Posted: November 7th, 2011 | No Comments »
After months of hard work we are excited to announce that our new site is finally live. A big thank you goes out to our developer team, especially to Brother Calin who did a great job. Finally we’ve switched to a new backend system due to better performance and content integration as blog posts will be featured on the homepage. The new HalalTrip features the best Halal and Muslim-friendly hotels and the best Halal travel apps on the homepage. The website is quite faster and reviewing and suggesting new hotels is much easy.
Still need your feedback
There are still some issues we are working on like the translations but we are launching all those features as soon as possible. Moreover we are about to launch our new travel pages within the upcoming two weeks. On those pages we are featuring various cities, countries and topics that are exciting to Muslim travellers around the globe. 2012 will be a great year for HalalTrip inshaAllah as we are planning plenty of new features. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the new page and any new ideas!
Posted: March 9th, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Almost a year ago HalalTrip launched its Muslim-friendly hotel review site. Since then we had a quite nice press exposure and a growing great community. Many thanks to you all! Still it is a tough time for HalalTrip as Halal Tourism is a minor topic within big media and reaching the critical mass is quite difficult.
Hence, we are asking you for recommending HalalTrip to your family and friends. Moreover please let us know your feedback to improve our website to serve you and travelers around the world best. HalalTrip has learned a lot within the last 12 months having more than 13,000 fans on facebook and almost 800 followers on Twitter. It’s amazing to see HalalTrip becoming the leading directory of Muslim-friendly hotels listing more than 1,000 accommodations.
We’d also like to send a some special thanks to Lisa Mabe (Hewar Communications), Shobeir Shobeiri (Web evangelist), Fazal Bahardeen (Crescentrating), Ponn Sabra (American Muslim Mom), Brother Saad (Chill yo Islam yo) and Yusuf Chowdhury (Web evangelist). Many thanks for all your support and early believe in HalalTrip!
Posted: January 7th, 2011 | No Comments »
In March 2010 halaltrip launched its hotel review site getting quite a nice media coverage and reaching out to an exciting community. We’ve still have to reach a lot of targets, but inshaAllah we are on the right track. Let’s have a brief look on the most popular posts published on the official halaltrip blog. Enjoy!
- Best Travel Apps for Muslims
- Future of halaltrip – we want your feedback!
- The ultimate Muslim travel packing list
- Travel like a Muslim
- The Top 5 Western European cities with Islamic history
Posted: November 29th, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Within a couple of months halaltrip.com became the world leading directory of Muslim-friendly hotels. Starting with only a couple of hundred hotels in its directory, halaltrip.com has recently reached a new milestone. The website now lists 1.000 hotels offering special services for their Muslim guests.
“We are very happy to reach this important milestone in such a short period of time. Now we have to invite travellers to share their experience and to write hotel reviews on our site. Hence, we’d like to give 1$ to charity for each of the next 300 published hotel reviews”, says halaltrip.com-Founder Karim Saad.
Posted: November 19th, 2010 | No Comments »
Last Ramadan halaltrip started the campaign “Reviews for charity” to contribute something special to the most wonderful time of the year. Now we’d like to continue this beautiful idea! For each published hotel review on halaltrip we will donate 1$ USD for charity! So spread this message to your family & friends and browse our directory of Muslim-friendly & halal hotels. If you can’t find your hotel, just send us an email and we will add the hotel after reviewing it. Please share your feedback with us and drop a comment!
Posted: November 8th, 2010 | 1 Comment »
We’ve already launched our “Travel like a Muslim” campaign and published some great travel experiences on our blog and facebook page. Thanks to you all the halaltrip community gets bigger every day, so please share your greatest experiences and your creepiest travel nightmares with us. What are you waiting for? Grab your best pictures & videos and send them to travel@halaltrip.com!
Posted: October 22nd, 2010 | No Comments »
Are you looking for your next short-break? Then how about Birmingham, the second largest city in the UK and more importantly an absolute shopper’s paradise! The city of Birmingham is located in the centre of the West Midlands. It’s the new shopping capital of Europe, the home of the famous football club Aston Villa and the New street station, the biggest railway station in the UK. Take a walk through the city centre and enjoy the mix of new and old architecture, which makes the city a great place to visit. Do you want to experience all-round shopping? Then head first to the Bullring with 160 shops and the iconic Selfridges, an architectural highlight, worth the trip itself.
If you want to see some designer labels then visit the Mailbox shopping centre, which lies next to the canal. It is a great place to grab a coffee while enjoying the view over the canal. And for all those who want to shop more, the Great Western Arcade’s Victorian elegance, the Pavilion Central, the Pallasades, the Martineau Place and the City Plaza are waiting. And for all jewellery lovers, you will find the famous jewellery quarter, the nation’s heart of jewellery.
Birmingham is indeed a fantastic place for families. How about visiting the IMAX cinema, the Sea life centre, the Public, an exciting creative arts centre or the Cadbury World, UK’s most famous chocolate brand, where you can see how the yummy stuff is made. And there is so much more to discover.
