Jeddah airport to MakkahWhat to do after you land

Before you land: ihram

These are summaries of scholarly positions, not rulings of our own. Ask a scholar you trust about your own case.

• Hanafi fatwa services treat Jeddah as a place between the miqat and the Haram, so if you are flying in for Umrah, the miqat comes before you land. Men should be in ihram, and everyone should have made the intention, before the plane passes it. Mufti Online notes that making the intention about an hour before Jeddah is fine as long as it is before the miqat.
• The same Hanafi sources say that passing the miqat on the way to Makkah without ihram makes a sacrifice (dam) due, and that it falls away if you go back to a miqat and enter ihram there.
• If you fly to Madinah first and go to Makkah later, you enter ihram when you leave Madinah, not on this flight.
• Keep a spare ihram or a change of clothes in your hand luggage.

See miqat on flights and ihram rules.

Which terminal will you land at?

King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) has three passenger terminals: Terminal 1, the North Terminal and the Hajj Terminal. Your airline decides which one you use, and your booking shows it. Check it the day before you fly, because it decides how you reach the train.

The Haramain railway's airport station is directly connected to Terminal 1, according to the Saudi Press Agency. If you land at the North Terminal and want the train, you will need to get across to Terminal 1 first. We found no official page describing that link, so ask at the airport information desk, and allow extra time with luggage.

Step by step from the aircraft to the car

1. Immigration

Keep each person's passport and visa together, with your hotel details and Nusuk account to hand. Stay together in the queue so children and elderly parents are not split up. If anyone needs a wheelchair, ask your airline when you book. Airline assistance usually takes you through to arrivals.

2. Bags

Check each bag before you leave the hall. If one is missing or damaged, report it at your airline's baggage desk before customs and get a written reference number. Pack medicines, a change of clothes and your documents in hand luggage, so a lost bag does not stop your Umrah.

3. Customs

You must declare cash of SAR 60,000 or more, or the same value in other currencies, and gold, precious metals and jewellery of that value. You can declare in the ZATCA app, on zatca.gov.sa, or at the customs desk. ZATCA says not declaring brings a fine of 25% of the value for a first offence, and 50% for a repeat.

4. SIM card and cash

You need data for maps, WhatsApp and Nusuk. Buy an eSIM before you travel, or a visitor SIM after you land. Visitor SIMs are registered to your passport, and some counters take fingerprints. Carry some Saudi riyals (SAR) for the first day, in case a card machine is down or the SIM counter queue is long.

Your options from Jeddah airport to Makkah

Private car or van

The road is about 92 km and takes 1 to 1.5 hours depending on traffic, according to the directions published by the Park Inn by Radisson Makkah. There is one handover, your bags stay with you, and you can stop if a child is unwell. If you're travelling with a parent in a wheelchair, tell the company, with the number of people and suitcases. A saloon car rarely fits a folded wheelchair and several large cases, so a family of five or more often needs a van. Two people with light bags may pay less by train or taxi.

Haramain train

The Haramain High Speed Railway runs between Makkah, Jeddah (Al-Sulimaniyah), the Jeddah airport station, King Abdullah Economic City and Madinah. Its booking site listed these stations when we checked on 19/10/2026. You book at hhr.sa or in the Haramain app, and fares only appear after you search a date. The site says passengers with a disability get a discount. The railway's call centre is 920 004 433.

• Fares change by class and date, and travel sites quote different figures, so trust only the price sar.hhr.sa shows for your date.
• Trains run to a timetable, and the SPA reported hourly airport trips in the 2025 Hajj season. Check the first and last trains for your date before you rely on the train after a late landing.

Taxi or ride app

Use the official taxi rank or a licensed ride app. Check the app fare or agree the price before you get in. Do not accept rides from people who approach you inside the terminal.

Bus

NorthWest Bus runs a Jeddah to Makkah route ending at its Jarwal station in Makkah. Its route page on 20/10/2026 showed economy fares from SAR 33 per adult, while its FAQ said SAR 25, and it named no Jeddah departure point and no airport stop. Ask where it picks up before you plan on it. Book at nwbus.sa or call 920020590. For a family with suitcases, the wait and the second transfer in Makkah usually cancel out the saving.

Timing your arrival and your Umrah permit

You need a Nusuk permit with a time slot to perform Umrah. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah's FAQ says a permit is cancelled automatically if you have not entered Saudi Arabia by its start time, and once the slot has started you cannot cancel it. So leave a wide gap between landing and your slot. Immigration, bags and the drive can take hours on a busy night.

Many families check in, eat and sleep for a few hours, then do Umrah at a quieter time. The General Authority for the Two Holy Mosques listed 10pm to 4am and 9am to 4pm as light crowd times at the Grand Mosque in August 2026, and 5pm to 9pm as peak. Nobody can promise how busy it will be on your night. Our Nusuk app guide explains permits, and our step-by-step Umrah guide covers the rites.

If your transfer is late

1. Check your phone for a message from the driver.
2. Call or WhatsApp the number your transport company gave you. For our families, that is the driver's number we send before you fly, or our office on +92 309 9022120.
3. Stay at the agreed meeting point inside arrivals with your bags.
4. Do not get into a car with someone who says your driver sent them unless your company confirms it by message.

If you booked with us, tell us your flight number before you fly, so we can follow a delay and change the pickup.

Where to find help

If you are a Pakistani citizen in difficulty, the Consulate General of Pakistan in Jeddah is on 012 668 9149 (parepjeddah.org). UK, US and Canadian travellers should use their own government's consular contacts.

Landing at Madinah instead

If you fly into Madinah first, you land at Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz Airport, and you do not need ihram for this flight. Families usually take a car or taxi to their hotel, then travel on to Makkah in ihram later. See Makkah to Madinah transport. We can arrange a Madinah airport pickup too; ask us for today's price.

How Maqam e Haram helps

For our families the arrival is planned before you fly. We send the driver's contact details before you fly, meet you in arrivals and drive you to the hotel door in a car or van that fits your family and bags. Our team in Makkah helps with your Nusuk permit time, the first visit to the Haram and wheelchairs for elderly parents, and is on WhatsApp if anything goes wrong on the first day.

If you book your own flights, our Umrah services cover the ground. To book only the transfer, see Jeddah airport to Makkah transport. WhatsApp or call +92 309 9022120.

Questions and answers

Related pages

• Jeddah airport to Makkah transferBook a car or van.
• TransportAll our routes and vehicles.
• Makkah to MadinahThe next leg of the trip.
• Miqat on flightsWhen to make the intention on the plane.
• Nusuk app guidePermits and family accounts.
• Umrah with elderly parentsAnd Umrah with kids: travelling as a family.
• MakkahThe city and where families stay.