This page is for anyone who needs the date before it is announced: Moroccans living in Europe or North America who plan around two calendars, families booking a Ramadan Umrah for their parents, and anyone who simply wants to know when the month is likely to begin. It keeps three things apart: what has been calculated, what has been announced, and what happened last year.
The first two rows are history: the dates were announced and observed. The last two are forecasts. A forecast can move by a day once the crescent is, or is not, seen.
When does Ramadan start in Saudi Arabia?
On the Umm al-Qura calendar, used in Saudi Arabia, 1 Ramadan 1448 falls on Monday 8 February 2027 (estimate, subject to moon sighting)1. It is the right date to plan around today.
It is still not a promise. The actual start of the month is announced after the crescent sighting, and the calculated date does not always win. Last year is the reminder: Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court set 1 Ramadan 1447 on Wednesday 18 February 2026, contrary to astronomical forecasts6.
For a pilgrim, this matters in a simple way. If you are in Makkah when the month begins, the city lives by the Saudi announcement. A hotel booked to start on the expected first day may, in the end, start on the eve of Ramadan or on its second day. That is not a problem in itself, as long as you know it can happen and do not plan a tight connection around a single date.
When does it start in Morocco?
In Morocco, the first day of Ramadan is not taken from a printed calendar. The Habous ministry sets it by sighting the crescent on the evening of 29 Shaban: it collects reports from its regional delegates and from the Royal Armed Forces units taking part, then issues a communique that same evening2. For Ramadan 1448, that communique has not been issued yet, so any Moroccan date you read today is a guess2.
The month before helps to narrow it down. Shaban 1448 begins on 9 or 10 January 2027, and moonsighting.org.uk considers 10 January 2027 the most likely date for Morocco (estimate, subject to moon sighting)7. The sighting evening of 29 Shaban follows from that date, and so does the first possible day of Ramadan in Morocco2.
Last year gives the clearest precedent. In Morocco, Ramadan 1447 began on Thursday 19 February 2026, the day after the ministry's sighting of the crescent5. What else that season showed a planner, from Morocco's last Ramadan clock change to the busiest days on the Haramain railway, is set out in our review of last Ramadan.
One Moroccan detail that used to go with the start of the month has gone: the clock change. Morocco returned permanently to legal GMT time (UTC+0) on Sunday 20 September 2026, and the 2018 decree that kept the country on GMT+1 except during Ramadan was repealed8. So no clock change is planned for next Ramadan, and a departure time printed on a ticket from Morocco is simply Moroccan time. The old switch is now history: in 2026, Morocco had gone back to GMT on Sunday 15 February 2026 at 3:00, then to GMT+1 on Sunday 22 March 2026 at 2:00, according to the Digital Transition Ministry15.
Why can the two countries start a day apart?
Because each country makes its own announcement. Saudi Arabia announces the month for itself, and Morocco relies on its own sighting, carried out across the kingdom and reported to the Habous ministry2. Neither waits for the other.
The result was visible last year. Saudi Arabia began Ramadan 1447 on Wednesday 18 February 20266, and Morocco began on Thursday 19 February 20265. That made Morocco 1 day later, and the same gap in 2027 is not confirmed5.
A one-day gap is not an error on anyone's part. It is the normal outcome of two separate decisions. What it changes for a traveller:
- Leaving Morocco on the eve of the month. You may land in a city where Ramadan has already begun while your family at home has not started yet.
- Coming home at the end of the month. Eid can fall on different days in Makkah and in Morocco, so the day you celebrate depends on where you are and on the advice you follow.
- Booking hotel nights. A booking that starts on the expected first day may cover the eve of Ramadan or its second day instead.
Which start date to follow for your own fast, and how to count your days if you cross between the two, are questions for a trusted imam or scholar. We do not give rulings.
When is Eid al-Fitr expected?
Eid al-Fitr 1448 is expected on Tuesday 9 March 2027 in Saudi Arabia, while moonsighting.org.uk forecasts the start of Shawwal on 10 March 2027 (estimate, subject to moon sighting)1. In Morocco, it will be announced in the same way as the start of the month.
At home, Eid al-Fitr is a public holiday on 1 and 2 Shawwal, according to wafir.ma, and the Gregorian dates for 2027 are not yet official17.
The Eid date also matters for the Umrah season itself. The Saudi ministry fixed the last Umrah visa issuance on 1 Shawwal 1448, which it dated 9 March 202718. The end of Ramadan and the end of issuance are therefore expected on the same day. The other cut-off dates of the season, and what each one means for a trip, are in the season's cut-off dates.
Why does Ramadan come earlier than last year?
Because the Hijri year is shorter than the Gregorian one, so the month moves back through the seasons. The two dates on this page show it. Saudi Arabia began Ramadan 1447 on Wednesday 18 February 20266, and the Umm al-Qura calendar puts 1 Ramadan 1448 on Monday 8 February 2027 (estimate, subject to moon sighting)1. That is about ten days earlier.
For families, the practical effect is simple: the dates people remember from last Ramadan, for bookings, leave from work or school holidays, no longer fit. Every plan has to be rebuilt from this year's calendar, and next year's will move again.
How will you know the date has been announced?
In Morocco, the signal is the Habous ministry's communique, issued on the evening of 29 Shaban after the reports from its regional delegates and the participating Royal Armed Forces units have come in2. In Saudi Arabia, in 2026, the Supreme Court set the start of Ramadan 14476.
When either announcement is made, we change the table at the top of this page and mark the row as confirmed. Each change is also logged, with its date and source, in the announcements log, kept in French. Until then, the rows stay marked as estimated, whatever other websites print.
How should you plan around a date that can still move?
Treat 8 February 2027 as the working date, not the final one (estimate, subject to moon sighting)1. Three habits help.
In order
- Build in a margin of one day on each side of the expected start, for the hotel and for the travel day.
- Keep the return flexible around Eid, which is expected on 9 March 2027 in Saudi Arabia but may fall on 10 March 2027 (estimate, subject to moon sighting)1.
- Work out your visa window from your real arrival date with the visa date planner, which runs in your browser and checks it against the season dates18.
The order in which to book the hotel, the flights and the paperwork, month by month, is covered in our booking timeline.
Not announced yet
- The first day of Ramadan in Morocco. The Habous ministry will announce it after the sighting on the evening of 29 Shaban2.
- Whether Saudi Arabia keeps the Umm al-Qura date. The calculated start was overruled in 20266.
- The gap between the two countries this time. It was 1 day in 2026; nothing confirms it for 20275.
- The date of Eid al-Fitr in Morocco. It will be announced at the end of the month, the same way as the start.
What should you do next?
Note the working date, keep a margin, and come back once the announcements are made: this page and the table above are updated as soon as the official dates are published. If you are planning the trip for your parents and want the dates checked before you commit, the button below opens a conversation with the agency that publishes this site.