1 – 2 Day Doha Itinerary for the Ultimate Stopover in Qatar

Qatar is in the Middle East, making it a common stopover for travellers heading to or from Africa, Europe, and parts of Asia. I recently explored the capital city as part of Qatar Airways’ stopover program and can highly recommend including it on your next trip! You can use this 1 or 2-day Doha itinerary for inspiration to make sure you get the most out of a short visit.

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Prices throughout this article are in USD for easier international reference.

1-day Doha itinerary

Look, I don’t totally suggest doing stopping in Qatar for just one day. But if that’s all the time you have, you can still make a 1-day Doha itinerary work!

Start with the National Museum of Qatar

This is the best way to learn a lot about this tiny Middle Eastern country in a short amount of time. You’ll walk through sections dedicated to different aspects of the country’s biodiversity, history, architecture, and industries like pearl diving and oil.

The building itself is absolutely incredible, and the architect took inspiration from a desert rose. It’s definitely one of, if not the coolest buildings I’ve ever seen. Oh, and definitely stop for a cup of arabic coffee and a chapati for breakfast at the Desert Rose Cafe.

Explore Souq Waqif - a must for any Doha itinerary

Who doesn’t love a good market?! Souq Waqif is more than a century old and preserves the spirit of the country’s oldest trading hub. You can get lost weaving your way through alleys choked full of vendors selling everything from carpets and souvenirs to falcons. Yes, live falcons.

It’s the most authentic way to immerse yourself in the culture. Make sure you stop for an arabic coffee or karak, a traditional spiced milky tea. You can find these for as little as 3 Qatari Riyal (QAR), or $1 USD, basically anywhere in the market.

You’ll also catch some nice glimpses of the – get ready for a bit of a mouthful – Abdulla Bin Zaid Al Mahmoud Islamic Cultural Center. The spiral feature makes it really unique, and it’s stunning when it’s lit up at night.

Eat lunch in the souq

There are tons of good restaurants throughout the market, so you can’t really go wrong. But if you can find Kabab El Tayeb, a bit hidden behind the main strip, you’re in for a treat! They serve up fresh lavash (like naan) and different skewers for super cheap. If you can believe it, we got the mixed kebab plate, hummus, and two soft drinks for $15 (total, not each).

Walk along the waterfront and admire the city skyline

MIA Park and the corniche offer epic views of West Bay and the Doha City Centre. It’s best to explore when the sun’s on its way down to avoid the mid-day heat.

You can also go out on a traditional dhow boat for a more unique view point. And this is best at sunset or in the evening when the city lights sparkle in the distance. You don’t have to book this in advance, just walk along the waterfront and find someone offering a good price. This is a great opportunity to exercise your haggling skills.

Go for dinner and relax with a shisha

I’d totally just go back to the souq for dinner. It comes alive at night and you’ll get to see it from a different perspective. The restaurants on the main strip are a little more expensive but still offer delicious traditional Qatari food. More importantly, they offer the best people watching!

Because alcohol is illegal in Qatar, smoking shisha is a more common social activity. We just strolled the streets until we found a busy patio with lots of hookahs and continued our people-watching journey with a rose-flavoured shisha.

If you have an even shorter layover in Doha...

You can still see the city! Discover Qatar offers brief tours for transit visitors. This includes crazy things like seeing the desert or playing a quick round of golf at a world-class club. Your options are more limited and the tours will be more structured, but this is such a cool option if you don’t have time to include a full 1 to 4 day stopover in Doha.

Getting around: 1 or 2-day Doha itinerary

The city’s metro network is insanely clean, air-conditioned, efficient, and easy to navigate. You can catch it right from the airport, and it has dedicated stops at Souq Waqif and the national museum. What’s more, a full day pass is just 6 QAR ($1.60)! So it’s basically free and can get you anywhere you want to go.

If you feel like you’re in more of a hurry or simply hate public transport, Uber is also available and pretty affordable.

