A ziyarah drop-off at a different hotel is straightforward to book, as long as you treat the ride back as what it really is: a one-way journey from the site to the hotel where you want to finish, not a “return”. In the Makkah Cabs planner, that journey has the site as its pickup place and the other hotel as its destination, with its own pickup time. Enter the exact hotel you will end at, check that the route summary shows it, and book it before you set out. The destination cannot be changed online once the journey is booked, so the name you enter is the one the driver will drive to.
This guide is for families and small groups staying in Makkah (Mecca) who want an outing to end somewhere other than where it began: at a relative’s hotel for a meal, at a friend’s hotel for a visit, or with part of the group going back to one hotel and part to another. It explains why “return” is the wrong word for this journey, how to name the destination so there is no doubt, how to handle split endings and luggage, what to tell each hotel, and what can and cannot be changed later. It includes a worked example and a checklist. It deals with transport only; questions about acts of worship at any site belong with a qualified scholar and the official Nusuk platform.
Why “return” is the wrong word
Most families talk about “the outward trip and the return”. That language assumes the outing ends where it began. When it ends elsewhere, the word causes three problems.
First, the person booking may simply enter the original hotel as the destination out of habit. Second, the group may hear “return” and assume everyone is going back to the first hotel. Third, a message such as “we’ll finish at my cousin’s hotel instead” sent somewhere outside the booking does not change the destination in the booking.
So drop the word. Call it “the ride from the site to my cousin’s hotel”, naming the real place. In the planner, a journey is one pickup place, one destination, a pickup date and time in Saudi local time (UTC+3), the passengers and their bags. The pickup and destination must differ. A ride that ends at a different hotel fits that model perfectly: it is a one-way journey like any other.
Our article on the return agreement explains why the second journey of an outing deserves as much care as the first. This piece is about the special case where that second journey goes somewhere new.
Ziyarah drop-off at a different hotel: common situations
People end a Makkah visit elsewhere for many reasons. Each one points to a slightly different booking.
| Situation | Who ends where | How to book it |
|---|---|---|
| Dinner with relatives at their hotel | Everyone at the relatives’ hotel | One journey: site to the relatives’ hotel |
| Some go to a relative’s hotel, some go home | Two endings | One journey with a stop, or two journeys |
| Visiting a friend who is staying elsewhere | Everyone at the friend’s hotel, then home later | Site to the friend’s hotel, plus a later journey home |
| Part of the family is staying in a second hotel | Each household at its own hotel | One journey with a stop, in the right order |
| You are moving hotel that day | Everyone at the new hotel, with luggage | See our guide to moving hotels with a visit |
The last row is a different planning problem, because it involves check-out, check-in and a full load of suitcases. Our guide to moving between Makkah hotels by taxi with a visit on the same day covers it in detail. The rest of this article deals with the other situations, where the day’s luggage is light and the reason for ending elsewhere is people, not rooms.
Ending a Makkah visit elsewhere: name the destination precisely
Ending a Makkah visit elsewhere only works if the destination is unmistakable. Central Makkah has many hotels close together, and some large developments contain more than one hotel. A general name, or a name that sounds like another, is how a car ends up at the wrong door.
Use the name on the reservation. Ask the relatives or friends for the exact hotel name as it appears on their booking, and the address if they have it. A photo of their confirmation, with personal details hidden, is often the easiest way to get it right.
Check the route summary. The planner offers popular locations such as Makkah Clock Royal Tower (Fairmont Hotel) and Hilton Hotel and Convention Jabal Omar. Any other place is typed, and must be checked in the route summary before you pay. Look at where the route ends, not just the name at the top.
Add a note if it helps. Booking notes can describe entrances and practical needs. If the relatives have told you which side of the building suits a drop-off, say so. Makkah Cabs does not promise where a car may stop, because vehicle access near the Haram and busy hotels is managed on the day, but a helpful note gives the driver useful context.
Agree the meeting point for any later pickup. If you will be collected from that hotel later, agree a meeting point with the relatives and share it. Our guide to a Makkah hotel pickup point: frontage or an agreed meeting place explains why that is safer than assuming the car can reach the door.
