Before going to hajj, I’ve spoken to many hujjaj who attend last year or prior to the pandemic. Some were solid advice and others were no longer applicable. Here are some I’ve learned to be valuable.
Protect your health and energy during hajj by:
- Avoiding the sun
- Avoid drinking cold water
- Avoid the crowd
- Don’t walk barefoot in the sun
- Umrah at night is easier from the heat, but usually more traffic.
- Wash Ihram clothing after Umrah, it’s cheap and normally takes 2 days, can pay for rush.
- Service Workers:
- Avoid having any bags taken by someone else (Service luggage men) to your room or terminal etc. unless you have cash on hand.
- After any service rendered the server may ask you to pay $100 US dollars, laugh it off and pay no more than 40 SAR tip.
- Taxi is 3-5 SAR per km or minutes, which ever is higher max, can negotiate half most of them. Uber works but very few drivers available at a time. Sometimes there is no cars available. Be prepared to negotiate with taxi. Prices are comparable between Uber and Taxi. However if you tip, it’ll end up being more than taxi.
- Always ask for price of ride before getting in to a taxi, and only pay that if destination does not change.
- Always take a bag to hold your slippers when going to the haramain.
- Always bring a bottle of water even if it’s empty so you can fill with Zamzam.
Great tips! Here are some from my experience:
-I performed umrah around 1030pm less than a week prior to hajj and then performed tawaf al ifadah and saee at about 3am on the 11th of dhul hijjah after catching a bus from Mina. At both times, there wasn’t much rush in the mataaf area (where the Kaaba is) and so tawaf and saee weren’t time consuming. In fact, it took even less time on the 11th and we caught salatul fajr too
-On the 10th (day of Eid), I was told by someone who went to the haram right after stoning the jamarat following fajr that it wasn’t busy at all and so he beat the crowds finishing tawaf and saee within 2 hours. However, someone who went an hour after asr said it took them 5 hours
-The week before hajj, it was nice performing tawafs on the roof of the haram beginning about 2.5 hour after asr, around 6pm when the sun was lower and there was a nice breeze too, til after isha. There’s a lot more space than the other levels and so it’s not as congested and people keep moving at a good pace
-If you’re planning to attend salatul jummah at the haram during or around the weeks of hajj (khutbah begins 12:20pm), you MUST arrive there no later than 8am or earlier to find space inside the masjid. My roommate and I and many others made the mistake of arriving too late and faced road closures and then complete closure of the haram area. We had to find a shaded area and were fortunate to pray just within the vicinity of the haram’s speakers. It’s extremely hot in the sun at that time
-Negotiate smaller bills (5, 10, 20, 50 SAR) with currency exchange shops as much as possible. They’ll love taking dollars anyways 🙂
-It’s CRUCIAL to keep a power bank to keep your phone charged. My roommate and others unfortunately got lost for hours on end when their phones ran out of charge after they were already lost. I had a waist pack at all times in which I kept my wallet, passport, visa, phone, power bank, and other essentials
-We didn’t have a guide and so got lost a few times. Google maps is helpful but isn’t updated with road closures and diversions. When in doubt, ask the police for help and guidance. For example, they pointed out taxi stops around the haram and directions when we were getting lost. They even let us through a closure when they understood it was the best route for us to reach the American camp in Mina
VERY important tip: Learn how to save and share your hotel, bus stop, and camp locations in Google maps and WhatsApp. This is absolutely crucial for guiding yourself and others and to minimize getting lost. Also have a power bank to keep your phone charged. My roommates and I got lost a few times, sometimes very badly, leading to much time wasted walking and getting tired.