If you’re planning an Umrah trip, you’ll most likely wondering how what is the best to travel between Makkah and Madinah. Whether you land in Jeddah first or Madinah, you’ll need some of way of travelling between the cities. Thankfully, there are multiple ways of transferring between the two holy cities, each with their pros and cons. Below I share 4 ways you can travel between Madinah and Makkah and vice versa.

High Speed Train (Fastest Option)

Saudi Arabia recently opened up its brand new high-speed train network that can transport passengers between Makkah and Madinah in 2 to 3 hours (depending on speed). The trains can travel up to speeds of 300 km/h.

Train tickets need to be booked online. One-Way Economy tickets cost around 157.5 SAR one way. One-way Business tickets cost around 262.5 SAR. The website is fairly easy to use with translations in English and Arabic.

The new train services has made it incredibly easy and most importantly safe move between Makkah and Madinah. The trains are well kept, safe and fast and for me this has to be one of the best fastest ways of traveling between the two holy cities.

The only reason to look for another form of transportation is if you are travelling in a large group and have lots of luggage. In that case, the train will end up being a bit more costly.

Book your Train Ticket

Taxi/Private Car

This is where your bargaining skills will come into play. Taxi drivers are willing to take you from Madinah to Makkah in their private car from 300-500 SAR. It really depends on the season, day and size of car. This way of transportation is fairly convenient and makes a lot more sense when travelling with young kids, lots of luggage or a larger group of people. In my most recent Umrah trip in January 2022, I paid 450 SAR to go from Madinah to Jeddah in a Taxi Van.

If you’re looking for a taxi driver, send me a message on Instagram @TheMuslimHopper and I can connect you with the driver I went with.

Plane

Taking a domestic flight is perhaps the fastest way to travel between Makkah and Medina. However, if you factor in airport wait times, you will barely save much time (if any).

Saudi Airlines flies domestically between Jeddah and Medina airport. Flight duration is about 1 hour and depending on the season you can find a tickets from under $50 to $150 USD One Way.

Not my personal preferred option but it may be viable for some travellers.

Saptco Bus

*Update: Saptco has ceased operations. New bus companies are offering services, we will be updating that here soon*

Before the new high-speed trains came along, the ideal way of traveling between Madinah and Makkah was via bus. Saptco VIP Express offers luxury coach bus service daily between the two holy cities. As of writing this post a one way direct bus costs around 100 SAR. The entire trip takes around 5 hours. The is only 1 seat in each row instead of 2, this means you have no neighbour and there is a lot of room. You also receive a snack box for the journey.