When the group has two endings
The most common complication is a group that splits at the end: grandparents go back to rest, the others go on to dinner. You have two ways to book it.
One journey with a stop
A journey can include up to eight stops, in journey order, between the pickup and the destination. A stop is a place where someone gets out or in. So a ride from the site that drops the grandparents at their hotel and then continues to the relatives’ hotel is one journey with one stop. The order you enter is the order the driver follows, and the vehicle must fit everyone who is in it at the start. Our guide to putting the stops of a multi-stop Makkah visit in the right order explains how to choose the sequence.
Two separate journeys
If the two parts of the group will leave the site at different times, a stop does not work, because everyone in one journey leaves together. Book two one-way journeys instead, each with its own pickup time, passengers and destination. Each journey has a minimum booking value equivalent to £40, so compare the two options before you choose.
| Question | One journey with a stop | Two separate journeys |
|---|---|---|
| Does everyone leave the site at the same time? | Yes, needed | No, each group sets its own time |
| Does one vehicle fit everyone at the start? | Needed | Each vehicle sized for its own group |
| Minimum booking value | Applies once | Applies to each journey |
| If one group’s plans change | The whole journey is affected | Only that group’s journey is affected |
One-way ziyarah journey: the passengers and the bags
A one-way ziyarah journey to another hotel often carries different things from the outward trip.
Passengers. Count the people who will actually be in the car when it leaves the site. If a cousin who met you at the site will ride with you to their own hotel, they are a passenger. Adults, children and infants are counted separately, and the search shows only the vehicle classes that pass the capacity check for your party and luggage.
Bags. Visitors often end an outing with more than they started with: shopping, gifts, water, a folded pushchair. If the load is larger than a few day bags, count the large items as luggage when you search. If you are also collecting bags on the way, our guide to collecting bags after a Makkah visit covers that case.
Equipment. A wheelchair requirement or child seat can be added in the search and is then confirmed for the vehicle. Add it to every journey that needs it, including the one-way ride to the other hotel.
Tell both hotels, and the people waiting
A different ending involves more people than a normal outing. A short message to each saves confusion.
- The relatives or friends. Tell them roughly when you expect to arrive and who is coming. Do not promise an exact arrival time; we do not quote journey times because they vary widely. Give them the pickup time from the site instead.
- The receiving hotel. If there is anything the hotel needs to know, such as a visitor with a wheelchair, the relatives can let the desk know. Do not assume a hotel will hold bags or provide space for visitors without asking.
- Your own hotel. If you expect to come back late, check anything that depends on the time, such as a late meal or a room service order.
- Everyone in your group. Send one message with the pickup time from the site, the destination hotel by its exact name, and, if you are splitting, who is going where.
If the other hotel is also where you plan to stay later in your trip, note that check-in rules still apply. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism has said that check-in and check-out times must be clearly stated in the reservation document. You can read its clarification of the 20-hour policy. Arriving early by taxi does not bring a room forward.
Getting home afterwards
Ending a visit at another hotel usually means a second question: how do you get back to your own hotel later?
Book it as its own journey. A ride from the relatives’ hotel to your own hotel is a one-way journey like any other. Online bookings need at least 48 hours’ notice, so book it at the same time as the outing if you want a car, rather than on the evening itself.
Choose a realistic time. Meals and family visits often run later than planned. Pick a time you can keep, and remember that the time can be changed by request later if needed.
Short distances can still need a car. Many Makkah hotels are close to each other. On our live route checks, the Clock Tower area to Hilton Jabal Omar measured about 1.5 km. That is a short drive, but late in the evening, with older relatives, children or bags, a booked car may still be the sensible choice. Our guide to meeting relatives at another Makkah hotel covers the reverse case, where the outing starts from their hotel.
A worked example: the Ahmed family’s evening at Masjid Aisha
Tariq and Huda Ahmed are staying near the Clock Tower with their two children and Huda’s parents. Huda’s brother Salman is staying with his family at a different hotel nearby. They plan an afternoon visit to Masjid Aisha, then dinner at Salman’s hotel. Huda’s parents want to go back to rest instead of joining dinner.
