Updated · Saudi Arabia Taxi Services
Can you combine Umrah with sightseeing?
An Umrah and tour package usually means a few days of sightseeing before or after the rites. We provide the transport part: airport transfers, drives between cities and drivers by the hour. Hotels, site tickets and guided tours you book yourself or through your travel agent.
Holders of the Saudi tourist eVisa can travel around the country. If you hold another visa type, check its conditions on the official visa platform. Our guide to Umrah on a tourist visa explains the differences.
Three add-ons at a glance
| Add-on | Drive | Distance | Typical drive | Fare from (economy) | Time to allow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taif and the Al Hada road | Makkah to Taif | 90 km | 1 h 30 min | SAR 160 | A full day, or one night |
| AlUla and Hegra | Madinah to AlUla | 350 km | 3 h 30 min | SAR 600 | Two or three nights |
| Jeddah city | Makkah to Jeddah | 95 km | 1 h 15 min | SAR 170 | Half a day to a day |
Taif: a cooler day out from Makkah
Taif sits in the mountains above Makkah and is around 10 °C cooler in summer. The Al Hada road climbs steeply with many sharp bends, and drivers take it steady. Popular stops are the Al Hada cable car and its leisure village, Shubra Palace in the centre, Al Rudaf Park and Masjid Abdullah ibn Abbas. In March and April the rose farms are in harvest.
A full-day hourly driver suits the trip, from SAR 80 per hour, so the driver waits at each stop. If you will perform Umrah after Taif, you enter Ihram at Qarn al-Manazil on the way down: Wadi Muhrim on the Al Hada road, or As-Sail al-Kabir on the flatter road. Tell us when you book and we plan the stop.
AlUla: two or three nights from Madinah
The road from Madinah to AlUla runs north on Route 15 through Khaybar, where the driver refuels; services are limited after it. Entry to Hegra is by booked tour, and tours and tickets are sold through Experience AlUla, the official visitor website, so book your slots before you fix the driver's times. October to March is the main season.
Our two-day AlUla plan covers Hegra, Elephant Rock and Old Town. To leave, you can drive back to Madinah, fly out of AlUla Airport if a flight suits your dates, or take the long road to Jeddah: 692 km, about 9 h 45 min, from SAR 1,180.
Jeddah: a city day before your flight home
Jeddah works well as a last day, because the airport is on the north side of the city. Walk the coral-stone lanes of Al-Balad, the UNESCO-listed old town, in the cooler evening, then head to the Corniche for Al Rahma Mosque at sunset and King Fahd's Fountain, lit after dark.
Book a city driver for the day from SAR 80 per hour and add the airport drop to the same booking. If your flight is late at night, you can spend the evening on the Corniche and go straight to the airport.
Which order works best?
Doing Umrah first keeps the rites free of travel worries. If sightseeing comes first and you then travel to Makkah for Umrah, plan where you enter Ihram: from AlUla the road runs via Madinah and Dhul Hulayfah, and from Taif you pass Qarn al-Manazil. Ask a scholar you trust if you are unsure about your case.
| Plan | Order | Ihram note |
|---|---|---|
| Makkah first, with Taif | Jeddah Airport, Makkah for Umrah, Taif day trip, Makkah to Madinah, Madinah Airport | Ihram before landing at Jeddah |
| Madinah first, with AlUla | Madinah Airport, Madinah, AlUla for two nights, back to Madinah, Makkah for Umrah, Jeddah Airport | Ihram at Dhul Hulayfah on the road from Madinah |
| Short trip, with Jeddah | Jeddah Airport, Makkah for Umrah, Madinah, Jeddah city day, Jeddah Airport | Ihram before landing at Jeddah |
Points to check before you book
- Your visa allows sightseeing as well as Umrah.
- Your Nusuk Umrah slot fits the order of your trip.
- Entry to Makkah is for Muslims only; companions who are not Muslim stay in Jeddah or Taif, and the driver uses the bypass roads.
- AlUla tours and tickets are booked in advance, especially in winter.
- If your dates are close to Hajj, check the Ministry's announced dates for Umrah and Makkah entry.
- Flights to and from AlUla are reduced in summer, so check schedules before you plan to fly.