Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Locked thread
dexter6
Sep 22, 2003
I've got a 9-hour layover in Doha (landing at 5pm on Tuesday).

What could I venture out of the airport to do on a Tuesday night and get back in time for a 2am flight?

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Geriatric Pirate
Apr 25, 2008

by Nyc_Tattoo

dexter6 posted:

I've got a 9-hour layover in Doha (landing at 5pm on Tuesday).

What could I venture out of the airport to do on a Tuesday night and get back in time for a 2am flight?

The visa to enter Qatar costs something like USD40. There is a free city tour available near the giant teddy bear at the airport that allows you to go around visa free. I think the last one leaves at 7pm, so try to get on that. The airport itself is a bore unless you have lounge access (and even then al Mourjan lounge is much better than the pay/non-QR lounges), but there are quiet areas with chairs you can somewhat sleep in.

Edit: If you buy the visa and leave the airport without a tour, Souq Waqif is a short walk away (well, 30-45 minutes in hot weather) or you can take a taxi. Other than that, Qatar is a shithole. The Souq itself isn't that nice since it's all reconstructed, but it's at least an attempt at culture. Most museums will be closed by 5pm, but the Museum of Islamic Art was designed by IM Pei and is by the sea shore close to the Souq, so it might be worth just checking out the outside of the building. You have a good view along the Corniche of new Doha from there too.

Geriatric Pirate fucked around with this message at 15:04 on Mar 8, 2015

eviljelly
Aug 29, 2004

The evening is a nice time to get into the city because it'll be cool enough to walk around. Yeah, Doha sucks, but if you've never been to the Gulf before it'd be an interesting experience. I also recommend the Corniche and Souq Waqif but I'd say it's best to take a taxi in and then walk around from there. Take a looksee on Google Maps to figure out where to get dropped off so you don't have to double back. Other than that, I guess the other option is to go to shopping malls - shopping is the new national pastime of basically all the Gulf states - or go have a fancy cocktail at the bar at the W hotel and chat up some of the expats and hear about how weird and lovely Doha is.

dexter6
Sep 22, 2003
Thanks guys! Just got on the tour. It's pretty cool they give you the visa voucher.

I've got access to the QR business class lounge so I grabbed some food there. I heard there are massage services I may try out after the tour.

Thanks for the recommendation!

Geriatric Pirate
Apr 25, 2008

by Nyc_Tattoo

dexter6 posted:

Thanks guys! Just got on the tour. It's pretty cool they give you the visa voucher.

I've got access to the QR business class lounge so I grabbed some food there. I heard there are massage services I may try out after the tour.

Thanks for the recommendation!

I don't think there are massages available in al Mourjan (the main QR lounge), could be wrong, it's not what I usually go for. If you need a shower after the tour (it's quite warm in Qatar...)and there's a line for the showers in the lounge (it gets quite busy closer to midnight because most of the other lounges aren't open yet), try the showers located in the Quiet Room, those are usually available immediately. The Quiet Room is at the end of the corridor in the sandwich/salad bar area.

  • Locked thread