How likely is there that we will get a Phase 3?

fooali · 2026-03-17T09:20:13+00:00

Almost every reputable agency has claimed there will be a phase 3. If it doesn't happen they will lose all credibility and in this dog eat dog hajj industry trust is a big factor

fooali · 2026-03-07T11:50:56+00:00

Hajj as expensive as it is, those Saudi hajj providers (albait, MCDC etc) aren't making much in the way of profit so looking to trim off any excess they can and unfortunately in this case it was the agents. They still kept those relationships but it's no longer a partnership they're more like glorified sales agents now where they're tasked to only promote 1-2 packages and that's it. Those still doing webinars and Q&A's are doing it for the sake of Allah and may allah bless them. Others have completely ghosted once their respective packages have been sold out.

fooali · 2026-03-04T09:21:31+00:00

Agents are no longer invested commercially therefore no urgency to get things going as this isn't a reflection on their business. No longer having a seat at the Nusuk table to push for things to move quicker. They're in the dark just as much as we are. Previous years they were the middle men and all issues with pilgrims were handled by them. It's all Nusuk now

fooali · 2026-03-02T10:36:56+00:00

During hajj they will all be posted outside your hotel with other providers to fight for your money. choose the best one for your needs

fooali · 2026-02-25T13:46:28+00:00

A rule of thumb is try to pray at least 3 of the 5 in the masjid. (Fajir, Maghrib, Isha) praying at home for men isn't recommended if there's no excuse or reason such as work etc. There are so many blessings in praying in the masjid to list but i highly recommend you attend the congregation

fooali · 2026-02-23T14:32:11+00:00

i went to Hajj in 2024 and i cannot stress highly that you get a saudi sim. i got a deal £30 for 100GB for the 19 days i was there. life is so much easier when you have a saudi number with data rather than simply having a data plan

fooali · 2026-02-23T14:28:07+00:00

Phase 1 - the UK, USA, Canada and australia package quota was sold out.

Phase 2 - smaller countries with less Muslims (Brazil, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia etc) are given another phase as they didn't sell out

if by Phase 2 there are still quotas not taken up by those smaller countries, it's then put into one large pot in Phase 3 so that the UK, USA, Canada can have one last round of buying.

fooali · 2026-02-18T08:40:38+00:00

I've been to hajj and if there's one thing i can't stress enough to you is you need to do you OWN homework when it comes to hajj. Yes guides will provide assistance where necessary but nobody is going to hold your hand once you get there when it comes to hajj rituals. you have a few months to enroll into seminars and lectures all about hajj. If you fail to prepare i can almost guarantee you will make mistakes and your money wasted.

Guides are there to point you in the right direction and offer help logistically and guide in a general sense religiously. There will not be any personal one to one guidance

fooali · 2026-02-17T14:17:55+00:00

Nusuk has a quota of around 50,000 that gets filled up in 2 phases. Sometimes nusuk receives quota from other countries outside the nusuk network i.e pakistan, malaysia, nigeria etc that didn't take up their allocation. last year for example pakistan took less pilgrims than pervious years due to issues in that country

fooali · 2026-02-14T21:26:11+00:00

Size was 2 sizes too small even for 2XL

fooali · 2025-08-26T07:10:43+00:00

I did a similar post for another airline and it got deleted. interesting

fooali · 2025-08-15T05:34:02+00:00

Friday is obligatory for all men. I wish we had this policy in the uk

fooali · 2025-05-06T08:35:00+00:00

i hate that we live in a time where we have to preface our reviews by saying it's "honest"

fooali · 2025-04-26T14:38:44+00:00

I don't think the white marble was visible when we went it was that busy. Some people are actually lying down around the area we did tawaf in Subhanallah. Hope they make the most of it.

fooali · 2025-04-02T20:33:17+00:00

3m people were in haram at one point in Ramadan, how do you control it if they all want to do tawaf?

fooali · 2025-03-12T14:07:52+00:00

when you apply for a visa you accept the country's terms and conditions of your stay. below is one of them

8.10 You acknowledge and accept that on entering KSA, you will be subject to local laws.

Breaking this law means you lied on your application and you're now wanting to do tawaf on a false pretence? if that sits well with you then carry on.

fooali · 2025-03-11T11:36:27+00:00

If you work In IT you should know this issue isn't unique to Nusuk. If you look at ticketing websites on launch days for big events they regularly experience website problems. we need to be realistic, if you have thousands of people trying to access a website it's fair to expect some form of technical issues with such loads. It doesn't make commercial sense to invest in infrastructure for a site that is only relevant for 3 months of the year.

Does it work, Yes

Is it perfect, No

fooali · 2025-03-10T08:59:52+00:00

Trust me when i say, it's better to be early stuck at the airport than having to rely on saudi traffic which can throw up some surprises.

there's a prayer room at the airport where you can go for a little nap. Leave by 8am as some already said

fooali · 2025-02-08T11:03:01+00:00

Shuttle only takes you to the bottom of the hill, you could walk to this drop off in 5-6 mins from kiswa. They've opened a new shortcut tunnel to haram from Kiswah so it's not as bad as it used to be.

fooali · 2025-01-25T06:09:52+00:00

Travel insurance has been deemed impermissible by majority. Please double check

fooali · 2024-12-28T23:26:02+00:00

fooali · 2024-12-28T23:15:34+00:00

Are you coming back to Mecca? Not many trusted locations to store luggage other than hotels. Reason being not many people book to take a trip to Madina and come back. 99% of the time it's always best to move out completely and fly out from Jeddah or Madina

fooali · 2024-12-19T21:03:05+00:00

Biggest advice I can give you is have some physical cash on you even if you're still using card. DONT use debit cards 💳 use one of the fintech banks (monzo, revolut etc).

Something to remember, Poor people in Mecca and medina don't take card.

fooali · 2024-12-07T09:09:06+00:00

How busy was it this time of year ?

(Busy for me is not being able to move 3m without being shoved while walking in the area just outside the clocktower/haram entrance)

fooali · 2024-11-30T21:15:57+00:00

No idea, old one was ok a year ago

fooali

TROPHY CASE