Doha, Qatar Travel Diaries

My husband and I recently went on our first trip of the year after spending the year hardcore saving to move house.  Fingers crossed that happens for us this year!!  We spent a month in Karachi seeing my husbands family and friends, which was lovely and on the way back we did a 4 day layover at Doha, Qatar.  It was our first time in Qatar and we absolutely loved it.  I don't know if it was the time of year we went, but it was so quiet and non touristy and the perfect temperature.  It was the most chilled 4 days we have had in a very long time and we spent it just exploring, drinking coffee and eating good food.  We booked a layover package with Qatar airways, which turned out to be the best way to get a five star experience for less.  We stayed in the Grand Hyatt hotel, which is where the Dubai football team and some of the Formula 1 racers were also staying that weekend (we didn't see anyone unfortunately).  The hotel was so luxurious and very much a treat.  We got to gym in the morning and enjoy some time in the spa in the evenings.  There's a private beach and swimming pool outside that we didn't go into, but enjoyed some evening walks.  This is what we did during our four days and my opinions and recommendations if you were to visit.  We would definitely go again and I would recommend anyone to go.

Day 1

We arrived in the hotel at about 6am after coming straight from the airport and we had a little power nap.  One of the great things about paying for a layover package is you don't need to wait until 3pm to check into your hotel. 

Once we felt more refreshed, we headed over to The Pearl Qatar, Medina Centrale, where there were many restaurants and we enjoyed a lovely lunch.

We then took an uber to Qanat Quartier, which wasn't far but the roads aren't really suitable for walking in Doha.  The plus side is the ubers are so cheap, we hardly payed more than £5 even for 20 minutes. Qanat Quartier looks like Venice in Italy and it has amazing vibes.  We spent hours walking around the canals and popping into the shops and the cafe's before heading home to enjoy the swimming pool and spa facilities.

The hotel had an amazing restaurant called Isaan that we enjoyed for dinner and I would highly recommend.

Day 2 

We went for a morning run in the gym and then enjoyed the buffet breakfast.  The buffet was the best that I had ever had in a  hotel.  We enjoyed yoghurt bowls, pastries and many more that they had to offer.  The only ever hotel we have stayed at where the breakfast was this good was in the Maldives!  We jumped in an uber and went over to the Mina District, which gave Greek vibes with all the colourful buildings.  We spent the next few hours exploring, popping into the shops and going for coffee, it was lovely.

Then we went to the Museum of Islamic Art, which was such a stunning building.  The views were just unmatched.

When it started to go dark, we headed to the Souq Waqif where they have all the traditional markets.  This was a great experience, but it was the only place I would say was so touristy and bust.  We struggled a bit with this, but enjoyed the experience none the less.  I had on my list to eat at Parisa, which is a Persian restaurant.  The atmosphere and decor here was beautiful and the food was delicious.

Day 3

Again this morning, we went for a morning run and enjoyed the buffet breakfast.  We headed to the Katara cultural village, where they have many art galleries and beaches and mosques.  There were some pretty spots and some nice galleries, but I did think this was a little overrated and I probably wouldn't go back if we were to visit Doha again.

We went to the Imam Muhammas Bin Abdulwahhab Mosque next as I love looking at religious building, it's one of my favourite things to do in any country I visit.  This mosque was extremely grand and it was beautiful.

After going home and getting dressed for the evening, we headed to the Corniche, so we could walk across the waterfront with view of Doha skyline on our way to dinner.  If i'm being honest, we saw so many recommendations to do this, but I personally wouldn't go again in the evening.  I would recommend going in the day as there may not be many young men haggling for you to go on the boats.  If I wasn't with my husband, I might not have felt safe.

We had dinner booked at Nobu, which is a Japanese restaurant we have wanted to eat at ever since we saw it in Malibu.  The Nobu in Doha is the largest one in the world and it did not disappoint.  It is pricey, but it is delicious and a treat.

Day 4

On our final day, we had breakfast and a morning walk along the beach at our hotel.  We headed to Vendome shopping mall, to enjoy some luxury shopping.  It had all the shops you could possibly imagine, from the super high end shops to the high street stores.  I had my eye on a few bits, but the conversion from the Qatar currency to GBP meant that it was a lot cheaper to buy in the UK, so we just window shopped.

The second we got back to the hotel, we ordered in the Cheesecake chocolate factory while packing our stuff up to go to the airport.  We are obsessed with the Chocolate truffle tower cake they do that is 1770 calories, so we therefore share it!!