Things to do in Makkah after Umrah fall into four groups: the museums and exhibitions of the city itself, the historic mountains and mosques on its edge, its public parks, and day trips to Taif or Jeddah. Most families have a handful of free days between prayers at the Grand Mosque, and the best use of them is usually one outing per day, planned around rest, with the transport booked in advance.
This guide is for pilgrims and families staying in Makkah (also written Mecca) who have completed their Umrah and want to use the remaining days well. It is a hub rather than a deep dive: each outing gets a short summary and a link to the full Makkah Cabs guide on that place. It also covers how to group outings across a stay, what the booking system needs from you, and the facts you should check with the official bodies before you set out. It does not give religious rulings. For questions about worship at any site, speak to a qualified scholar and follow the official guidance published on Nusuk.
Things to do in Makkah after Umrah: the short list
The table below lists the outings Makkah Cabs visitors ask about most often. The road distances come from our own live route checks where we have them. Where we have not measured a route, the table says so, and the planner’s route summary will show the distance before you pay.
| Outing | What it is | Road distance from the Clock Tower area (about) | Full guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hira Cultural District | Museum, exhibition and the path up Jabal al-Nour | 13 km there, 11 km back | Hira Cultural District by taxi without the climb |
| Kiswa complex | Where the Kaaba’s covering is made | Check in the planner | Kiswa factory Makkah visit |
| Two Holy Mosques Architecture Exhibition | Exhibition on the history of both mosques | Check in the planner | Two Holy Mosques Architecture Exhibition by taxi |
| Jabal Thawr | Mountain of the Cave of Thawr | Check in the planner | Jabal Thawr taxi from Makkah |
| Masjid al Ji’ranah | Historic mosque outside the central area | Check in the planner | Masjid al Jiranah taxi from Makkah |
| Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah | The Hajj sites, seen outside the Hajj season | Check in the planner | Visit Arafat outside Hajj |
| Masjid Aisha (Al-Taneem) | Historic mosque named after Aisha | 13 km there, 19 km back | Several practical guides on the site |
| Taif | Mountain city, a full day away | 106 km to Taif InterContinental | Taif day trip from Makkah |
| Jeddah | Coastal city on the Red Sea | Check in the planner | Jeddah day trip from Makkah |
Road distances differ by direction because of one-way systems and junctions, which is why the Hira and Masjid Aisha figures are not the same both ways. We do not quote journey times: they change too much with the season, the day and the hour.
What to do in Makkah besides Umrah: three kinds of free day
When families ask what to do in Makkah besides Umrah, the honest answer depends less on the list of sites and more on the shape of the day. It helps to sort the options into three kinds before choosing any single place.
The short city outing. A museum, an exhibition or a park inside Makkah, with a car there and a car back, fitted between two prayers. This is the easiest kind of day for older parents and small children.
The edge-of-the-city outing. A historic mountain or mosque on the outskirts, usually seen from outside or visited briefly, sometimes with two or three stops on one route. These days need more planning around walking ability and heat.
The day away. Taif or Jeddah, where the journey itself is a large part of the day and most families leave in the morning and return in the evening.
Most stays have room for one or two of each. A family with five free days might choose two short city outings, one edge-of-the-city route and one day away, leaving a day with no transport at all. That empty day matters more than it looks, and we come back to it below.
Places to visit in Makkah inside the city
The Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites (RCMC) keeps an official list of Makkah landmarks, grouped into heritage sites, cultural and enrichment landmarks, and parks and gardens. It is the best single starting point for places to visit in Makkah, because it is maintained by the authority responsible for the city. The cultural list includes the Hira Cultural District, the Exhibition of the Two Holy Mosques Architecture, the King Abdulaziz Complex for the Holy Kaaba Kiswa, the Makkah History Center, the Institute of Manuscripts and Islamic Heritage and the centres and museums of the Clock Royal Tower, where it describes an astronomy museum spread over four floors.
Hira Cultural District
The district sits beside Jabal al-Nour, the mountain that holds the Cave of Hira. Its official site lists the experiences in the Hira Cultural District as the Revelation Exhibition, the Holy Quran Museum and the Path to the Cave of Hira, with a Saudi Coffee Museum and a Cultural Library marked as coming soon. Tickets are booked through the district’s own ticketing link, and the museum and exhibition hours are published on the same page, including a later start on Fridays. Check them for your date rather than relying on a guide.
