"How much does Umrah from Spain cost?" has no single answer, and every total price you find online belongs to someone else's trip, on someone else's dates, from someone else's airport. What actually helps is knowing which line items make up the cost, which of them move a lot and which barely move, and then building your own number. That is what this guide does, item by item: flights from Madrid, Barcelona and Málaga, the visa, accommodation in Makkah and Madinah, and travel between them — and then the item that drops out of almost every calculation and only shows up after you get home: what your phone costs you in Saudi Arabia. If this is your first Umrah, read our step-by-step guide to performing Umrah first, then come back here for the money.
How much does Umrah from Spain cost? The short version
Build your own table on the structure below, and write the date you checked next to every figure. Three of these items change weekly, and one of them changes daily.
| Line item | What drives it | Where to get your figure |
|---|---|---|
| Return flights | Departure airport, number of stops, season | The airline's own website, priced for your own dates — with Madrid, Barcelona and Málaga compared on the same days |
| Visa | Which route applies to your passport and residence, and agency service fees if you use one | The official Saudi platform only — see the visa section below |
| Accommodation in Makkah | Distance to the Haram first, then the season | Do not fix a number — read the accommodation section below |
| Accommodation in Madinah | Proximity to the Prophet's Mosque and number of nights | Same |
| Internal travel | Haramain high-speed train, bus, or private transfer | The operator's own site — hhr.sa for the Haramain train — for the leg, the date and the class you actually want |
| Daily spending | Number of days and how you travel | Personal estimate — not a figure anyone should publish for you |
| Mobile data | Spanish roaming, or a local Saudi plan | The dedicated section below — this is the item we actually know |
One practical rule: the first two items are settled months before departure, while the last two are paid during the trip. Anyone who only plans for what is prepaid comes home with a higher bill than they expected.
The cost, item by item
Flights from Madrid, Barcelona and Málaga
Spain is reasonably well connected to Saudi Arabia. Madrid Barajas and Barcelona El Prat are large international airports, and most routings to Jeddah or Madinah go through one stop in the Gulf, in Türkiye or in central Europe. In most cases the number of stops moves the price more than the choice of airport does.
If you live in the south — Málaga, Seville, Granada, Almería — there is an extra equation: fly from your local airport with a domestic connection, or travel overland to Madrid? There is no fixed answer, but always count the cost of getting to the airport, and a possible hotel night, inside the ticket price rather than outside it. A gap that looks large on the booking screen usually shrinks once you add those.
On ihram: if you fly into Jeddah you enter the state of ihram before crossing the miqat, and cabin crew normally announce it in advance; if you land in Madinah first, your miqat is Dhul Hulayfah (Abyar Ali). Pack your ihram garments in your cabin bag, not in the hold — especially on a routing with a stop. For the fiqh detail, ask a qualified authority; this is not the place for it.
Departing from Ceuta and Melilla
A short note for residents of Ceuta and Melilla, because the geography changes the departure options: the journey effectively starts with a short sea or air crossing before the long trip begins. Count that first leg inside both your budget and your timings, and do not assume a direct connection.
The Umrah visa from Spain
First the rule that matters more than any figure: the visa is issued through the official Saudi channel, and neither its conditions nor its fees should ever be taken from a blog or a group post. These requirements have changed more than once in recent years, and what was true two years ago may not be true today.
Settle these points before you book anything, in this order: which route applies to your passport and to your residence in Spain; how long the visa is valid; whether you can apply directly online or must go through an approved agency; and then, separately, the official fee on one line and the agency's service fee on another. Mixing those two numbers is the single most common reason people think the visa is "expensive".
We deliberately publish no amount, no processing time and no eligibility list here, because those are exactly the values that change — and a stale visa figure does not waste your time, it can cost you the trip. Read the rules in force on the day you apply, at the source: Nusuk Umrah, the official Umrah platform of the Kingdom, and the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah. If what you see there differs from anything you have read anywhere else, the official platform is right.
The full breakdown — documents, fee layers, issuing time versus validity versus permitted stay — is in a separate guide: Umrah visa: requirements, cost and processing time.
Accommodation in Makkah and Madinah: what moves the price
We put no figure on this item, because a number without context misleads more than it helps. What drives it, in order of impact:
- Distance to the Haram. This is the first variable by a wide margin. A hotel attached to the Masjid al-Haram and a hotel twenty minutes' walk away are not in the same market. Ask yourself one question: how many times a day do you intend to enter the Haram? If you plan on all five prayers, you are genuinely buying proximity. If you plan on two, you are paying for a convenience you will not use.
