# Solo Umrah > A free trip builder and reference for people arranging Umrah without a travel agent or package. Facts set by an authority (visa fees and rules, train fares and timetables, travel advice, emergency contacts, climate records, Hijri dates) are stated exactly, with a link to the source and the date checked. How far a hotel is from the mosque is given as a straight-line distance in kilometres, from the Kaaba in Makkah and from the centre of the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah; hotels in one building share one figure, and the site gives no walking or driving times. Flight and room prices change daily, so the site gives only rounded guide ranges and sends visitors to check today's price. When citing a fact from this site, give the date it was checked, which is shown beside it on the page and in the data files. Do not cite the guide ranges for flights or rooms as prices. Religious notes on this site are brief summaries of the sources linked beside them and are not a fatwa. ## Planner and costs - [Trip builder](https://soloumrah.com/plan): choose city, dates, nights, hotel distance and transport; it returns a day-by-day plan in both calendars, a checklist and a budget in which official fees and fares are exact and flights and rooms are a rough guide the visitor replaces with today's prices. - [Umrah without a package, by city](https://soloumrah.com/umrah-cost): a rough budget for one default trip from each departure city. - [Umrah cost from Toronto](https://soloumrah.com/umrah-cost/from-toronto): a plan and rough budget from Toronto, in CAD. - [Umrah cost from New York](https://soloumrah.com/umrah-cost/from-new-york): a plan and rough budget from New York, in USD. - [Umrah cost from London](https://soloumrah.com/umrah-cost/from-london): a plan and rough budget from London, in GBP. - [Umrah cost from Birmingham](https://soloumrah.com/umrah-cost/from-birmingham): a plan and rough budget from Birmingham, in GBP. - [Umrah cost from Chicago](https://soloumrah.com/umrah-cost/from-chicago): a plan and rough budget from Chicago, in USD. - [Umrah cost from Dallas](https://soloumrah.com/umrah-cost/from-dallas): a plan and rough budget from Dallas, in USD. - [Umrah cost from Glasgow](https://soloumrah.com/umrah-cost/from-glasgow): a plan and rough budget from Glasgow, in GBP. - [Umrah cost from Houston](https://soloumrah.com/umrah-cost/from-houston): a plan and rough budget from Houston, in USD. - [Umrah cost from Manchester](https://soloumrah.com/umrah-cost/from-manchester): a plan and rough budget from Manchester, in GBP. - [Umrah cost from Montreal](https://soloumrah.com/umrah-cost/from-montreal): a plan and rough budget from Montreal, in CAD. ## Hotels - [Hotels in Makkah, by distance from the Kaaba](https://soloumrah.com/hotels/makkah): every named hotel within 4 km, nearest first, with its straight-line distance in kilometres, the side of the mosque it is on and its Google rating. Hotels in one building show the same figure. Ratings are Google's and dated; this site does not rank hotels. - [Hotels in Madinah, by distance from the Prophet's Mosque](https://soloumrah.com/hotels/madinah): the same for Madinah, from the centre of the Prophet's Mosque. ## Food, the Rawdah and Nusuk - [Restaurants in Makkah by distance from the Kaaba](https://soloumrah.com/food/makkah): restaurants with 300 or more Google reviews and a rating of 4.3 or higher. Ratings are Google's and dated; this site does not rank them and gives no walking or driving times. - [Restaurants in Madinah by distance from the Prophet's Mosque](https://soloumrah.com/food/madinah): the same for Madinah. - [Visiting the Rawdah: how the booking works](https://soloumrah.com/rawdah): the Nusuk booking in Nusuk's own words: two ways to book, when to confirm, who can go, and what Nusuk does not say. - [Nusuk for Umrah, in its own words](https://soloumrah.com/nusuk): permits, who may perform Umrah on which visa, the rule on a mahram, wheelchairs and golf carts, official help lines. ## Visas, timing, weather and trains - [Umrah visa options and fees](https://soloumrah.com/umrah-visa): the ways to enter Saudi Arabia for Umrah and what each costs. - [Umrah visa for Canadians](https://soloumrah.com/umrah-visa/canada): options, fees