For most families this is the easiest outing to plan, because the district is one of the popular locations in our planner and the route is short. Hold two confirmations before you go: the district tickets and the Confirmed status of your taxi journey.
The Kiswa complex and the Two Holy Mosques exhibition
These are two separate places, and families often confuse them. The Kiswa complex is where the covering of the Kaaba is produced; the exhibition tells the architectural history of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque. Access arrangements for both are set by the operators and can change, so our two full guides above explain what to confirm before you book the car, and with whom.
Jannat al Mualla
Saudipedia notes that Al-Ma’la Cemetery lies at the base of Jabal al-Sayyidah and holds the grave of Lady Khadijah. Visiting arrangements, particularly for women, are a matter for the site’s rules on the day and for your own scholar’s guidance, so we do not summarise them here. The full Makkah Cabs guide to a Jannat al Mualla visit covers the transport side.
Historic mountains and mosques on the edge of the city
Saudipedia’s list of eight Islamic historical sites in Makkah names Jabal al-Nour, Al-Bay’ah Mosque, Jabal Thawr, Jabal Abu Qubays, Jabal Qaiqan, Jabal al-Kaabah, Jabal al-Sayyidah and Jabal Omar. Several of these are now inside the built-up city and are seen in passing. The ones families usually make a trip for are Jabal al-Nour, Jabal Thawr and the mosques associated with the Hajj sites.
Many of these places are visited from outside rather than entered. That changes the plan a great deal: a stop to look at a mountain from the road needs very little time at the kerb, while a climb needs hours and a fitness level not everyone has. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah page on sites in Makkah says that visiting the cave is not recommended because it is difficult to reach, especially for the sick and the elderly. Decide which kind of stop each place is before you set the pickup time.
Jabal Thawr lies south of the city. The RCMC describes it as the mountain where the Prophet and Abu Bakr sheltered. Masjid al Ji’ranah is a historic mosque outside the central area, and its full guide covers what families usually see there. Masjid Aisha, also called Al-Taneem, is a frequent destination; it is one of the popular locations in our planner, and the Makkah Cabs site has several practical articles about it.
Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah are the Hajj sites, and many visitors want to see them outside the Hajj season. Our guide to the Arafat drive explains which parts families usually see from the vehicle and which they walk to, and what to check about access.
Parks and walkways for a quieter afternoon
Not every free day needs a historic site. The RCMC’s official list also has a short parks and gardens section, naming Al-Ju’ranah Park, Al-Arak Park, King Abdullah Park and the Umm Al-Mu’minin Zainab Al-Hilaliyah Park and Walkway. Al-Ju’ranah is singled out as the city’s largest park, with its longest walkway, which makes it the natural choice for adults who simply want a long evening stroll after days of crowds.
The RCMC gives no opening times for any of the four. Ask at your hotel reception, or contact the Holy Makkah Municipality, before booking a car to one. A park also works well as the second, lighter stop on a day that began with a museum.
Day trips out of Makkah: Taif and Jeddah
A day away changes the rhythm of a stay. Taif sits in the mountains, and on our live check the road distance from the Clock Tower area to the Taif InterContinental was about 106 km. Jeddah, on the Red Sea coast, is the other common day away, and our Jeddah guide covers what families usually choose to see there. Both deserve a full day, and both have full Makkah Cabs guides linked in the table above.
Two practical points apply to both:
- A day trip is often two journeys, not one. In our booking system, the pickup and destination must differ, so Makkah to Taif and Taif back to Makkah are booked as separate journeys, each with its own time. You can add up to 8 stops within a journey, in the order you will visit them.
- Do not put the day trip on your last day. A day away followed by a departure the next morning leaves no margin if anything runs late. A short city outing fits a final day far better than a day away.
How to group outings across your free days
Grouping is where most plans for things to do in Makkah after Umrah go wrong. The two common mistakes are trying to see everything in one long day, and booking outings on consecutive days with no rest in between.
One area per outing
Group places that sit in the same direction. Sites to the north east of the city naturally go together; sites to the south belong to a different day. When you are unsure how two places relate, enter them as stops in the planner and read the route summary before paying. If the route doubles back on itself, split the outing.
Short trips beat one long day
For families with older parents or young children, two shorter outings on different days usually work better than one long route. Our article on two short Makkah ziyarah trips instead of one long day explains the reasoning in full. The short version: each outing has its own pickup, so a tired traveller can skip the second without cancelling the whole plan.
