Consider your guides and other Hajj-hopefuls
After comparing costs, it’s also important to consider the range of Hajj experiences each tour operator brings. Ask yourself questions like:
• How knowledgeable is your guide?
• Which coordinators will attend and help guide and manage your group?
• Will there be additional female guides to assist women in your group?
• Who else will be in your group, and what other company will you be keeping on the journey?
• Does the agency have full-time staff in both your home country and KSA?
• How experienced is the agency?
The answers to all these questions will help you evaluate your Hajj experience for qualitative aspects.
A Hajj experience is as much a service of these tour companies as it is an experience. So look to these important markers to understand what type of experience you might have.
Logistics of choosing a reputable company
If you want your trip to go as smoothly as possible, you have to make sure safeguards are in place for accountability.
This means seeking answers to questions about the service quality and legality of your tour operators.
When evaluating Hajj-packages, ask yourself these questions:
• Is the package with a registered and approved travel agency?
• What agency name will be on your Hajj visa?
• Is this a sub-agency? If so, how will this affect accountability and support?
• If subcontracted, will service be up to par?
Final considerations for choosing a Hajj package
Choosing a hajj package can be a daunting task, but the end result is rewarding.
Remember, instead of getting stuck in the anxiety of finding the perfect package, concentrate on finding one that is good enough.
Don’t hold off on having the experience of a lifetime for lack of finding everything you want and need with one agency.
Choose the best available package, make Istakharah, and then move forward with all the small actions and steps needed to make it to your big goal, tthe Hajj.
Instead of worrying about all the things that may go wrong, focus on all the things you can do to make your hajj experience the best it can be.
Focus on what’s going right. You’re being invited to the house of Allah!
Prepare yourself mentally for some things not going according to plan, and decide in advance to respond with kindness and understanding.
Remind yourself that the Hajj is both an obligatory gathering and a test for all of those gathered.
If you gather millions of people together from all countries, cultures, and walks of life, you can’t expect everyone to get along perfectly.
We’re all only humans after all—flawed, confused, but all striving to get closer to Allah.
The articles is from the archives.
Read more:
- Why Make Hajj When You Are Still Young?
- Interesting Facts about Kiswah
- Malcolm X and the Transforming Power of Hajj