You are not doing this alone
Someone from the Bikaner office travels with every caravan — not a representative who meets you at the hotel, but the person who was there when you booked. They are on the flight, on the coach, and at every Ziyarat, and they speak your language at both ends of the journey.
Ask them anything. There is no question on a first Umrah that they have not already been asked.