Umrah from Riyadh · 2027 · By Rashid Hussain, Riyadh
Umrah Trip from Riyadh (2027)
From Riyadh, Makkah is a ten hour drive or a ninety minute flight. People who live here have usually done both, and we still argue about which is better.
I live in Riyadh, and the Umrah trip from here is a different thing from the one visitors make. There is no visa, no agent and no package. There is a permit on your phone, a choice of road or air, and a miqat you must not pass without ihram. Over the years the trip has taught me what each option gets wrong, and this is the guide for making it in 2027, with the times, the fares and the dates that matter this year.
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What a Riyadh Resident Needs Before the Trip
A resident needs two things for an Umrah trip from Riyadh.
- A Nusuk permit for the Umrah itself, booked in the Nusuk app
- A national ID or iqama to show at the checkpoints into Makkah
The permit is free. You book it for a date and a time slot, and every person in the car needs one, including children. Without it you can reach Makkah, but you cannot enter the Haram for Umrah, and the checkpoint on the road may turn the car back in busy seasons. Book it the day you fix the travel date. Ramadan 2027 is expected to run from about 8 February to 9 March, and those slots go first, followed by the school holidays.
No visa is needed for citizens or iqama holders, whatever an agent tells you. The only paper is the permit. I have been asked for it twice at the checkpoint and for the iqama once, and never for anything else.
Where the Miqat Is on the Way from Riyadh
The miqat for anyone coming from Riyadh is Qarn al Manazil, at As Sail al Kabir on the road near Taif. By road you drive through it. The mosque there has washrooms and space to change and pray two rakah, and it is the point where the trip stops being a drive and becomes Umrah.
By air the line is crossed in the sky. Flights from Riyadh to Jeddah pass the miqat about half an hour before landing and the crew announce it. Shower and put on ihram before boarding, or change in the toilet when the announcement comes. On my first flight that announcement left three minutes and a queue for one toilet. Boarding in ihram is the lesson.
Four Ways to Make the Umrah Trip from Riyadh
Each option suits a different trip. The table gives the numbers side by side, and the notes under it are what the numbers do not say.
| Option | Time door to Haram | Cost | Miqat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private car or taxi | 9 to 10 hours | SAR 1,500 to 2,500 per car on request | Stop at Qarn al Manazil |
| Flight to Jeddah plus taxi | About 5 hours | SAR 300 to 600 per person return, plus SAR 250 taxi | Ihram before boarding |
| SAPTCO coach | 9 to 11 hours | About SAR 120 to 180 per person each way | Coach stops at the miqat |
| Flight to Taif plus taxi | About 4 hours | Similar to Jeddah flights, plus about SAR 300 taxi | Drive through Qarn al Manazil |
By Private Car or Taxi
The road is about 870 to 900 km. It runs west through Taif and then down the mountain road into Makkah. A car takes nine to ten hours with two stops. It is the only option where the family, the luggage and the Zamzam on the way back travel together, with no weight limit and no connection.
Leave after Fajr and you are in the hotel before Maghrib with the whole evening for Umrah. The fare is per car, so for four or more people it is the cheapest way as well as the easiest. The hard part is the last hour. After nine hours on the road, the steep bends down into Makkah come when everyone is tired, and that is where a rested driver matters most. A car with a driver takes that worry away. On my own trips that last hour is when the family sleeps and the driver earns his fare.
By Flight to Jeddah
The flight takes about an hour and forty five minutes, with departures through the day on Saudia, flynas and flyadeal. Return fares run from about SAR 300 per person on a weekday to SAR 600 or more in Ramadan and school holidays. From Jeddah Airport the road to Makkah is about 90 minutes.
Door to door it is about five hours, half the road time. The cost adds up for a family, because every seat is paid and the airport taxi is on top. Book the airport pickup before you fly. The rank at Jeddah after a late flight is the one part of this trip that goes wrong, and it has gone wrong for me once, which was enough.
By SAPTCO Coach
The coach is the cheap option. SAPTCO runs Riyadh to Makkah for about SAR 120 to 180 a seat, nine to eleven hours, with overnight departures that arrive around Fajr. Tickets are sold in the SAPTCO app or at the Riyadh station.
It suits one or two travellers on a budget who do not mind a night sitting up. For a family the saving disappears once four seats are counted against one car fare. The overnight coach was how I first made this trip, as a student, and the memory is of arriving at Fajr with a stiff neck and no regrets. It is fine. It is not comfortable.
By Flight to Taif
Few people think of this. Taif airport is about 90 minutes from Makkah by road, and the flight from Riyadh is shorter than the one to Jeddah. The drive into Makkah passes through Qarn al Manazil, so ihram goes on at the miqat itself rather than in a plane seat.
