^

We did our DIY night tour in January with success, so thank you all for the detailed instructions and previous experiences so we knew what to expect. For simplicity, we stuck to the business lounge instead of attempting this with the first class lounge.

At the arrivals lounge, the immigration officer there grilled me a little bit on why I would want to go out when everything was closed. She also tried to argue some semantics with me (this was around 1am, nearing 2am):

Officer: So you're leaving tomorrow (referring to my onwards ticket for 8am departure)?
Me: No, I'm leaving today, in about 6 hours. My flight is at 8am. I just want to go take some pictures of the waterfront lit up.
Officer: So you're leaving tomorrow at 8am (pointing to ticket)!
Me: ...Sure, you're right.

My partner had his passport stamped without question.

We took an Uber from the airport to the souq. Walking through the souq when everything was closed was neat. There was an officer patrolling around keeping an eye on things. We started to head back around 4am after finding a taxi near a hotel and paid cash with some currency we picked up before leaving the airport.

I had a 16 hour layover recently. I took my hand luggage with me and went through arrivals route as I had booked the Grand Mercure in what looked like a war zone. I went into the business/first arrivals area where a woman was arguing with the staff that she should be allowed in. There was no queue at normal immigration so I didn't see why she was so het up about it. Immigration asked me which hotel I had booked. I arrived at the hotel 6 am, had a few hours rest, some breakfast and then had a wander. Sat in the souk for a while people watching while drinking coffee and fruit juice. The hotel was reasonably cheap and I booked a 6am check in. I had booked one of the $23 but emailed about checking in early but got no response. Plus it was the Radisson which is further out.
The pedestrian lights were frustrating. They take about 10 minutes to allow you to cross and then you have to be Ben Johnson on steroids to get across. I had another rest in the hotel as had a chest infection, and then grabbed my camera gear to take some photos of the waterfront.

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I returned to the hotel for dinner and to use up my Accor Platinum welcome drinks. Heineken or Fosters. More like which eye would you like to stab first! The steak was pretty good though. Had a three course meal which I prepaid at booking as a 2 course with a glass of wine and got 3 courses with 2 glasses of wine for no extra charge.

Paid more for a cab to the airport as I asked the hotel to organise it. I did that as the Mercure was in the middle of building/demolition works so nothing was passing.

I am back in Seoul now and had the option to do the 16 hour layover again, but my client booked the normal 3 hour layover to CWL and there was a change fee involved or else I would have done it again. The chest infection developed nicely into laryngitis which has affected my work a bit. No infection in the throat, just inflamed vocal cords from coughing. I'd initially suspected a chest infection and was going to see a dr about antibiotics but then the sniffles came, and I assumed it was a cold. Turned out it was a sinus infection and a chest infection. Was very well looked after by the crew on the Q suite ICN - DOH, and my apologies for anyone I kept awake with my coughing. I've learned that my bronchial asthma cough that surfaces after an infection is a good way of getting more space in a bar in Gangnam!

Plans changed and I made my way home earlier than planned, with a 20 hour layover. Cold and windy in Doha yesterday...

Museum of Islamic Art, Doha

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Dhouw boat -

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I have a layover from 5pm to 2am and I’m thinking of a few options.

⁃ Stay in the Business Lounge
⁃ Upgrade to first lounge
⁃ Do the Doha City Tour Transit.

what is recommended?

If I do the City tour should I pick the 8pm or the last one at 9.30?
Also considering the lounge crowding I assume I would be better to use the showers before the tour instead of after?

Thanks for this. Nowadays they even would not let you in the bar I guess ;)

Jokes aside, given the time stamp of your post, maybe it was even one of the earlier cases Covid? In any case I hope you are better by now.

just FYI - you cannot layover in Qatar for less than two days. You need to book a two day quarantine hotel through etheraz to enter Qatar now. So without the etheraz visa - you cant even enter the country (and all discover qatar short tours from the airport are suspended).

But here is where it gets interesting. You can book a QR flight with a 29 hour layover in Doha. So if you cant exit the airport, and you want to just layover in the airport (either in the lounge, or the Oryx airside hotel) - you cant do that either. They will not issue you a boarding pass if you have a "layover" longer than 24 hrs, even if you have an Oryx reservation to stay airside. So be careful booking tickets with a one day layover thinking you can visit Doha or even stay in the airport. The ticket they allow you to book is essentially useless (unless you are a qatar national/resident and plan on staying for a day and then leaving)

Would this be a different experience on a Friday night into early Saturday AM ?

I don't have any personal experience, but being in the middle of their weekend, a trip into Doha for Friday night would probably have a bit more of a buzz about it, but I am sure some others can add their knowledge...

Wait, I'm a little worried now... We are arriving in Doha on a Sunday @ 4:35pm, leaving 9 hours later on a flight to Male on Monday @ 1:35am. Will I be allowed to enter Qatar at all? I was hoping to go out and take a few pictures, but if they won't let me, I would also be more than happy to just stay in the AM lounge. TIA for your reply.

I also have an 8 hr layover and had heard about the free city tour - that's not happening any more? bummer!

Short answer is yes, depending on what country you are flying in from and your nationality. We had a similar layover last week and were able to leave the airport for a few hours to check out the Souq and grab a bite to eat (arrived from USA).

We had to complete the pre-arrival ehteraz paperwork in order to be eligible for a visa on arrival. I think they’ve waived the requirement for GCC and EU folks now, so it’s even easier if you fall into those buckets. Conversely, there are more hoops to jump through if you are Indian, Pakistani, etc.

I found this guide useful to determine what exactly I needed to do: https://www.dohaguides.com/qatar-vis...s-eligibility/

Is the free city tour that you are supposed to be able to arrange for at the information desk not operating now?

Thanks for the info @ Hammerklavier! We are Canadians, flying in from the US. Crossing my fingers we will be able to get a transit visa on arrival.

If I am not mistaken, they were charging around USD$20pp for the city tour by 2019, but it has since totally ceased due to the pandemic. I am hoping it will open up again soon, but I will be happy to just be able to walk around the Souq!