Umrah Packages from Indianapolis
Flight-inclusive Umrah for pilgrims from Indianapolis Metro, departing via IND.
Umrah from Indianapolis made simple
An hour's difference from Chicago is the first local detail worth knowing, because O'Hare is a real option for your departure. Indianapolis International is close to home but isn't one of our five priced gateways, and leaving from there means a connection, possibly through a larger US airport, before a European, Turkish or Gulf hub. O'Hare is a priced gateway, but it puts a drive at the front of an already long day. Before you book, the team prices the IND option so you can compare the two properly. Further down you'll find the time-zone detail, how to reach IND without a car, and a note for travelers coming in from college towns.
Departures
IND
Routing
Leave from IND with a connection through a larger airport and a European, Turkish or Gulf hub, or drive to O'Hare, one of our priced gateways.
Community
The Indianapolis Muslim Community Association says it has served Muslims in the city since 1970. Its Masjid Al-Fajr stands at 2846 Cold Spring Road, and IMCA's programs include the MTI School of Knowledge, an accredited K-12 Islamic school, as well as a weekend academy, a food pantry, the Crescent Medical Clinic and janazah services. The Islamic Society of North America, which holds annual conventions and publishes the bi-monthly magazine Islamic Horizons, gives its address as Plainfield, Indiana.
Getting to Makkah from Indianapolis
Start by deciding where you'll board. Leaving from IND means a shorter first flight and at least one change of plane before the long leg. Driving to O'Hare means a road trip at the front of the day, so leave slack for traffic around Chicago and for parking or drop-off before check-in. From either airport you'll connect at a European, Turkish or Gulf hub and fly on to Jeddah, and the package takes care of getting you to Makkah from there. Allow roughly 17 to 22 hours door to gate either way. On the O'Hare route, the drive takes the place of the domestic connection. If you're traveling with children or older parents, a longer connection costs a few hours and saves a lot of stress. Before the trip, decide when and where you'll change into ihram. It's much easier to settle that at the kitchen table than in an airport restroom. Weigh your bags at home, too. Repacking on the floor of a check-in hall is nobody's idea of a good start.
Eastern Time, not Central
Unlike Chicago, Indianapolis keeps Eastern Time. Makkah stays on UTC+3 all year, so it's seven hours ahead of Indianapolis from March to early November and eight hours ahead in winter. That's an hour less of a jump than Chicago gets. If you drive to O'Hare, remember that Chicago is an hour behind you and its departure boards show Central Time. Forget that and you'll reach the airport an hour earlier than you meant to, which is at least the harmless way to get it wrong.
Driving in, or getting a ride home
IND sits off I-70 at exit 68, which the airport describes as five minutes west of I-465. That makes a family drop-off easy to plan. Coming home, Uber and Lyft pick up at the Ground Transportation Center on the first floor of the Terminal Garage, so tell your driver that's where you'll be. After a trip this long, a quick, clear pickup matters more than it sounds. If you're leaving a car instead, sort out parking before the day, since it will sit there for the whole trip.
Coming in from a college town
Students and families outside the city don't necessarily need a car to reach IND. The airport lists scheduled bus service linking it with the greater Indianapolis area and with Indiana University in Bloomington, Purdue in Lafayette and West Lafayette, and Ball State in Muncie. Line the bus times up against your flight before you book. A bus that arrives an hour before check-in closes is too tight for an international trip, so pick one with a generous cushion.
Three ways to go from Indianapolis
Seven nights, flights included. The tier decides how close your hotels are.
- AffordableVoco Makkah (IHG)5-7 minutes by shuttle, or about 15 minutes' walkShaza Regency PlazaAbout 3 minutes' walk$1,590per person, quad
- PremiumRotana Jabal Omar MakkahUnder 2 minutes' walkPullman Zamzam MadinahUnder 1 minute's walk$1,790per person, quad
- LuxurySwissotel Makkah, Clock TowerFacing the HaramAnwar Al Madinah MövenpickFacing Masjid an-Nabawi$1,890per person, quad
Umrah from Indianapolis: questions
Yes. IndyGo Route 8 runs between the downtown Transit Center and the airport. On the weekday timetable, the first bus reaches the airport a little before 6 a.m., and buses keep coming about every half hour until after midnight. Weekend times differ. Blue Line construction has put part of the westbound route on a detour, so check IndyGo's rider alerts before you set out, and leave yourself a buffer, since you'll be carrying luggage for a long trip.
Chicago's, at 101 Ida B. Wells Drive, is the nearest, because nothing on the State Department's list of agencies is in Indiana. Detroit has one too. Both see people by appointment only, and the slots are meant for urgent cases such as international travel inside 14 calendar days. Bring printed proof of your trip. The State Department itself suggests the easier route: apply early at an acceptance facility, or renew by mail or online, well before your Umrah dates.
Our 7-night flight-inclusive packages run from $1,590 to $1,890 per person on quad occupancy, with airfare, the e-visa, medical insurance, both hotels and the Haramain train inside that figure. Advertised prices are based on departures from JFK, IAD, ORD, ATL and LAX. Flying out of your city may add to the airfare, and we'll confirm exactly how much before you book anything.