13+ Hours Daytime stopover. What to do?
 

Hi folks.
I have seen plenty of info on here about nightime stopovers but not much about daytime.
On 18 Dec I arrive into DOH after a 6+ hour flight from Madrid at 07:00. (Business Class)
My onward flight to JNB (Business Class) is at 20:40 thereby giving me a 13+ hours layover in Doha.
So this is more then the 12 hours stopover as per the program but it is completely during the daytime.
After looking into the stopover program and seeing that the hotel offers are "per night" I am seeking advice and suggestions from you.

I will be a little tired for sure and will want to find somewhere...... hotel/lounge whatever to grab 2-4 hours of sleep during the day.
As it is my first time in Doha I also want to see something..... Souq Waqif perhaps? Peral harbour? I don't know what is best to see given the time I have.
I also want to give myself the time to at least experience the Al Mourjan lounge for around 2 hours before departure............. or even pay the 600 QAR to get into Al Safwa.
So, any ideas are most welcome.

Thanks.

I'll suggest you to do the Doha City Tour - 75QAR. If I was you, I'll do it as soon as you arrive, 8am or 10:30am after breakfast in the lounge (if availability).

After that, just go back to AM and request a sleeping room. There is a couch big enough to lay down in order to catch some sleep.

December the 18th is National day and therefore a public holiday so I doubt there will be any city tours during the day as the Corniche will be closed for at least the whole morning.
That said, you can grab a taxi somewhere near the Corniche / Souq and see the National day parade which is usually in the morning. It might take a while getting to the area due to the traffic but the weather will be perfect so you can always walk a little. Although hopefully by then the airport metro station will be open meaning you can get to the Souq or Corniche much easier by skipping all the traffic.

You can use the stopover programme to book a room for the day as the programme works on the 24 hour check in to check out policy. At least then you can sleep for a bit and enjoy your afternoom in Doha without feeling like a zombie.

Thanks for the advice.

Ben_W. I didn't know about the national holiday for the 18th so that explains why all the transit tours have "no availability" for that day so thanks for that.
Any idea what taxi fares will be like on that day from the airport to the city centre? Here in Spain taxis fares on holidays are almost double the usual.

Schwann. Yes, I might book a transit hotel, and will decide to use it for the morning of the afternoon.

Taxi fares, wether metered taxi or Uber will be the same. However, in the morning there will be a lot of traffic with a number of roads closed so you maybe better off using the Metro to get around.

Stopover in DOH
 

Hello All:
All that being said, what would be an ideal amount of time for a layover in Doha in order to see the city. I am getting ready to book PHL-DOH-HAN travel and can take any amount of time that I wish in DOH. I live next to an ocean (5 houses away) so do not feel the need to see the beach unless it is truly remarkable. Been to the Souqs in DXB so I know I can spend some time in the souq in DOH. Can I assume that one 16-24 hour period is enough to see this city on a stopover?
Thanks.

Yes 16-24 hours is more than enough time. Especially if you are not interested spending any time by beaches / pools.

The above is great advice in terms of booking hotel with 24 hrs checkout. If none of those hotels appeal to you many Doha properties have dayrates. Frankly, what I would do is select the hotel you really want and book it for the night before so you can just head there straight from the airport have a good breakfast and relax by the pool etc. You can so easily uber around Doha or taxi its really fine. Outside of a few sights like Souq Waqif or museum not much to see and I also wouldnt worry about a tour not being available as Doha is so easy to navigate.

Do not underestimate the traffic issues from the celebrations on the 18th. The Corniche will be closed well before and after the military parade which will be in the middle of the day and depending on how late it gets they might open it or not until the fireworks in the afternoon.

Your 13hrs and the fact that you arrive relatively early give you enough time to explore while being relatively close to the end of the Corniche (and affected as little as possible from the parade) and close to the highway that gets you to the airport.
One recommendation would be to get to the Souq in the morning (local market), grab a bite there and then visit the MIA park which is across the street and will give you a nice view of the Doha/Westbay skyline. You could spend a few hrs watching the parade and the airshow (the trials have already started this week, looks fun) and then make your way to a restaurant called "Orient Pearl" which is on your way to the airport, experience some nice local flavors and then make your way to the airport (the restaurant is very close to the highway entrance).

Other "Doha-rians" feel free to contribute :)

Thanks for the reply

Luckily this year you wont need to rely on a car to get you anywhere near the celebrations when the metro can take you straight to it. Also, judging by the amount of Qataris that used the metro the other evening to go watch the football, the traffic maybe wont be as bad compared to previous years.

Hi folks.
Thanks for all the input................ very interesting.
So, an update on what I have done so far.
I booked the Oryx Rotana through the stopover programme. Although they say that checkin is at 3pm, my intention is to go there 1st thing in the morning, straight from the airport and ask them nicely if I can checkin around 1pm and hopefully they will let me in for the 5 hours that I need as I need to be back at the airport for 18:40.
Have checked the Metro layout and I have seen that Umm Ghuwailina is close to the hotel.
So, I can take the red line to Corniche or to Msheireb and change there to get to Souq Waqif.
I wouldn't be able to sleep during the morning anyway, so I like the ideas suggested, especially with the parade etc for the morning and then relax/sleep in the hotel a bit later.

The metro Green line and remaining Red Line stations (including the airport) officially open this Tuesday (10th December). Umm Ghuwailina station to the Oryx is a short walk. Make sure you head towards the Al Matar St (East) exit so that you are on the correct side of the road. You can change to the Gold Line at Msheireb which takes you to the Souq. Although, its only one stop so you can also walk from Msheireb. The Gold Line will also take you to the National Musuem (next stop after the Souq).