Best time to perform Umrah

What the table compares

Four periods of the Umrah year by cost, crowds and what they mean in practice: Rajab and Sha'ban, Ramadan, the Hajj closure in Dhul Hijjah, and the rest of the year. The cost column is relative ("lower", "highest", "base"); the only number is the tool's own rough note that Rajab and Sha'ban can be up to about 40 percent cheaper than Ramadan, which matches the cost calculator's season factors (off-peak ×1.0 against Ramadan ×1.5).

Each column

• When: Hijri months, with rough Gregorian equivalents that shift about 11 days earlier each year; for the 1448 AH season Ramadan is expected around 8 February 2027 and the last Umrah departure is 7 April 2027.
• Cost: hotel and flight pressure in that period, relative to a quiet month.
• Crowds: how full the mataf and the Rawdah permit slots get.
• Notes: the trade-off in one line.

How the ranking is derived, and its limits

• It reflects the pattern operators and pilgrims report every year: prices peak in Ramadan's last ten nights, dip after Hajj and in winter, and Umrah visas pause around Hajj. It is not computed from live prices.
• It ignores your own constraints: school holidays in your country, heat tolerance, and whether you want Madinah first (see Makkah or Madinah first).
• Weather is a separate axis: winter Umrah is cool and quiet; June to September is hot even outside Ramadan (see heat safety).

Worked example (illustrative)

A family of four choosing between the last ten nights of Ramadan and Sha'ban a month earlier. On the calculator, US Standard tier is $2,500 to $3,500 per person off-peak and $3,750 to $5,250 in Ramadan, so the same trip costs roughly $5,000 to $7,000 more for the four of them in Ramadan, with far larger crowds and permit competition. Many families choose Sha'ban and put the difference into a Zone A hotel, or into a second trip.

Common mistakes

• Treating the first half of Ramadan like the last ten nights; the last ten are the peak of the peak.
• Booking Dhul Qi'dah travel without checking the Ministry's Umrah cut-off dates before Hajj.
• Choosing a quiet month but a Ramadan-style budget hotel far away, when the quiet month is exactly when Zone A becomes affordable.
• Assuming winter means cool days in Makkah every day; it is mild, not cold, and Madinah nights can be chilly.

When to ask an operator instead

Operators know which weeks have unsold group seats and which hotels discount mid-week; once you have two candidate windows, ask for both prices through the quote form.

Questions pilgrims ask

Related guides

Best time to perform Umrah · Ramadan Umrah guide · Umrah in winter · when to book · best times for tawaf