Both pilgrimages are important, although they have differences in terms of practises, timing and organisation. For this reason, vacation packages for these pilgrimages are intended for their specific requirements. Knowledge of the differences will assist you to identify and select for the kind of voyage that is right for you.
- Timing and Availability
- Hajj Packages: Hajj is a pilgrimage that is conducted once in a year but only in the month of Zul-Hijjah. Availability is on a yearly basis because the Saudi authorities exercise quotas on the number of packages they allow.
- Umrah Packages: Umrah can be done any time of the year unlike Hajj which has specific time of the year. Such flexibility makes it easier for various packages to be provided closer to the specific periods such as Ramadan or a low tourisms’ season.
- Duration of Stay
- Hajj Packages: Hajj is a longer kind, which takes between two to three weeks to allow for the compulsory obligatory rites, apart from time in Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah. Packages are made to get through this broader period.
- Umrah Packages: Umrah however is usually for a shorter time with most packages usually ranging from 5 to 10 days. The rituals can be done in one day which spare some time to pray individually or to visit important shrines.
- Ritual Complexity
- Hajj Packages: Hajj means doing a set of challenging assignments and tasks and these are Tawaf, Sa’i, standing at Arafat, and stoning the Jamarat and all these must be done within several days. It can have evaluators, guides and group leaders within packages to help the pilgrims.
- Umrah Packages: Umrah entails fewer processes than the Hajj that is Tawaf and Sa’i and do not demand much physical strength. In many cases packages centre on such basic needs as shelter and transportation or related facilities.
- Cost
- Hajj Packages: Other factors that contribute to higher cost of hajj packages are because of the duration it takes to complete the journey, number of pilgrims crowds usually over that of Umrah and extra requirements to perform some hajj rituals.
- Umrah Packages: Umrah packages are cheaper and more elastic, their price is defined by the season and type of service a client is ready to pay for.
- Accommodation and Services
Both packages have packages from economy to the executive, though sometime Hajj packages include accommodation in tents at Mina in addition to transfers between sites of interest.
Therefore when choosing a particular package, you will know which will suit the nature and purpose of the hajj or umrah that you want to undertake .
