The short answer
A 7-night Umrah package from the UK starts at around £715 per person on quad sharing at 3-star, £885 at 4-star and £1,185 at 5-star. Those are flight, visa, hotels and transfers included, departing outside peak season.
At the other end, a 5-star package over the last ten nights of Ramadan can reach £4,500 per person. That is the same company, the same hotels and the same flights — the difference is entirely when you go.
What actually moves the price
Most people assume the star rating is the main lever. It is not. In order of impact:
- When you travel. Ramadan runs roughly 70% above a quiet month for an identical package. September and October are the cheapest, and the weather in October is better than in July.
- How long you stay. Not proportionally — a 14-night trip is not double a 7-night one, because the flight costs the same either way. Roughly £40 to £105 per extra night depending on tier.
- Star rating and distance. The gap between 3-star and 5-star on the same dates is about £470 on a 7-night trip. Real, but smaller than the seasonal swing.
- Room sharing. Quad is the cheapest basis and double the most expensive. Prices advertised anywhere are almost always per person on the most crowded basis.
What a package should include
A complete UK Umrah package includes return flights from your chosen airport, visa processing, hotels in both Makkah and Madinah, and all ground transfers — Jeddah to Makkah, Makkah to Madinah, and back to the airport. Guided Umrah on arrival and Ziyarat tours in both cities are standard with most reputable operators.
What is normally excluded, and should be stated plainly rather than discovered: travel insurance, meals beyond hotel breakfast, vaccinations, and personal expenses. If an operator does not publish its exclusions, ask for them in writing before paying a deposit.
The number to compare on
Two packages at the same price and the same star rating can be very different trips, and the difference is walking distance to the Haram. A 5-star hotel 120 metres from the gates and a 4-star at 1.4 kilometres are not competing on comfort — they are competing on whether you can return to your room between prayers.
For pilgrims travelling with elderly parents or young children, that distance is usually worth more than the star rating. Ask for it in metres. "Close to the Haram" and "walking distance" are not answers.
Paying, and what protects you
A flight-inclusive package sold in the UK must be ATOL protected. That is a legal requirement, not a badge of quality, and it means your money is protected if the operator fails. Ask for the ATOL number and check it on the Civil Aviation Authority website — it takes a minute and it is the single most useful check you can make.
What the same package costs month by month
Take one package — 10 nights, 5-star, quad sharing — and hold everything constant except the departure month. The price moves from roughly £1,380 in January to about £2,550 in March. That is an 85% swing on an identical trip: same hotels, same flights, same inclusions.
- Cheapest — September and October, running around 10% below the annual baseline. October also has the best weather of the two, at around 38°C rather than 41°C.
- Baseline — April and November. Comfortable, moderate crowds, no school-holiday premium.
- Elevated — July, August and late December, roughly 15 to 25% above baseline, driven almost entirely by UK school holidays rather than by anything happening in Makkah.
- Peak — February and March, when Ramadan falls, at 45 to 70% above baseline.
This is the single most useful thing to understand about Umrah pricing, and it is why any comparison between operators has to hold the dates constant. A quote for October and a quote for Ramadan are not comparable numbers however similar the packages look.
Why regional departures cost the same but offer less
A common assumption is that flying from Newcastle or Glasgow costs more than flying from Heathrow. In our catalogue it does not — the cheapest package is the same price from all six airports we operate from.
What differs is choice. London, Manchester and Birmingham have direct flights to Jeddah, and the longest packages — 20 and 21 nights — only run from those three. From Newcastle, Glasgow or Edinburgh there are around 39 fewer packages available, because a three-week trip involving two connections is not something worth selling.
What a deposit should look like
Most UK operators take a deposit at booking with the balance due some weeks before departure. What matters is not the amount but what it secures and what happens if plans change.
- Ask what the deposit actually holds — a named hotel and a specific flight, or simply a place on a list.
- Ask when the balance falls due, and get it in writing.
- Ask what is refundable and at which points. Reputable operators publish a schedule rather than deciding case by case.
- Confirm the ATOL certificate is issued with your invoice, not promised for later.
A deposit taken before availability is confirmed is the most common complaint in this sector. Availability should be checked first and the deposit taken second — which is why every quote on this site is confirmed before anyone is asked for money.
Budgeting beyond the package price
The package covers flights, visa, hotels and transfers. A realistic total for a 10-night trip should also allow for:
- Travel insurance — £25 to £60 for a standard policy, more with pre-existing conditions
- Meals beyond breakfast — £15 to £30 per person per day depending on whether you eat at the hotel
- MenACWY vaccination if not available free on the NHS — typically £40 to £60
- Zamzam and gifts, and the excess baggage that often comes with them
- Local transport in Madinah if your hotel is further from the Nabawi than you expected
For most families that adds £250 to £400 per person over ten nights. An operator who tells you the package price is the total cost is not doing you a favour.