My lack of preparation for this trip surprised even myself – my itinerary of tourist activities consisted of a list I made in the 45mins journey to the airport and boy did I struggle to make a list! My trip was for 3 nights which was perfect as every travel guide suggested 2 days were more than enough to explore Doha. 3 nights allowed for a good mix between lounging around and enjoying the (very hot) sun while actually taking in some culture.
Day 1
After a very relaxing journey I kicked off the trip by visiting the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA). Conveniently this was a 10-min walk from the hotel – however in the midday heat it definitely felt longer. The MIA was No.1 on every guide’s list and as a museum buff I found it easy to understand why. Both the MIA and National Museum of Qatar are architectural wonders, the clean white uniquely shaped buildings looked great in the shining sun.
The stunning architecture as we approached the museum was breathtaking – a clean white limestone building standing brightly in the sun. It really did look amazing – just check out the cover photo! This clean architecture was something that I’d see more of during my trip. The cost of the museum recently changed from being free for tourists to QAR50 (approx. £10/$14) and the tickets are valid for 3 consecutive days.
The museum was very empty, no hustle and bustle of people. From my count during the tour I saw a maximum of 50 people in the whole museum. The museum has 4 floors to explore and all in all you can see the whole museum in 2hrs. The museum is filled with artifacts from ancient Islamic cultures as well as old Quranic manuscripts.
A helpful security guard informed us that there would be regular calligraphy workshops and events organized throughout the week if we wanted to attend. I explored the surrounding park afterwards and it really was an area of serenity. If I had timed my visit after 4pm I’m sure there’d be more families sitting and having picnics amongst the trees.
You can see the park is almost empty which was understandable due to the midday heat. However there were great panoramic views of Doha’s skyline from the museum.
By the evening I didn’t want to walk around anymore, so I hopped into a taxi and went to a local restaurant to eat. Prices in Doha from what I experienced are relatively cheap compared to Dubai. There are plenty of chain restaurants with the prices approximately the same as western countries; however, local and independent shops will have cheaper prices and more of the local cuisine.
The cost of getting around by taxi is also cheap. Whilst you have the option of taking Uber, the ubiquitous turquoise Karwa taxis of Qatar suffice for everything you need. Karwa taxis are also metered by the distance so there’s no worry of meter watching if you’re caught up in any traffic.
One thing tourists should be prepared for was I kept getting pulled over by private taxis asking if I wanted a lift. They seemed to do this to anyone looking like a tourist. I can’t say what their service is like or how trustworthy they are as I passed their offer at every opportunity!
One thing to note though is that there is no citywide Metro service. Currently there are only a handful of stops throughout the city which isn’t helpful as a tourist. The metro line is under construction and should be completed by 2021.
Day 2
The majority of the next day was spent walking along the Corniche – when I say next day I mean after 3pm as it really is too hot to do much before that (my trip was in October which is when it starts to apparently get cooler!). This is a popular strip where expats live and do their daily runs as it offers a great view of the riverbank and city skyline.
I decided to spend the rest of the day exploring the Khalifa International Stadium. I had managed to catch a few of the remaining events of the World Athletic Championships that were being held in Doha and was really impressed by the organization of the local committee – albeit the turnout for events were quite low. Talking to athletes, they all agreed that the event was well-organized.
If you’re wondering how I managed to talk to athletes; every night athletes would be out and about exploring the city just like all the other tourists. They also stayed in their national team’s kits so that was always a good conversation starter to interact with them and ask how they were finding Doha.
In the evenings I would always go to the Souk Waqif which was just 15min walk from the hotel. Now, if the word ‘souk’ conjures up images of the famous Marrakech souks with rows of generation old stalls – you would be disappointed. 90% of the souk in Doha (or at least the one in the Doha centre where tourists go) is modern.
It’s been constructed very recently with the aim of resembling a traditional souk. The walls of shops and interconnected pathways look very similar to what I presume was here 50 years ago, but you also have air-conditioned stalls and CCTV built into the stone walls. It is, however, a nice area to pick up traditional food and items and is where most tourists are in the evenings. You see women making traditional savory pancakes, Turkish ice cream sellers playing tricks on customers, and, of course, sweets and spices from the local area.
