Thanks! As I have said before, I have learnt a lot by following this and other flyertalk.com forums, so it was the least I could do to contribute back.

If others can add suggestions of interesting things to do in Doha (especially those benefitting from the +Qatar stopover program) I am sure they would be well received.

I followed OP's instruction in #18 . It worked exactly as reported. Saw some interesting stuff in Souq Waqif (migrant workers lining up for free food during Ramadan, migrant workers serving as shoppers' "personal shopping carts", Arabic men playing some sort of board game, and Muslim workers using typewriters in "typing centers"), and met with friends for a GREAT dinner at Al Mourjan (I think) restaurant in the north side of Corniche. To be sure, the food was mediocre and very overpriced, but I sat literally 3 steps from the Persian... I mean Arabian Gulf. The seat was at almost the same level as the water with no obstruction to going into the water, which was lit into a glowing blue with the city lit up behind it. One of the most atmospheric meals I've ever had with outstandingly proactive service.

Very tempted to venture into Doha briefly to break up an 8hr stint in the lounge. All things being equal, should land around 11.30pm. If we managed to get downtown for 1am would there be much still going on (cafes or restaurants still open) or would it be more a case of 'Doha by night' photography and back to HIA sooner than later?

Also, am I correct in my understanding that UK citizens can get a short term visa upon arrival or is it better (quicker) to apply in advance?

phoneticduck if you look at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/qatar...countries.html you will see that UK citizens no longer need a visa.

You mean "Persian Gulf". You were not near the Red Sea, weren't you?

There wouldn't be much open around that time. Maybe a few 24 hour cafe's around souq or along the corniche. Everything would still be lit up which would be quite good to see whilst quite. Also the weather is slowly getting better with the humidity dropping now in the evenings.

Should you tip the taxi driver? If yes, how much?

I seem to remember I rounded the QAR48 fare up to 50 and gave that as exact money.

My general rule is that I will always tip the taxis who run the meter. They always do from the airport and of course its a little more with the QR25 flagfall but they don't all run the meter when picking it up from the city. I generally give at least QR10 extra but then you have to remember that that's only about $2.50!

I learned not to say that in front of a Qatari. They call it Arabian Gulf.

We're going to have about 6 hours in DOH in a couple of weeks (16:20 arrival to 22:30 departure) and are thinking of going to have a quick look around Doha. Are the instructions in the guide by plunet still the current way to get out of the airport?
And with the time we have is it realistic to get a taxi/uber to the Souq, have a wander along the waterfront, a quick look into the Museum of Islamic Art and back to the airport in time for a shower in the lounge? Are there any other highlights we should be aiming for?

Thanks

That would be a bit tight for me, especially if you want a shower in the lounge before your next flight. Not impossible, I suppose, but it's not at all unlikely that you could end up like OJ running through the airport.

I was thinking an hour to get off the plane and out of the airport, half an hour in a taxi, an hour or two having a wander around, half an hour back to the airport leaving a couple of hours to have a shower and a drink in the lounge. Is that unrealistic? I appreciate that our inbound wouldn't have to be very late before we'd need to abandon the idea, but I'd have thought it would be a reasonable plan for a quick wander around instead of parking ourselves in the lounge for hours.

As far as I know the instructions are still valid. The taxi to the Souk is more like 15mins rather than half an hour. Provided that you arrive on or ahead of time and your objective is no more than a couple of hours in Doha then it should be perfectly possible.

Hope it all works out for you.

Thanks to both Dr. HFH and plunet. I think we'll give it a go, if it looks like we're running short of time we can just cut short our visit. 6 hours seems rather a long time to sit in the lounge, great though it is. After this trip we'll have transited through DOH 4 times - seems wrong not to take a look outside.