Adil FahimFlights from Europe to Saudi(Vice Versa)
As I was travelling first time from AMS to Saudi Arabia, I preferred to go Madinah first because it’s a long journey and if you want to go to Jeddah direct then you should wear the Ihram first before starting your journey.
I flew to Madinah via Brussels Airport as the Qatar Airways connectivity was good there with stopover of 1 hour in Doha. It reaches around 3 AM Saudi Time to Madinah. As Madinah airport is quite small, Immigration formalities took only 15 min.
Regarding Saudi Sim and Currency Exchange — all facilities are available in Madinah Airport and currency conversion charges are quite good so I also did the conversion from there only.
You can also get the STC sim from Saudi Airport only which cost me around 40 SAR for 15 days plan (1 GB Internet and 1 hour of National/International) calling.
I have booked my return flight from Jeddah to AMS via Aegean Air with stopover of 1 hour in Athens Airport. Aegean Air flight departed from Jeddah Airport at 3:30 AM Saudi Time and reach to AMS around 11:30 AM CET and also collected ZamZam with me (1 bottle with 1 Visa) and successfully reached to AMS.
P.S. — Aegean Air will not give you any option for having complete meal instead of small snacks so make sure you have taken some good dinner before boarding to the flight. There are multiple options in Jeddah airport including Al-Baik where you can find good options for competitive price.
You can also convert your Saudi Currency to Euro/USD before departure (boarding area) but I would recommended to do the same before check-in to get better rates.
The Hotels
P.S — Hotel locations are entirely depends on your budget.
I did hotel bookings via booking.com in Madinah and Makkah with no prepayment option(Payment at Property).Please make sure after booking the hotel you should send them message and ask them whether my booking is confirmed or they need any prepayment, they will allowed me to early check or late checkout as per your requirement, any extra charges for early check in or late checkout and most important, will they accept credit card payment at property.
Payment at Property is very important because I have booked 2 hotels in Madinah first and both messaged me and confirm that you need to do bank transfer first then only your booking is confirmed or else, we will cancel it. I cancelled the both bookings because I don’t want to perform any bank transfer.
There are lot of other hotel options available in booking.com but I prefer to choose hotel where I can go directly without the use of shuttle/taxi because if you are planning to go for Namaz for 5 times then it’s mandatory you choose the hotel which you can cover easily with steps.
Madinah — Saudi Hotel Policy — 4 PM Check In and 2 PM Check out
As I reached to Madinah 3:00 AM Saudi Time and after taking sim and currency conversion, it took me around 1.5 hour then I booked the taxi and reach to Hotel at 5:00 AM Saudi Time. I requested them to allow me early check in and they allowed the same without any extra charge.
Hotel Name — Al Rawda Al Aqeeq
P.S — I have not taken any breakfast option as I found it’s not worthy with the amount 30 SAR and if you want to do breakfast, you can pay at property as well.
Madinah Hotel Review –
Hotel Location is very good, its nearby gate number 318 which is next to ladies gate and it’s very convenient. There is only 3 min walk to hotel and Masjid Al Nawabi, you can see the hotel from gate and it’s very easy for my wife and kids to reach hotel without me. Hotels beds are fine, didn’t find any cleaning option as well but bathroom is not good and I believe they are taking advantage of their location rather than improving themselves but this is OK for me as I stayed Madinah for 2 days only and it’s manageable. There are no food option nearby and every time, I have to go Bilal Masjid to bought food for my family which is 10–12 min walk from Masjid Al Haram.
There is also a shopping complex in Bilal Masjid, where we purchase Ihram, tasvi, Janamaz and lot of other stuff as per your requirement.
Makkah — Saudi Hotel Policy — 4 PM Check In and 2 PM Check out
Hotel Name — Nada Al Majd
Makkah Hotel Review –
Hotel Location is fine and it’s located in Ibrahim Khalil Street as it’s around 6–7 min walk from Haram and if you are with female traveler then walk will be around 10–12 minutes. There is no food option available in hotel however there are lot of Pakistani and Bangladeshi restaurant available nearby which open 24/7. Rooms are good with central AC and bathroom is much better then Madinah Hotel, overall good experience. Staff is really cooperative and they did the check in formalities in 15 min.
As check out time is max 3 PM and my flight is on 3:30 AM (Next day), I requested them to leave hotel around 9 PM in night which I have to pay 100SAR extra.
Please Note — Ibrahim Khalil and Ajyad Street are nearby with Haram and both streets are having lot of hotel. Most of the hotels are not available in booking.com as they prefer group booking, I talked 2–3 hotel and they give me visiting card and said, you can call and book us directly. If you are planning to stay near by Haram then Ibrahim Khalil Street is much better as you can find every shop over here including good hotels, restaurants and shops for your shopping.