As you can see there is plenty of character to resemble what the souk would’ve looked like 100 years ago. Whilst you might find it unauthentic if compared to the ones in Morocco, you do appreciate the charm and elegance about the place.
One thing which might catch your eye is how the city is always lit up. During the day you have the natural sunlight bouncing off the clean white buildings while during the night you have an array of colourful lighting throughout the city, both of which makes for plenty of Instagram opportunities! The relative emptiness of tourists also allow for better photo shoots.
Those of you from the UK might find the below video familiar – can someone confirm to me that this is the famous £1 fish guy from East London! He sang the whole song even though he was making bracelets and other tourist items which was a little strange!
Day 3
On Day 3, I ventured to one of the shopping malls. The main one to note was the Villagio – I’m presuming the name is a portmanteau of the famous Las Vegas casinos the Venetian and Bellagio! It was relatively empty with more of the local population than tourists visiting. It had the familiar UK high street brands such as Next and Body Shop but in a separate section of the mall were the high-end retailers such as Gucci and Cartier. I looked at the prices in these shops and surprisingly they were more expensive then what I saw at the UK Duty Free. You’ll mostly find the local emiratis in this section of the mall.
For those of you who know about The Venetian and its famous ‘sky ceiling’, it has the same vibe all over this mall. It did actually look quite pleasant and a central canal had a few gondolas where you could go up and down a short part of the mall for a fee.
In the food court there was a giant ice rink (note there are several signs which prohibit the use of cameras in this area) which had a lot of children gliding across. I decided to have some food from here and after that, went to Pinkberry for some dessert. When we asked for take-away cups they gave both in a bag accompanied with a massive bag of ice cubes!
On the last evening I ventured to the Souk Waqif again. I arrived there later than normal and saw this time a host of boats illuminated with neon lights waiting to take tourists along the Corniche. It did look spectacular though I wonder how long before my eyes would be hurting with their brightness whilst sitting in the boat! There are walkways under the roads to connect one side to the other and these are immaculately built (see the TML YouTube channel for a glimpse). If the future metro line will be built to the same high standard then I can’t wait to travel on them!
I then noticed something happening in some open spaced domes next to the Souk. After going inside the domes it turned out to be a local dates festival – it seemed to be a big event with several VIPs attending as well the media. I tasted a few free samples but I really couldn’t tell the difference between the dates from the different regions. I guess becoming a date connoisseur is not on the cards for me!
My time in Doha was coming to an end there wasn’t much else to view from a tourist point of view. I did see a beautifully built building which I was told was the Islamic Cultural Center; however, this was always closed whenever I tried to go there. Nevertheless, the architecture once again is extremely impressive.
Islamic Cultural Center at day 
Islamic Cultural Center at night
Hotel
I stayed in the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel which is located in Old Town. As you’ve probably read by now it was conveniently located for all the major attractions. The museums were 5-10mins walk from the hotel and the Souk Waqif was 5 mins from the museums. Note the Villago mall is on the outskirts of the city and no hotels are near it, to reach there requires a 45mins taxi ride. There aren’t many shops or restaurants around the hotel though which was the only negative regarding location.
Great hotel with friendly staff, absolutely nothing to complain about. Everyone was very attentive when it came to seeing how we were doing.
Summary
48hrs is pretty much all you need to explore Doha – occasionally Qatar Airways even includes a 2 day free hotel stay if you opt for a long layover. As a city, the place is extremely clean and has relatively few tourists. I was told there are a lot of picturesque places along the coastline which are yet to be touched by any developments. For a holiday to completely disappear from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, this sounds ideal.
Would I come again next year? Probably not. But would I come again in 5 years? The answer is likely yes. The city has a lot of construction happening and currently it does sit in the shadow of its neighbour Dubai. The big improvement that’s coming soon (in time for the 2022 FIFA World Cup) will be the completion of the metro line. Boasting over 100 stations this will connect the whole country and make travel extremely easy. With the increased international exposure from the country ‘s self-promotion, there is no doubt Doha will see a big transformation in the coming years which will make it a top tourist destination.
