Doha Transfers

Discussion created by makang on Jul 14, 2019
Latest reply on Jul 22, 2019 by pk128

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Hi fellow travelers! Looking for more advice. I’ll be using Qatar to fly to the Middle East and am deciding if taking a 2 day “tour”

of Doha is worth it. It’s a place I don’t think I’ll ever have the chance to go back to so I’m thinking yes. But for those of you who have traveled to Doha what have you done in 2 days? Additionally, if it’s the tour from Qatar, do you know if I book with them I’ll get rewards for my loyalty if I end up

in a Bonvoy property? If the answer is no, does anyone have recommendations of hotels. Thanks as always.

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23 Replies

verysuiteboy Jul 15, 2019 8:24 AM
I can’t say since I’ve never been there, but given the opportunity I’d definitely take 2days of my life to see what they have to offer. Doha also has many nice properties, so why not?

You won’t get BONVoY benefits if you book Marriott hotels through a third party.
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pluto77 Jul 15, 2019 8:48 AM
I’ve never been to Doha (though may find myself there in a couple of months as well), but I’d definitely take advantage of the opportunity to explore the culture. I’m not familiar with any tours (I’m a do it yourself kind of traveler). Go to the National Mosque, and take a guided tour if it’s offered. Also, any museums... I know there is a Muslim Arts Museum there... Find a grocery store to explore. Learn about the short history of this relatively new country. See if there are any sporting or performing events happening during your stay. It’s a small, but rich country. There’s certainly lots of fun things to do, not the least of which is immersing yourself into a new cultural experience that will likely be both enlightening and gratifying.
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pat2927 Jul 15, 2019 10:34 AM
2 days in Doha is a waste... can you get to Bahrain or Muscat ? Much better...you only mention flying to the 'middle east' - where is your entry - into Doha or in-transit somewhere else ?
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- makang @ pat2927 on Jul 15, 2019 9:28 PM
  It’s a transit point, if we end up flying Qatar to Maldives.
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mtl_traveller Jul 15, 2019 10:05 PM
We stayed at the Marriott Marquis Doha City Center on our way from Montreal to Kathmandu, and really liked it. We stopped both ways for about half day each time. Even for two days I disagree that it’s a waste. Doha is not Dubai, but it’s a nice city with a beautiful skyline especially in the evening. The Marriott Marquis is very nice with an excellent lounge, one of the best food offerings I had in a lounge. We walked on the Corniche to the Old Souk, which is not reallly old but with a nice atmosphere (falcon hospital, falcon shop, horses, small alleyways with spices and traditional clothing, lots of local families). From there we took a boat back to downtown, lovely views. On the second day you could take a desert tour.
Depending on your expectations, I’d say it’s worthwhile, we liked the stopover in Doha.
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- makang @ mtl_traveller on Jul 16, 2019 11:45 PM
  Thank you for this. I’m assuming you flew Qatar? We’re the transfers part of the flight package, or did you make them yourself?
  
  We wanted to go to Dubai, but Emirates is too much money, and I’ve been reading if Qatar is cheaper go with them.
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  - pat2927 @ makang on Jul 17, 2019 1:26 AM
    try gulf air if they are still around...we found great service and cheap fares when we traveled throughout the middle east.. I still say 2 days in Doha is a waste unless you are going there to stay in a nice Marriott hotel... research Bahrain, UAE or Muscat....
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  - mtl_traveller @ makang on Jul 19, 2019 3:29 PM
    Yes,we flew Qatar Airways, very good flights and service. On our first stopover we had the Marriott concierge send the hotel car to pick us up at the airport. Good service but to go back to the airport and on the second stopover we just took taxis, very inexpensive and well regulated. We also looked at Emirates for our flights but Qatar was cheaper and having flown Emirates before I was very happy with Qatar Airways.
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    - makang @ mtl_traveller on Jul 20, 2019 9:06 AM
      Thank you for the thoughts. We booked last night so we’re two nights in Doha. What did you do during the transfer?
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      - verysuiteboy @ makang on Jul 20, 2019 9:33 AM
        I use Viator to set up “day tours” or airport pick up. Here is my screen shot with Doha
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        makang @ verysuiteboy on Jul 20, 2019 10:49 PM
        Thank you for this! Did you do any of these tours?
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  - clebert @ makang on Jul 20, 2019 9:22 PM
    makang where are you staying in Maldives? That is also the destination for our trip next year. Lots of great Bonvoy properties to choose from, it seems. We're flying SQ over and QR back with stopovers in Singapore and Doha, as noted. Spouse wanted to see Singapore, so we decided to fly SQ on the way over with a stopover. But I have a ton of AA miles to burn, so we used those coming back on QR. Spouse decided we'd spend a few days on a stopover in Doha after seeing my pics from the business trip and hearing about it. Plus, thought it would be cool for the kids to see something new.
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    - makang @ clebert on Jul 20, 2019 10:52 PM
      We’re doing the St. Regis. Figured if we could afford it, might as well do it. It will be my first StR experience after 13yrs in the program. We booked on points and my fiancée has never been outside of U.S., nor has she seen crystal blue water. So why not go all out and do both. Figured it was the one time where I can get away with it. We wanted to try and do more stops like Singapore, but we were on a time crunch, so we could only do half of the full honeymoon.
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clebert Jul 20, 2019 2:20 PM
I loved Doha. Did a stopover there on the way home from Asia for work. Taking the family next year for a 3-day stopover on the way home from Asia because we're flying QR. First off, if you are flying business class on QR, it's fantastic. The QR business class lounge at DOH is wonderful. As others have mentioned, must sees are the MIA, the Souq Waqif, the Corniche, desert safari with dune bashing, sandboarding and camel ride, etc. The National Museum wasn't done yet when I was there, but I think it's open now. I just took cabs around, but of course Viator or hotel booked excursions are available. They're building a light rail but I don't think it's operational yet. There are a few more museums, galleries, and I think there is at least one mosque that you can tour as well (assuming you aren't Muslim - not sure about mosque rules as they seem to vary from country to country if you're not Muslim). Also camel racing is a big deal. You can see it live or watch on TV - Qatar has a dedicated TV station just for it. As others noted, cabs are safe, reliable and inexpensive - look for "Bluebird" cabs - kind of a robin's egg blue color. Everywhere I went, people spoke English, and the city was full of expats and tourists, so a huge mix of people from all types of cultures. I stayed at Sharq Village which is a Ritz-Carlton resort. So, of course no free breakfast or club lounge access. But it's a gorgeous property, and they treated me like royalty and gave me a nice upgrade. If you have the Ritz card, you can get the $100 resort credit as well. They greeted me with dates and Arabian coffee which was quite nice. There's a huge pool complex, all sorts of rooms/suites to choose from, great restaurant/bar options with alcohol (except I think they stop serving during Ramadan?), and a private beach on the Gulf. It's very close to the airport, and not too far from the MIA and souq. I liked it so much we're going back to that same resort.
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- makang @ clebert on Jul 20, 2019 11:00 PM
  Thank you for all of this. As for activities this is what I needed and wondering about safety and desert adventures.
  
