BootsnAll Travel Community

I'm planning a trip this fall to Jordan, Oman, and UAE. The dates I can go happen to fall on Ramadan. Is this a bad time to travel there? Will we be able to find food/water during the day? Is it considered rude to be eating when most of the people around you can't? Will this affect tours/busses and things like that?

Thanks for your help!

There's mixed wisdom on whether this is a good idea or not. Certainly avoiding Ramadan was one of the big reasons we chose to visit the ME during Spring instead of Fall. Other people have had wonderful trips during Ramadan, often ending up being invited to break fast with local families.

In tourist areas, you will likely be able to find food, but it's probably not common in other areas. I'd be surprised if water was unavailable, though, just because water is sold at lots of places that sell unrelated products. However, it is definately insensitive, and probably quite rude, to eat in public during daylight hours, and you should try to avoid it.

I don't know about tours and buses, but check out this thread and this thread, which cover the same topic.

Hi
Unless you are visiting Dubai which is overflowing with expats, it may be a tad difficult to enjoy a normal schedule during Ramadhan. Yes, it is considered to be bad manners to eat/drink in public - including sipping water while on the road. i would suggest avoiding this month.

Thanks for all of the help. We did some more research and have decided to take the trip. You only live once!

Salaam!

Hello and happy travels! I think that you'll probably have a great time travelling in Ramadan, as it's a really special time of year for Muslims and everyone is usually very welcoming and happy to share food with you in the evenings!

The coutries you're going to have quite a large tourist industry and strong links with the West, so they should be used to hosting non-fasting travellers! It really depends on the place how people react to people eating/drinking - in the touristy places it should be fine and people may well be glad of the trade in restaurants etc!

Fasting in Ramadan is not just from food and drink, it's also from smoking, sexual relations, gossiping, back-biting etc etc. (and sometimes making scathing comments and gossiping is harder to resist than food and water..or is that just me!).

If someone is ill, pregnant etc they don't have to fast, and neither do women who are menstruating. However, Muslim women who have thier period will usually eat and drink in private so that other people do not know!

Women have to "make up" the days of Ramadan they miss due to menstruation, by fasting extra days. Also, many people fast the "Sabrine" (patience), which is 6 extra days and has to be done within a month of the end of Ramadan. Therefore (to make it easy once they've got into the pattern of fasting), many people fast straight after the Eid celebrations at the end of Ramadan.

For this reason, don't be surprised if you find that some people (especially women) are fasting after Ramadan has finished!

Have a great time and I'm sure you'll have a wonderful experience!

Yamina

I will travel in the ME during Ramadan and according to some that have been there during that period, the energy level of everyone is getting quite low during the day. That will affect the various schedules for busses, tours and so on. On the other hand everyone agrees that the locals will make it up during the night when the party starts.
I have a few pounds I can part with anyway, so not eating during the day may not be such a bad idea.

Aha! Well I'm not sure that you'll actually manage to lose any pounds - I always thought that fasting would have that effect, but when you spend all day fasting and then graze all night, it kind of doesn't work!

Yep, people tend to leave work early, or not work at all, and sleep a lot - it's hard to go out for a walk when you're tired, and there's no point going anywhere foody when you can't eat................... so I suspect that services will be affected.

Still, as you say, the party in the evening will more than make up for it!! And, if you are eating, drinking and feeling energetic, everywhere will be a lot less crowded which may be good!

Right! Food in the ME is not exactly condusive to loosing weight... Every time I come across Lebanese restaurants in Ottawa, Ontario. or even the stores that carry some of the sweets I get really anxious. Actually it's not only Ottawa...
Can't wait to get to the ME to see the real thing. And being there during the Ramadam is like Xmas. At least for me! They will for sure get their best cuisine out in all those countries

Everything (and everyone) tends to switch to a noctural schedule during the month of Ramadan. Shops and malls, markets etc. close for a lot of the day then re-open until very late at night. People also, tend to lay low during the day and rest, not go out much, etc. It can be difficult to travel during this time and see much as things (museums etc.) are often not open by day. If you are willing to switch to a more night-oriented timeframe, however, you can have a great time during Ramadan. (Another good reason to go? Hotel prices are often at their lowest of the year.) The fast-breaking, called Iftar, is a joyous party in many homes and restaurants and is a lot of fun, and there is a real sense of festival in the air. If you are travelling through the ME during Ramadan make sure to hang around for Eid Al-Fitr, the celebration marking the end of Ramadan when the party really gets going.

A few things to remember though: It's not just eating and drinking in public that are forbidden during the day, it's also things like chewing gum, the aforementioned smoking, etc. And it's not only rude to do so, but you may well end up finding yourself warned publicly by police and other officials. Just be discreet, use common sense and if you absolutely NEED a drink of water or something or else you will faint, just feign a desperate need for a loo and go chug a bottle of water in there or somewhere else equally private. That's what I did.....