What's the cheapest month for Umrah?
We tracked Makkah hotel prices across the full year. June is the cheapest month by a clear margin, and the whole summer sits far below the winter peak. Here's the why, and how to use it.
Updated 31 May 2026
A 5-night Umrah trip in December costs nearly twice what the same trip costs in June. Same hotel. Same room. Same Makkah. The only thing that changes between those two bookings is the calendar.
We've been tracking nightly hotel prices across the year for the same set of hotels in Makkah. The pattern is consistent enough that it's worth planning around - if you have flexibility on when you travel, picking the right month can fund the entire rest of your trip.
The cheapest month is June - and the whole summer is cheap
At a glance
Monthly mean per-night in GBP across every tracked hotel, taxes and fees included. Rooms bottom out in June and climb to a winter peak in December and January - roughly double the June rate - with Ramadan pushing higher still.
Why June is the cheapest month of the year
June sits in the post-Hajj seasonal low. The pilgrims who travelled for Hajj have left. The hotel rooms are suddenly empty during this transition period as pilgrims either leave Makkah or KSA entirely.
Crucially, June is also the hottest month in Makkah, with average highs around 42°C and overnight lows still in the high 20s. That heat is another reason it's quiet. Most international pilgrims simply don't book Umrah for June if they have any flexibility, which is exactly what creates the discount.
If you can handle the heat - and many people can, with the right preparation - June is the best-value Umrah month of the year.
September: the pick of the cheap months
The whole summer stays cheap - July, August and September all sit within a few pounds a night of the June low. September is the one worth singling out: summer holidays end, school terms restart, and family travel thins out, so prices stay down while the worst of the heat starts to ease.
September is still hot - averages around 40°C - but it softens at the back end of the month. If you want low-season prices without June's 42°C, September is the sweet spot.
Peak prices: December and January
The most expensive stretch is December and January, with January edging out December as the single priciest month of the year. Demand is driven by a few overlapping factors:
- Winter escape demand - pilgrims from cold-climate countries time Umrah for the cooler months.
- School holidays - the December break overlaps with Christmas and New Year travel windows in Western markets.
- Comfortable weather - December and January are the coolest months in Makkah (averages around 30°C high, 19°C low).
Hotels know all of this. Budget hotels reach prices that look like five-star prices the rest of the year. A SAR 800 room in June can be SAR 1,400 in December. The difference is not better service or a renovated room - it is simply the calendar.
And don't assume Ramadan is the quiet bargain. February and March 2027 fall in Ramadan, and the hotels that have released rates so far are already sitting above the December peak. Many haven't released at all yet. Go for the spiritual reward of Ramadan in Makkah - just don't expect it to be cheap.
How to actually use this
A few practical takes from the pricing pattern:
- If you can handle the heat, book June. The savings are enormous and the city is calm. Hotels discount aggressively.
- If you want a compromise, book October. Sub-40 degrees heat and well short of the winter prices - the genuine middle ground of the year.
- Avoid December and January if you can. They are the most expensive months and the busiest visitor period of the year - Mataf gets packed, wait times at Makkah's food halls get even longer, and the value-for-money equation works against you on every line item.
- Don't treat Ramadan as a deal. February and March 2027 fall in Ramadan, and early rates are already running above the December peak. Go for the reward, not the price.
Worked example: same trip, two different months
A representative 5-night Umrah trip - same mid-tier hotel in Jabal Omar, same room category, same flights:
- June booking: ~£500 hotel total + ~£120 food + ~£100 transport = ~£720.
- December booking: ~£890 hotel total + ~£120 food + ~£100 transport = ~£1,110.
The hotel line is doing all the work. Food and transport are essentially flat year-round. The difference - roughly £400 - is the cost of choosing the month. Book the same room in January and you'd pay a touch more again.
If you want a fuller breakdown of how a 5-night trip splits across hotels, food, transport, and extras at both ends of the spectrum, see our Budget vs Luxury 5-night Umrah breakdown.
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