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As a Latina traveler who has experienced several stopover trips, I understand the importance of having essential tips to maximize your layover. Exploring Qatar’s vibrant capital during a 20-hour stopover was a memorable experience. I highly recommend considering a stopover in Doha if the opportunity arises. Being prepared with tips like those found in “Maximize Doha: 12 Stopover Essentials” ensures your journey is not only feasible but also enjoyable and stress-free. It’s about making the most of this additional part of your travels and soaking in the culture and experiences along the way.
Maximize Doha: 12 Stopover Essentials Table Of Contents
Plan Your Doha Stopover Visit
 Flight |  Stay |  Do |  Drive |
| Skyscanner | Agoda | Viator | Rentalcars.com |
How Much Time Do I Need To Visit
Over 7 Hours
Anything over 7 hours provides ample time to explore the city with proper planning. With a 20-hour stopover, I enjoyed a tour, meals, and even beach time, facilitated by Discover Qatar’s convenient services for visiting Doha.
Moreover, Qatar Airways allows extended stays in Doha by booking directly with them or contacting their team when flying with them.
Discover everything you need to know for a Doha stopover and check out my pocket-sized destination guide.
Under 7 Hours
If you have a layover is under 7 hours and depending on when your flight arrives, think early morning, I would advise to stay in the airport. There are plenty of things to do at Hamad International Airport such as an airport tour that shows you the art throughout the airport or use one of the many premium lounges available here.
I have a soft spot for premium lounges as many offer the comforts of showers, meals, fast wifi and proper areas to relax making you feel like you are flying in first or business class. In Hamad International Airport, I’d suggest booking Al Maha Lounge as they offer passes for 4 and 8 hours.
Book your access to Al Maha Lounge for guaranteed access on the day of your layover.
Maximize Doha: 12 Stopover Essentials
Before stepping off the plane in Doha, Qatar for my stopover, I wish I had known these essential tips. I want to share them with you to make exploring Doha seamless and fun.
1. Exiting Hamad International Airport
| Terribly difficult to get out with no clear signage if doing a stop over – Search for baggage claim or immigration. It is important to note that when you land, you should not follow the transfers direction as this will have you exiting within the airport and not toward immigration/baggage claim making it more difficult to exit for your stopover. Do as I did and ask many people that you want about exiting the airport or locating baggage claim or immigration. This will finally reap rewards. (I wasn’t the only one who said they had issues so definitely something that could be improved.) |
2. Combine ESIM & WiFi
| Most places have wifi but an esim is useful and not expensive if only visiting for a day or 2. I got one for 1gig for less than $5 USD and only used half in a day. I was toggling off my eSIM when I had access to wifi to be efficient. Grab your Airalo eSIM and set-up before you land in Doha. |
3. No Cash Needed
| Even the smallest places including food carts take credit cards so no need to get cash. Only exception is private taxis’ but this is avoidable using the tips below on Uber & Karwa Taxi. |
4. Metro
| It’s easy to navigate Doha’s Metro line and I’d recommend using it to get to/from the airport. At the airport, the only option aside from weekly and 30 days passes is a day pass, which isn’t too big of an issue as the day pass is very cheap at only 6 QAR ($1.30 USD). A day pass expires at midnight, but if you start your journey before midnight, you won’t have to pay extra even if you finish after midnight. This was my experience when I arrived at the airport for my departure flight at 12:35am. |
5. Ubers Are Cheap
| Ubers are cheap, use them! Only exception is that you can’t use Uber to get to the airport from the city. Book private and inexpensive airport transportation without having to pay in cash. |
6. Karwa Taxi Accept Credit Cards
| Karwa Taxi line is the public taxi service in Doha and they do accept card payments unlike private taxi providers that accept cash. Super easy to spot as they are the turquoise taxis. |
7. Experience Souq Waaif At Night
| Souq Waqif comes alive at night. Try to visit in the evening and grab a meal at the many places along the main street. Our guide said all places are good and those with outdoor seating areas in front of them will typically offer traditional meals. Wondering what to eat? Check out my pocket-size Doha destination guide which offers a few recommendations. |
8. Don’t Barter
| Bartering isn’t really a thing in the souq. Unlike my souq experiences I’ve had in Morocco and Egypt, vendors aren’t aggressive hard sellers making walking through these markets a stroll in the park. |
9. Mid-day Closure
| Most businesses are closed between 12:30pm and 4pm, so plan accordingly. However, you can still find restaurants open during this time, so there’s no need to worry about lunch. |
10. Book 5 Star Hotels & Tours Cheap
| Use Discover Qatar to book hotels and activities if you are flying with Qatar Airways. Hotels start at as little as $14 USD. I opted to posh it up given it’s incredibly low rates by booking a 5 star stay at the Intercontinental Doha The City for $60 USD. The big perk is that check in isn’t your traditional 3pm time. This means those early 6am arrivals can be sleeping by 8:30am. See the full listing of tour offerings and Qatar stopover hotels in the Discover Qatar website. |
11. Avoid Tours On Friday
| Avoid doing a Discover Doha city tour on Friday as the souk and many places are closed until 4pm. This means you can’t go into many of the places the tour typically enters. Instead, I’d recommend booking activities like a Doha desert safari or Doha sea cruise. See full Viator Doha activities on their site. |
12. Doha Sands Beach
| Private beach clubs are a fantastic way to cool down during the day, swim in the Arabian Gulf, and wear more traditional swimsuits, as public beaches require women to wear a one-piece and shorts. Doha Sands Beach is included with most bookings through Discover Qatar. It offers a towel, a water bottle, and access to sunbeds on a first-come, first-served basis. However, the food is bland and expensive, so I recommend planning to eat elsewhere before or after your visit. |
Doha Tourist Google Map
This handy Doha Tourist Google map is filled with all the spots you’ll need during your short visit with attractions, hotels and the airport. Save to make navigating the city a breeze.
More Stopover-Related Articles
These additional stopover-related articles offer even more useful insights to enhance any long layover.
Want to discover more?
Explore my Travel Guides Section for more city guides to other cities that can easily be seen during a stopover such as Bilbao in Spain and Malaysia.
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