Qatar

Qatar is a small peninsula, so the climate is pretty consistent across the whole country year-round.

Temperatures are high, and the proximity to the water means humidity can get seriously intense.

In summer, it gets brutally hot — up to 50°C — and it barely cools down at night. We honestly don’t recommend visiting in peak summer: you’d essentially be stuck indoors in air-conditioned buildings the whole time.

In winter, though, temperatures drop to a much more manageable 25–30°C — that’s really the sweet spot for exploring Qatar comfortably.

Qatar has one airport, in the capital Doha, and it’s well connected to major cities across Europe, Asia, and beyond.

Qatar is also a fantastic spot for a layover if you’re flying onward to Asia — the stopover program is genuinely worth looking into.

We always search for flights using Skyscanner — it’s super easy to use and reliably surfaces the best connections and prices.

To the Skyscanner Portal

What documents do I need to enter Qatar?

You’ll need a valid passport that remains valid for at least six months after your trip.

Since August 2017, most nationalities no longer need to apply in advance for a visa to visit Qatar. Worth noting: if you’re planning side trips to Oman, a separate visa is required there, valid for up to 30 days.

One honest tip upfront: try to walk as little as possible. It’s simply too hot in this desert country for comfortable sightseeing on foot.

For most journeys, you’ll want to use public transit or a car.

Public Transportation in Qatar

Public transit in Doha is genuinely impressive. The Doha Metro is modern and easy to navigate — a single ride costs just 2 QR, and a day pass is 6 QR. Check the Doha Metro website for routes and ticketing.

There are also solid bus routes run by Mowasalat, connecting Doha to other major cities across the country — and the network keeps expanding.

For getting around within Doha, public transit will take you pretty much everywhere you need to go. Outside the city, though, you’ll usually need a car.

Rental Cars in Qatar

Renting a car really only makes sense if you want to explore beyond Doha. There are plenty of rental companies at Doha airport, and prices are fairly reasonable.

Taxi and Uber in Qatar

For the most comfortable door-to-door travel, a taxi is hard to beat — and they’re easy to find throughout the country.

Uber is a more affordable alternative. Download the app, enter your destination, and you’ll see the price upfront before you confirm. You’re shown your driver’s photo and license plate, and you can contact them directly at any time.

Qatar is a pretty small country — just 11,627 km² in total.

To put that in perspective, it’s roughly the size of the Bahamas, or about half the size of Wales.

Qatar is home to approximately 2.7 million people — a relatively small population for a country that’s grown so rapidly.

In fact, Qatar’s population has expanded at one of the fastest rates in the world over the past few decades.

The capital is Doha, situated on the eastern coast of the peninsula.

Around 587,000 people live in the city itself, with the greater metropolitan area home to nearly one million.

The official language is Arabic, and both Persian and English are widely used in business.

Qatar has a remarkably diverse expat population: around one in three residents is of Pakistani or Indian origin, and one in six comes from Nepal.

As a result, you’ll also hear Urdu, Hindi, and various other South Asian languages spoken throughout the country — which gives Qatar a genuinely multicultural feel.

Qatar runs on Arabia Standard Time, which is UTC+3 — and it stays that way year-round, since Qatar doesn’t observe daylight saving time.

For travelers coming from the US East Coast, that’s eight hours ahead; from the UK, it’s three hours ahead in winter and two hours ahead in summer.

Qatar uses the Qatari Riyal (QAR). One US dollar is roughly equivalent to 3.64 QAR, and one euro gets you around 3.60 QAR.