in Doha, Qatar – Would be grateful for any advice or must-see suggestions

[Guest]

Hi! I'm going overseas in June and I have to decide whether I want a stopover (probs 2 days) in Doha, Qatar. Due to airport taxes including a stopover has a $380AUD fee - plus accommodation, food, tours... so I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it. The alternative is spending 3hrs in Doha airport.

My biggest worry is that not much will be open/available considering the summer heat - it's at the end of the month so probs 40*C+. Has anyone else been, and what was their experience?

Also- I am travelling on my own (as a single female) and would be grateful for any advice or must-see suggestions. Thanks!

[Karyn]

Perhaps a compromise would be to book a ticket with a long layover there on one leg of your trip.

I'm flying Qatar to Vietnam. Right now I'm on the return leg of my trip. Going to Vietnam, it was only a 3 and a half hour layover. Now I'm heading home and will have a 9 hour layover. Qatar will give you a free transit Visa with a layover of 8+ hours. So if you could get a 12 hour layover, that could be long enough to have a visit in Doha. I'm also traveling as a solo female.

[Kimi]

Ah Doha. That was my playground when I lived in Bahrain, before the embargo. I live in Saudi now, and still fucked up to get to
Doha is incredible, in my opinion, the best souk in the Arab world.

[Gri Grillo]

Hi I’ve had a stopover in Doha 4 times this summer and was around 18 hours each time so we showered, had food and slept a bit before the next flight. You need to check with hotels as I’ve read somewhere there’s some that don’t take women alone of a certain age...I went from airport to hotel and back and the pool at the hotel was refreshing but the 40/45c were like putting your head in the oven haha so I’ve opted for the indoors pool most of the time...I’ve stayed at the Westin all 4 times and was one of the best hotels I’ve stayed around the world...( I had the hotel nights free and we paid for the rest as Qatar+ programme).

[Kelsey]

Would it be beginning of June or end of June? To be honest, this area in June kinda sucks. Beginning of June is Ramadan so it would be hard to find restaurants open to eating in public and then Eid al Fitr would be a challenging time to visit and end of June gets too hot. I sadly vote no on a pricey layover in June!.

[Saanchi]

The hottest days of the year are in June- Aug. I would try to avoid unless you don’t mind waiting till evening time to step out when the temp goes down a little. Would be best to avoid traveling in the month of Ramadan.

[Raevyn]

I can’t help make up your mind about a stopover but the Doha Airport is really comfortable and 3 hours in there is easy if you are worried about that and WiFi is free with a Qatar air ticket. Just be sure to get the Qatar air app; it will have updated flight info before the flight boards do.