  I was thinking of staying at the other Ritz, as I’ve never stayed at one of those either. Was very loyally an SPG fan pre, and mostly post merger. We will be flying Qatar Business, and in QSuite, as it was still very cheaper then Emirates business and having never flown that long wanted a positive experience!
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  - verysuiteboy @ makang on Jul 21, 2019 7:57 AM
    I looked at pictures of both Ritz in Doha. The Sharq Village looks much more Arabian in style! The other Ritz is elegant, but more Western looking...
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- mtl_traveller @ clebert on Jul 21, 2019 7:03 PM
  Great recommendations! The same came up while I researched our two stopovers in Doha but we only had two half days each leg, many museums were closed by late afternoon. But the local shops in the souk Waqif were fun, including the pearls one. We learned a lot about Qatar’s pearl economy before the natural gas.
  Doha is a very safe city, and open to westerners. We saw lots of expats running on the Corniche early evening dressed in shorts and sleeveless shirts, they didn’t get any stares from the local families dressed conservatively.
  Do take a boat in the evening to see the city center lights, it’s beautiful. And negotiate the price, it’s part of the game :-)
  
  Temperature wise, we were there in early October, it was warm, but after dusk it became very humid. No mosquitoes though.
  
  Your holiday plan sounds amazing, have fun! For activities, I’ve done sandboarding in Dubai as part of a desert “safari” with a 4x4 and dinner in a desert camp, very unique and certainly offered in Doha too.
  
  PS when I flew QR in business some years back, they served beluga caviar on blinis. Emirates did not.
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the.reminder Jul 20, 2019 5:29 PM
I’ll be following this. I’m doing an MSC cruise in January which spends two days in Doha. Must be good if they’re spending two port days there
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pluto77 Jul 20, 2019 7:06 PM
I am following this as well. I’ve been on the fence regarding a Doha visit in September, but reading clebert’s and mtl_traveller’s reports has me thinking, Yes!
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- verysuiteboy @ pluto77 on Jul 20, 2019 9:07 PM
  I agree pluto77, Doha will be a must-do when I put together my Middle Eastern itinerary!
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- clebert @ pluto77 on Jul 20, 2019 9:24 PM
  pluto77 I was there in early November, and the weather was pretty good. Of course it's hot during the day, but evenings were fine. And it really wasn't that bad during the daytime.
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  - pluto77 @ clebert on Jul 20, 2019 10:06 PM
    Yep, it’s quite warm in the “winter” and crazy hot the rest of the time. I was in Abu Dhabi in February and it was very summer-ey like. Thanks so much for the Doha Intel.
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pk128 Jul 22, 2019 3:30 AM
I travel a lot and have found QR to be the best airline. If you've never been, Doha International Airport will be an experience and the stopover in Doha will be too. No matter what time of year. It's very hot and humid right now. Expect low 40's Celcius and increasing humidity. The newly acquired JW Doha Marriott Marquis has to be the best property in town. Ok, it has some querks but every room is just fabulous. The staff are the best I've experience anywhere.

Take a dune bashing ride to the Inland Sea. You may have been on one in Dubai or elsewhere but you have not experienced one like this! These guys are good and you will not forget the experience. Also get up early, head out to the Emir Office to watch the Royal Mounted Camel Guard and Horse Guard parade (I think changing of the guard) then take a leisurely (humid) stroll back along the Corniche and take in some of the award winning monuments to architecture.
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