Flights are fewer than to Jeddah and fares are similar. It works best outside peak season, when a taxi from Taif airport is easy to arrange in advance. In Ramadan the schedule thins out. This is the route I keep meaning to try and have not yet, so take the timings as the airline's rather than mine.
What an Umrah Trip from Riyadh Costs
For a couple, the flight is the cheaper trip. For a family of four, the car is. That line has decided every trip of mine, and it has not moved in years.
The table shows a two night trip outside Ramadan, with a hotel 10 to 15 minutes from the Haram.
| Cost item | Couple by flight | Family of four by car |
|---|---|---|
| Travel to Makkah and back | SAR 600 to 1,200 for two return flights | SAR 1,500 to 2,500 for the car, both ways |
| Airport taxis | SAR 500 for two transfers | None |
| Hotel, two nights | SAR 600 to 1,000 | SAR 600 to 1,000 |
| Trip total | SAR 1,700 to 2,700 | SAR 2,100 to 3,500 |
| Per person | SAR 850 to 1,350 | SAR 525 to 875 |
The car costs more as a total but less per person, because the fare does not change with the number of seats. Ramadan 2027 will roughly double the hotel line and raise flights. The road fare does not change with the season.
Adding Madinah to the Trip
Many residents turn the trip into a loop. Riyadh to Makkah, then two nights there. Then the Makkah to Madinah road, 450 km and about five hours, and two nights in Madinah. Then a flight home from Madinah Airport to Riyadh in two hours.
The loop adds two days and about SAR 450 to 600 for the intercity car, plus the Madinah hotel. It avoids a second ten hour drive, because the return leg is a flight. If the car brought you, book the Makkah to Madinah leg with the same company so one confirmation covers both. The loop is how I make the trip now whenever there are four days to spare.
A Three Day Plan from Riyadh
Three days is enough for Umrah, one ziyarat loop and a night's sleep either side. This is the shape every trip of mine has settled into.
- Day one, leave Riyadh after Fajr, ihram at Qarn al Manazil around noon, hotel by Asr, Umrah after Isha when the Haram is coolest
- Day two, Fajr in the Haram, rest, half day Makkah ziyarat after Asr, Masjid Aisha for a second Umrah if the permit allows
- Day three, Fajr and a last tawaf, leave by 9 am, home in Riyadh before Isha
By air the same plan fits two nights with an early flight out and a late flight back.
Booking the Road Transfer from Riyadh
Book the car two to three weeks ahead, and four or more for Ramadan 2027 and the Eid holidays. Send the date, the number of passengers and bags, and whether anyone needs the front seat, and ask for the vehicle to be named in the confirmation.
Hujjaj Umrah Taxi runs the Riyadh to Makkah transfer on request at SAR 1,500 to 2,500 per car, from a four seat Camry to a 17 seat Coaster. The driver's name, photo and phone number arrive the day before. There is no luggage limit on the intercity run. The fare is paid to the driver at the end, in cash or by card, with nothing charged online, and the miqat stop is free.
Book your Riyadh to Makkah transfer
Hujjaj Umrah Taxi picks you up at your door in Riyadh, stops at Qarn al Manazil for ihram, and drives you to your Makkah hotel. Fixed fare agreed on WhatsApp before pickup, driver name and plate sent the day before, no deposit, free cancellation up to 12 hours before.
Send your date, number of passengers and bags on WhatsApp and we reply with one fixed price.
Get a quote on WhatsAppFrequently Asked Questions
- Is there a train from Riyadh to Makkah?
- No. The Haramain high speed train runs between Makkah, Jeddah and Madinah only. There is no passenger rail line from Riyadh to the west coast. Anyone who tells you to take the train from Riyadh means fly or drive to Jeddah first, then take the train for the last 80 km.
- How far is Riyadh from Makkah?
- About 790 km in a straight line and 870 to 900 km by road, depending on the route through Taif. The flight to Jeddah covers about 850 km in an hour and forty five minutes, and Jeddah is then 80 km from Makkah.
- How often can a resident get an Umrah permit?
- The Nusuk app issues one permit per Umrah. The next booking opens only after the first slot has passed. In busy seasons the gap between permits for the same person can be longer. Check the app before promising a second Umrah on the same trip.
- What is the best time of year for an Umrah trip from Riyadh?
- October to March, when Makkah days are 25 to 32 degrees and the road through Taif is clear. Ramadan, from about 8 February 2027, is the most rewarding and the most crowded. Avoid the weeks before Hajj, expected around mid May 2027, when the road into Makkah closes to anyone without a Hajj permit.
- Can I do Umrah from Riyadh in one day?
- Yes, by air. Take the first flight to Jeddah in ihram, a pre booked taxi to the Haram, Umrah by early afternoon, and the evening flight home. It is a long day of about 18 hours and it only works with a permit for a midday slot and no checked luggage.