The site. Saudipedia describes Masjid al-Taneem, also called Masjid Aisha, as standing about 7.5 km north of the Grand Mosque along the Makkah to Madinah road, with parking areas for buses, taxis and private cars. On our live route checks, the Clock Tower area to Masjid Aisha measured about 13 km, and the drive back about 19 km.
The bookings. Four days ahead, Tariq books three journeys:
- Their hotel to Masjid Aisha at 16:00, for six people.
- Masjid Aisha to Salman’s hotel at 18:00, for six people, with a stop at their own hotel to drop Huda’s parents first.
- Salman’s hotel to their own hotel at 22:00, for four people.
He enters Salman’s hotel by the exact name on Salman’s confirmation, checks that the route summary for journey 2 ends there, and confirms that the stop comes before the destination. He adds a note to journey 2: “Two older passengers get out at the stop.”
Messages. Tariq sends the family one message: “18:00 pickup at Masjid Aisha. Car drops Mum and Dad at our hotel first, then takes the four of us to Salman’s hotel. Car home at 22:00 from Salman’s hotel.” He sends Salman the 18:00 pickup time rather than a promised arrival time.
On the day. Dinner runs late. At 20:30 Tariq requests a new pickup time of 22:45 for journey 3. It is approved, and the £5 rescheduling fee, about SAR 25, is added to the cash paid to the driver. Nothing else changes, because nothing else needed to.
What can and cannot change after booking
Getting the destination right at the start matters because of what the account allows later.
The time can change, by request. For a paid booking, before its pickup time, your account offers “Request a new pickup time”. It stays pending until the booking team approves it. An approved change carries a £5 rescheduling fee, converted into your booking currency, added to the cash paid to the driver. A rejected request costs nothing.
The destination cannot change online. Nor can the pickup place, the number of passengers or the vehicle. That needs the booking team, or a new booking plus a cancellation request. Bookings 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 the customer cancels, so replacing a wrongly addressed journey can involve a cancellation charge as well as the new fare. A full refund for the affected journey applies if we or the transport partner cancel or cannot supply the journey. The terms are in the Makkah Cabs cancellation and refund policy.
Payment and confirmation. Makkah Cabs takes full payment online. Payment secures a provisional request; the booking team updates the status within 1 to 12 hours, and the journey is booked only when it reads Confirmed.
Mistakes that send a car to the wrong hotel
Most problems with a ziyarah drop-off at a different hotel come from a handful of small slips, all of them easy to avoid before you pay.
- Booking the ride back from memory. The person booking copies the outward journey in reverse, and the original hotel becomes the destination. Always type the end hotel fresh.
- Using a nickname for the hotel. Relatives often call their hotel by a short name, the name of its tower or the street it is on. The planner needs the real name.
- Changing the plan in a group chat only. A message saying “let’s finish at Salman’s instead” changes nobody’s booking. If the destination changes after you have paid, contact the booking team.
- Forgetting the people who are not coming. If one household is going home rather than to dinner, the journey needs a stop or a separate booking, not an assumption that the driver will make a detour.
- Leaving the journey home until the evening. Because online bookings need 48 hours’ notice, a car home from the other hotel cannot be booked through the planner on the day.
A two-minute check of the destination field, the stops and the passenger count before payment prevents all five.
Checklist for a visit that ends at another hotel
Use this list before you book any ziyarah drop-off at a different hotel.
- Stop calling it a “return”; name the real destination.
- Get the exact hotel name from the relatives’ or friends’ reservation.
- Decide whether everyone ends there, or whether the group splits.
- For a split with one departure time, book one journey with a stop in the right order; otherwise book two journeys.
- Count the passengers in the car when it leaves the site, and any bags or equipment.
- Check the route summary ends at the right hotel before you pay.
- Book the later journey home at the same time, at least 48 hours ahead.
- Wait for every journey to read Confirmed.
- Send one message to the group and one to the people waiting, with pickup times, not arrival promises.
- If timings change, request a new pickup time; if the place changes, contact the booking team.
When you know where the day will end, open the Makkah Cabs planner, enter the site as the pickup and the other hotel as the destination, and check the route summary before you pay.