Things to Do in Madinah | A Detailed Guide on How to Spend Your Time in the Holy City
We recently completed Umrah and Alhamdulillah for such an amazing opportunity! While researching, I found it a bit difficult to find information for women when it came to performing Umrah and although there aren’t very many differences while performing it physically, the behind-the-scene details to prepare is something I think will be very useful for most! We went with my in-laws, husband, sister in law and even took my son who was 1.5 at the time but I will do a separate post about how to travel and perform Umrah with a baby (another highly requested post). Here is a full detailed guide of how we spent our time in Madinah before heading to Makkah for Umrah!
The trip we planned was starting in Madinah for 3-4 days and then making our way to Makkah via train to complete Umrah. This is the best way to do it because you get to relax in Medina from a long trip and then can get ready to perform Umrah. Please note the different ways of spelling Makkah and Madinah, I know the spelling varies based on location but this is how they spell it in Saudi!
What to Pack
As an over-packer myself, it was difficult for me to narrow down what exactly to take for our 8-day trip. The beauty of Saudi is you can buy everything there. Abayas, hijabs, Quran, prayer mats they have everything so keeping this in mind, less is more when packing. I would recommend packing, 2 sleep outfits, 1-2 abayas, no makeup (yup, no makeup) limited skincare, and a few unscented things such as lotion and hand sanitizer, and deodorant. Don’t forget to keep an abaya/hijab with you as you arrive in Medina (if you don’t currently wear hijab regularly). I also recommend purchasing socks with grips and a small backpack or gym bag to put your shoes in when you enter the Masjid. For shoes, slippers are the best to walk around with and I purchased these from one of the shops around the hotel.
Apps to download
The most important app to download before going on the trip is the Nusuk. This is where you book your time slot for the Rawdah for Madinah and book your time to perform Umrah. The rules for the bookings change but when we went the Rawdah opened up every Friday for one week out and for Umrah it opened up every Friday for two weeks out. I also recommend downloading The Umrah Guide it walks you through everything step by step. I downloaded this but was fortunate enough to receive the Umrah Guide Omar Suleiman uses on his group trips (I don’t have a way to attach the link for this but please email me: hello@ailah.online if you’d like a copy). For going from Madinah to Makkah by train I recommend downloading the HHR Train app to book your seats.
Medina
When arriving in Medina, I recommend checking in and staying at Madina Movenpick. To get to the hotel from the airport, my husband booked the car service that also gave us the Ziyarat (or tour) around Madinah which you can book via Whatsapp: 966-59-955-2643. This was the perfect location right outside the Haram at gate 328 inside the Haram because you walk straight into the women’s section outside. Closer to the front of the Masjid (really the back of the Masjid) are where the women sat and the men sat behind them. It’s all blocked off and you will easily be able to tell where all the women are sitting. I highly recommend bringing your prayer mat and again you can buy these everywhere in the shops in Medina. I recommend spending at least 3 days here to soak it all in but if I were to do it again I would love to stay 4-5 days. The peace here is something I hope everyone gets to experience. If you want to get around outside of the Haram, there are taxis outside most hotels and they will pick up up and drop you off after you’re done. We did this for grabbing dinner outside the Haram and it was nice because they don’t take payment until they pick you up again and drop you back at the hotel.
Shopping in Madinah
Besides going to the masjid, of course, there are many things to do in Madinah especially shopping and finding new places to eat. The small markets around the hotels and Haram are the best for purchasing clothing items and prices are very reasonable. I don’t recommend purchasing from the Hotel mall or malls in general since it’s more expensive. For all shopping, I recommend doing it all in Madinah since Makkah is much more pricey in comparison so as mentioned before the emptier your suitcase is, the better it is when it comes to all the shopping. Even for my son who was 1.5 years old at the time, we packed a few of his sleep outfits and 1-2 daily outfits and got all thobes in Madinah which he wore for the duration of the trip and loved because they’re so comfortable. Another place to shop that I liked was the Taiba Shopping Center which was like a mall without the high prices and there was a wide selection for men, women, and children. You can also find dates, nuts jewelry, and tasbih here. For grocery shopping and needing daily products (hygiene, slippers, and even snacks) you can purchase everything from Bin Dawood which is inside the mall where Movenpick Hotel is located.
