You may have noticed that many of your international flights have a long layover in Qatar!sh Most people don’t leave the airport, which is a shame, because you could turn the long layover into a fun little staycation and mini adventure!
Recently I had a flight from Miami to Tanzania, and the layover was in Qatar, but only for a few hours. I had never been to Qatar and I wanted to see it, so I adjusted my flight manually so that I would have 4 days in between flights instead of 4 hours.
It turned out to be a REALLY fun and fabulous adventure! Here’s how you can play a long layover in Qatar!
How to Create a Flight with Multi-Day Layover
If you just search for flights to and from your end destination, you won’t find any with multi-dagmy layovers. You have to create it yourself.
To do that, simply do the following steps:
Go to Skyscanner (make sure to clear your cookies and cache) Use the MULTI CITY search option Enter your departure city, and Doha as the first destination, and the date you want to arrive Enter Doha as the second departure city, and then your final destination, and the date you want do depart for it
If you’re looking for cheapest flight options, try to play around with the dates! Or use the flexible dates option. See my tutorial on Flight Roulette if you need help!
There’s a chance this ticket may be slightly higher than the one without the long layover in Qatar, but just think of it as getting a cheap additional flight to a new destination!
Where to Stay During a Long Layover in Qatar
The main city in Qatar is called Doha, and that’s where you should stay. There’s three main areas, and all of them are just a 10-20 minute drive away from each other. I’ll go over the three main areas of Doha, and list my hotel recommendations!
Downtown Doha
Downtown Doha is the “middle” area of the three, and thus, the perfect central location to explore or do tours during your long layover in Qatar! I would recommend staying at a hotel near the water, especially one with a private beach and pool, because during the day it’s always really hot, and there’s not a ton of options for things to do.
I stayed at the Four Seasons Doha in the Downtown area and it was really fabulous! For luxury travelers, or anyone wanting to feel like royalty for a night or two, definitely check it out! It has four pools, some with waterfalls, and a long stretch of private beach area next to a yacht marina.
One of the many Four Seasons pools
Four Seasons Doha also has multiple restaurants, included a shisha lounge and restaurant called Shisha Terrace, and the famous LA-based restaurant called Nobu . Nobu has delicious sushi and other Japanese fusion foods, and this one in Doha actually had a super affordable and delicious happy hour, which is from 6-8pm, or all night on Mondays for ladies! Be sure to make a reservation though!
The other hotel I stayed at and would recommend is the Hilton Doha , which is right next door to Four Seasons. It’s a lot more affordable, and also has a pool and private beach. The Hilton Doha has several restaurants and bars too, including Sushi Club , Trader Vic’s , and Tahitian Village which is the outdoor extension of Trader Vics, that has a DJ at night and gets really busy!
One of the many great views from the Hilton Doha!
Something super important to know about the Hilton Doha, is that this is where I rented the jet ski from! It was hands down my favorite activity that I did during my long layover in Qatar, and I would definitely recommend it! Prices start at around $70 for half an hour, which is pricey, but you won’t really need a lot of time since it gets very hot!
The Pearl
The Pearl looks cool from an aerial view but I couldn’t find any royalty free images, so I’d suggest googling it to see them!
I didn’t stay in The Pearl area of Doha, however there were several hotels I saw online that I definitely would have liked to check out.
The Pearl is an area of Doha that reminds me of a smaller, quieter, less-intimidating version of The Palm in Dubai. Similarly, it has many man-made islands with luxury homes on them, as well as luxury condos, hotels, restaurants, and businesses.
It’s the farthest from the airport of the three areas, so perhaps not too ideal if you want to be somewhere central, but if you primarily want to be in this fancy area, you’ll want to stay here! It’s definitely the most expensive of the three areas though!
Here’s some of the hotels I saw that looked worth checking out:
Mondrian Four Seasons Hilton The Pearl Kempinsk i
Corniche/Airport Area
If you have a short layover, if you’re on a budget, if you prefer to always be exploring rather than lounging at a pool or beach, or all of the above, you may want to stay in the Corniche/Airport area.
This is where you can find the famous Souk Waqif, the National Museum of Qatar, and one of the many cool looking shopping malls. The view from the Corniche (AKA waterfront walk) is one of the most photographed images of the cityscape of downtown, and you can also see a cool FIFA World Cup countdown clock with tons of flags of different countries!
There’s plenty of affordable hotel option here, so again, it’s reallly a great option if you’re planning on exploring more than lounging!
How to Get Around Doha
Uber is available in Doha, and it’s really easy and affordable to use. It worked easily at the airport and only costed about $10 to get to my hotel in Downtown. I used it to go to all of the sightseeing locations as well, and even out to the desert for my Paratriking adventure!
Top Things to Do for a Long Layover in Qatar
If you’ve seen my social media, it is very obvious that the adventure activities were my top favorite thing to do on my long layover in Qatar. But I also really enjoyed just lounging, and getting over my jet lag too.
I opted not to do the typical tours that are offered, in search of things that were more solo-travel-friendly (many tours won’t take just one person!), but I’ll include the typical suggestions here as well.
These were my top favorite adventures in Qatar
Jet Ski Around the Cityscapes
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alyssa Ramos MyLifesATravelMovie (@mylifesatravelmovie)
Cost : $70/half-hour
Rent from: Hilton Doha
Renting a jet ski was probably the best thing that I did on my long layover in Qatar. Although I’ve been on tons of jet skis in my life, it was extremely fun and unique to do it in Doha! I was told that seeing the city from the water is a must, however most of the boat tours didn’t seem ideal for me, so I decided to use the jet ski to go see it by myself!
It was SO fun! The water was flat so I easily cruised over it, and I drove the jet ski solo from the HIlton Doha in Downtown, all the way to The Pearl! That being said, it was also a really cool way to see The Pearl, because walking it is not an option, at least not during the day (too hot).
The highlight of my jet ski adventure though, was going to Al Salfiya Island , which I’ll write more abuot next.
Al Salfiya Island
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alyssa Ramos MyLifesATravelMovie (@mylifesatravelmovie)
Cost: $70 (jet ski)
When I was researching things to do on a long layover in Qatar, I didn’t see one mention of Al Salfiya Island. It was something I found out about by zooming in on the map, tapping, and looking at the google images.
I then looked up the name, and I did find one tour, however it wasn’t operating during the dates I was there. Still, I was very determined to see it, and get a cool photo of the sandbar flanked by clear aqua marine water that stretches towards the cityscape in the distance.
So, I drove the jet ski there, which was super exciting, except the rental guy wasn’t too happy about it since they want you to pay for a tour to go there. They also worry about the sand suckign up into the jet ski in shallow water, but as a native Floridian, I knew to turn it off and walk it up to the shore. Anyway, if you want to attempt getting there by jet ski…you didn’t hear it from me