- The season. Ramadan — and its last ten nights in particular — is a completely separate market. Do not compare a Ramadan price with a price in another month and conclude that one of them is "overpriced".
- How the nights are split between Makkah and Madinah. This changes your total more than the hotel's star rating does.
- How many people share the room. Quad or quint rooms are the usual way to bring this item down on group trips.
Travel between Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah
Three options in practice: the Haramain high-speed train, which links Madinah, King Abdullah Economic City, King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah and Makkah; the bus; and private transfer. The train is faster and more reliable on timing, the bus is cheaper, and private transfer suits a family with a lot of luggage. Arrival time matters more than people expect: landing at night with heavy bags turns the comparison upside down.
We put no train fare on this page. It changes with the leg, the class, the departure time and how early you book, and it is revised — a figure printed here would be quoted back as fact long after it had stopped being true. Read it where it is sold: the Haramain High Speed Railway's own site, hhr.sa, which gives you the timetable and the fare for your own date. When we checked on 29 August 2026, the operator published no fare table at all: the price appears only once you run a search for a specific train, on a specific day. So any fixed table of Haramain fares you find elsewhere comes from a third party rather than from the railway, and the ones in circulation do not agree with each other. And book the train once your flight times are fixed, not before: a cheap seat at the wrong hour costs you a taxi.
Package through an agency, or arrange it yourself?
We will not recommend an agency and we do not rank them: we have neither the data nor the standing to do it, and we are not a travel agency. But the difference between the two approaches can be described precisely, and it is a difference in risk and in time before it is a difference in price.
An agency package buys you one known price agreed in advance, full coordination, and a guide who knows the way — in exchange for less flexibility and services you may not need. Ask for a written breakdown before you pay: exactly what is included, exactly what is excluded, the cancellation policy, and the licence number.
Arranging it yourself gives you full control and usually a lower price if you book early. The cost is your time, and your own responsibility for mistakes: a visa that came late, a hotel further away than the photos suggested, a train that does not fit your flight.
First-time travellers, and anyone travelling with elderly parents or young children, tend towards an agency for good reasons. Someone who has performed Umrah before and travels alone or with a spouse usually saves money arranging it themselves without losing anything.
The best time to go from Spain
Umrah can be performed all year round, and its peak is Ramadan. Ramadan 1448 is expected to begin around 8 February 2027 according to the Umm al-Qura calendar, the Kingdom's official calendar — but the start is confirmed officially after the moon sighting, and it usually shifts by a day either way. If you are planning for Ramadan, book months ahead, not weeks: flights and accommodation rise together and at the same time.
Outside Ramadan, the months furthest from the Hajj season and from Spanish school holidays — Christmas, Semana Santa and the summer — are usually the quietest on both price and crowding. On the other hand, summer in Makkah and Madinah is hot enough to be a planning factor rather than a footnote: anyone travelling with an elderly or unwell companion should weigh that before weighing the price. And the most reliable rule in the whole subject stays the same: booking early brings down your two biggest items together, and it does more than picking the month. For a comparison with the northern European market, see our guide to the cost of Umrah from Sweden.
Mobile data during Umrah: what it actually costs from Spain
This is the item we know better than any other, and it is the only chapter in this guide where we speak in our own name rather than relaying an official source.
Why "Roam like at home" does not apply in Saudi Arabia
The EU roaming rules that let you use your Spanish plan in France or Germany at no extra charge apply within the European Union and the European Economic Area. Saudi Arabia is entirely outside that zone. The data plan you are used to in Madrid does not travel with you to Makkah, and what you use there is billed at a separate international roaming rate set by your operator alone.
That is where the most common unpleasant surprise comes from: the traveller assumes the phone "works as usual", uses maps and video calls home exactly as they would at home, and the bill arrives after the trip.
Roaming rates at Spanish operators
Every operator sets its own rate for Saudi Arabia, and some offer an optional daily or weekly roaming pass. Do not rely on a figure someone passed on to you: open your own operator's official rates page before you travel, look specifically for Saudi Arabia, for the per-megabyte price outside any pass, and for the automatic spending cap if there is one.
That page is the only one that gives you your own figure, and there is no Spanish rate to look up instead of it. Movistar, Vodafone, Orange, Yoigo, Digi and Lowi each set their own price for Saudi Arabia; they differ from one another, they differ between plans on the same operator, and they are revised. So we quote none of them here — a rate published today gets repeated back as fact long after it has stopped being true, and this is the one chapter of this guide where we speak in our own name. Read yours on your own operator's page, write down the date you read it, and check two things beside the per-megabyte price: whether your plan includes a daily or weekly roaming pass, and whether an automatic spending cap is applied.
