Umrah Packages
from Luton

Why your Luton Umrah leaves from Heathrow

It is a question we hear often from Luton families: why drive to Heathrow when the town has its own airport just a few minutes from home? The answer is simple. Luton Airport, about 3 km from the town centre, has no direct flights to Jeddah or Madinah and no Gulf airline connections.

The only route from Luton that heads towards Saudi Arabia is to Istanbul. Wizz Air’s Luton–Istanbul flights end on 1 November 2026, and easyJet is due to start the route from 24 November 2026. Those are low-cost flights with no through-ticketing to Jeddah, so a missed connection would be your problem to solve, not the airline’s.

Heathrow, by contrast, is about 56 km from Luton, usually 45 minutes to an hour by road via the M1 and M25, and it offers the only non-stop Saudi service in the south of England. That is why all our Luton packages depart from there.

Making the Heathrow run easy

For most Luton households the simplest plan is a lift from a relative or a pre-booked taxi big enough for everyone’s cases. If you are travelling as a larger family group, a minibus from your street to the terminal often works out cheaper per head than several cars and keeps everyone together. Avoid planning the drive around the Friday afternoon rush on the M25 if you can.

Coming home, you land back at Heathrow rather than in Luton, so arrange your pick-up in advance. After a long flight and a fortnight of early starts, nobody wants to be hunting for transport in the arrivals hall.

The flights on a Luton package

4★ and 5★: Saudia non-stop

On our better hotel levels you fly Saudia from Heathrow straight to Jeddah, roughly a six-hour flight. Saudia is now the only airline flying that route without a stop, since British Airways pulled out permanently in April 2026. With fewer weekly flights this winter than last, it pays to book popular dates early.

3★: Turkish Airlines via Istanbul

Our lowest-priced packages connect with Turkish Airlines in Istanbul. The Istanbul to Jeddah sector takes around four hours, and the whole trip from Heathrow typically adds up to between 9 and 12 hours. Because it is a single through-ticket, your bags are checked through and the airline looks after you if the first flight is delayed.

Prices and hotels for Luton pilgrims

Prices start from £625 per person on a 3★ package, £725 on a 4★ package and £895 on a 5★ package. All of these assume four people sharing a room and cover flights, the Umrah visa, hotels and transfers; we confirm the actual price when you book. Stays run to 7, 10, 12 or 14 nights.

Here is what each level could look like for a family from Luton:

• Budget-conscious: Al Kiswah Towers in Makkah, between 900 m and 1.4 km from the Haram, with Zowar Alalami in Madinah at 300–350 m.
• Close to the Haram: Elaf Kinda in Makkah, 160–280 m away, and Elaf Taiba in Madinah at 220–500 m.
• Steps from the mosque: Pullman ZamZam Makkah, roughly 100 m from Masjid al-Haram in Abraj Al Bait, and Pullman Zamzam Madinah, about 110 m from Masjid an-Nabawi.

Couples and smaller families can ask for triple or double rooms; the price per person will be higher than the quad rate, and we show you the difference before you decide.

A close-knit community with a strong Umrah tradition

Luton has a well-established Muslim community, much of it with family roots in Pakistan, Kashmir and Bangladesh, and many households have relatives across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and north London. Word of mouth matters here: people tend to ask a neighbour or someone at the masjid who they travelled with.

Because so many Luton families travel together, our quotes are set up around rooms of four. We can also arrange for relatives booking on our London Umrah packages to share the same Heathrow flight and hotels, so a family split between Luton and London can still perform Umrah side by side.

When Luton families can travel in 2026–27

Luton Borough Council and local academies publish their own term dates, so check your child’s school. In general, England’s 2026–27 calendar includes a Christmas break from around 19 December, February half-term in the middle of February and Easter from late March.

The windows that work

December Umrah is the obvious family choice, with mild weather in Makkah, where average highs are about 32°C. Some households combine the end of the Christmas break with our New Year packages. Adults travelling without children often aim for Ramadan, which is expected to start around 8 February 2027; the last ten nights are expected to begin around the evening of 27 February.

The window that does not

The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has set 23 March 2027 as the last entry date for this season. School Easter holidays start after that, so an Easter trip is not possible in 2027. If spring is your only option, consider March Umrah before the deadline. As for 1449, nothing has been published yet: the season is expected to reopen after Hajj, typically around late May or June, and we will share dates the moment the Ministry announces them.

What your time in the two holy cities can include

Most of each day is yours for prayer, tawaf and rest, but many Luton pilgrims also want to see the places they have heard about since childhood. In Makkah that usually means Jabal al-Nour, home to the Cave of Hira where the first revelation came, and Jabal Thawr, where the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr sheltered during the Hijrah. Some also visit Masjid Aisha at Tan’eem, the nearest point outside the Haram for entering ihram for another Umrah.

In Madinah, the classic ziyarat takes in Masjid Quba, where two rak’ahs carry the reward of an Umrah, Masjid al-Qiblatayn, and Mount Uhud with the martyrs’ cemetery where Hamzah (RA) rests. Jannat al-Baqi lies right beside Masjid an-Nabawi.

Booking the Rawdah

Praying in Al-Rawdah al-Sharifah requires a permit through the Nusuk app, and each person can book it once every 365 days. Men and women have separate time windows. On a 10-night or longer package, with five or more nights in Madinah, there is more flexibility to find a slot that suits the whole family.

Getting ready to leave Luton

Ihram

Since you fly into Jeddah, which lies within the miqat, you must enter ihram before the aircraft crosses the boundary. Many Luton pilgrims put on the white garments at home before the drive to Heathrow and simply make their intention when the cabin crew announce the miqat. On the Istanbul routing you can also change during the connection. Your scholar can advise on the details.

Documents and health

Your passport must have at least six months’ validity from the date you arrive in Saudi Arabia. Everyone aged one and over needs a meningitis ACWY vaccine, given at least 10 days before arrival; the certificate lasts five years for the conjugate vaccine and three for the polysaccharide one.

Travel advice and insurance

Please check the latest UK government travel advice for Saudi Arabia at the point of booking and again shortly before departure, because insurers often base their cover on it.

Book with confidence

Our flight-inclusive packages are ATOL protected (ATOL No. 11203), and we will confirm the protection that applies to your booking. Our booking policy explains how payments work. If you have a quote from another agent, our beat my quote page lets you send it to us for comparison.

Ready to start? Request a Luton Umrah quote or WhatsApp us with your dates, and we will reply with a full price including the Heathrow flights. Relatives in the West Midlands can look at our Birmingham departures.