As someone who has been to Makkah and Madinah twice, I think I am somewhat qualified to give a few hints to people who have never been there before but are planning to go or hope to go someday. May Allah make it easy for you all. Āmīn. 1. Generally, things are cheaper in Makkah than in Madinah. 2. Zamzam water is everywhere in Makkah, because the Zamzam well is located within Masjid al-Haram, while in Madinah, Zamzam water is not as readily available. 3. If you are coming from outside the Masjid, from your hotel or anywhere else and want to gain direct access to the Kaaba, go through Gate 79, it’s the easiest way. 4. Only men wearing Ihram are allowed inside the Kaaba. If you are wearing anything other than Ihram, you will not be allowed to enter the Kaaba, while women can wear any clothing as long as it is decent and appropriate. 5. If you want to buy abayas and jalabiyas, patronise the roadside shops around your hotels. Abayas and Jalabiyas can be ridiculously expensive in the shops around Masjid al-Haram, and honestly, they are not necessarily better than what you can get from the roadside shops. 6. The best dates and honey are in Madinah. You can get them in Makkah too, but Madinah has a wider variety of dates and honey, and they are generally cheaper there. 7. If you are going for Tawaf or planning to stay for a long time around the Kaaba, don’t drink too much water at once and don’t eat a whole lot of food. Because if you suddenly need to use the toilet, you will have to leave the mosque area, and depending on where you are, it can be quite a walk — around 15–20 minutes each way to the restroom. 8. If you want to enter the Kaaba, go at least 1 hour and 30 minutes before the prayer time. Once the time for Salah is approaching, you may no longer be allowed to enter until the prayer has finished. 9. Be careful when people approach you for money around the Sa’i area (Safa and Marwah). People may approach you with different stories. Two of the most common ones I encountered were people showing me their ATM cards and saying they weren’t working, or telling me they had lost their bag containing all their money. This happened to me four times within five minutes — four different people using two different versions of the same kind of story. 10. If you’re coming from the UK, your Revolut card is a good option. In my experience, the exchange rate was better. I’ll drop these 10 for now. I’ll quote this post with more tips later, btw, these are generally personal experience, not a general standard experience. May Allah make the journey easy for everyone who hopes to visit Makkah and Madinah, accept our Ibadah, and invite us back again and again. Āmīn.