Is Qatar budget friendly? I was surprised to learn that yes, it can be! To be clear, it’s not a place you can live large and enjoy luxury things on a budget. But you can certainly explore the city, try local food, and see all the major sights without going broke. Here’s how I spent under $60 per day in Qatar.
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Is Qatar budget friendly?
I travelled to Doha, Qatar as part of the national airline’s stopover program and stayed for 3 days. Before I even asked myself, “Is Qatar budget friendly?”, I’d booked the flights and it was too late to look back. So I was sliiiiightly worried it was going to bankrupt me (and Chesney). But thought it seemed like a great opportunity to see the country and wanted to take advantage of it.
As it turns out, Qatar can definitely be budget friendly! Sure, you could also spend a small fortune over a weekend like you can in Dubai, but it’s totally possible to see Doha without breaking the bank.
Read more: How to Book the Qatar Stopover Program
My 3-day Qatar budget breakdown
I use the TravelSpend app to track everything in all the countries we visit. It’s honestly so useful and I may even start using it when we’re back home. SO, is Qatar budget friendly?
We spent a total of $355 USD between the two of us over 3 days in Doha, Qatar. So that evens out to just under $60/day per person for everything except flights.
Accomodation
$47/night, $142 total
Because we booked as part of the stopover program, we paid for the flights and hotel at the same time. Which basically made the hotel free by the time we got there, ya know? It was also hella discounted as part of the stopover program incentive. They start from $14/night per person, but we upgraded to the “Premium” package for a little more.
We paid $47 total per night to stay at the 5-star Al Najada hotel in the bustling Souq Waqif area. They also gave us a free room upgrade when we arrived!
I’ve created a map of every hotel that’s available as part of the program so you can explore your options. They’re all subject to availability, of course, and depend on the package you book. But options include big name hotels like The Marriot, Pullman, Hilton, and some nice boutique hotels as well. Rooms usually go for $200+, so is Qatar budget friendly when you’re paying the full hotel price? Less so.
Our Al Najada hotel room, $47/night
Our hotel pool
Food & drinks
$123 total
We primarily ate at restaurants in Souq Waqif where we could find great cheap eats! It was also right across the street from our hotel, so we’d go for dinner in the souq before calling it a day. We tried a ton of local food like shawarma, kofta, samboosa, chapati, kunafa, and luqaimat from different stalls and restaurants without breaking the bank.
As alcohol is completely illegal in Qatar, not drinking kept our costs down. We spent just $5/day on teas and coffees, and we drink a lot of tea and coffee in general. It was easy to find karak (the local milky chai-like tea) and arabic coffee for under $1.
Karak tea & chapati $12
Tea, mixed grill skewers & hummus $15
Activities
$73 total
There aren’t necessarily a lot of free things to do in Qatar, but the things you pay for are well worth it!
We spent $27 for two of us to visit the National Museum of Qatar. This is a complete must, regardless of whether you have 1 or 30 days in Doha. Please never speak to me again if you don’t visit. It’s by far the coolest museum I’ve ever been to, and it’s in the coolest building I’ve ever seen.
It was another $27 to visit the Museum of Islamic Art. I’d prioritize the National Museum if you’re only going to do one of these activities, but this is beautiful, too. We caught an incredible sunset here and had an epic view of the central city skyline.
National Museum of Qatar $13.50pp
View from the Museum of Islamic Art $13.50pp
If you plan to visit more galleries and museums, you can get a One Pass that lets you see 5 major attractions and 15+ exhibitions for a flat fee of $54. It’s a great deal if you’re staying for a while or plan to visit as many of these as possible.
For whatever reason, I decided to list “hookah and tea” as an activity in my app? I guess because we’re not smokers and only did this because it felt like a local novelty thing to do. We sat on the main walkway in Souq Waqif so we could do some people watching. It was definitely more expensive than I was expecting, at $18 for lung cancer and 2 karak teas. But “When in Rome,” YOLO, all that.
Everything else we did was free, like walking around the Katara Cultural Village, strolling down The Corniche/MIA Park, and visiting the extravagent malls for some much-needed air conditioning.
Read more: 3-4 Day Itinerary in Doha, Qatar
Transport
$17 total
The metro system in Doha is incredible! It’s new, clean, mercifully air-conditioned, and connected to the airport, which is always a blessing. Tickets are incredibly cheap at $1.60 for an entire day pass! Could not believe my eyes. So we spent just $3.30 per day and went all over the city.
They have a “Gold Class” section of the train if you want to travel “in style” as all the ads say, but it was way more expensive at $8 for the day pass. I realize that’s still incredibly cheap, and we probably should have just tried it one day, but it felt like a waste of money. These carriages have their own separate, designated entrances and everything! Everything in Qatar is so organized. But unless they’re serving champagne in there, I don’t want it.
We had a really early departure flight when the metro wasn’t running yet, so we took an Uber to the airport. It was super affordable at $7.50! Transport costs usually end up being high, but in Qatar it barely factored into our budget at all.
General Metro Day Pass $1.60
Gold Class Carriage Day Pass $8
Flights
I left this for last and didn’t include it in our total because the price can vary so significantly! However, in our case, we flew one way from Bucharest to Cape Town. So it was a long-haul journey and cost $1,319 for both of us, or $660 each. I think that’s a pretty good deal for an 8,000+ kilometre journey on one of the best airlines in the world!
Read more: The Ultimate 1 – 2 Day Doha Itinerary
How to blow your budget in Qatar
Is Qatar budget friendly if you want to indulge in a life of luxury? Nah. There are lots of expensive things to do here too!
- Drop several hundred dollars to go whale shark watching in the northern part of the country.
- Spend a bit of money to go dune buggying and sandboarding in the desert.
- Enjoy a fine dining meal at Morimoto where you can get steak or world-class sushi.
- Fly business class with Qatar Airways for a true luxury experience.
While we couldn’t budget for these activities this time around, I do feel like some luxury experiences are worth it if you can afford it!
What to know about Qatar before you go
- You need to dress “modestly.” Especially as a woman, it’s important to respect the local customs by wearing loose clothing that covers your shoulders, knees, and cleavage. Note: It’s not illegal to have your skin showing, but some major attractions, including the National Museum, do enforce a dress code.
- The local language is Arabic, but most people speak English fluently.
- You cannot bring alcohol into Qatar. But life hack: you can declare it and leave it at customs and pick it up again if you leave within 14 days. We did that and it was no big deal.
- You may not be able to share a hotel room with your partner. It’s illegal for unmarried people to share a room in Qatar. However, I checked with the stopover program people and the hotel before we arrived and they said the rule doesn’t apply because we’re on a transit visa. I didn’t ask any further questions because I liked the answer lol, but this is definitely something to consider.
- The currency is the Qatari Riyal (QAR or Q).
- It’s very safe. They have a high quality of life and a low crime rate. But, as always, take care of your belongings and avoid walking down dark alleys alone at night. You know, the usual.
All things considered, is Qatar budget friendly?
I was surprised at how affordable it really was. It’s definitely possible to include it in your budget if you stop for a few days. And luckily, Doha (and Qatar in general) is geographically small. So you don’t need a lot of time to see the major attractions around the city/country.
Read more: Can You Bring Alcohol Into Qatar? Kinda.
Amazing!
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