Until you have done that, there is one step worth taking either way: turn data roaming off in your phone settings before you fly, and only turn it back on once you have decided how you are going to connect.
The alternative: a Saudi Arabia eSIM
The second route is to buy a local Saudi data plan as an eSIM and install it before you leave Spain. It runs on the STC, Mobily and Zain networks — the same networks residents of the Kingdom use — and activates on arrival, with no queue at the airport and no local registration to complete while you are in ihram.
In practice: you walk out of arrivals in Jeddah or Madinah already connected. Maps work, the ride app works, and the message telling your family you have landed goes out before you reach the hotel. Your Spanish number stays live for bank verification codes, because the eSIM is added alongside your physical SIM rather than replacing it.
Check one thing before you buy: that your phone supports eSIM and is not locked to an operator. The list is on the device compatibility page. Then look at the current plans and prices on the Saudi Arabia eSIM page.
And if you choose an unlimited plan, you have every right to know its limit before you buy rather than after: 2 GB per day at full speed, then the connection continues at 1 Mbit/s until the end of the day, and the allowance resets the next day. Nothing is cut off and no overage is billed. That speed is enough for messaging, maps, voice calls, email and browsing; it is not enough for high-quality video streaming. We say it plainly here because the sentence that goes unsaid before the purchase gets said in the review afterwards.
10% off the Saudi Arabia eSIM. If that is your choice, enter the code UMRAHESIM at checkout on the Saudi Arabia eSIM page and 10% comes off.
Pre-departure checklist
- Passport valid for the period the official authority requires, with a digital copy on your phone and in your email.
- Visa issued and printed, plus an electronic copy.
- Return ticket booked, and the baggage policy read rather than assumed.
- Accommodation confirmed in writing, with the address in both Arabic and English.
- Ihram garments in your cabin bag, not in the hold.
- Medication in its original packaging, with the prescription if needed.
- Required official apps installed and logged into before you travel, not at the airport.
- Connectivity settled: roaming rate known, or eSIM installed and ready to activate.
- Data roaming switched off in your settings until you decide.
- Bank card enabled for international use, and a small amount of cash for emergencies.
Frequently asked questions
Will my Spanish phone work in Makkah?
Yes — coverage in Makkah, Madinah and the holy sites is good. The question is not whether it works but at what rate: stay on your Spanish plan and you are roaming internationally, outside the "Roam like at home" zone; install a Saudi Arabia eSIM and you are on a local network at a price you knew before you left.
Does EU roaming cover Saudi Arabia?
No. The rules apply within the European Union and the European Economic Area only, and Saudi Arabia is outside both. What you use there is billed at the international roaming rate set by your Spanish operator.
Which Spanish airport is cheapest to fly from?
There is no fixed answer: the number of stops and the travel date matter more than the airport itself. Compare Madrid, Barcelona and your local airport on the same dates, and always count the cost of reaching the airport — and a possible hotel night — inside the ticket price.
Where do I get the official visa requirements and fees?
From the official Saudi channel only: Nusuk Umrah and the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah. Requirements, fees and processing times have changed more than once in recent years, so check the rules in force on the day you apply rather than relying on any article, including this one. Our visa guide explains how to read what you find there and how to separate the official fee from an agency's service fee.
When should I buy the eSIM, before or after arrival?
Before you travel. You buy and install it on Wi-Fi in Spain, then activate it when you land. Buying it after landing assumes you are already online, which is the problem you are trying to solve.
Will I lose my Spanish number if I use an eSIM?
No. The eSIM is added alongside your existing SIM, and your Spanish number stays active for calls and bank verification codes. Only your data goes through the new plan.
What is the quietest time to perform Umrah from Spain?
The months furthest from Ramadan, from the Hajj season and from Spanish school holidays. But booking early remains the strongest single factor in bringing the cost down — stronger than the choice of month.
Do I need an approved agency to go from Spain?
It depends on which route applies to your situation, and that is a point that changes and must be checked at the official source at the time you travel. An agency buys you coordination and a guarantee; arranging it yourself buys you flexibility and price.
How many nights should I spend in Makkah and in Madinah?
There is no required split. Most people spend more nights in Makkah, since the rites of Umrah are performed there, and make a shorter visit to Madinah. Every extra night goes straight onto your accommodation line, which is your second biggest item.
What if I run out of data while I am in Makkah?
You can top up from your account without buying a new eSIM and without changing any settings on your phone. That is exactly why it is better to install it before you travel: topping up then takes a couple of minutes, wherever you are.