Where to eat in Madinah
There are a few food options around the Haram but the Pakistani food here is extremely good and authentic. Outside the Masjid, there are a few other restaurants. Here are a few recommendations for some of the best food in Madinah:
1. Food Master: This place was outside of the Masjid area so we had to take a taxi. Some of the BEST Pakistani food we tried and they also had some desi-Chinese options too.
2. Zaitoon Restaurant: This was inside the Taiba Shopping Center and the most chaotic place to find a table BUT once you’re able to find a table the food is 100/100. It’s the whole watching a party get up from their table and quickly running to the same table and waiting for them to clean up so you can sit down. I’m a pushover so my husband had to secure a table for all of us and their lemon mint drink was so good!
3. I love Madinah Square: This is a square right outside the Masjid area and there are so many options here. There are tons of little food stands of food from around the world. We were able to try date-flavored ice cream and wow it was so creamy, not very sweet, and really good! They also have a knafeh stand, a chai stand, a Turkish tea stand, and a few other options.
4. Karak Express: This was a little towards the back of the Masjid area facing a few of the hotels and the karak chai here was a favorite between all of us. We went a few times and I even tried their biryani which was also really good!
5. Islamabad Restaurant: We were looking for a Pakistani brunch place (halwa puri for me and omelette and paratha for my husband) and came across this which is across the street from the I Love Medina sign. Such good chai and brunch.
6. Al Baik: A classic of course but a little outside of the haram area so will need a taxi.
Praying in Masjid Al Nabawi
Since our hotel was so close to the entrance of the Masjid, it was fairly easy to find a spot to pray but I still recommend getting there about 30 minutes early minimum. If you want to find a spot inside, definitely get there at least 30-45 minutes before because it fills up fairly quickly, and then they block it off and don’t allow anyone to go in. For Jumah or Friday prayer, you have to find a spot one hour before or it will be very hard to get in because it fills up so quickly and they start blocking off the entrance of some of the gates. For those wanting a chair to pray on, the little pillars around the area have them on a hook but they go very quickly so try to get there and snag it early. Another tip I also have is if you find a chair, just keep it with you and take it to your hotel room. For the Rawdah, they didn’t check our appointment reservation but I know it’s different for everyone so still book your time slot! We went in the evening and it was quieter with not as many people.
Transportation
As mentioned earlier, we booked a car service that took us to and from the airport and also gave us a tour, or ziyarat of the areas around Medina. I recommend booking a car service but there are plenty of taxis around the Haram area around all of the hotels so it isn’t hard to find someone. The hotel can also help you book transportation if you need to leave early or late. We didn’t try Uber but from what I read they have their version of the Uber app which you can also you. We mainly booked a car service because there were 6 of us including baby) and we needed enough space for everyone. From Madinah to Makkah, we took the train which was one of the smoothest experiences and you can read more about it in my detailed Umrah guide.
How to make the most of your trip/ Final thoughts
Because most people come for a fairly short amount of time, the most important part of Umrah is to make the absolute most of the whole experience! Take it all in and enjoy learning about the Masjid, the area, and the people because the people here were some of the nicest we met. Try to attend as many prayers as you can and even sitting down to read the Quran and duas when it’s not prayer time is something I wish I did more of. If you take anything away from this, I highly recommend starting in Medina and ending in Makkah to make it more relaxed. You will get sick from this trip, it is inevitable so take all precautions and medicines with you and stay hydrated. Do all of your shopping here as mentioned above and most importantly, make as much prayer as possible!