Leave a buffer day
Keep at least one day with no booked transport. It absorbs a bad night’s sleep, an unwell child or a change in prayer plans. It also gives you somewhere to move an outing to, although only the pickup time can be changed online, and an approved time change carries a £5 rescheduling fee.
A worked example: the Rahman family’s four free days
Yusuf and Amina Rahman are in Makkah with Yusuf’s mother, Khadija, who walks slowly, and their two children, aged nine and six. They finished their Umrah on the first evening and have four free days before a morning departure to Jeddah Airport. Their hotel is in the central area.
They sort the options first. Khadija wants to see Jabal al-Nour and Jabal Thawr but will not climb. The children want something that is not a mosque. Yusuf would like a day in Taif if the family has the energy.
Their plan:
- Day 1: rest. No transport booked. They adjust to the heat and to their prayer routine.
- Day 2: Hira Cultural District. A mid-morning pickup, booked tickets for the exhibition and museum, and a return journey booked for the early afternoon. Five passengers and a pushchair rule out an Economy car, so they check the classes offered in the search rather than guessing.
- Day 3: edge-of-the-city route. A short outing with Jabal Thawr seen from outside, then a park stop so the children can run about. They add 30 minutes of extra waiting at checkout because Khadija needs time to get into the car.
- Day 4: no outing. Taif is dropped. With a departure the next morning, they judge it too much.
- Day 5: departure. The airport transfer was booked before they left home.
They book all four outing journeys more than 48 hours ahead and pay online in full, and each reads Confirmed within the stated window. On Day 3 the children are tired, so the park stop becomes their main memory of the week. That is a good result, not a failure.
Booking the outings: what the planner needs
Every outing is one or more journeys in the Makkah Cabs planner. A journey has one pickup place, one destination, a date and time in Saudi local time, the passengers (adults, children and infants) and the bags. The search then shows only the vehicle classes that pass the capacity check for your party.
The rules that matter most for free-day outings:
- Book at least 48 hours ahead. A search inside that window returns a message asking for 48 hours’ notice.
- Payment secures a provisional request. The status should update within 1 to 12 hours, and the journey is booked only when it reads Confirmed.
- Free waiting starts at the booked pickup time. An Economy car includes 15 minutes, and most larger classes include 30 minutes. Paid extra waiting can be added at checkout in 15-minute steps up to 2 hours. Waiting beyond what was booked is not promised.
- Only the time can be changed online. The place, destination, passengers and vehicle cannot. An approved new time carries a £5 rescheduling fee, added to the cash paid to the driver.
- Customer cancellations are subject to our cancellation terms (free cancellation with a full refund up to 48 hours before pickup; inside 48 hours the deposit element of the price is kept). If we or the transport partner cannot supply the journey, you receive a full refund for the affected journey.
- Each journey has a minimum booking value equivalent to £40.
We cannot tell you where a car may stop near the Grand Mosque. That is managed on the day. Agree a meeting point that your whole party can walk to, and send a live location when you are there.
Rest and heat are part of the plan
Outings in Makkah usually mean some time outdoors, and the city is hot for much of the year. The Saudi Ministry of Health publishes summer heat guidance worth reading before any day out: its core points are to keep drinking without waiting for thirst and to dress lightly with a hat. In practice, free-day outings go better with an early or late pickup and shorter time at each stop.
Sequence matters as much as temperature. An outing booked for the morning after a late night of worship is rarely enjoyed. Put the outings on days when the family has slept. Of all the things to do in Makkah after Umrah, a good night’s rest before an outing is the one most often skipped.
Planning things to do in Makkah after Umrah: a checklist
- Count your free days honestly, leaving out arrival day and the day before departure.
- Choose one short city outing, one edge-of-the-city outing and, if energy allows, one day away.
- Read the full Makkah Cabs guide for each place and note what must be confirmed with the operator.
- Check tickets and current hours on the official site for any museum or exhibition.
- Group stops by direction and read the route summary before paying.
- Decide for each stop whether you will look from outside, walk briefly or climb.
- Book each journey at least 48 hours ahead and wait for the Confirmed status.
- Add extra waiting at checkout if anyone needs longer to reach or board the car.
- Agree a meeting point and share a live location on the day.
- Keep one day free of any booked transport.
When you have chosen your outings, open the Makkah Cabs planner, enter your hotel and the first stop, and check the vehicle classes offered for your party. Makkah Cabs takes full payment online, and each journey is booked once its status reads Confirmed.