Umrah Packages
from Glasgow

From Glasgow to the Haram: how the journey works

For pilgrims in Glasgow and the wider west of Scotland, the trip begins remarkably close to home. Glasgow Airport is about 13 km from the city centre, usually a 15 to 20-minute drive, so even an early departure rarely means a dawn start for the whole household.

There are no non-stop flights from Scotland to Saudi Arabia, so our Glasgow packages use Emirates, which flies daily from Glasgow to Dubai on EK28, with a connecting flight on to Jeddah. That keeps the whole trip on one airline from your local airport, without a drive to Edinburgh or a domestic hop south.

Glasgow’s Muslim community has long roots in the city, and in many families an Umrah is planned with grandparents, cousins and neighbours together. The sections below cover the routing, the indicative school calendar and the hotel choices with those groups in mind.

The Glasgow route, leg by leg

Journey times via Dubai depend heavily on how long the connection is, and airline schedules change, so the exact flights appear on your written quote. Other airlines and routings can be priced on request.

Changing into ihram on the way

Jeddah sits inside the miqat boundary, which means you must be in ihram before the second flight crosses the miqat line. The Dubai stopover gives you a calm place to wash and change before boarding, and you make the niyyah when the crew announce the miqat, usually about 30 minutes before. If your scholar advises differently, follow that guidance.

Glasgow school breaks in 2026–27

The dates below come from a Glasgow City Council school’s published calendar rather than the council itself, so treat them as indicative and confirm with your own school. Scottish holidays do not line up with English ones, which matters if you are travelling with relatives from south of the border.

• Christmas: roughly 21 December 2026 to 4 January 2027, with pupils returning on 5 January. This is the strongest family window of the season; see our New Year Umrah packages if you want to be in Makkah as 2027 begins.
• February: a short break on 15 and 16 February 2027, followed by an in-service day on the 17th. Ramadan is expected to start around 8 February, so a long weekend here would fall early in the month. Our February half-term Umrah page explains the options.
• Spring: Good Friday on 26 March and a spring break around 5 to 16 April 2027. Neither is possible for Umrah, because the final entry date this season is 23 March 2027.
• May: single holidays around 3, 28 and 31 May fall in the Hajj period, when Umrah is closed.
• Summer: schools are expected to close on Friday 25 June 2027, with the return date usually around mid-August. The 1449 season is expected to reopen after Hajj, typically around late May or June; we confirm dates as soon as the Ministry announces them.

Because the February break in Glasgow is only two days plus an in-service day, many families find a short Ramadan trip hard to fit in. Taking a few extra days with the school’s agreement, or travelling in the Christmas holidays, are the usual alternatives.

Prices and hotel pairings for Glasgow pilgrims

Packages run for 7, 10, 12 or 14 nights. The shortest is four nights in Makkah and three in Madinah, and the longer ones split the stay evenly.

These are starting prices per person with four people sharing a room. They include return flights from Glasgow, the Umrah visa, hotels and transfers, and the final cost is confirmed at the time of booking.

Which level suits whom?

Older travellers and anyone with limited mobility generally benefit most from 5★, where the walk to Masjid an-Nabawi is about 50 metres. Families who want to be close to the Haram without paying top rates often settle on 4★, while younger groups comfortable with a longer walk save money on 3★.

For the coolest weather, December Umrah brings average Makkah highs of about 32°C. If you would like a final trip before the season closes, March offers highs near 35°C and falls just after Ramadan.

Travelling as a large west of Scotland family

Group trips are common from Glasgow, and they need a little more organisation. Our starting prices assume four in a room, so a family of eight might take two quad rooms, while grandparents who would rather not share with the children can ask us to price other room options. Let us know who is sharing with whom when you ask for a quote.

Children can enter the Two Holy Mosques at any age with their families, though the minimum age for an Umrah or Rawdah permit has been reported as five. Everyone aged one or over still needs the meningitis vaccine.

Plan time in Madinah carefully. The Rawdah can be visited once every 365 days through Nusuk, with set time windows for men and for women; women’s slots include after Fajr until 11:00 and after Isha until 02:00. Booking it early in your stay leaves room to rearrange if a slot is missed.

Getting between Makkah and Madinah

Our transfers move you between the two cities by road. Some families prefer the Haramain High Speed Railway, which takes roughly two to two and three-quarter hours, with economy fares reported from about SAR 150; service is not guaranteed under current conditions, so check before relying on it.

Bringing Zamzam home to Glasgow

One welcome feature of flying Emirates is its Zamzam allowance. Each pilgrim may bring one factory-sealed 5-litre bottle, bought at the official counter in Jeddah or Madinah airport, and Emirates carries it as a free additional piece from those airports.

The bottle travels in the hold as a separate item; it cannot go inside your suitcase, and you cannot fill your own container. Rules can change, so check with Emirates before you fly.

Grandparents arriving home after a long Dubai connection will be glad of a short drive from Glasgow Airport rather than a long road trip, which is one more reason flying from your own city makes sense.

Before you travel: health, passports and travel advice

Every traveller aged one and over needs the meningitis ACWY vaccine, given at least 10 days before arrival in Saudi Arabia, and passports must be valid for at least six months from the arrival date. Flu and COVID-19 jabs are recommended by the Saudi health ministry.

Our flight-inclusive packages are ATOL protected (ATOL No. 11203).

Please read the gov.uk advice on travel to Saudi Arabia before committing and in the days before your flight; the FCDO currently advises against all but essential travel there, and your insurer may set its cover by that advice.

Arrange your Umrah from Glasgow

If relatives are flying from the east, compare our Edinburgh Umrah packages; anyone willing to travel to Manchester can take a non-stop flight to Jeddah. You can also browse all departure cities or ask us to beat a quote you already have. To get started, request your Glasgow quote or send a WhatsApp message to the team with your preferred dates.