This is the notebook's heat plan. It does not replace a medical appointment. It helps you prepare the right questions for your doctor and organise the trip so that the body keeps up.
You will not find temperatures on this page. Our facts register does not yet hold an approved official source for them, and a wrong number is worse than none. Look at the forecast for your own dates shortly before you leave.
Why is heat the main risk?
Because it adds weight to everything else. An Umrah trip is a long flight, then days of walking, standing in crowds, sleeping at unusual hours and eating at irregular times. Each of these is harder in the heat, and together they wear people down faster than they expect.
Pilgrims also tend to ignore their own fatigue. You came for something that matters, so you keep going: one more walk, one more hour in the crowd, no time to sit down and drink. Many problems on the road start exactly there.
The calendar plays a part too. The 1448 Umrah season opened to visas and arrivals on 31 May 2026, at the start of summer2. From 15 Dhul Hijjah 1447 to the end of Muharram 1448, 931,500 pilgrims entered Saudi Arabia on Umrah visas, and more than 1.27 million pilgrims from abroad came in total4. In other words, the heat and the crowds arrive together, from the first weeks of the season.
The Saudi Ministry of Health's Umrah health requirements cover four cities, which it calls the “Umrah areas”: Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah and Taif1. Those are the places where you will spend your days, between the airport, the hotel and the two mosques.
If you are still choosing dates, our page on the best time for Umrah puts the season, the crowds and the Moroccan school breaks side by side.
How should you plan your days?
Around the sun. Long walks in the cool hours, rest in the hot hours. What changes from one traveller to the next is the distance between the hotel and the Haram: the further it is, the more each round trip costs. Read what hotel distance means day to day before you build your plan.
Route
- Early morning: often the best time to walk. Drink and eat a little before leaving, and take water.
- Late morning: head back before the strongest heat, even if the group lingers.
- Middle of the day: a meal, water, a nap in the cool of the hotel. Charge the phone and prepare the next outing.
- Late afternoon: go out again when the shade grows longer, at an easy pace, and leave a margin for the walk back.
- Evening and night: cooler, but the crowds can be dense. Stay together and agree on a meeting point in advance.
The day you arrive needs care of its own. The journey from Morocco is tiring even without a stopover. If your group plans to start straight away, talk to the guide; for the religious side of that question, ask an imam you trust. On the health side, eat, drink and rest before going out again.
Do not fill every day the same way. Alternating a full day with a quieter one helps people last the whole stay, especially older travellers.
Travel days count as hot days. Moving between Makkah and Madinah means waiting at stations, carrying bags and walking through terminals. Keep water and a snack in your day bag, and do not plan a long walk on the evening you arrive in a new city.
What should you drink, wear, and when should you go out?
Drink. Do not wait to feel thirsty. Drink water in small amounts, often, and refill your bottle whenever you can. Ask your doctor whether coffee, tea or sugary drinks should count towards what you drink. If your doctor has given you a fluid limit because of a heart or kidney condition, follow it: their advice comes first, not ours.
Eat. Light, regular meals work better than one large one. A snack in the bag helps during a long wait.
Wear. Loose, light, pale clothes. Comfortable shoes that you have already worn in Morocco, never new ones. Sunglasses. Our Umrah packing list has the full list to tick.
Cover up. During ihram, clothing follows religious guidance that this notebook does not explain: for how to protect yourself from the sun while in ihram, and which products you can use on your skin, ask an imam or scholar you trust.
Go out at the right time. Avoid the middle of the day and the early afternoon for long walks. If you have to be out then, walk in the shade, stop often and carry nothing heavy.
Which jabs do Saudi health authorities recommend?
Saudi health authorities recommend seasonal influenza and COVID-19 vaccines for Umrah pilgrims, but do not make them mandatory1. A pilgrimage means crowds, shared transport and short nights, which is a good reason to raise them with your doctor several weeks before you travel.
Protection against meningococcal disease is a separate matter. The Saudi Ministry of Health asks that the traveller's vaccination certificate clearly state the name, type and date of administration of the meningococcal vaccine1. Check that certificate before you leave: an unreadable or incomplete document can cause trouble at the wrong moment.
For the complete, current list, read the Saudi Ministry of Health's Umrah health document and ask your doctor what suits your situation.
What goes in an Umrah first aid kit?
Keep it small, keep it in the cabin bag, and build it with your pharmacist or doctor. Our list is a starting point, not a prescription.
Your own medicines first
- Every prescription medicine, for the whole stay plus a few days' spare, in the original boxes
- The prescription, or a short letter from your doctor summarising your condition
- For each person you travel with, their own medicines in their own bag
For the road
- Plasters, blister dressings and a small pair of scissors (in the checked bag if your airline does not accept them in the cabin)
- Sunscreen and lip balm
- Something for fever and pain, chosen with your pharmacist
- Something for stomach upsets, and oral rehydration sachets if your pharmacist recommends them
- Hand sanitiser and a few face masks for the crowds and the plane
- A small refillable water bottle
Paperwork that belongs with the kit
- The vaccination certificate1
- The insurance certificate with the number to call
- A list of your medicines and allergies, written in English or Arabic as well as French
If you are packing for a parent, put their kit in their bag and show them where it is. In a crowd, you may not be next to them when they need it.
What does the pilgrims' insurance cover?
According to Gulf News, citing the ministry, insurance is mandatory for Umrah pilgrims from abroad and is included in the visa fees; it covers medical emergencies, accidents, death and flight delays or cancellations, among others3.
In early 2023, the coverage cap of this insurance was raised to SAR 100,000 while its cost was reduced, according to Gulf News (January 2023)7. We have not found a more recent figure.
What that means for you:
- Ask your organiser for the insurance certificate, with the insurer's name and the number to call.
- Keep a paper copy and a photo on your phone, for yourself and for each person you travel with.
- If you already have a medical condition, ask in writing whether it is covered there. We did not find the answer in our sources.
- If you have other travel cover in Morocco or abroad (a bank card, a private policy), check what it adds in Saudi Arabia.
Who is most at risk?
Anyone can suffer in the heat. Some travellers need more attention:
- Older people, for whom long walks and standing in line often weigh more. Ask their doctor what to watch for in the heat. Our guide to Umrah with elderly parents is written for the son or daughter who organises their trip.
- Young children, who do not always say they are hot or thirsty. Offer water before they ask.
- People with a long-term condition or a long-term treatment. Your doctor is the right person to say whether that treatment needs special care in the heat.
- Pregnant women, for whom the doctor's or midwife's advice comes before any decision to travel.
- Anyone short of sleep, which describes most pilgrims after a few days. Rest is part of the plan, not a luxury.
If one of these describes someone in your group, organise the day around them, not around the fastest walker.
To confirm before you leave
- Temperatures by month in Makkah and Madinah: no approved official figure in our register.
- Official Saudi heat advice (sun protection, signs of heat exhaustion): two notices from Saudi ministries are in our register as proposals and will be added once a person has checked them.
- Where to find shade, water points and first aid posts around the Haram: no verified source yet.
- How the insurance treats an existing condition: not stated in our source, which also dates the coverage cap to early 2023, according to Gulf News (January 2023)7.
Next stop in the notebook: plan the trip for an older parent, or go back to the packing list.