2-day Doha itinerary

You can get even more out of your Qatar Airways stopover if you stay for 2 days! Do everything I just said on day one, then check out these activities on the second day of your Doha itinerary.

Choose either: The Katara Cultural Village or Lusail

The Katara Cultural Village sounded cooler than it was, in my experience. The blue mosque is stunning and Katara has a nice beach to chill on if it’s a sunny day, but remember you need to dress modestly. Bathing suits should cover your shoulders, knees, and stomachs, and this rule goes for both men and women. There’s also a big toy store if you’re travelling with kids! That could be a good thing or a bad thing, depends on your shopping budget.

If you can time your visit with a cool event going on, like a performance in the Greek-inspired ampitheatre, definitely do. Otherwise, I don’t think you need to feel deep-seated regret if you miss this area of the city.

Lusail is at the end of the metro line and is a bit of an up-and-coming neighbourhood. This is where you can find the stunning Fairmont Hotel in Doha. It’s also possible to stay here as part of the stopover program, but I don’t recommend it because it’s so far from everything else.

There’s a cool area full of food trucks which kicks off more in the evening. I went here for lunch in mid-August and it was the worst decision I’ve ever made. It. Was. So. Hot. Only plan to eat here if you’re visiting in the winter or going for the night markets!

It is possible to do both Katara and Lusail before going to The Pearl, but you’ll feel rushed.

Explore The Pearl

In the northern part of the city, you can explore an entire neighbourhood built on an artificial island. Apparently it’s a real hot spot for expats. I think this would be cooler to live in rather than visit, but it’s still super interesting to see.

There are a ton of nice restaurants, so it’s a great place for breakfast/lunch, but you’ll be hard pressed to find anything as cheap as what you’ll find in the souq. You can snap some great insta pics walking along the Venice-like canals in the harbour.

You’ll need to either Uber, or catch the metro to Legtaifiya and then hop on a bus to The Pearl. The metro pass doesn’t work for the buses, so Uber is probably a better option in this case.

Go to Venice

Ok, so not really Venice.

But the Villaggio Mall is kind of hilarious and impressive. The entire thing is designed to look like it’s outdoors, including a cloudy-sky painted ceiling. Cool or unsettling? I’m not sure, but it’s worth adding to your Doha itinerary. They have fake buildings, fake windows, and a real-ish “canal” flowing through the main section of the mall. You can even go on a little gondola cruise and watch the shoppers as you go by.

This may seem like a trivial activity, but I think it sort of captures the unique Middle Eastern culture of extravagance. You can even go ice skating here, or visit a whole ass indoor theme park complete with a roller coaster. It’s the perfect place to go to escape the heat, but it’s worth checking it out even if the weather is nice.

Where to stay: 1 or 2-day Doha itinerary

I made this map of every hotel that was available through the Qatar Airways stopover program when I booked in August 2023. I really truly believe you should always upgrade to one of the “Premium” options rather than “Standard” because it’s maybe 20 bucks more and you deserve a 5-star hotel.

My top choice is definitely the Souq Waqif area. It’s the perfect central home base for any activities you want to do, and it’s the coolest area anyway. We stayed at the Al Najada hotel which was like 2 steps from the metro and directly across the street from the markets. If you can get in at the Souq Waqif Boutique Hotel, you’ll be in the heart of it all. Unfortunately for me, it was already full when we were booking.

Activities to add to your Qatar itinerary

If you have more time or money, here are some of the best activities to add to your Doha itinerary when visiting Qatar:

- See the city from a dhow boat. Best done at sunset or after dark.
- Take a guided city tour. See Qatar’s downtown core through the eyes of a local.
- Take an even longer city tour. You can explore the souq, Katara, and The Pearl in one day if you’re really determined to fit 2 days of stuff into 1! But it might help to have a structured tour in this case.
- Spot some sharks. Ok fine, whale sharks, but that’s arguably even cooler.
- Ride a camel and surf some sand waves. You can head inland to experience the desert.