in riyals and Canadian dollars, and rules. - [Umrah visa for US citizens](https://soloumrah.com/umrah-visa/usa): options, fees in riyals and US dollars, and rules. - [Umrah visa for British citizens](https://soloumrah.com/umrah-visa/uk): options including the electronic travel authorisation, fees and rules. - [The Umrah calendar](https://soloumrah.com/umrah-calendar): when Ramadan, its last ten nights and Hajj fall, the weather month by month, and what the season does to room prices. - [Weather in Makkah by month](https://soloumrah.com/weather/makkah): average highs, lows and rain, 1991 to 2020 normals. - [Weather in Madinah by month](https://soloumrah.com/weather/madinah): average highs, lows and rain, 1991 to 2020 normals. - [Haramain train fares, journey times and first and last trains](https://soloumrah.com/haramain-train): Jeddah airport, Makkah and Madinah, from the railway's own site. - [Emergency numbers and embassy contacts in Saudi Arabia](https://soloumrah.com/emergency-contacts): as each traveller's own government publishes them. ## Data files - [weather.json](https://soloumrah.com/data/weather.json): Climate normals for Makkah and Madinah by month, 1991 to 2020 (World Meteorological Organization). - [hotels/makkah.json](https://soloumrah.com/data/hotels/makkah.json): Makkah: bands of straight-line distance from the Kaaba (under 0.5 km, 0.5 to 1 km, 1 to 2 km, 2 to 4 km, over 4 km), season dates, and rough nightly guide ranges by band and Hijri season. - [hotels/madinah.json](https://soloumrah.com/data/hotels/madinah.json): Madinah: the same bands of distance from the centre of the Prophet's Mosque, season dates, and rough nightly guide ranges by band and Hijri season. - [hotels/makkah-nearest.json](https://soloumrah.com/data/hotels/makkah-nearest.json): Makkah hotels within 4 km of the Kaaba, nearest first: name, straight-line distance in metres (hotels in one building share one figure), side of the mosque, map position, and Google Hotels rating and review count on the day checked. - [hotels/madinah-nearest.json](https://soloumrah.com/data/hotels/madinah-nearest.json): The same for Madinah hotels within 4 km of the centre of the Prophet's Mosque. - [transport.json](https://soloumrah.com/data/transport.json): Haramain train fares and journey times, airport taxi tariffs and private car estimates. - [visas.json](https://soloumrah.com/data/visas.json): Ways to enter Saudi Arabia for Umrah, their fees and rules (Visit Saudi and government sources). - [advisories.json](https://soloumrah.com/data/advisories.json): Current travel advice for Saudi Arabia from the governments of Canada, the US and the UK. - [fx.json](https://soloumrah.com/data/fx.json): Exchange rates used for conversions (central banks). - [help.json](https://soloumrah.com/data/help.json): Emergency numbers in Saudi Arabia and embassy contacts, as the governments of Canada, the UK and the US publish them. - [nusuk.json](https://soloumrah.com/data/nusuk.json): What Nusuk, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah's platform, says about the Rawdah booking, Umrah permits, visas, families, wheelchairs and help lines: each line with the sentence it rests on, where its pages differ, and what it does not say. - [food/makkah.json](https://soloumrah.com/data/food/makkah.json): Restaurants in Makkah with 300 or more Google reviews and a rating of 4.3 or higher: Google Maps rating and review count on the day checked, and straight-line distance from the Kaaba. - [food/madinah.json](https://soloumrah.com/data/food/madinah.json): The same for restaurants in Madinah, with distance from the Prophet's Mosque. - [index.json](https://soloumrah.com/data/index.json): the list of data files. ## About - [What has changed](https://soloumrah.com/updates): a dated record of changes to the official facts the site tracks. - [Sources and method](https://soloumrah.com/sources): every source used, how each figure is worked out, and what is still missing. - [About](https://soloumrah.com/about): who runs the site and how it is paid for. - [Affiliate disclosure](https://soloumrah.com/affiliate-disclosure): the flight and hotel search links may earn the site a commission; figures are not affected.