A must is also the Birmingham Central Mosque in the Highgate area, one of the largest Muslim centres in Europe. Other famous mosques and Islamic centres in the city include Central Jamia Masjid Ghamkol Sharif, the Green Lane Mosque or the Bordesley Centre. You will also find various Muslim bookstores and libraries. As in any other bigger UK city, you won’t have troubles finding halal restaurants. Try the Mahswii with Arabian cuisine or the Amer Tandoori. So what are you waiting for? Grab a big bag and head to Europe’s shopping mecca.
Posted: October 19th, 2010 | No Comments »
Are you looking for a marvellous place with a little bit of glamour and stars? Then head to the City of Angeles and discover the home of the film industry!
If you want fun, entertainment and excitement, then visit the city of Los Angeles, one of the most vibrant cities in the world. If you want to discover the city, its beaches and its atmosphere then rent a car. This will give you the opportunity to be flexible and to visit different places around LA, such as Long Beach, Newport or Pasadena, where you should definitely visit Huntington Park and its amazing botanical garden. Insider tip: stay on the west side of Los Angeles and avoid the east side as a tourist.
Indeed, entertainment and fun also await you and your family in one of the entertainment parks, such as the Universal studio, Disney World or Magic Mountain. For all the sports lovers, the Dodger stadium and the LA Staples centre offer a variety of sport events. By the way this is your chance to watch the LA Lakers or the LA Dodgers, but book your ticket in advance. To experience Hollywood, take a walk on the Hollywood Boulevard and Rodeo Drive, hike to the famous Hollywood sign or visit the Kodak Theatre, home of the Oscars. If you want to relax for a bit then head to Venice Beach, Malibu, Santa Barbara or Santa Monica and walk at the most beautiful piers you have ever been to. But be aware of a little bit of craziness in Venice.
Los Angeles is also home of over 48 congregations and Islamic centres, such as the Masjid Ibadullah, the Masjid Omar or the Masjidus Salaam. After your prayers head to the Los Angeles County Museum and discover the Islamic art collection, one of the best sites for modern Arab art. You will also find various halal restaurants, such as the Makkah Halal Tandoori Restaurant or the Al Watan restaurant with Indian and Pakistani cuisine. So stop looking for your next holiday resort, Los Angeles is waiting for you!
Posted: October 13th, 2010 | 2 Comments »
If you have a couple of days off and you want a new cultural experience, then book your next flight to Paris, most famous for its Eiffel Tower, one of the greatest architectural wonders. Start the day with a café latte and a croissant in one of the bistros and enjoy the French lifestyle. Take a cruise on the ‘Seine’ and enjoy the magnificent view. Especially at night I guarantee you will be astonished. For all cultural lovers, there are plenty of things to do. How about visiting the most famous museum in the world, the Louvre, where you will find an exposition of Islamic art. Or discover a number of great architectural and historical sites, such as Notre dame, le place de la Concorde with the obelisk of Luxor, the Champs-Élysée with an amazing view over the Avenue de la Grande Armée or the Arc de Triomphe.
If you want to see one of the greatest chateaus, then you must visit the Chateau de Versailles, full of history and definitely worth for a day visit. If you are looking for an artistic atmosphere then take the metro and head to Montmarte Sacré-Coeur and to the Centre Pompidou, where you will meet many painters and artists who will show you their art. By the way this is your chance to get a portrait, a great souvenir! For all the shopping lovers, no question head to the Gallery Lafayette. And Paris is also one of the cities, where you will easily find halal-restaurants, try the most famous student quarter, le quartier de latin, where you can also visit the Sorbonne university on your way.
And explore the third largest mosque in Europe, the great mosque of Paris built after World War I with its 33 metre high minaret. You can also visit the Institute of the Arab world, where you will discover expositions, music, dance or movies. And there is so much more to discover – so book your ticket and experience one of the most amazing cities I have been to.
Posted: September 29th, 2010 | No Comments »
Looking for a short-break? Why not travel to Sheffield and explore the greenest city in the UK. In the heart of South Yorkshire lies the city of Sheffield, most famous for its history of steel, FC Sheffield, the oldest football club in the world and the annual World Snooker Championships. But the city has much more to offer. If you are passionate about sport you will find two world-class football teams and various world-class venues, such as Ponds Forge, Don Valley Stadium, ICE Sheffield or Sheffield Arena, where loads of sports events are annually held. However, if you rather want to explore art and culture, the city offers you the two biggest theatres outside London, the Crucible and Lyceum Theatre, regular music festivals and plenty of museums such as the Millennium Gallery. If you like to take a break and enjoy the nature, just visit some of the parks in the city, my favourites: Western Park, Botanical Garden, Peace Garden and the ‘indoor’ Winter Garden in the heart of the city.
Wanna go on a hike? Explore the Peak Districts, the first National Park in the UK, which is on your doorsteps. And for all you shoppers out there, one of the biggest european indoor malls, Meadowhall is waiting. And for the hungry-ones, there are various halal-restaurants in the city, my favourite the award winning ‘Aagreh’ at Leopold square with Kashmiri cuisine. Lastly, discover Sheffield’s Islamic landmark, the Medina Mosque at Glover Road, close to the city centre, an Islamic centre with a library, a day centre and two large prayer halls.
