If you can study the map of Mina, getting to Jamarat should not be difficult at all. There are buses running, but it might just be easier to walk (these are the walks that help you shed those extra pounds). Jamarat is West of Mina. Your tent might be very close to Jamarat or it might be very far, it really depends on your group. Keep a water bottle to keep hydrated; there will be water fountains on the way. The path you choose will take to the ground, the 1st or the 2nd floor of Jamarat; if you want to switch floors you will have to take a different route, which is not recommended.
Jamarat is extremely easy to do; get there, get your stones ready, throw the stones, do your dua and leave from the other side (no stopping in the way, no turning back). If you separate from your party in Jamarat, there is a numbering system on the sides and 156/157 (if I remember correctly) is at the very end, decide to meet there. It will be very loud so talking on cell phones will not be easy.
There are some restaurants located near the Jamarat, but the line ups are sometimes very long. class="MsoNormal"> I will post I will post some recent pictures of Jamarat if I can. But trust me; it is really easy to do.
Sacrifice will be taken care of automatically; they will just let you know what time it will be done. After it is finished, you can trim your hair/shave your head. class="MsoNormal"> /o:p>
If you decide to shave your head, the custodial staff at Mina can style="mso-spacerun:yes"> perform this service for you. They are affordable and all use disposable single blade razors which are brand new, 1 per customer. Typically they lather your head with soap and then shave. It takes maybe 10 minutes at the most.
If you want to shave your head yourself, I would not recommend trying to do it with the latest and greatest 3 or 4 blade razors. The single blade razor (PICTURE HERE) can shave your head easily since it does not gobble up the hair. You will have to waste a lot of water trying to do it with the new razors. It would be better to purchase the single blade razor and take it with you to Mina. Blades might be available in Mina but I am not sure if you will be able to buy the razor itself. Once again, try not to make a mess.
Once your haOnce your hair cut is done, you can take a shower in the washrooms which are equipped with a shower. Once again, try to conserve water.
Once you retOnce you return to your tent, busy yourself with worship.
Once you are done all that you need to do, your agent should arrange government provided buses to get you back to your hotel. For us this bus took less than 15 minutes to get us back to the hotel. Some people walk to the haram, some people walk to the hotel. It is completely upto you. If you have not done your tawaf-e-ifadah yet, you should head over to the haram to do so
Tawaf during hajj in the mataf is probably the toughest thing to do. If you think the rush is too much, go to the first floor or the second floor. On these floors, it takes 15 minutes for one round, so it is not that difficult.
If you do decide to do the tawaf in the mataf, you have to be very careful. The traffic is literally bumper to bumper, you have to respect the ladies and the elderly.
One basic principle to keep in mind is the following: if you want to do the tawaf closest to the kaaba, start your circle smaller and then keep increasing your distance from the kaaba so that on your last round, you are almost on the outside and can just walk away. A lot of people push all the way to the inside and then try to walk out. This is never a good idea. Treat it as a roundabout; follow the flow of the traffic, do not go against the flow, do not stop midway and make lane changes carefully. Be respectful, kind and curteous. class="MsoNormal"> The flow is counter clockwise looking from the top. When you enter the mataf, always move towards your right. Even if you are not at the beginning of tawaf yet, just walk right until you reach the starting point, instead of walking left.